Warm welcome…

It sure was a pleasant surprise last week when I received word from a long-time blogger friend, one of Malaysia’s top food bloggers, from Penang informing me that he would be coming to Sibu on Saturday!!

After the initial disbelief and when the news finally sank in, we arranged to make contact as soon as he reached town and that was exactly what we did after he had arrived and checked into the hotel around n00n that day. Of course we agreed to meet up for lunch but no, he did not want to go anywhere, only to Payung!!! He said that after reading all my blogposts on the place, he simply could not wait to drop by and check it out.

He and his fiancee loved the Payung rojak (RM12.00)…

…a lot and yes, they were amazed that it was nothing that the rojak buah that they have in Penang and everywhere else in the country. It is simply in a class of its own! They loved the addition of the bunga kantan (torch ginger flower) petals but I forgot to draw their attention to the buah kedondong (ambarella) leaves.

They enjoyed the belimbing prawns (RM17.00)…

…too and yes, they did not know of this very sourish belimbing buluh, something completely different from the very familiar starfruit that everyone knows. They said that it sure tasted different from anything they had tried before and yes, it was very nice.

I was not sure whether they would like the kacang ma chicken (RM16.00)…

…as it may be an acquired taste to a lot of people. Truth be told, I did not like it myself at first but gradually, I grew to like it and now, it is among the top in my list of favourite dishes. That was why I did not order it initially but my friend remembered reading about it and would love to give it a try.

I also asked for the Payung fish (RM15.00)…

…that my girl and I never fail to enjoy, the ikan keli (catfish), cooked the way my mum used to do it all throughout our growing up years. Usually, the Malays would just deep-fry it and serve (lele penyet) or they may cook it over a charcoal fire (ikan bakar).

We had rice to go with everything else and also this nasi kerabu (RM12.00)…

…which I feel is more like nasi ulam, not quite like the nasi kerabu that we love a lot.

I had to pick my girl after school that day and because of the heavy traffic (for reasons unknown), instead of sending her home first, I asked her to tag along and go with me to the café. She had this beef spaghetti (RM19.00)…

…with their own made-from-scratch bolognese sauce, one of her favourites there.

All those dishes for the four of us came up to only RM98.00 and we sure had a delightful time eating and chatting about anything and everything like we had been friends for years and years!

My friend brought me a whole lot of things including these bottles of very special sesame oil…

…that another blogger-friend (from Melaka) gave me once a long time ago and also these tambun biscuits…

…that she also gave to me that time when she came to Sibu.

No, that was not all! There were also these tambun biscuits from another brand…

…and these special double-baked ones…

Thank you so much, Ken and fiancee…and a very warm welcome to the two of you to Sibu. I hope you had a lovely time during your brief stay in our little town.

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.