Here comes another one…

This place that I used to frequent quite regularly no longer serves nasi campur (mixed rice) for lunch – they only open at night but no, you can’t get to enjoy their lunchtime delights in the evenings…unfortunately. I did come across another place not too long ago but I have not been to that part of the woods so I have no idea whatsoever whether they are still in business or not.

Well, it so happened that I was in the vicinity of this inn…

…that used to be at the Catholic Centre beside the Sacred Heart Cathedral here and I noticed that the air-conditioned restaurant that was there on the ground floor has been converted into a coffee shop. It only has its name in Mandarin on the blue-coloured sign and that’s Greek to me.

I spotted a stall at this particular coffee shop with a name in its own right – Ruai Aku…

The ruai is the corridor-like common/living room in a longhouse stretching right across its whole length while each family would dwell in the privacy of their own bilik. This is where all the ceremonies and festivals like the Gawai Dayak at the stroke of midnight on the 31st of May would be held.

Going closer to have a look, I found that it was run by an Iban lady from Kanowit, Nanga Dap to be exact. I did like what I saw so I decided to have lunch there that day.

There was chicken curry but no, I did not want that nor was I keen on the sotong ( squid)…

…as I was more into the local ethnic delights like the pansoh babi (pork cooked in bamboo)…

…and the kasam ensabi (fermented vegetable) with buah kepayang aka buah keluak…

No, I did not go for the cangkuk manis with pumpkin…

…either but I simply could not resist the sambal petai (stink beans)…

…and also the rusa (venison) masak hitam…

I would not say it was all that cheap – I had two meat and two vegetables…

…and the total came up to RM8.00 but at least, I did enjoy what I picked so it was all right. My missus just had the pansoh babi and the kasam ensabi with buah kepayang that I had and also the daun bandong/empasa (tapioca leaves), one meat and two vegetables and hers was RM5.00 altogether.

For one thing, parking around here may not be all that easy so I am not sure whether I will be dropping by again or not. We’ll see…

RUAI AKU is located at the coffee shop below Eden Inn (2.285223, 111.831256) along Jalan Maju to the right of Hai Bing Coffee Shop/Seafood Restaurant, right across the road from the Rejang Esplanade.