Yes, I’ve been tapao-ing lauk (dishes) home for our meals and when it comes to those Malay delights, I would just head to this stall at Bandong Walk.
Chicken was RM2.50 only a piece – you can’t find this price elsewhere and I bought their very nice ayam masak merah (RM10.00)…
I was early that morning, around 10 a.m. so I was able to ask for the drumsticks. It was super delicious and a little bit spicy, very much to our liking.
I also asked for the pumpkin and cangkok manis masak lemak (RM5.00)…
…which was not as lemak as I would have loved it but it was ok.
At the same time, I also asked for the pajeri nenas (RM5.00)…
…and in the end, I found that I had bought too much so I put the pineapple in the fridge for us to enjoy another day.
I couldn’t resist their sambal petai (RM5.00)…
…and also their kerabu ikan masin (RM5.00)…
…so I ended buying the two as well. These turned out to be quite salty, best eaten with rice so we just nibbled a bit and saved the rest for another day.
There you have it! RM30.00 altogether and we had enough for a few days (except the meat – that was good for two meals).
We dropped by the food court for lunch again last Saturday and yes, just like when we went the previous week, most of the stalls were closed. We did not go back to the (old) lady’s stall; instead, we decided to try the one inside at the back manned by some young boys…
For one thing, I seemed to notice that a lot of customers were having something from them, more than from the (old) lady’s stall. It certainly looked like anything anybody else can do, these young boys can do it too!
My girl and the mum wanted to try their nasi kerabu ayam berempah (RM9.00)…
…and they got the rice, dyed blue using the butterfly pea flower, one huge slab of chicken thigh, toasted grated coconut and some raw vegetables. There was no sign of the own-made chili sauce nor the air budu (fermented fish sauce) but they did give this sambal…
…which I assumed must be the chili dip and the air budu, already mixed together.
My girl said it was nice but the mum was of the opinion that what we used to enjoy before was much nicer. The thing is we have not ventured to that part of town for so long that I am not sure if she is still around the food court there or not.
I am not a fan of the Kelantanese nasi kak wok which does seem to be very popular here. Nonetheless, I decided to order that (RM7.00)…
…to see if it was any good. I got some of their plain steamed rice with a few slices of cucumber and chunks of fried chicken. I was also given that sambal that came with the nasi kerabu and also a bowl of curry sauce (see photo above).
No, it did not sweep me off my feet, not at all and as a matter of fact, though I was not all that impressed by this very popular one here, I do think that one was better.
POPULAR FOOD GARDEN, this particular branch (2.293207, 111.827906)…
…is at one end of the building where the Ngui Kee Departmental Store was a long time ago, at Jalan Bako, off Jalan Tuanku Osman or you can come in via Brooke Drive, right beside/in front of Orchid Hotel.
It has been around for a long time but it used to have a whole lot more things including ma ngee (horse’s hoofs/ears) but I did not see any that morning. Perhaps there were some that were made by other people and they just left them there for sale or maybe, they did not sell so well and they decided to do away with those.
Anyway, back to what the ladies bought that morning, the prawn fritters were so very nice. I would say I had never tasted any that was as great and there were so many prawns…
…that I could not believe my eyes. More often than not, there would be one in the middle, just one. I know I shouldn’t be eating those because of my skin affliction but they looked so alluring I simply couldn’t resist so I just had a piece.
The popiah (spring roll) was all cabbage with a little bit of carrot…
At best, I would say they were all right, not anything to get excited about. They also had popiah with curry filling but the ladies did not buy those so we did not get to try them.
We did not buy the chai peah (RM0.50 a piece)…
…either but my missus did go and buy the or koi (yam cake), RM1.00 a piece…
…to take home. They were all right, not smooth, soft and wobbly as a result of too much flour and too little yam in them but I’ve tasted nicer ones elsewhere.
It was quite obvious that this stall was very popular among the customers at this food court. They kept frying and they kept running out and we could see a lot of people buying this and that and taking the plates with their purchases to their tables to sit and enjoy.
