So different…

Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to all my Muslim relatives and friends celebrating this very auspicious festival. I shall not be visiting those of them around here to share the joy of the occasion for the 2nd year now because of the dreadful pandemic.

That, of course, means that I shall not get to enjoy all their awesome culinary delights that they will be serving at their open houses. Why, I did not even get to buy anything this whole month before the festival as like last year, Ramadan bazaars are not allowed here in Sarawak.

However, I did buy the curry chicken that day from this guy here to try but no, even though my girl quite liked it, I did not think it was anything I would want to buy again. A friend of mine dropped by the shop and she had the nasi lemak with the guy’s daging masak hitam by the side but she did not like it. That took me by surprise as I always ordered that and I enjoyed it every time. She did buy his chicken rendang home though and she said it was good.

That was why, when I was there that day, initially, I intended to grab hold of that but I took his kapitan curry and ayam masak merah (RM45.00)…

…instead.

The latter looked really good…

…underneath that layer of cling film below the cover and I quite liked the fragrance as well.

We heated it up and served…

…and yes, we were rather impressed until we sat down to eat it.

The gravy was over-starchy either from the addition of cornflour or the excessive use of tomato sauce – that has cornflour in the ingredients. Thankfully, it was not exactly like sweet and sour chicken – it did taste a bit nicer than that, just a bit. Generally, it was all right but no, it was not anything like the authentic masak merah that I have enjoyed at the Malay shops and stalls.

That leaves us with the kapitan curry that we have yet to try but after all the disappointments with my earlier purchases, we are not getting our hopes up too high. Hopefully, it will prove us wrong, fingers crossed.

COLOURFUL CAFE (2.316673, 111.837539) is located in the Renew4U building at the junction of Brooke Drive and Lorong Kwong Ann 8, across the road from the Church of Jesus  Christ of the Latter Day Saints.