What you’ve got…

The other day, Friday, our no-meat day, I felt like having nasi lemak, something that I had not had for a long time so I made my way to Bandong Walk. Unfortunately, the stall there was not open so I went over to the shop in the vicinity – I also liked their nasi lemak but it was late in the morning and they only had one packet with sambal sotong (RM6.00) left. The other two or three packets had meat in them.

I noticed a stall, two stalls away to the left of the former, that I had not seen before so I went over to have a look to see what they’d got. There was a lady, not a very young one, I think and a young guy, probably the son – one can never tell these days because everyone is wearing masks. LOL!!!

I asked them if their rice was lemak or not and the guy said it was all right. I think he wanted to take some of it for me to try so he opened the insulated rice container and I caught a whiff of the lemakness, the santan (coconut milk) and straight away, I told the guy that I wanted 3 packets (RM3.50 each)…

We had that for lunch that day and I must say they were very generous with everything, even the kacang (peanuts). My girl and the mum shared a packet and kept the remaining one for dinner that evening.

The sambal ikan bilis (dried anchovies) was not quite like the usual nasi lemak sambal but it was very nice, just a bit spicy and there was so much of it too. I sure would not mind going back there to buy from them should I feel like having nasi lemak again.

At their stall, they also sold lauk (dishes) and I liked how they were all in stainless steel trays (not plastic) with lids so they were all well covered. I bought two of the fish (RM2.00 each)…

– there were only two left. I see these small fish at my favourite fish & seafood stall sometimes but my girl and the mum are not fond of eating those so I never bought any from there. I do enjoy eating them myself and the two would be more than enough for me to buang gian (appease my craving).

I asked for a bit of the cempedak muda masak lemak (RM3.00)…

…too but to the most, I would say it was all right, not anything to get me running back for more. For one thing, I did not feel it was lemak at all for want of a lot more santan (coconut milk).

On the other hand, the pumpkin (RM3.00)…

…was simply out of this world! The addition of the very thin strips of daun kunyit (turmeric leaves) sure brought the taste of the dish to a whole new level – I dare say I had never tasted any that was nicer.

They said they started their stall in February this year. I cannot, for the dear life of me, remember the last time I dropped by this area of town, probably long before that and all throughout Ramadan. I kept my distance, avoiding all these places like a plague because there were cases in the kampungs daily for quite a while. #staysafe #staywell #stayhome

I enjoyed our small talk, the lady and the guy and I, in our Sarawak Malay dialect. They probably were wondering who this Chinese guy was, who was so fluent in their lingo, if they could make out the face behind the mask, that is and seeing how I quite liked my purchases that morning, I sure wouldn’t mind making my way back there again another day.

Spare a dime…

The authorities have granted permission to the people at the pasar malam (night market) here to resume business but of course, I was not surprised to see from the photographs shared on Facebook that the response was poor, both from the sellers and the customers.

Well, what did they expect? All this while, they have been telling people to #staysafe #staywell #stayhome so of course, generally, people would be quite reluctant to go out anywhere – who knows the coronavirus may be lurking somewhere and by some stroke of bad luck, one may end up tested positive!

I cannot remember the last time I went, long before COVID-19 and even when they allowed it to open not too long ago with strict observation of the SOP before entering, I kept my distance. They might be very firm before one went in but once inside, it would be a free-for-all. I did not see any lines or signs on the road as to where to stand or queue to maintain physical distancing at all times.

So if you ask me whether this handsome boy…

…is still there running the stall with his family selling their tee piang, I’m afraid I haven’t got the slightest clue.

For the uninitiated, the tee piang is our local Sibu Foochow version of the Fuzhou oyster cake in Singapore except that ours do not have oysters in them. I’ve never tried those, of course but those who have said that they are not as nice.

Well, like most everything else these days, I would just go to the neighbourhood shop round the corner from my house to buy…

…whenever I feel like eating those, our Sibu version, that is. I will usually buy the ones without any filling and if I remember correctly, they were 40 sen each, 6 for RM2.00 at the pasar malam way back in 2018.

