I cannot recall when we actually went out for dinner on the actual day for Father’s Day. It is on the 3rd Sunday in June every year and my girl would have gone back to her school in the jungle by then and we can’t celebrate it a night earlier as on Saturday, we would usually go for the evening service in church.
This year is a little different as the ministry chose to push the mid-year holidays till later to include the Hari Raya Festival, never mind that the ethnic races in Sabah and Sarawak were left in the lurch as their Kaamatan and Gawai festivals used to be right in the middle of the holidays every year around the end of May till the beginning of June so they did not get to enjoy the luxury this time around.
Well, every cloud has a silver lining – Father’s Day happened to fall within the two-week holidays so finally, we were able to go out for dinner on the actual day to celebrate and I was asked to choose the venue and no prize for guessing which one I picked…
For this special occasion, they had these arrangements of leaves…
…on every table but personally, I think I would prefer their little bowls of frangipani and other simple flowers floating in some water and their little lights…
*Archive photo*
…that would help create the very pleasant and lovely romantic ambiance that places this place a cut above all the rest.
My girl brought her own pasta as she wanted the spaghetti with their very nice original beef bolognese sauce (RM17.00)…
…and yes, she enjoyed it very much.
When we did that the previous time, we were given a discount of RM7.00 but they were so very very busy that night – there were so many people and one of their staff did not show up for work and my girl did not ask for it when she went to pay the bill. Of course, it did not matter, not in the least – after all, they are such nice people and what is a few ringgit between friends plus we always get some very “special” treatment everytime we drop by here.
I decided to go western as well since my girl was having the spaghetti bolognese so I chose their butter chicken spaghetti (RM19.00)…
I had that before and yes, I did enjoy it then but I suggested deboning the chicken when serving it with pasta as opposed to when it is served as a dish with rice. They did say they would do it but they have not done so – maybe it is not so convenient to cook the dish in two different ways, one with the bones and the other without.
Following our footsteps, the mum picked their chicken chop (RM25.00)…
…and I also ordered their mashed potatoes (RM8.00) and mushroom soup (RM6.00)…
…to share.
For our dessert, we had their Kahlúa ice cream (RM10.00)…
Normally, there would be two or three of those long cylindrical wafers stuck into the ice cream but those would not be gluten-free so I asked them to leave those out.
Despite the crowd, service was prompt and we did not have to wait too long for our orders. However, I must say that I felt exhausted just watching them rushing here and there to take the orders, cook the food and serve – I certainly would not have the stamina to last very long if I were in their shoes. I think as far as possible, I would prefer to go on nights when they are less busy, with time to spare for a bit of chit-chat and other niceties and I can get to enjoy the scrumptious selections on their menu in a more relaxing and conducive environment.
PAYUNG CAFÉ (2.284049, 111.833014) is located at No.20F, Lanang Road, Sibu, 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! 