Fisherman Restaurant is located at a rather decrepit part of town and maintains an unassuming facade. I’ve always wanted to check the place out and went with a couple of friends last night for dinner.
The place even has it’s own 24 hour security detail…living out of cardboard boxes. I’m sure that provides a very nice ambiance for some people, but it didn’t do much for me. 😉
Fisherman Restaurant’s main claim to fame is being featured on TV3’s Jalan Jalan Cari Makan. They’re the first in Sibu to get on the TV food program as an eating establishment serving authentic Melanau food.
Complimentary keropok (local prawn crackers) is served when the diners are seated. It’s actually made of fish and expands to a gigantic size when deep fried.
The service at Fisherman Restaurant is excellent, with a lounge waiting area and attentive waitresses in uniform. The proprietor also came over to ask how the food was, which is a nice touch.
We ordered mainly from the TV3 selected menu for their program. This was recommended by the owner as the best of the best.
This is Umai (RM 10) which is hands down the most well known Melanau dishes out there. It’s made with raw, thinly sliced black pomfret (a kind of fish) marinated in onions, chillies, and calamansi lime juice. It’s a staple of Melanau fishermen out at sea and eaten with sago.
The proprietor also recommended the Paku Santan (RM 7) which is a special that’s not on the menu. It’s local jungle ferns cooked in a rich coconut milk sauce with shrimps and chillies. I loved it but the two girls didn’t like the Spice Factor (TM) of the dish.
Lokan (RM 9) is another one of Fisherman Restaurant’s flagship dishes and it’s supposedly “the only one in Malaysia”. I’m a little skeptical about this claim since I’ve had the very same molluscs in Sabah. Lokan is a shellfish from local rivers.
This implementation takes the lokan flesh and minces it with a combination of other ingredients before stuffing it back in and deep frying it. It tastes great, this is easily the best dish of the night.
The final dish was also recommended by the proprietor since we didn’t want to eat rice. It’s Melanau Fried Bee Hoon (RM 3.50). Bee Hoon is rice vermicelli and the owner was so proud of this that he insisted we try the rice vermicelli instead of noodles. It’s actually pretty good, and the only dish that the two girls ate any significant amount of.
Fisherman Restaurant is a great place for authentic Melanau food in Sibu and it serves great food despite it’s unassuming exterior. The Lokan is a must try if you eat there.
I heart lokan! =D
the lakan look tempting.
Hey HB kesian la the ‘security guard’, notice there are 2 of them. One is sleeping and one at the surround cardboard box, and his expression is WTF is this carzy dude is doing taking my pic ;p
I went there once last year. Food was nice especially the lokan, prices ok but l wished they’d made the place look nicer. I think the aircon section at Balkis looks better…and the security guards were there already then. Cafe2’s a few doors away. U havent been there?
I went there once last year. Food was nice especially the lokan, prices ok but l wished they’d made the place look nicer. I think the aircon section at Balkis looks better…and the security guards were there already then. Cafe2’s a few doors away. U havent been there?
oh Lokan~ I’ve tried b4. and I also think it’s very nice! =) and the Paku santan as well.. very special.. somehow reading your blog makes me feel very homey! And if u’ve noticed. the “guards” are forever there!
(=’.’=): Yeah, it’s pretty good stuff! You should check it out. 🙂
Roland: It’s a she. Female. There were three of them. Two in the cardboard boxes (male and female) and one sleeping horizontally (male).
suituapui: Yeah, that’s what my dining companion said too. The place could do with a bit of renovation. It looks a little run down.
I love the briyani rice at Balkis. I remember bumping into you once many moons ago at Nur Islamic. 🙂
I’m a regular customer at Cafe Cafe. Wanted to try something different that day. 🙂
chrissy0308: Yeah this place is famous for Melanau cuisine. I know! The homeless folks are there morning and night!
my dadd’s favourtie place…
I shouldn’t have visited your blog at this hour too !!!