The ones with meat inside…

…were RM1.20 there then but all this while, I had been paying RM1.50 each at this shop here. The other day, I bought some and was duly informed by the boss that they now cost a dime more, an increase of 10 sen!

Ah well! What hasn’t gone up in price? After all, they increased the price of pork here not too long ago. I guess we’ll just have to be thankful that the increase is only by a mere 10 sen and it is still quite affordable and they have maintained the quality. The only thing is if the prices keep going up and things become too expensive, we will just have to stop buying and learn to live without them.

Incidentally, there is a Chinese pancake (apam balik/ban chian kuih) stall in the vicinity in the afternoon, now located on the pavement right beside the aforementioned shop. The chai peah is very nice, 3 for RM1.00 and they also sell tee piang – with or without filling. I guess the prices should be more or less the same as at 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.

Good for us…

The other day, I blogged about the  New Zealand hake fish that we bought.  We did not really enjoy it oven-baked/grilled and we decided to try some other way of cooking the other piece that we had.

No, we did not think we would like it steamed either and knowing my girl so well, I was quite sure she would love it coated with batter or bread crumbs and deep fried a la fish &chips. The mum went for the latter…

…and yes, it was very nice, enough for the three of us for two meals – it was not a very big piece for some RM26.00 or so but considering that a plate of that VERY thin slice of New Zealand hoki (plus rice and pickles) at our local Sarawak franchise is currently on promotion at RM9.90 a plate, this does not seem all that expensive after all.

Incidentally, I now patronise a seafood (fish & prawn) stall by the side of The Grand Wonderful Hotel building. The lady will only be there if there is a fresh supply of fish – she wanted to give me her contact number so I would be able to call and find out if she would be there or not but I said it was all right. I stay close by and can always hop over to check anytime.

For one thing, the lady is very friendly and when I buy those huge prawns, I would ask her to pick for me and she would choose the best ones, no need to get my fingers all smelly. That day, I bought a kilo at only RM40.00 and I got 40 of those  crustaceans altogether, only RM1.00 each. I used to buy at the shop near my house, over RM40 a pack (RM60.00 a kilo), assorted sizes and I would get over 20 only, over RM2.00 each and most were not really big! Incidentally, I also bought a kilo of the regular-sized ones, RM16.00 a kilo, I think. It went up to some RM18.00 to RM20.00 at the central market at one time.

Other than that, there are very few/no customers so there is no problem whatsoever when it comes to physical distancing. If there is somebody there, we can just wait a while – let him or her buy and leave before we approach the stall. The aforementioned shop in the next lane is getting a bit too crowded these days even when it is still so early in the morning so I do not feel all that comfortable stopping to pick up anything that I may need.

Well, it so happened that that morning, the lady had filleted some bay kar/ikan tenggiri (mackerel) and scraped off the flesh/meat for making fish balls. No, she did not season it – she only sells it like that with specific instructions to defrost and add one’s own salt and msg when one wants to cook it. I bought quite a lot – with the RM10.00 pack, we were able to come out with this big pot of fish ball soup with tang hoon (glass noodles)…

My missus just added a bit of salt, no msg and whipped it till really very QQ and boy, it was really fresh and sweet, so very nice!!!

Actually, ever since I saw the photo that day of the gorgeous tod mun pla (Thai fish cakes) that my missus cooked sometime ago, I was wishing we could have those again but unfortunately, she thought otherwise. Maybe she did not have all the ingredients and actually, I guess one deep-fried dish would be enough for the day so she cooked soup with it instead. Well, I still have a few packs in the freezer so hopefully, we can have that Thai delight some other day.

We had some daun sup (Chinese celery) in the house so we used that to garnish the soup and saved the spring onions that I had harvested and chopped…

…for another day.

The fish stall is located to the right of CCL FRESH MINI MARKET against the wall at the end of the block to the right of the Grand Wonderful Hotel (2.309601, 111.845163) along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, on your left just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall. You can also go in via Lorong Pipit 4, turning left into the lane at the junction where Starbucks Sibu is located and go straight ahead from there.

Sushi…

The other day, my girl was called back to school because there were things to be done. Yes, if you’re one of those who think that teachers are so fortunate and get to stay home, shaking legs all this time, think again! Usually, they work from home but sometimes, they have to go back to answer their call of duty.

