November 2nd that day was All Soul’s Day and I left the house at dawn to go for the early morning service in church to pray for the repose of the souls of our dearly beloved.
I was on my way back to the house at around 7.45, before 8.00 a.m. and I was feeling hungry as I did not have anything for breakfast earlier. That was why I decided to stop at the fruits and vegetables sundry shop along the way in the next lane from my house to see what they had.
I saw two packs of mantao (steamed plain buns) and I grabbed both of them right away. No price for guessing what I would be having for breakfast and tea over the next few days. Yes, I did ask them for the price this time around – they are RM2.80 for a pack of 6, over 40 sen per mantao.
I spotted a packet of kampua mee (kosong/no meat)…
…selling for RM1.50 each. They used to sell those at 50 sen each at school canteens and yes, they were very popular among the students. They would just push the noodles out through the open end of the plastic bag and eat it like a bun or a cake.
Of course, they did not have all those fried shallots and definitely not at the prices they are selling them these days. The people making this for sale were very generous and yes, they fried their own. I would not have liked it one bit if they had used the factory-made ones sold in plastic packs at the supermarkets – some may have an offensive smell even!!!
I was glad when I took the noodles out and I found that the stands were not stuck together in a clump…
I was able to loosen them easily and yes, I thought it was all right which is more than what I would say about some of those at the coffee shops and kampua mee stalls all over town. I wonder how much they are selling their kosong now – I think it used to be RM2.00 a plate but now that the price of kampua mee has been going up and up and up, I bet they are charging a lot more for that even though no pork is involved, just a bit of lard perhaps.
While I was at the shop, I also saw some dabai (black olives)…
…from Durin. Actually, they have been around for a very long time now but much as I do enjoy them, the good ones, a lot, I did not bother to go and buy. They were selling them at such ridiculously high prices, RM50.00 a kilo or more, mind you!
When they were only RM20 a kilo, I was already grumbling. I saw this newspaper report where the YB (the honourable) was praising the ones that are in season now in Kapit, going for RM80.00 a kilo! At that price, he can go ahead and buy and eat all of them himself till kingdom come – at the salaries/allowances these politicians are getting, they sure can afford it, NOT ME!!! Tsk! Tsk!
These weren’t too bad, not THAT expensive so I asked for half a kilo and took it home. I cooked a few right away and was delighted that they turned soft pretty fast. Some not-so-good ones would take forever and yet, there would be some as hard as rocks! I tossed them with soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar…
…and sat down to enjoy them.
These were not very big (but bigger than the dabai seluang), the flesh was not as thick as I would have liked it to be…
…but it was very yellow and very lemak (rich). In short, I would say they were really VERY good – no regrets buying them at all…and I sure would want to buy some more should I see them again the next time I stop by the shop.
SWEE HUNG (2.316161, 111.840441)…
…is located along Jalan Ruby, in the block of shops on the right – next to a hair salon at the extreme end…and on the other end, to the left is the Kim Won Chinese Medical Store and Mini-supermarket.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The noodle dish looks tasty. I have not prepared noodles in a while. I’m thinking of making them either today or tomorrow.
I enjoy noodles more than rice. Love pastas too, all in the family.
RM1.50 for kampua kosong still considered reasonable. My favourite kolo mee stall near my place sold kolo mee kosong at RM4 now. Normal kolo mee RM5.50. Wantan Kolo mee RM8 with 4 wantan. Kolo mee special RM12 and I don’t know how special it is as I never try. But according to the pictures in the menu, there are few prawns and liver. But then pictures are for illustration purposes only..
😊😊
I’d think twice if anything for breakfast is more than RM10.00, too expensive. Will settle for something cheaper. My Kuching friend shared one going for RM3.00 only. That is so very cheap. Most of the time, the sellers jack up the price because there is no control – they can do so anytime and make more profit…and customers will still keep coming!
We have kampua mee RM5.00 here – I have never gone to see. I would not go for the RM4.80 one even though people like Borneo Foodie declares it to be the best and there are a lot of people going to eat every day (but they all say not so nice and still go every day. They are stupid or what?).
Love dabai too! But nowadays, getting more and more expensive. Have to think twice before buying.
Yes, especially when it is not THAT good! Must be very rich, so very lemak, thick flesh, thin skin so one can derive so much pleasure eating it to be worth buying. It was a lot more expensive – these that I bought were around half the price and I only asked for half a kilo, no need to over-indulge. Thankfully, they were very good, just not fleshy enough. Would have been nicer.
I don’t know what is dabai and I don’t think I have seen it before. Everything is expensive even our local fruits.
We call it black olives in Hokkien, Oh Kana. No, you do not have it there, used to be only around here in Central Sarawak but these days, they are planting the trees all over the state so they are more easily available in other parts of the state.
I am very curious about dabai. I don’t think they are available over at my end.
No, unless you arrange for somebody to buy and bring over – I know my friend, Annie in KL will do that…or you come over here and eat. Cannot wrap up and send, they will “cook” in the heat and spoil. Even when carrying while bringing over, there are do’s and don’ts!
I’ve often wondered how to prepare them – now I know! Thanks!
Timing is important too! Everything must be…just right!