I particularly loved the soup…
*Archive photo*
…here…
…for as long as I can remember, even when they were previously at different locations, not where they are now.
That was the main reason why I wanted to stop by for lunch recently but this was what was served (RM10.00)…
It did not matter one bit that there wasn’t any fish maw but there were lots of tiny meat balls and a few own-made fish balls plus all the tomatoes and there were strips of shitake mushroom, the taste of which was so strong that it made the soup so different from what it was like before – the way I liked it! It used to be a very simple clear soup with a few bits of fish maw, very few, strips of meat and bean curd sticks, sweet corn, a couple of shrimps/prawns and some bits of Chinese cabbage or wombok…and yet, it was so very nice! Well, if it is going to be like this from now on, I certainly would not bother ordering it anymore in future.
While I was inside placing the orders, I saw they had this (RM15.00)…
…so I ordered some. Yes, it is in season right now – our dabai or the local Sarawak black olives.
At one time, I said I would not buy if the price went up to over RM20.00 and it did but I did go on buying. The price ranged between RM20.00 and RM30.00 that day and no, I was not going to fall for this excessive profiteering anymore so I did not buy any, thank you very much. I hear it has dropped to RM15.00 and above now but I still have not gone out to buy. I’m firm, not stubborn. Hehehehehe!!!!
I guess it would not change a thing as there are always lots of people buying, a lot at a time so obviously that is why they can simply jack up the prices so unreasonably high and the worst thing is you may have to pay through your nose only to find that what you have bought is not all that good – sometimes, they let you try the very good ones on the spot but what they sell to you may be a mixture of fruits from different trees and of different quality.
Even the ones we had here that day included some bigger rounder ones and some longer ones, one was better than the other but thankfully, both were nice enough. They did not come cheap, of course, 21 seeds altogether so that worked out to over 70 sen each…but I just thought I would order some to appease our craving and that would be it, no more. Normally we would eat them tossed with soy sauce and a bit of sugar but of course, my girl is staying away from soy sauce at this point in time so we just had it plain.
Now, this plate of kiam sor pai kut – salty crusty pork ribs (RM16.00)…
…cost just a ringgit more and I would say we could derive a lot more enjoyment from it than the fruit so I really do not see why we would spend all that money to buy the fruit and get fleeced by the sellers.
My sister-in-law bought some for RM26.00 a kilo and brought some to my birthday dinner that night and it was not nice at all. Maybe it had been cooked too long already and that was why I did not enjoy it one bit but with that kind of money, it would make a lot more sense to go and buy something else, for instance, the very nice smoked organic chicken from here – only RM23.00 a bird!
We also had their mini ngor hiang (RM6.50)…
…that day or what is called lor bak over in the peninsula. They really make very nice ones here, certainly worth ordering should you happen to drop by this place…and I’ve always loved their long beans fried with sambal hay bee/dried prawns (RM7.00)…
…and yes, both dishes were consistently good that day and very much to our satisfaction.
They do have some very nice dishes here, I must say and if anyone is interested, it is located here (2.293350, 111.823694) among the shops located behind the ones in front (including the Fair Price Supermarket) facing Jalan Kampung Datu. Despite our disappointment over the soup that day, we certainly would be back again sometime…and of course, what we order would be those without wheat flour and soy sauce, stuff that my girl needs to avoid.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The soup in your first photo looks very nice, and I love pork ribs. 🙂
Too bad what they dished out that day was not the same anymore. 😦
Yes, you are right, simple & clear soup is what I like too. Adding too much ingredients to the soup makes it looks nice though but sometimes what you throw in maybe not be suitable. Of all the dishes above, I like the mini ngor hiang & long beans fried with sambal hay bee.
Yes, everything you add will change the taste, not necessarily for the better. Like cooking corn soup, my missus may throw in some shitake…or bean curd sticks, I would never do that. Everything has its own time and place.
The ngor hiang and long beans here are two of my favourites at this restaurant – thankfully, both are as nice as always. First time having the pork ribs…since they said no wheat flour and no soy sauce, we decided to give it a try. Very nice.
the salty crusty pork ribs does look good.. coated with salted egg i presume?
No, just kiam sor. Maybe they do salted egg too, will ask next time. That would be nice.
Those Sarawak black olives can get very pricey I hear. I recall visiting a buffet with Nyonya food in Singapore, and watching people pick those olives out of the dish it was in and pile them up on their plates.
Very! Black gold and this is probably the only Chinese restaurant where you can find them. Used to get them at the Malay mixed rice stalls but not lately – too expensive, I guess…even though they would probably give you three or four seeds at the most.
Ngo heong looks a lit different…
Does dabai taste exactly like olives? I dislike olives.
Same here! Thank goodness ours are nothing like those.
Yes, the ngor hiang is very different, not like the nice ones my missus makes even – their own recipe, I guess and very very nice. I would always order those whenever I drop by here to eat.
The dishes look very good, especially the last three.
Yes, we enjoyed them all.
I love that plate of salted pork ribs. Appetizing! I remember this place. Been there once for my birthday dinner. The food is good. I love the clear soup of fish maws. I remember ordering that.
Dabai!! Havent seen any yet here. Going to get my MIL to bring some over when she sends my kids back here this month end.
Lots now, the market here is flooded…the good ones from upriver, Kapit, Song, Kanowit and that is why the prices have gone down a bit. Dunno if this will go on till the end of the month or not.
Ahhhh!!! You’ve been here, eh? I love the food very much but I seldom drop by here as it is not all that cheap especially when we see that the servings are rather small compared to elsewhere. Will stop by once in a long while.
The salty crusty pork ribs looks really good…
Very nice, nicer than the usual we can get elsewhere, same name but may not taste as great. They do it really well here.
Hmm…I wonder why they changed the soup. Maybe they thought their customers might be tired of the regular one.
Or the chef who used to cook the soup has left or somebody else was doing it that day, I wouldn’t know.