She will call me when she’s done and I will drive over to get her and bring her home. That is not a problem as Sibu is a very very small town – it will only take around 5-10 minutes and with the on-going MCO or CMCO, traffic is not all that heavy.

However, that day, my sister was in the vicinity and my girl contacted me to let me know that she would give her a ride home. What I did not know at the time was she told the aunt that she was thinking of having some sushi and the latter thought she might want these…

…for a change from the usual here or here.

These people have been around for a very long time now. They have a stall at the mall round the corner from my house ever since the mall opened for business, if I am not mistaken. I’ve never tried anything from them though but I think my girl and the mum did and I did not hear them complain. My guess is, therefore, what they dished out wasn’t too bad.

Now, their sushi and whatever else including those things wrapped in seaweed, whatever you call them, are available at a family mart in the block of shops on the way to my sister’s house, at Lorong Delta 4 where this hotel is located and where this coffee shop was at one time. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, it was not open so the doting aunt went back there the following day to get her a pack…

…and send it to the house.

I am not sure but I think this is their chao da (burnt) roll. While my girl was enjoying it, she did mention that the imitation crab stick was lightly burnt on the  outside. Ah well!!! Everybody is so into burnt cheesecake these days so what’s stopping them from burning more stuff to eat? LOL!!! I checked the menu on their Facebook page and I must say that at RM12.00 something for 8, they sure do not come cheap – for two of those, you can have a more filling and more satisfying plate of kampua mee.

Moving on from there, one morning, I was rummaging through the fridge and I saw a bit of the brown rice noodles that we had and a bit of some buckwheat noodles that my girl did try that day with the salad to see if it was compatible or not. The sum of the two would be enough for one plate of noodles so I took them and fried them char kway teow style…

…with some chopped garlic in a bit of oil, two prawns, soy sauce according to taste and some of my missus’ pounded chili dip, taugeh (bean sprouts) and egg, served garnished with a sprinkling of chopped daun sup (Chinese celery).

My! My! That sure was as good as it looked and I enjoyed it very much! I wouldn’t mind frying noodles this same way again, you can take my word for it.

Might as well…

After our lunch that day, it so happened that we went to that part of town that we seldom venture to and I decided that I might as well stop by here and buy some stuff for dinner so we would not need to rush home and cook.

Of course, I bought their nasi kerabu with ayam percik…

…for my missus – her favourite and I would say that it is even more so these days as it seemed super extra spicy!

My girl did mention once that she would like to try their nasi dagang…

…some day so I bought that too.

However, she had a change of heart when she saw the nasi tomato with ayam masak merah…

…that I thought I would want to try. She said it was very nice but it was not the best she had had. She insisted she could do it better!

I had the nasi dagang before when the lady boss treated me to it to let me try and yes, I quite enjoyed it. My missus is not into it as she does not like the texture of the ikan tongkol – that is the fish they use in the curry.

I did not ask for the breakdown of the prices but the total came up to RM20.00, less than AUD/NZS/SGD7.00, for a wonderful meal for the three of us!

PERMAI FOOD COURT (2.297141, 111.896163) is located among the newer shops to the section on the right of Jalan Permai, somewhere opposite the Sibu General Hospital, off Lorong Ulu Oya 11, off Jalan Ulu Oya, to the right of the Permai Hotel there.

Through thick and thin…

The other day, I blogged about the very nice fish (and egg) burger from that Sibu’s own franchise which was so nice that I did buy some more a second time when I saw it again.

Well, I was at my neighbourhood shop and I saw these (4 for RM2.00)…

Yes, I did mention before that they now make their own chu nu miang, the softer and very lightly sweet version of our Foochow bagel, the kompia. I was saying that there is no way they would be able to slice the regular ones to make burgers – those have become SO very small and SO thin, unlike these. Of course they are 3 for RM1.00, almost 4o sen each (kompia is now 2 for RM1.00 at some places) but I would much sooner pay around 10 sen more for these bigger and thicker ones…

You can pop it in the oven for a bit if you like it a little bit crusty on top. That was exactly what I did that day and after slicing it into halves, I placed a slice of butter and salami, pre-grilled in a non-stick pan, in it…

I don’t know where my girl bought these that I found in the freezer but they’re just the right size for the chu nu miang and I must say I enjoyed it to the max. Very very nice! Of course I could have added a slice of omelette or tomato or a piece of lettuce, all of which would be very nice too, I’m sure. The possibilities are endless!!!

