After five years…

My cousin in Brisbane did come back a few times on her own when a nephew or a niece got married, for instance, but as far as I can remember, the last time the hubby was back home in Sibu with her was in 2018, five years ago and we had dinner at the Thai restaurant here that had since closed down…and they invited us out to dinner when the son flew into town the following day.

They were back in Sibu again after all this time to observe Ching Ming in advance and visit their ancestral tombs (the festival will be in the first week of April) and while they were here, they invited us out for lunch at this old school restaurant in town, the oldest in Sibu. Some people have taken over the restaurant and we had not had the chance to drop by and give it a try. That was why we were not sure if it was any good anymore, like before so we did not get our hopes up too high.

They ordered their sweet and sour pork ribs…

…one of the signature dishes of the previous owner and yes, it was nicely done.

The sweet and sour ngor hu (threadfin)…

…was very good too. I like the thicker sauce more than the milder, lighter one that they had here and some other places in town.

Usually, when eating out, we would order butter prawns, dry or creamy. Very seldom would we ask for fish or meat but anyway, they had this butter chicken…

…that day and it turned out to be pretty good too.

Of course, they wanted all those vegetables that they cannot get Down Under so we had the cangkok manis…

…and also the midin (wild jungle fern) but I missed that one out and did not take a snapshot of it.

The sea cucumber soup…

…was good too, as good as many of the better ones around town and nicer than many of the rest.

The Foochow fried mee…

…was well-done, very nice, taste-wise but I was wishing the whole time that they had been a bit more generous with the ingredients. I would love more green vegetables in it especially.

There were eight of us altogether including my cousin and her hubby, the three of us (my girl, the mum and I) and also my sister and they also invited my late cousin’s wife (the eldest brother, since deceased) and daughter…

…and believe it or not, we did manage to finish all that food and I thought they had ordered so much! LOL!!!

My cousin brought this all the way from Australia…

…for my girl. She bought her a pack a long time ago and yes, she loved it so much. Thank you for the thought, Teresa and thanks to you and Richard, for the delightful lunch treat. Sorry that I am not getting on too well at the moment so I was not able to take you two around like what I used to do in the past. Till the next time we meet again, may God bless and protect both of you and all loved ones in the family.

HOCK CHU LEU RESTAURANT (2.288654, 111.826974)…

…is located at No. 30, Jalan Tukang Besi, formerly Blacksmith Road, opposite the LehDo Hotel, formerly the Lido Cinema which is right beside the Standard Chartered Bank, Sibu branch.