I’m still standing…

We used to come here…

…quite often, going way back till 2009, and then, this one opened just two doors away and soon, it started serving its very nice nasi kerabu and we kept going back for more even after it changed its name in 2017.

There were some problems at the latter, family issues, I heard and it was often not open and when it was, they did not have what we wanted, the nasi kerabu, for one and eventually, it just closed shop. Others…

…took over but none lasted very long and right now, that shop is available for rent. The former, on the other hand, is still standing, still going strong but somehow or other, we never went back there.

Well, it so happened that I blogged about the mee jawa with satay that I had and it attracted the attention of an Indonesian blogger. He said he had never had the combination of the Javanese noodle dish and satay and sure would love to give it a try. As a matter of fact, this went back all the way to 2014 when there was a stall serving rojak cucur with satay and it moved to its own premises and we had their mee jawa with satay there.

The above discussion brought to mind the very nice mee jawa special I used to go and enjoy at the aforementioned place and no, they did not serve it with satay. What was so special about it was the cucur udang (prawn fritters) that came with the noodles. I think the last time I was there  was in 2016 or maybe it was in 2018 but we did not have the mee jawa then. That was why the other morning, I decided I would go back there and check the place out.

The stall was still enjoying brisk business but it was nothing like back in the good old days – it was so difficult to get a seat then. That morning, I went after 9 and there were some customers, not that many, plenty of tables available. I think the crowd poured in after 10, the morning tea break and the people from the offices started rolling in. Thankfully, I was already leaving by then.

I asked for the mee jawa special…

…and yes, it was very good. A local foodie friend insists it is the best in town but no, I would not go that far. I would definitely say it is among the best ones in town – there are others elsewhere just as nice or perhaps even nicer and I thought it did not look as red (from the use of sweet potatoes in the making of the gravy) that morning, making it look more like the mee rebus that I used to enjoy so much in Singapore, 1973.

However, what pushes this one here a head above the rest are the prawn fritters (cucur udang)…

For RM5.50, an increase of 50 sen from its former price, you get 5 of them.

I asked the old lady who served me and she told me that they were selling the fritters at 3 for RM1.00 and she asked me if I wanted some more. In the end, I decided to go for it…

…and she was so kind – she came back with 4, one extra, without my asking, and chili sauce in a saucer for me to dip them in. As it appeared, they do not serve the fritters in the same plate as the noodles anymore and I believe that is a good thing. The fritters soaked in the gravy would render them soft and soggy, not so nice and crispy.

I sure enjoyed what I had that morning and yes, I definitely will be going back there again…soon.

SUNNY CAFE (1997) – 2.318993, 111.831775 – is located along Jalan Tapang Timur, off Jalan Tapang, off Jalan Kpg Nangka – among the shops almost reaching the roundabout at the end of this road, opposite RTM Sibu.