7七夜cafe (2.307862, 111.848497)…
…is located off Jalan Sena in the blocks of shops across the road from SMK Deshon.
Well, she sure did, Angela, that morning when I met her and her hubby, my good friend/ex-classmate, Robert, at the food court here and she told me to go for the kolo mee…
…tossed with chili sauce.
I went in search of the stall and I saw another good friend of mine, a retired teacher like me and a regular follower of mine on Facebook and of my blog – I did mention her in my previous post. I saw that she was having the kolo mee too so it was confirmed there and then – it must be very good!
I went up to the stall and told the man…
…that I wanted a bowl of kolo mee, white, tossed in chili sauce and he got down to cooking and preparing it right away!
I went and looked at the menu…
…on the other side of his stall. Kolo mee is RM6.00 a bowl while kampua mee is only RM4.00, cheaper than a lot of places and some are not even nice!
My order came in no time at all. Even my drink (RM2.70)…
…took a while longer to be served. Hmmmm…it looked like they would not be giving you drinking straws here, the paper ones, that is – plastic drinking straws have long been banned in Sibu. I was o.k. with that, no problem at all.
Yes, the kolo mee…
…was very nice even though I was not all that fond of those quite tasteless frozen supermarket fish balls. Some had a peculiar smell even; thank goodness the ones I had that morning were fine. I wouldn’t mind it one bit if the guy had left those out and maybe, given me a couple more slices of the char siew instead.
There was a whole lot of noodles…
…in the bowl and I sure was glad to see the pickled chili in vinegar…
…a standard condiment provided with kolo mee.
There was a bowl of clear soup, on the house – you would get no such thing if you were to go and eat kolo mee in Kuching. Unfortunately, what I was served that morning was so bland – I had a sip and that was it.
Considering how nice the noodles were, I certainly wouldn’t mind going back there again for it…or perhaps, I would like to give the other stalls there a try.
YIFU CORNER (2.301777, 111.843215)…
…is located along Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai (formerly Jalan Pedada) somewhere opposite Wisma Liberty and Wisma Sri Minyak.Kim Hock Supermarket is in the next block of shops to the right in that area.
I happened to pass by this food court that morning on my way to buy the LOW SUGAR V-SOY soya bean milk at the supermarket in the vicinity and since I was there, I decided to stop by and look around. It did not do very well when it first opened and after struggling to survive, eventually it closed down and underwent some renovations. It reopened not too long ago under a new name and so far, I had not gone there to check the place out.
Coincidentally, I met my good friend/ex-classmate, Robert and his wife, Angela, who were just leaving at the time. They told me about the kuih stall there; they said the tee peang…
…was very good and so were their chai kuih…
I did not buy the former but I grabbed a packet of the latter (RM6.00) to try.
It so happened that another good friend of mine, a retired teacher like me and a regular follower of mine on Facebook and of my blog – her daughter and son-in-law were ex-students of mine, very nice people just like the mum, was there enjoying her breakfast with her hubby. She was eating the chai kuih and she said it was just so-so – the best would still be the not-so-easily-available ones here.
I had a piece of that when I got home and indeed, like what my friend said, it did not get me all excited. She told me that the curry puffs (RM1.50 each)…
…were nice so I bought a few of those. Yes, they were not too bad but were not anything that would get me running back for more.
The serimuka (RM3.00 a pack)…
…was mediocre, not quite lemak enough to be praiseworthy. The ones here are nicer and cheaper too! The banana leaf-wrapped pulut (glutinous rice) with gula Melaka– sweetened grated coconut on top at that Malay stall were not that great, I think but I found that the ones here (RM1.00 each)…
…were worse. Somehow or other, they were salty, not sweet!
The angku kuih (RM1.00 each)…
…did not get me jumping with delight either. So far, the best in town would be the ones sold at this cake shop in town but theirs are RM1.60 each. I guess if you want quality, you will just have to pay for it. My sister did buy me some once not too long ago but I did not blog about it.
