Last Thursday was a public holiday so I told my girl we would go out for lunch and of course, this time around, unlike that place we went to that day, we chose a less crowded place where social distancing would not be a problem.
When we got there, I was kind of disappointed that they had not put out the tables and chairs on the covered pavement outside – it is rather dim inside, not ideal for great-looking photographs plus I am not all that fond of air conditioning and would prefer the fresh air outside.
My girl wasted no time at all in placing her order for the mutton biryani (RM21.00)…
In her own words, she would always order the biryani rice everytime we drop by her – she loves it so much and we could order whatever we want. Well, the last time we were here in February before COVID-19, she had it with their Indian butter chicken curry so this time around, she went back to what she used to order all the time before – the lamb curry.
I saw this (RM13.50)…
…in their menu and even though the very nice and friendly lady waiting at the table did not seem too enthusiastic about it – it’s just omelette with cheese and garam masala, she said – I insisted on ordering that to try. They also have omelette in their Indonesian menu and according to her, that one is just plain omelette, nothing more, nothing less. Well, I’m afraid the lady was right. It sure wasn’t anything to get excited about, nowhere near our very lovely Peranakan/nyonya cincaluk omelette.
I remember I had their beef rendang a long time ago (in October, 2018) and I felt like having it again so that was what I ordered for myself (RM17.50)…
…and yes, it was good and I enjoyed it very much except that it used to be dry (and was served more impressively in a cabbage leaf) and did not have this much gravy. In a way, I was quite happy it was so as the gravy went great with the rice which would have been kind of dry without it.
On our last visit, my missus declared that the servings here were too huge and on our next visit, she would want to share with one of us as without fail, whenever we dropped by here, she would not be able to finish her order and I would have to clean it all up for her. Unfortunately, she obviously did not remember that and ordered her regular – the kalio ayam (RM14.50)…
…for herself.
My girl could not finish her lamb so I had to help her with the last chunk but I just could not eat anymore (after all, I had to eat that omelette all by myself) so when the mum could not finish the last piece of chicken, I told her to just leave it there. In the end, she finished the chicken and left some of the rice behind. Actually, we could have ordered another plate of rice and shared the rendang – that would be just nice for two and don’t forget, we had the omelette too that day.
The bill came up to RM79.50 – I paid the boss two RM50 notes and he gave me, after a little discount, RM25.00 change. That sure was a delightful lunch and seeing how the place was not crowded, no problem keeping a safe distance from the other customers, we sure would love to drop by again.
The CAFE IND (2.290813, 111.829294) is located along Laichee Lane, right behind one block of shops facing the main road (Jalan Kampung Nyabor) where the Bank Simpanan Nasional, Sibu branch (2.290561, 111.829071), is.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Indeed each serving is huge. Would be just nice if order 2 meat dish and the omelette for the 3 of you to share but when all the dishes looks so yummy, temptation is great and each want to have their own choice. A little gesture goes a long way.
Yes, that is the problem when all the dishes are nice and each of us has our own favourites.
Pleasant surprise to get a little discount. Sure make dining here delightful plus the food is yummy too.
Yes, as they say, little things mean a lot.
Been a while since I had biryani. I have not try kalio chicken although there is an Indonesian stall in one of a nearby food court here. One of these days when I have chance to go over.
I heard that there are some very nice Indonesian places in Kuching, never been. Here, we only have this one – I hear there’s one but to this day I’ve never gone to check it out – a stall in a coffee shop – the rest are all Malay stalls selling ayam penyet, nothing more and nothing less…and many are not even nice.
I also prefer fresh air for dining.
Air conditioning makes me feel uncomfortable while dining…and a little sick.
Mutton would always be my choice when it comes to briyani too.
They have chicken but no, not my girl’s choice. It has to be mutton.
Wow… thanks for dropping by my blog and yours seems to be a food blog now. That mutton briyani looks very good.
A little bit on things going on in my life…but mostly on food. At my age, there’s nothing much else that I do…other than eat! LOL!!! Glad to have made the acquaintance again after all these years. Cheers, mate!
I was immediately attracted by the mutton biryani but then again the price…RM21…is it a bit high? Or perhaps it is common for the portion.
This is an upscale classier cafe…not one of your no-class-at-all nasi kandar or mamak shops but then again, it is not cheap there too. They say when we go and they hear that we speak Malay a little differently, they will start sharpening their knives already!!! Terrible!