They’re all very nice guys at Payung Café…
… including Peter, the boss and Chen, his business partner/co-owner and Andy, one of the boys there, is no exception.
Well, Andy celebrated his birthday…
…two days ago on Wednesday and he sent me a message asking me to drop by for some long life noodles…
…our longevity noodles, the mee sua served with the traditional Foochow red wine chicken soup…
The mee sua was under the chicken, not visible in the photograph and boy, it really was so so so very nice! I don’t know what went into the cooking of the soup – Peter just said there were “a lot of things” and I did spot some wolfberries and red dates in it.
I told him that if he had that on their menu, I would come back again and again just for this – it was that nice and I dare say I have not had any other that is of this same standard, none that can even come close. Perhaps he could have it as their Saturday special like how their lei cha is their Friday lunch special and I hear it is doing very well.
For our drinks, we were served this…
– what they call anjung smoothie, a concoction made out of roselle, cucumber and lime and there was this birthday cake too…
There’s no mistaking who made that – the instant I shared the photograph on Facebook, somebody commented, “I see Marcus’ cake!” Yes, he’s that famous around here and even though he has been around for such a very long time (he made my wedding cake), he is still as popular today as he was way back then.
Andy did tell me that Peter would be cooking something special for the birthday celebration and for a start, we had this papaya salad…
…which was a whole lot nicer than the one we tried not too long ago. That time, I thought it was just all right and I would still prefer their pomelo salad but this time around, it could give the latter a really good fight plus Peter made it extra spicy so of course, my missus loved it to bits and enjoyed it so much!
There was this beef dish with kiwi fruit…
…that we also liked. I was thinking that perhaps, I could try cooking that at home and use pineapples instead. Other that the stronger taste, it is definitely a whole lot cheaper than those kiwis – they cost a bomb here, not something I would be buying to enjoy on a regular basis!
The ladies loved the sour chicken…
*Archive photo*
…a variation of the traditional Cantonese sour duck but the photograph I took was a little blur so I am using this one from sometime ago when I had it for lunch.
As for me, my vote went to this new creation by Peter, chicken with daun sireh (betel leaves)…
I thought that was very good and I was surprised for as far as I know, those leaves were bitter – Peter said that once cooked, the bitterness would be gone.
Gosh!!! We were so full after that scrumptious dinner – in fact, we were already very full after the awesomely nice mee sua but obviously, that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you so very much for inviting us, Andy and to you too, Peter for this most delightful treat to celebrate Andy’s auspicious day. Happy birthday once again, Andy – hope your day was great and may you be blessed with a truly wonderful year ahead. Cheers!!!
PAYUNG CAFE (2.284049, 111.833014) is located at No.20F, Lanang Road, Sibu, Malaysia, back to back with the multi-storey car park of the Kingwood Hotel which faces the majestic Rejang River.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Happy Birthday Andy.
That sounds like a very delicious celebration with great food and great company. Chicken with daun sireh is something new to me. I only know my former neighbour’s mother used to chew daun sireh. That is the only time I see daun sireh in my life.
Thanks, Merryn. Yes, my maternal grandma, a Melanau, and the daughters (my mum and aunties) used to chew daun sirih and buah pinang. Hardly see those things anymore except at the jungle produce market here perhaps.
It indeed sounds delicious and enjoyable, Arthur! It makes a great and positive impact when the staff enjoy what they are doing and truly care about their customers.
Indeed! I love places where they make you feel at home. Friendly people, happy faces, great PR sure make a world of difference.
As expected food at Payung are always great. Since you are praising high about their mee sua, I think it is a good idea to have them on the menu, like you say maybe Saturday special.
Happy Belated Birthday, Andy.
Thank you.
I sure hope Peter will consider my suggestion. I’ll be the first in line to go back for more!
Happy Belated Birthday Andy… I saw you posted that lovely birthday cake at FB.
Thanks. Yes, I always share the pics on Facebook first, sometimes not all. Long queue in my blog, all my scheduled posts.
Everything looks so good that evening. I never liked having fruits in my dishes, i prefer fruits as fruits, shall not be used/ cooked for other things lol
Oh? No pineapple fried rice for you then, one of my favourite Thai delights. And is tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
I am okay with tomatoes being cooked in dishes, did not like pineapple being cooked too
There are some nice pineapple dishes. In my case, I don’t like cucumber cooked. Will eat it raw or pickled.
Payung cafe, a must visit cafe when go Sibu….
That’s for sure, no doubt about that. Those who don’t don’t know what they’re missing.
I have a fondness for fruit in savoury dishes. I think I’d like the beef with kiwi.
You’re the opposite of Ken then. 😀 😀 😀 The beef with kiwi was very nice, a lovely change from the usual curries and stuff, and the meat was tender too.
A nice relationship to have with a restaurant. I’m afraid I don’t patronise any one restaurant often enough to forge this kind of relationship.
Sibu is a small place. The question is whether they are keen on fostering a close relationship or not. There are some who are not very friendly and will just pretend they do not know you including those who only have eyes for the rich and famous! As far as possible, I will not bother dropping by those places.
at this point, payung is nicely drummed into my mind, and if i ever visit sibu, payung will be the first restaurant i’ll visit! 😀
I assure you that you will not be disappointed. 😉
Happy birthday to Andy. Remember he served me when I were there. Don’t think he remember me. Lol.
Smoothies. I like the concoction.
Thank you on his behalf. Yes, he’s been a round for a long time now, since 2012 and very thin then:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/ketipang-payung/
Did go back for sometime – last year, I think but he’s back now. Loves in so much here.
Wow.. you are the guest of honour! I love the food in Payung too.. and the next time I go, I must try Mary’s Thai food as well!
Now the question is: when is that “next time”?
Interesting this is the first time I saw kiwi fruit used on a savoury dish
I think we had that served by the side once with our fried snowfish, along with rambutans. In this particular case, I was thinking kiwi is kinda mild, no match for the beef and the strong ingredients used, overshadowed so perhaps, pineapples would be much nicer.