I also tried it with butter and peanut butter…

…and yes, that was good as well!

A loaf of bread is around RM3.00 these days, RM4.00 wholemeal and we’re not really into it unless somebody takes it to make some gourmet sandwiches or French toast and by the time we’re halfway through, it would have gone mouldy. It sure makes a lot more sense to buy two packets of these instead, gone in no time at all.

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.

Live to regret…

I’ve been to this commercial area many times already and I’ve eaten at a lot of places there but for no particular reason, not at this food court…

This is not a big area but there is a hotel and a university hostel, a supermarket and a Mr DIY outlet, a bakery and a pizza place, lots of coffee shops and two food courts and this is one of them.

For want of something to do that morning, I went roaming around there and decided to go and check it out. Nothing seemed to appeal to me except this porridge stall…

…that sells nothing but porridge in various combinations. The bubur tiga rasa (RM7.00), bottom extreme left, looked rather appealling so I decided to give it a try. I placed my order and sat down to wait. There were not so many people around, no problem keeping my distance from everybody else – I picked a table along the corridor, the very last one in the far end, not far from the stall.

While I was waiting, I saw the girl serving two bowls of her porridge to some other customers and I couldn’t help noticing that she was using those horrendously brightly coloured plastic bowls! I went over to talk to the girl but she was conversant only in Mandarin and she insisted it was not plastic. She did tell me a name in Mandarin, two characters but unfortunately, it was Greek to me. Maybe she was telling me it was melamine in which case it may not be all that safe either. I did not bother to argue with her, a duck talking to a hen, so telling myself that this would be the first and the last time I would come for her porridge, I just went back to my seat and waited to be served.

I must say I was rather disappointed when it…

…came. It looked kind of plain, nothing like what I saw in the photograph.

The minced meat porridge was all right – there are others elsewhere a whole lot nicer, like this one, for instance and I am no fan of those supermarket factory-produced fried shallots…

…plus I was thinking that a sprinkling of a little bit of chopped spring onion would give it a bit of colour and make it look more presentable.

All in all, I would say it was all right, edible but not anything to shout about. Honestly, I should have gone to the other food court a stone’s throw away and have their porridge instead but I didn’t and yes, I live to regret it. I do not know if theirs is any nicer or not but at least they serve it in a claypot, not in a PLASTIC bowl.

UNICITY FOOD COURT (2.342786, 111.831480) is located at No. 16-18, Lorong Wawasan 9A in UniCity.

Between here and there…

I saw some factory-made kelupis in the frozen section at a supermarket, one regular and one with sambal, nicely wrapped in its tastefully-designed plastic wrapper but I was quite reluctant to buy. I might as well head to the kampung Malay stalls and grab some freshly-made ones from there.

That was why the very next morning, I went to this one at Kampung Hilir, a stone’s throw away from the Simpang Tiga junction but unfortunately, they did not have any. In fact, they did not have any pulut panggang either or anything pulut, for that matter.

While I was there, I spotted these buns (3 for RM1.00)…

They looked so old school that I could resist grabbing two rows to take home and try. If I am not wrong, they are called roti paun though I can’t understand why as each bun does not weigh a pound, that’s for sure.

The guy said they were home-made, not from a shop or a factory. He said the guy attended a course and after that, he began to make them on a regular basis for sale. I did hear of this thing going on among the Malay community here – they conduct special courses on all kinds of skills e.g. making noodles and steamed dumplings, tying and making chang, making bread and so on and so forth. That is something very good and the other communities should follow suit so those folks at home can do something to help make ends meet.