I saw these chai peah…
…at the stall too but I did not buy any.
The lady at the stall said that they would usually have more to choose from on Saturday and Sunday mornings, Sunday especially. According to her, they open at around 7-7.30 a.m.
YIFU CORNER (2.301777, 111.843215)…
…is located along Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai (formerly Jalan Pedada) somewhere opposite Wisma Liberty and Wisma Sri Minyak.Kim Hock Supermarket is in the next block of shops to the right in that area.
I bought the cucur payak (shrimp fritters) from this stall for my girl but after a couple of times, she told me not to buy that anymore. I did give it a try myself and I found it to be rather salty, otherwise it had not much taste. According to her, she loves the cucur sayur/vegetable fritters (3 for RM1.00)…
…from this stall…
…along Bandong Walk here.
She would go and buy some herself everytime we happened to be in the vicinity and the other day, I decided to drop by myself. The lady had not started frying yet – she was busy with something else but the batter was ready and she said she would start frying…
…as soon as she was through. I told her that her cucur sayur was my girl’s favourite and she said that a lot of people shared the same sentiment. There was a car parked in front of the stall; the ladies inside were also waiting for her cucur sayur, she said.
In the meantime, I looked around at some of the other things that they were selling as well. I am quite sure these fried wantons…
…would be nice as well and they also had these fried chicken drumsticks…
…and packets of nasi lemak…
…among other things.
I didn’t buy any of those but I did ask for the sweet potato fritters (cucur ubi keledek)…
…also selling for 3 for RM1.00 and they were very nice too. I think they are 50 sen a piece at the Chinese stalls, if I am not wrong.
The frying…
…took quite a while; I didn’t expect it to take very long but once there was enough for me and the ladies waiting in the car, the girl helping out at the stall packed the number that I wanted for me and I was on my way. Of course my girl was delighted when I told her I had bought the fritters for her.
It looked like they would go on to fry the cucur pisang (banana fritters) next but no, I did not stay on for that.
…who is at the back of one of the Dewan Suarah (Civic Centre) shops in the morning (beside the car park beside the wet market) and in the afternoon at around 2.30 p.m., he will set up his stall at the pavement of one of the blocks of shops in the next lane from my house (Jalan Ruby). He used to move to the pasar malam (night market) before as evening fell but he doesn’t do that anymore – some members of his family will take care of things there.
There are two types of apam balik/ban chang kuih (慢煎糕) – the thin ones and the thick ones. This guy sells both. He makes the thick ones at home and brings them along so you can just go to his stall and buy anytime. As for the thin ones, he makes them on the spot so you will have to wait and if he has a lot of orders, it may take some time.
I will usually buy the thin ones. They are very nice and crispy, kind of brittle but they must be eaten while they are still hot. Once cold, they will turn chewy/rubbery, very hard to bite and chew. I am not into those soft thick ones.
Everytime I talked about this guy’s apam balik/ban chang kuih, for sure, there will be people coming to “shoot him down“! They will insist that the best would be the ones sold outside a coffee shop/mini post office…
…at Sungai Merah here. Yes, I do know of this one – it has been there since time immemorial but I never bought any to eat for the simple reason that I am not really into these Chinese pancakes. I may buy from that guy from his stall near my house for afternoon tea simply because it is so very convenient – I call it my drive thru’ stall because I can just drive up along the lane and stop right in front of the stall, tell the guy what I want and he will take and pass to me and once I’ve paid for my purchases, I will drive off.
Well, I happened to park my car right in front of this shop that morning when I went to try the kampua mee across the road and I decided to buy a few home to try. After all the praises that people have been singing about them, how can I not drop by the stall…
…to buy? Good grief! They can’t even get the name correct! What on earth is “apam bali“?
