Helpless…

I did blog about the increase in pork prices here in Sibu the other day and how many coffee shops were closed in protest against it.

They did circulate a list of prices for the different parts online but I did not bother to have a look – after all, we are helpless against it and there is nothing we can change. Either we do not buy and eat…or we just close an eye and go ahead. My missus did grumble over and over again that it went up by 25% from RM28.00 a kilo to RM35.00 a kilo but she has not said anything about it for a while now – as they say, life goes on!

This very popular place used to charge RM4.50 for a plate of kampua mee while others were selling theirs for RM3.50 or RM4.00. Well, somebody told me that it has gone up to RM4.80 now but everytime I drive past, I will see the crowd there – obviously, nobody seems bothered about the increase in price. However, I do feel that the kampua mee from the stall here should not be that expensive – it was RM4.00 too when they were charging that price at that other place.

I would not say the lady’s kampua mee is exceptional. Yes, it is good enough for anyone who happens to be at that food court to order and eat but when it was RM4.00 at that other place, she also charged that outrageous amount, RM4.00 for something quite mediocre. Others elsewhere were selling theirs at RM3.50 or less!

Well, the other day, I ordered her pain sip (meat dumplings) soup and it was RM4.50. Perhaps she has not heard that they have jacked up the price to RM4.80 at that other place. Just like her kampua mee, her pian sip…

…was good enough but I would not rank hers among the best in town. The skin was not thin enough – as one can see in the photograph, it is not thin and translucent and as a matter of fact, I could taste a bit of the floury or doughy taste while I was eating them. Of course, some are worse…but if you want to keep increasing your prices, you just have to pull up your socks and keep on your toes.

Well, we were there for breakfast after the church service on Sunday morning – we did not go to the sunset one the previous evening as we were at the birthday party here and of course, like everytime I dropped by here, I just had to have the delightful clear fish soup…

…that I enjoy a lot with kway teow (flat rice noodles)…

…and that too has gone up from RM6.50 to RM7.00, not that they have added an extra meatball or something to merit the additional 50 sen for any extra pork used but this is very nice, value for money and I do not really mind paying a little bit extra for it.

My girl wanted to try their tom yam hung ngang (big bihun)…

…and that cost even more, RM8.00 a bowl but thankfully, she did enjoy it. It was sour, she said, and not spicy.

My missus went to that stall beside the kampua mee stall where I ordered a pack of ayam penyet rice to take home and I got his not-nice-at-all roast chicken rice in the end. After that one occasion, I had no intention of going back to that stall ever again, thank you very much. Actually, that handsome Iban man was a waiter in the drinks section at that food court but he decided to venture out on his own so I can’t say I had a lot of confidence in his cooking ability.

The mee mamak…

…that my missus ordered from him did not look all that enticing but she said it was nice. She also got my girl to try and yes, she liked it too. Well, for one thing, it was RM6.00 only (I don’t know if they have jacked up the prices at the Chinese chu char places) and he was very generous with the ingredients. I guess I can give it a try myself the next time I drop by here to give him a second chance.

GRAND WONDERFUL FOOD COURT (2.309601, 111.845163)…

…is located along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, on your right. You can also go in via Jalan Pipit from Jalan Pahlawan – go straight ahead till you get to it on your left.