Same as always…

We have not been here for such a long time! The last time was most probably before the COVID-19 pandemic breakout and then came the lockdown starting in March during which time the place was closed and no, they did not bother about doing home food deliveries and all that stuff at the time.

Eventually, when the situation got better, it reopened and I did drop by a couple of times. They did some renovation to make the place a bit more spacious and put in more six-seater tables – if three (0r four) persons occupy one, there would be a whole lot of room for physical distancing plus it is never really crowded here most of the time so you do not have to worry about people getting too close for comfort.

My girl had to go back to school and there were always a lot of things going on. Our weekend outings had to be shelved and when we did go out, it would be to some places close by (that were not crowded) and we would not need to go out of our way. Right now, the schools are having their holidays and I would try to take everybody out for lunch as frequently as possible – that would be a break for the mum, having to cook every day…and for us too, having a change from what she would cook in the house.

Well, that day, my girl said she would like to go to Payung and so Payung, it was!

The mum wanted the kacangma chicken (RM16.00 with rice)…

…and it was so so good that she kept singing its praises. For one thing, she had not cooked her own at home for a long time now and we were missing it much!

My girl wanted the mushroom roll (RM8.00)…

…and it was the same as always and to everyone’s liking.

She also wanted the Payung rojak (RM12.00)…

I forgot to say that I wanted the small so we were served this huge serving. Never mind! We loved it and managed to finish most of it. After all, we had not had that for such a long time.

Both my girl and I wanted the lamb dishes and we saw this notice on the wall…

They used to be RM21.00 (with rice), if I remember correctly but like what I’ve been saying all this time, with the prices of things going up and up and up, any increase in the price of anything is to be expected but most importantly, they must maintain the quality and not scrimp and save on the ingredients and shortchange the customers.

For one thing, the servings seemed a lot bigger than before, so much so that it would be best to order just one of the two to share and an extra rice plus maybe a salad and/or a side dish.

Incidentally, the increase affects the lamb dishes only – lamb is getting more and more expensive especially when you want the good quality Australian or New Zealand ones that do not have that strong a smell that may put some people off. Other than those, they have maintained the prices of all their other dishes even in these pressing times.

The lamb masala (RM25.00 with rice)…

…that my girl had was great and so was the curry lamb (RM25.00 with rice)…

…that I picked.

We sure enjoyed our lunch there that day and we certainly look forward to going back there again soonest.

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.