Hidden treasure…

It seems that after all this time, many people do not know of the existence of this place along Laichee Lane here (2.290813, 111.829294)…

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…as it is hidden behind a block of shops facing the main road (Jalan Kampung Nyabor) where the Bank Simpanan Nasional, Sibu branch (2.290561, 111.829071), is located. I was asking Melissa’s coursemate and his wife when they dropped by my house for Chinese New Year why they never went there when the food was really very nice…

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…and they had a Halal certificate from their religious authorities…

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…and they said they did not know there was anything worth checking out back there.

Well, when my godson/ex-student, Andrew, and his family were home for Chinese New Year, they did go past the place and they asked me about it and I told them that they should really make it a point to go and try the Indian or Indonesian delights served there and they did! The whole clan, over 20 of them from Andrew’s family!!!

Andrew’s wife, Michelle, had the ayam penyet…

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…which she said was good. For one thing, at least, it was cooked by a true-blue Indonesian lady chef, not some half-baked wannabe running some stall in a coffee shop or by the roadside selling this same dish. However, if she had asked me what she should have – since they only had one chance to eat there before going back to New Zealand – I would suggest their nasi kalio ayam…

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…with the very nice Indonesian curry served in a banana boat or their ayam opor (RM14.50)…

…that I was glad to hear Andrew had – I so love this dish. It’s a milder version of the chicken korma curry, not so strong on those spices but very rich and creamy and full of flavours. As a matter of fact, if I were given a choice between korma whatever and this, I would not have any second thoughts in settling for this one and I absolutely love the egg and potatoes by the side…

…too and the lovely pounded chili dip was so very nice as well!

Well, last Saturday, my girl wanted bryani rice for lunch so we headed there right away. It seemed that they now have this mutton vindaloo…

…that is new on their Indian menu and one can have a choice of chicken instead if he or she is not into lamb/mutton.

In a regular set, one would have that served with basmati rice (RM17.50) but of course, my girl wanted her bryani so we asked for that instead…

…and from what I understand, they would charge a couple of ringgit more for that. It certainly is a little cheaper, with a whole lot of meat and potatoes in a serving (and it’s the same too if you are having their mutton curry) than anything that is lamb here but of course, they’re different in their own ways and they are all very nice so I shall not comment further on this.

My missus had their ikan sumbat or stuffed fish (RM17.50)…

…with a special request for it to be extra spicy and it really is a wonder how they can remove all the bones from inside that ikan kembong and stuff it with the very nice filling. Yes, she loved it a lot and all that came with it – the grilled brinjal, skin removed, served with its special curry gravy…

…and the very nice kerabu…

I thought I would just order this tandoori chicken (RM13.00)…

…and I could eat what would be left from my girl’s order – she usually would not be able to finish the rice but she said she might be able to do that and I would not have enough to eat in the end so I ordered the aforementioned ayam opor for myself. As a matter of fact, I was craving for that ever since I heard that Andrew had it the week before and I sure was glad I did that – it was as nice as I could remember it to be.

In the end, I ate the papadum and asked for the tandoori chicken to be wrapped so we could take it home and have it for dinner. We sure enjoyed everything to the max – it certainly was a most delightful lunch…and when I went to pay the bill, the boss said that the mutton vindaloo with bryani rice was on the house  – he wanted to let me try it since it was new on the menu…and I only had to fork out RM50.00 when the total was actually RM68.50. That sure made my day!

Those of you who have never been here should drop by sometime and give it a try – I bet you will love what they dish out here and I can tell you many of the things here are a whole lot nicer that at some places around town that seem to enjoy a lot more business, for reasons unknown.