I did not know before; I just assumed they would have the thin ones here as well but no, they only had the thick ones so I just bought those, RM3.50 a piece…
…and took them home. They were not all that thick though which is good in a way. The thick ones would be all dough/egg batter and unlike the others that I have seen before, they had sweet corn kernel in the filling.
So what did I think of them? I guess I could say they were all right but no, they were not anything that would get me rushing back for more. For one thing, RM3.50 is not all that cheap – I can get a few pieces of the thin ones with that kind of money and enjoy myself a lot more.
BOON HUI CAFE (2.325759, 111.839112) is located at No. 34, Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg at the Sungai Merah Bazaar here in Sibu.
When my godson/ex-student, Andrew was home from Christchurch, New Zealand, I did bring him to this kueh stall here. I guess he may be able to find these over there but the question is whether they are nice or not and how affordable they may be.
He picked a few things from the stall for afternoon tea and later, he sent me a photo of these…
…to tell me that they were very nice. I told him that I had seen them before at the stall but I did not know the name and I had never seen them before – that was why I never bothered to buy them. Well, he told me that they all enjoyed them so I should grab some to try should I see any again at the stall.
For reasons unknown, I did not get to see those anymore each time I stopped by until the other day. Of course I wasted no time in grabbing a packet to take home and try.
It turned out to be something like the green part (the custard) of the serimuka made in the shape of a cup, filled with the same kind of jelly/pudding but white because of the santan (coconut milk) in it instead of the extract from the pandan (screwpine) leaves…
Yes, it was VERY nice, very lemak (rich with coconut milk) with the fragrance of the pandan. It was very sweet though so I had to go a bit slow on them. They would be perfect for after-dinner desserts, I think.
Coincidentally, I saw those same kuehs in Phong Hong’s blog that day. Her brother had two for breakfast and somebody asked her for the name of those “two green circles” in her brother’s plate but she said she could not remember. Yes, I did remember to ask the girl at the kueh stall and she said they were called NONA MANIS. Gee!!! What a beautiful name!
Actually, Nona Manis is the name of one of my favourite keroncong numbers…
When I first started teaching in Kanowit in 1978, I taught the girls how to do the candle dance using this song. It was very well-received even though the dance that I choreographed at the time was somewhat simple, something those young Lower Secondary school girls could manage – I was thinking that at least, those watching would enjoy the song a lot.
The mere mention of the name sure brought a whole lot of memories of those happy days so very long ago.
KUEH STORY 49 (2.31036, 111.82597)…
…is located at No. 49, Jalan Kampung Datu Baru, to the right of its junction if you are coming from Jalan Cheku, opposite the playground there.
…so I wasted no time at all in making my way to the stall to grab a few before it was too late. They seldom make these because, according to them, it is difficult to find those palas leaves to make the ketupat cases.
The last time I saw it on their list sometime ago, it was already around 2.30 in the afternoon (when I got up from my siesta). By the time I got there, around 3.00 p.m., they were all sold out. They open their stall Mondays to Fridays at around 1.00 p.m. and by 3.00 p.m., most everything would have been sold out. Their business sure is very good!
They sell the ketupat lemak in sets of two with a big tub of chicken curry…
*Photo from Kueh Story_49 Facebook page*
…for RM12.00.
I hear they are selling just the ketupat for RM3.00 each and since I’d rather have them with kaya (coconut jam), the next time around, I would buy them without the curry. Yes, I would agree that it does not come cheap but pulut (glutinous rice) isn’t all that cheap these days plus there is hardly anybody else making these ketupat lemak, take it or leave it.
When my godson/ex-student, Andrew, was in town, I did go and buy some of the kuehs for him and his family to enjoy. I’m pretty sure they can’t get these so easily and at such prices in New Zealand. My brother in Auckland would always stop at Katong (Joo Chiat) in Singapore while in transit to feast on these nyonya delights. No, he doesn’t go for the Bengawan Solo ones – he said they are overrated, expensive and not as nice.
