Stayin’ strong…

My missus and I went out early on Sunday morning at 8 something as there was something we had to go and get.

We happened to drive past this coffee shop…

…and I saw that it was open. They had blocked the entrance and the tall Indian mamak boss, originally from West Malaysia, was standing there. I told my missus that we could buy his nasi biryani for lunch so she would not need to do any cooking that morning – every week, for an hour or so in the morning, we would be pre-occupied, following the online Sunday service at one of the churches in Singapore and of course, she seconded the motion.

This guy was a chef at a hotel here a long long time ago. The food was really good and we would drop by very regularly, usually for the eat-all-you-can buffet dinner on Sundays after the evening mass at the cathedral in town. However, he eventually left and it was downhill all the way. I did drop by once and again, another time but no, there wasn’t anything that would keep me going back for more.

It must have been around thirty years ago when he started this place and we liked the nasi biryani so much that we kept going back for more. However, this is around the busiest part of town so parking is virtually quite impossible and illegal parking would be the order of the day if you intend to go anywhere in the area and get anything done…and if by any stroke of good luck, you are able to grab a vacant space, you may not be able to find a table at the coffee shop – yes, business is that good every day!

Well, perhaps it was too early on a Sunday morning and we’re supposed to be under a full lockdown at the moment so there were ample parking spaces for me to park the car and wait while my missus went and bought our lunch.

Each set comprised the biryani rice with a dhal dip and a bit of pickle…

…and my girl and I got the mutton…

…while the mum got herself the chicken.

It was nice, nicer than here, my girl said (that place has since closed down) and a lot of other Malay shops and stalls serving their local versions of nasi biryani which may be nice too in their own right, like the one here before. Maybe they have a new chef/cook now as it did not taste like how it was in the past. This time around, I found it to be over-generous with the curry powder and very strong in the fragrances and taste of the Indian spices used, both in the rice and in the curry. Unlike before, it was super spicy but of course, we did not have a problem with that.

My missus paid RM40.00 for everything – obviously, the prices have increased from RM8.00 for the chicken and RM12.00 for the mutton in 2017 and that is around two-thirds of what I would usually fork out for our orders here. However, the latter is a nicer, classy place, not just a coffee shop and my girl will insist that the authentic North Indian chef’s biryani rice there is simply the best in town! I guess like it or not, I shall have to drop by there one of these days to buy that home to enjoy – dining in is still not allowed plus they open at noon, not a very good time as it would be around 1.00 p.m. before I get home and we can start to eat.

NUR ISLAMIC CAFE (2.292183, 111.825945) is located along Jalan Kampung Nyabor in the Tuanku Osman area of shops, right beside the Academy Book Centre, Sibu, across the road from the RH Hotel.