This one did not last very long – I did hear of people going to try the exquisite exotic ethnic Iban delights but they did not really like what they had. “Bay hak na lang ciak,” they said, literally translated as not suitable for us to eat. In other words, they were not quite accustomed to this kind of cuisine. Another one wrapped up its business for reasons unknown even though from what I could see, they were doing really well. I don’t know of any others in town, except this one and it sure looks like it is still going strong, the only one left out of the three or the sole survivor, so to speak.
I was in the vicinity…
…that day because sometime ago, I saw a stall selling Teochew porridge. As far as I know, they only have meat porridge, pork usually, at all the other places here but this one had all those condiments – stewed pork, preserved/salted vegetables, salted egg that I sure would enjoy with a bowl of plain porridge. Unfortunately, the coffee shop was closed, probably because it was their day off in the week.
In the end, I decided to go back to the aforementioned Iban food stall at the coffee shop with the blue sign right below the inn…
Yes, the lady is still there but they have shifted her stall inside, somewhere in the middle of the coffee shop so it is no longer in front, right beside the pavement/five foot way.
This was what I had that day…
– the pansoh babi hutan…
…or wild boar cooked in bamboo tubes and the bandong/ubi (tapioca) leaves plus a bit of cincaluk (fermented shrimps)…
…and I also had the buah kepayang or buah keluak…
I did not think very much of the latter though – when I had it on my previous visit, they cooked it with kasam ensabi, preserved/fermented vegetables, and its fragrance and taste sure brought the dish a few notches higher than those seeds on their own.
My missus did not have the cincaluk but instead, she had the kasam babi (preserved/fermented pork, but it looks like that was wild boar too)…
It was very nice but it paled in comparison to the pansoh. In fact, I loved it so much that I simply had to buy some…
…home to enjoy.
What we had at the coffee shop that day totalled RM14.00 only, RM7.00 each and the kopi-o-peng (iced coffee, black) that I had was very good, definitely among the nicer ones in town.
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.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 