Open for business…

We did drop by on Wednesday a week earlier but it was closed. It seems that they take the day off on that day every week so we tried again the following week. Yes, this time around, it was open for business…

…so we got to try some of the things they had on their menu.

While we were ordering the drinks, I was thinking of the pumpkin sago even though I did hear that their peanut drink was good but then I saw that they had let tao suan with you tiao (豆爽油条) or split mung bean soup with Chinese cruller (RM4.50)…

…so without any second thought, I said I wanted that. I used to enjoy that at some places in Kuching but the last time I had it was a long time ago. I don’t know of any place here selling this and all this while, I was contemplating on cooking my own. Unfortunately, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and I never got round to doing that. It was quite nice, not the best that I have had, but as they say, beggars can’t be choosers.

My missus ordered the cendol (RM5.00)…

…and it was good, very rich in the santan (coconut milk) and even though they used gula apong (attap/nipah palm sugar) instead of gula Melaka (coconut palm sugar), the combination turned out pretty well.

I ordered the sio bee (RM5.00 for 3)…

…to try even though I thought that at over RM1.60 each, the price was a bit on the high side. However, they were relatively bigger than all the reat but no, it did not get us jumping with delight. For one thing, it was mostly all meat…

…inside whereas usually, one would find quite a bit of finely chopped sengkuang/mangkuang (turnip) and Bombay onions – these would add to the sweetness and enhance the taste. I think the ones here are RM1.80 each and for that kind of money, no prize for guessing which one I would rather have and I do know of  a few cheaper ones here and there that aren’t too bad either.

The steamed pumpkin cake (RM4.50 for 7 pieces, almost 65 sen each)…

…was a disappointment because I had expected it to be golden in colour. However, to give credit where credit is due, it wasn’t too bad, if only the very nice chili dip that they gave with it had been spicy.

Of course, those can’t compare with my missus’ homemade ones with hay bee/udang kering (dried prawns) and bits of minced meat added but they were good enough. They also had steamed yam cake and I sure would not mind it if they had given a choice of the two, 3 pieces each for RM4.00. That way, I would have been able to kill two birds with one stone – try both their steamed pumpkin cake and the yam one as well.

Actually, I was keen on going there as I heard the jiew hu eng chai/sotong kangkong (RM11.00)…

…was very nice. Yes, it was quite nice but no, I would very much prefer our favourite in town here except that they would pour the sauce over everything in the plate instead of letting you dip in it yourself. I liked the dip but I thought it was something like a cross between rojak sauce and sotong kangkong sauce. They do have rojak on their menu but we did not order that and I was wondering if they would be using the same sauce for that too which shouldn’t be the case as the two are, in fact, quite different in taste..

Service was prompt and they did not mind it one bit when we asked for extra chili and the dip for the sotong kangkong. The lady propreitress came to talk to us and asked us for our opinion on what we had and it turned out that she was my ex-classmate’s wife who used to run the coffee shop here but according to her, she had stopped there for two years already and she had just started her business here two weeks ago.

For one thing, this is not the place to go if one is into anything heavy, just a place to hang out for some nice dessert drinks and snacks – something like this stall here (but there, you can order other things from the other stall in that same coffee shop). Here, they do not have any noodles or rice dishes on their menu and the heaviest there is would probably be the stuffed kompia, baked or served with gravy so if you are looking for something more substantial for your breakfast, lunch or dinner, it would be best to go some place else.

OASIS is located in the middle of that same block where the GRAND WONDERFUL HOTEL & FOOD COURT and ITALIAN COFFEE (2.309601, 111.845163) are, along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Pedada, on your left just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall. You can also go in via Lorong Pipit 4, turning left into the lane at the junction where Starbucks Sibu is located and go straight ahead from there.