There were two types of filling – the guy said kelapa (coconut) and kacang. I imagined the latter to be crushed peanut with a sprinkling of sugar but no, it turned out to be or tao sar (black/red bean paste)…

Well, I am fine with that but my missus gets giddy when she eats that so she would not touch anything with that kind of filling! I must say the bun was very nice, the texture was so soft and cushiony. just perfect and the bean paste filling was nice too, not sweet. I sure would not mind buying them again the next time I see any at the stall.

While I was there, I spotted these bingka labu (pumpkin cake, 3 for RM1.00)…

They were very nice and I used to buy for my mum when she was still around. She certainly enjoyed them very much. However, when I tried them, I felt they were somewhat disappointing, kurang lemak and a little bit too firm. I don’t think I will buy these again in future.

When I was done here, I adjourned to my regular Malay kuih stall at Bandong and there too, I saw that there was not a single pulut panggang or anything made from pulut. I asked the sweet lady boss if there was currently a pulut shortage or something but she said no, there was pulut panggang the day before and all other days as well.

I was a little late so most of things were sold out. I picked up two packets of these cucur bubuk (4 for RM1.00)…

…and yes, they were very nice. I’m sure they would be much nicer piping home from the wok but I was too lazy to heat them up even so I just ate them like that.

One last stop before I headed home that morning and that was at our neighbourhood fruit and food shop. I bought the fish burgers there that day, RM10 for a pack of 3 and we all thought they were really good. I saw that they had those again but sold singly at RM3.50 each but if I were to buy three, I would be able to get them for RM10.00, still the same.

When I blogged about them that day, I said that I loved the buns, much nicer than those used by the celebrated fast food franchises and this time around, upon closer scrutiny, I realised that they had used chu nu miang…

…instead, the softer and slightly sweet version of the kompia. I believe they make there own – those have shrunk in size and are so thin and flat now that it would be quite impossible to cut a slit in them to make burgers! I think I did see them sold separately in packs of 5 but I did not ask how much they were selling them for.

That certainly was a morning well spent, shuttling between here and there in the early morning, not so many people out and about, and I was delighted that I did manage to pick up a few nice things of our breakfast and also our tea that day.

The KAMPUNG HILIR MALAY KUEH STALL (2.306518, 111.818691) is located to the right of the SEDC Hawker Centre, opposite the MDS Supermarket at Simpang Tiga while the KOPI KOPI Café & Kitchen MALAY KUEH STALL is located at the blocks of the Kpg Bandong shops, at the back facing Bandong Walk (2.313869, 111.825808) and the main road and 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.

Things change…

I went out early last Saturday morning to buy the very nice laksam here for my girl’s breakfast – she sure enjoys it a lot and of course, I bought a few extra packets to keep in the fridge to heat up and enjoy as and when we feel like it.

On the way home, I stopped by here along the way to buy their nasi lemak…

…for our lunch, RM5.50 a packet with sambal sotong.

It used to be so so good, second to none. The instant you opened the lid of the insulated rice container, the fragrance of the santan would surely sweep you off your feet. However, I think I did mention before that lately, it had been somewhat disappointing. Things change – the prices of coconut, shallots and everything else for that matter have been shooting up like nobody’s business but they are still selling everything here at those same prices. Personally, I wouldn’t mind an increase as long as they maintain that quality in what they dish out but I guess others may not share those same sentiments.

It is still good, that much I would say, still a bit lemak and more lemak than most, if not all, of the rest. The sambal sotong…

…tasted more savoury than sweet, not quite like the regular nasi lemak sambal.

Incidentally, if you opt to have the ayam goreng (fried chicken), the boss has enlisted the services of one of the boys who used to run one of those fried chicken stalls to cook the chicken to go with the nasi lemak. I saw some in the display cabinet – the drumsticks seemed like they had a lovely crunchy coating, not unlike Colonel Sanders’. I would give it a try the next time I come by here.

Another thing the boss told me was that he had taken over the corner shop in the block of shops a stone’s throw away. That used to be a seafood restaurant – I don’t know if they have moved to another unit there or they have called it a day. When the place is ready, one can sit there comfortably instead of in the current makeshift kind-of-dilapidated shed with an assortment of old tables and chairs and discarded banners which are such an eyesore really, for  a bit of shade against the morning sun!

