I like going to places where people are very nice and friendly, where one would feel at ease while enjoying the very nice food served – that’s what I like but no, unfortunately, not all are like that – there are some who obviously know who I am but they choose to pretend that they don’t and at most places, they do not bother about all the social graces and will not even try to talk a little bit more nicely, never mind whether they are the proprietors/bosses or just the employees. You order what you want, you eat, you pay and you leave and worse of all, there are some rather mean and very unpleasant characters who may snap at you at any time like for instance, if you happen to ask why your order is taking a little too long.
No, I do not expect anything, no special treats nor will I ask for discounts but there are some who will go out of their way to see to that. One, of course, is Peter, the boss of Payung Cafe and the extra large servings of what I order and he will even cook something, usually something new, for me to try. He says that he enjoys cooking for me (Incidentally, if you have not heard of it, Payung is now closed the whole day on Sundays – it used to be closed for lunch only before but now, they have decided to make the whole day their rest day.) and of course, there is Mary of Flavours Thai Kitchen and her wonderful authentic Thai chef, Jos – there would always be that something extra special for me each time I drop by.
Another one is Guna of Sri Pelita. For one thing, he would always give me some discount on my bill without being asked and it so happened that my missus and I were there for lunch last week on Thursday. We really enjoyed our picks that day and as I was leaving, he asked me if I could go back the following day, Friday, for lunch as he wanted to cook me his special Indian-style fish curry…
…with some really fresh ikan merah or red snapper that he had. Unfortunately, we had to drive to my girl’s school in the jungle that day so we would not be able to make it but he insisted and asked us to drop by on Saturday instead – he would not accept no for an answer so I accepted his invitation.
I did ask him if it would be for me to take home or to eat there and he said he would prefer that I ate it there so he could enjoy seeing me savouring every bit of the fish…
We were served the very instant we got there and yes, we loved it! This one was a little spicy, not like the one we had two days earlier, and of course, that made us like it even more.
According to Guna, this would only be available upon special order and if anyone is interested, he or she can drop by his shop to discuss. He says he would need to know all of one’s needs and wants so he would be able to make sure everything is to one’s satisfaction.
No, we had more than just the fish and the vegetables in the dish. Guna also served us this combo of bitter gourd and cabbage…
…and this tofu in prawn sambal…
The sambal here is undoubtedly the best, a whole lot nicer than any elsewhere – so very delicious and spicy too and you may get to enjoy it with their sambal brinjal…or the sambal egg but this was the first time we saw it with tofu and there were prawns in the sambal too. It was so very nice that my girl wanted some to take back to her school to enjoy in the course of the week…and when I wanted to pay for it, the nice guy simply refused to accept any payment for it.
It certainly was a most delightful lunch – we ate till we were almost bursting at the seams, thank you so so much, Guna.
SRI PELITA CAFE (2.293579, 111.820700) is located along Lorong Kampung Datu 11, off Jalan Kampung Datu, the first shop in the block to the right of Paramount Hotel.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Service is number one. I refuse to return to a place if service is bad. Food can improve, but service….
I guess they do not bother at the coffee shops, as long as there is someone to take orders, serve and clean – no training required…but the classier/more expensive cafes and restaurants should look into this and work on it. Diners are happy to pay more for that feel-good factor, not only for the food, I’m sure.
The combo, I will take cabbage but not bittergourd…
I know. Bitter gourd has health benefits, not cabbage though…and ours are imported – lots of pesticides and fertilisers plus I got this from one website: “…eating large quantities of cabbage can cause negative side effects, such as flatulence, diarrhea, medication interactions and hypothyroidism.”
I am drooling over the fish curry.
Yes. Service, friendliness and a little gesture are good in making customers to come back.
It was very nice, Indian-style – very different from the Malay ones or the nyonya asam fish curry.
Yes, many need to learn that – it is not all about making money. I cannot stand places where they would wait for you to dig out a 10 sen coin to pay your bill, much less expect a discount! Cheap coffee shops, I can understand…not those more expensive, supposedly classier places.
Customer Service goes a long way!! I totally agree! BTW…I noticed you just stopped by my blog – thanks – I must have been posting a new entry as soon as you were commenting on the other one! LOL
Yes, I just hopped over. Will do that when I have a bit of time on my hands, especially those who have commented on my posts. One good turn deserves another, eh? 😀
Indeed!
That curry fish really makes me drooling. Just this dish is enough.
Yes, a balanced meal in itself, the fish and the vegetables added but that nice Guna gave us some extras to go with it. Yum yummmm!!!!
Payung Cafe’s business is too good and they need not operate on sundays anymore?
I guess they need a rest. Whole day Sundays, they go out to do gardening & landscaping jobs on contract. That was why they were able to drop by my place to help rescue my rambutan tree:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/rescue-me/
its so nice, i like reading your stories Arthur. Very honest, and it rubs off people. Those that appreciate you will definitely go out of their way to give you the best treatment.
A little gesture in their parts go a long way in getting customers to come back not only for the food but for the feel-good feeling. That sure makes a world of difference in one’s dining pleasure.
The fish curry really looks very nice! I like it too… not surprising that most of them know you, Arthur.. distinguished figure in Sibu!
Not really. He came to know me after I first blogged about his place and I commented that I did not like the egg, fried in a ring. He’s come a long way since then – business always looks very good everytime we dropped by the shop.