Sho hungry T___T
Poor ahlost! Everywhere she turns, there’s food. Must have come from my blog, from the frying pan into the fire! LOL!
Uhh..Lokan. Yumyum.
My mom used to hunt (what the?) search for Lokan exactly at UNIMAS’s current students residential area. We loved the fresh lokan, we ate it raw! Pound some chillies, mix with belacan, squeeze some Calamansi and there you go, slurrpy good… *droolz :p
p/s:gonna exchange link, will link ur blog to mine. thanks for droppin by HB!! I’m flattered.
Ta bao lokan for me.
clementwpy: Okay. Was he in the photo of the interior? Haha! Got some customers there at that time.
ahlost: Viewer discretion is adviced. 😉
suituapui: Food blogs eh? My posts are sometimes about food, sometimes about turning people off food. I remember a big taukeh post that would probably do the latter. Haha!
Cokelatrawkz: I didn’t know you could eat them raw like oysters! I need to go with you when you go on lokan hunts. Should make a good post. I find you when I’m in Kuching. 🙂
Nicole: Sure, no problem. You know when. 😉
I can’t say on the blog la, got work people reading I’m pretty sure.
Raw Lokan?It has its own sweetness that is so undescribable. In Kuching nowadays, it is hard to find suitable river for Lokan-ning. There is one rule that you have to bear when hunting for Lokans. There will be one point when you are looking for Lokans with other friends/hunters…when you keep on finding Lokans more and more till you unaware that you are far from other hunters, you better stop at that point! My mom said, there is ‘something’ dragging you away from your friends and eventually u will get lost. True ooorrr..
The place that my mom used to hunt for Lokan are now vanished. Blame on UNIMAS. Despite Lokans, mom always got small fishes, Asam Paya and some jungle ferns. I miss those days when everything was fresh.
I don’t know where to find Lokan now, but if you’re lucky enough, try to drive along Kota Samarahan area. There are some stalls selling fresh Lokans.
Lokans can be eaten raw, provided fresh. Sometimes my Mom cooks the flesh with some ginger, garlic and make it into Lokan Soup. My friend came up with this recipe, Stir Fry Lokan in Light Soya Sauce. 5stars for that!
Hey, one day if you come to Kuching we can do co-post together. Find an interesting thing to blog about since that we have same interest in eating (my heavyweight bump is the proof!!) or we can go for food challenge, let say Satay. OMG! I heart Satay…….. LOL
Nah, have I made anyone there salivated like a Rottweiler?
*Wink!
Those prices seem cheap.
Do the prawn chips taste like potatoe chips?
yeah looks like a salmonella factory from out front, food looks good tho.
lol at the security guards!
Hi Huai Bin, where exactly in Sibu is this place? 🙂
hi pixeldoll,
just helping hb on your query.
it’s opposite ngiu kee/sibu library, along the same road as the church. it’s at the first end of the shophouses, visible when you are driving to town from brooke drive.
Cokelatrawkz: The Lokan King, perhaps. 😉 Revenge for taking and eating so many of his babies so he wanna eat people.
Yeah! That’s what I’m interested in too – tandem blogging. We go do the same thing and write two independant posts from two different perspectives. 🙂
Dr. Pepsi: Yeah, it’s not a bad price, but there’s cheaper food that tastes better over here. 🙂
jessy: Nope, it’s not even close to the taste of crisps. I don’t know how to describe it but if you ever come over to Malaysia, I’ll be your official tour guide. 🙂
Tom: Haha! Mass production of E.Coli and all that. 😉
Love your sense of humor mate.
Pixeldoll: It’s beside Cafe Cafe which is beside the Tua Pek Gong temple. 🙂
GF: Hello there! That’s the old Fisherman Pub, it’s closed down now. This outlet is the one beside the pagoda temple (the 7 storey one) next to Cafe Cafe. Cheers!
gosh, it shows how long i haven’t been home. ;p
GF: Yeah, the place you mentioned closed down AGES ago. 🙂
Come back, and I’ll personally take you on a refresher tour of Sibu.