I guess the place will be open in the morning, around 7.30 usually, right through till lunch time and other than the nasi lemak, there is their very nice mee jawa and by mid-morning, they also have nasi biryani. According to the boss, there will be somebody selling some western delights at night. I probably would not be rushing there to try though – I hardly go out at night these days.

The NASI LEMAK BANDONG WALK stall (2.313869, 111.825808) is located at Bandong Walk, Jalan Bandong somewhere in front of the block of shops

Moon River…

Last Sunday, we decided to take a break from our stay-at-home routine and go out for lunch.

I saw on Facebook that they had nasi Arab served with mutton curry at one place here so we made our way there. Actually, we had that there before and we had forgotten all about it completely. That shows how forgettable it was and obviously, it was not that great as we never went back for more.

Anyway, when we arrived there that day, I saw that there were so many cars parked outside the shop and I was really pissed off by how there were motorcycles in the few vacant spaces available, one in each parking space. These people are so inconsiderate! We looked into the shop and we saw a whole lot of people – it did not look like there was a table available. No, there was obviously no social/physical distancing and at a quick glance, I did not see anybody wearing a mask either! In the end, we decided to go elsewhere instead.

My girl asked about the wat tan hor that I was telling them about and she wanted to give it a try. That was why we ended up there. Gee!!! I am becoming quite a regular at that place!

I ordered the nyonya egg skin popiah (RM3.00 each)…

…from the so-called nyonya stall.

I wanted the kuih pai tee too but the boy said they were all sold out which I felt was a lame excuse. Some of my friends went there and they were told that same story too. If they were selling so well, they could have made a whole lot of the shells and kept them in an airtight tin for use…anytime! I am quite sure they did not make any at all and was lying through their teeth. Honestly, I am amazed by how these people can run a business like that! To be frank, considering how all their other dishes weren’t that great, they should just forget about them and concentrate on these two.

The ladies just had a slice of the popiah…

…and yes, they said it was very nice, much nicer than when I bought it home that day and it had turned all soggy. My girl did not like the raw cucumber inside though and needless to say, she prefers the ones that I make a lot more…anytime!

I went to the Seremban guy’s stall and placed our orders and we all sat at a table outside and waited to be served.

My girl had the Cantonese ying yong (RM5.50)…

…and she was visually delighted the instant it came. When she tried it, it swept her off her feet and she declared it to be the best in town!

She said that it reminded her of a place that they call Er Chea, which probably means 2nd Elder Sister, at this lane in Sungai Petani that is lined on both sides with hawker stalls. She and her friends would walk there after the church service on Saturday nights for a very late dinner/supper before going back to their hostel. She said that they had that there at one of the hawker stalls but at times, it was not open so she would have something else instead.

My missus wanted the claypot lau shu fun/老鼠粉 (RM8.00) but got the fried version (RM6.00)…

…instead. I wanted the boy (probably the son, there to help out on a Sunday) to take it back but my missus said it was all right as it looked really good and she was overwhelmed by the wok hei fragrance the instant it was served. Yes, she was very happy with it and did not mind the mix-up one bit.

Like what I said in my previous post, I would come back  here and try the Moon River (RM5.50)…

…and that was what I did but unfortunately, it was not what I was expecting. I remember that the few that I had had before had char kway teow, dry as the base with the raw egg on top. This one had the kway teow fried KL Hokkien mee-style so even though it was all right, not too bad, in fact, it was not what I was looking forward to so I was rather disappointed. If it had been the guy’s very nice KL Hokkien mee plus the egg, it might have tasted much nicer. I don’t think this is anything I would want to order again.

That lunch was RM23.00 altogether (excluding the drinks), way below SGD/AUD/NZD10.00 for the three of us – it’s so cheap here, isn’t it?

玛莉娘惹料理 MARY’S NYONYA CUISINE and NOODLE BAR are located at the GRAND WONDERFUL FOOD COURT (2.309601, 111.845163) along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, on your left just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall. You can also go in via Lorong Pipit 4, turning left into the lane at the junction where Starbucks Sibu is located and go straight ahead from there.