Gotta have it…

Actually we planned to go some place else that day, one that is conveniently located near the house, a stone’s throw away but it was closed! The sign said that they had decided to take the day off and I really hate it when people do that out of the blue without letting the customers know in advance. After all, they have their Facebook page so there is no reason why they cannot be a bit more gracious and considerate and announce it there…especially when they see it fitting to post all kinds of stuff there.

Of course, since we could not have our lunch there, we headed straight to where else, if not the award-winning place in town even though it is on the other side of town. My brother had only a few days here and I, for one, would think that he gotta drop by here and have a sample of some of the culinary delights on their menu before heading back to the Land of the Hobbits, New Zealand.

I ordered the Payung rojak, small (RM10.00)…

*Archive photo*

…for him to try but I forgot to snap a photograph of it when it was served so I have picked one from my archives for use in this post.

We also had the pomelo salad (RM8.00)…

…and yes, he enjoyed this and the rojak as well very much. Of course he was intrigued by some of the things in the dishes, things that he had never had before like the buah kedondong leaves or the bunga kantan petals and yes, he liked them very much.

He tried the green curry chicken (RM16.00 with rice)…

…and instantly declared that it was very nice and we also had the otak-otak fish (RM13.00 with rice)…

…and the belimbing prawns (RM17.00 with rice)…

…thank you so much, Peter, for specially cooking it yourself and for the triple serving for the price of one and thanks also for the fresh coconut water (thanks, Peng, for cutting the fruits for us) with bits of the lovely soft flesh on the house!

We also shared the durian ice cream for dessert and all in all, it was pretty obvious that my brother enjoyed our lunch that day very much. For someone who has been living abroad most of his life, he particularly liked how no msg is used in the cooking and he loved the fragrances and tastes of all the exotic natural ingredients used in the dishes.

There were three Caucasians – a smartly-dressed man in a tie and two ladies there that day and as they were leaving, they walked past me and they greeted me – nice, friendly people. I said I hoped they enjoyed their lunch and one of the ladies gave her thumb up and said, “It was superb!!!” Need I say more?

PAYUNG CAFÉ (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.