Well, Andrew loved the talam ubi…
*Photo from Kueh Story_49 Facebook page*
…with the green custard layer on top and the gula apong sweetened tapioca cake underneath, more than the serimuka…
I also bought them some pulut manis but he did not say anything about those but he did say that what I bought for them were a whole lot nicer than what his mum bought home from the market in the town.
I did stop by the stall when I took them on a drive around town and he bought a few of whatever they had that day. Later, he sent me a photo of these…
*Photo from Kueh Story_49 Facebook page*
…via Messenger on Facebook and told me that they were very nice. I don’t know what they are called – I have never seen them before…and when I stopped by to buy the ketupat lemak that day, they were not available. Ah well! Some other time perhaps!
There were a number of cars already there that afternoon and I noticed a very young (Chinese) couple in a luxury saloon car. They did not buy any of the kuehs or whatever that they had – they were waiting for their order, the ABC (air batu campur)…
*Photo from Kueh Story_49 Facebook page*
Gee, I thought! That must be really good for them to come all the way and to wait for it while somebody was preparing it for them. The temptation was strong and it did cross my mind then that I should get one myself to try…but in the end, I decided not to, not with my low/no sugar diet. In fact, glutinous rice is bad too – too much of it can cause one’s blood sugar level to shoot sky high! Do forgive me for the many times I have sinned! LOL!!!
KUEH STORY_49 (2.31036, 111.82597)…
…is located at No. 49, Jalan Kampung Datu Baru, to the right of its junction if you are coming from Jalan Cheku, opposite the playground there.
Some people can eat the same thing(s) every day and they do not get tired of it. For instance, they will go to that same chap fan (mixed rice) stall with the same few dishes day in day out…or they will just go and have a plate of chicken rice or kampua mee and that is it!
Well, if you ask me, I would tell you that variety is the spice of life. My missus cooks very well but I am sure she does not mind taking a break sometimes. We go out to eat every weekend and that, I must say, is a relief for her, an opportunity to relax a little bit.
At other times, I would take the tiffin carrier and go some place to buy a few dishes for the three of us for the day (two meals). Usually, I will stop by here – the food is very nice and cheap. I will ask for two meat dishes, RM10.00 each and two vegetable dishes, RM5.00 each, RM30.00 altogether. You would never get anything at that price anywhere else outside.
Of course, if I go there too often, I will get a bit tired of or bored with what they dish out every day. That is why sometimes, I would go to the kampung (Bandong Walk) to my favourite stall there for something different for a change.
That day, I bought their ayam masak merah…
…and their ayam rendang…
…and also their labu masak lemak with cangkok manis…
Chicken was RM2.50 a piece and I asked for six of each (RM15.00 altogether each) while the pumpkin was RM2.00 a scoop and the nice boy gave me three for RM5.00.
I always love how the Malays cook their fish – at the Chinese stalls, they will just deep fry and that is it. The Malays, on the other hand, will marinate the fish with whatever ingredients they may use and deep fry. They were RM3.00 each that day, more expensive than the chicken but it did not matter one bit to me. I asked for 5…
…so all in all, the total came up to RM50.00 for three for two meals, only RM25.00 per meal, not even AUD/NZD/SGD10.00. So cheap!
Of course there are other meat dishes that you may want to choose instead. That day, they had chicken curry, ayam masak kicap (soy sauce chicken) and I had a hard time resisting their chicken liver. Usually they would have daging masak hitam (beef) and chicken korma but they did not have those that day. One would never have a problem with the meat dishes whereas I am not that fond of the Malay-style vegetable dishes except for their masak lemak so usually, the choices would be quite limited.
By the way, for your information, at both the places aforementioned, they will take out the dishes at around 10.00 a.m. – the chap fan stall at the food court from the restaurant’s kitchen and the Malay nasi campur stall from their house nearby. It would be best to go around that time and pick what you want. If you go around lunchtime/noon, you will have to be happy with all the leftovers…if there is anything left, that is.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 