Kampua mee is to Sibu what char kueh tiaw is to Penang. There are a lot of good kampua places here but the best is arguably the one beside the fire station, dubbed Ang Kao kampua (Monkey kampua) after the owner’s nickname. I believe most of the locals here know about the income tax fiasco and the buzz that the owner drives two luxury cars, one of them a Mercedes, despite being a “humble kampua stall owner”.
Word on the street is, one day some people from the IRB came in and sat there posing as customers, with an increment clicker to count how many plates of kampua they serve on an average day, tallied against their reported income. The discrepancy was so colossal, no amount of hyperbole can sufficiently describe it, and thus the owner was slapped with a huge fine.
I am not sure about the veracity of the story, but if it’s true, this has made the proprietors understandably wary about people with monitoring devices in general. I was asked if I was a reporter when I waltzed in and started taking photos of the place, and although they are friendly people, I had the distinct impression that they would not take it very well if I had stated that I represent the IRB. Heh!
However, the kampua is the best in town. This is the classic version of kampua mee – the flavor comes primarily from pork lard and shallots. It’s served with finely diced spring onions and char siew.
Monkey Kampua also serves a mean dish of pork liver soup. It’s mixed with pork balls in this photo but kampua is versatile in the sense that you can order it with pien nuk (pork dumplings), in soup (ching tang mien) and with pork liver (tu kang in the local dialect).
I like mine with soy sauce and chilli sauce. The accepted vernacular for this is kampua puak lak puak tau yu and should be preferably vocalized with an appropriate Foochow accent.
My only beef with this place is that they don’t serve beer. 😉
I am glad that they don’t serve you beer =P though it is evil for me to say so =X
Looks like a thicker version of wantan mee. So it’s somewhat like pork noodle using special kind of kampua noodle.
That’s the kampua I grew up eating. The guy’s name was actually Ah Kow and he got into trouble after he bought a Rolex King. The guy running the coffee shop now looks like the son (2nd pic, standing)…and the one making the kampua is the son of Ang Kau who used to run the beef noodle stall. Haven’t seen Ang Kau for a long time…but his beef noodle stall is still there. Oooo…the soup looks nice! I love liver!
Same thing happened to a guy who used to sell Nasi Lemak here in KJ. Only diff is, his nasi lemak was never the same after the IRB paid him a visit. Didn’t help that he was a douchebag too. :3
Not drinking beer, as usual? Which of those are your drink? The air limau or teh peng?
how i miss kampua!! T_T
the only Sarawak food I never know how to appreciate is Kampua Mee. Hahaha. 😛
What a coincidence! I’m eating kampua while reading this. A friend from Kuching was kind enough to tapau a few packets for me. Good stuff!
I think you have just alerted our income tax dept to audit this kampua mee boss again lah:)
@chefmel, *shakehands*
me too… i lurve swak laksa though 🙂
btw, da kampua puak lak puak tau yu looks like wantan mee minus wantan 😀
Hahaha yes, i LOVE sarawak Laksa too! I can eat (and have eaten) Laksa everyday for one straight week! 😛
They don’t serve beer? That sucks! Lol…
pien nuk mien puok tou you puok lak is my favourite! sometimes will add another plate of dry wantan puok tou you! yummilicious! FYI, Hiek Lik Kampua is the best in Sarikei.
oh, Sitiawan also a famous place for kampua mee, as there are a lot of Foo Chow ppl staying there.
never had this before . . . damn must find a way to be in SIBU for HOLS
ahh the jiang you lat mien(soy sauce & Chili) I prefer mine with only soy sauce
HB, vendors make good income to have a house not condo or rent apts and drive nice cars. Seen a few in Singapore and Taiwan. People may think it hard working job but it their own business earn more money than white collars workers too.
It always wonderful to have own business and be own boss. The harder you worked the money still goes back to you.
I’m sure they don’t charge corkage anyway, right? 😀 BYOB!
Anonymous: Heh! Well, it probably won’t do me good to drink that early anyway. Even if it’s a vacation. 🙂
Simon Seow: Yeah, but it tastes totally different from wantan mee. 🙂
suituapui: Interesting! Yeah, this place has been around for ages. Cheers for the history, it seems that his run-ins with the IRB is common knowledge in Sibu. 😉
Naoko: This one is still good though, he probably wants to earn back all the amount he lost. 😉
Aaron: Mine is the limau ais. 🙂
benny: Yup, I haven’t had it in more than a year dy. 🙂
chefmel: Awesome! 🙂
I’m glad that my hometown produces something you like. 🙂
PJ Old Towner: Heh! The tapau one won’t taste as good though – it’s the hot, steaming ones thats te best! 🙂
Still, it’s better than nothing! 🙂
annant: Strangely enough, I don’t like Sarawak laksa. I prefer asam laksa. 🙂
chefmel: I don’t know why, I seem to prefer asam laksa above any other laksas out there. 🙂
maggot: Heh! I know! 🙂
nelson: I like pien nuk mien too, but I tend to prefer the noodles with pork liver soup. Best! 🙂
J2Kfm: I know a couple of people from Setiawan…and one of them is Foochow, who speaks the same kind of Foochow as Sibu people do. 🙂
foodcrazee aka mike: Yeah, you can go to Kuching first (cheaper) then go to Sibu, hit Miri and end in KK before flying back. Do Sarawak and Sabah! 🙂
Darren: Heh! I find that if it comes with both it tastes better. 🙂
Vickie: Yeah, they work long hours too so they don’t have much time to spend their money. It’s unglamorous but you’re literally raking it in while at it. 🙂
KY: Heh! They probably won’t mind as long as you order another drink from them. 🙂
Sibu kampua is the best! 😉
HI PHB, I drool over the post.Theres two particular foods which are unique to sibu and these are KAMPUA, and LAKSA. U’re killing me here with the post. Eh..i thought most kopitiam serves beer..3 for ten (those “imported ones”)? I normally drink beer in kopitiam when im back in sibu. ^^ Eh…enjoy bro…hope to catch u there one day…how long u’re staying in sibu then?
FOOOOOOOODDDD!!
ang kau must be proud to see his stall in there.. ha ha ha… i love the beef noodle there though… 😀
Shirley Snow: Sibu kampua is THE ONLY KAMPUA. Any kampua that’s not from Sibu is not kampua. 🙂
Myst3: I love kampua but I’m not a really big fan of laksa. I like the laksa over here (as in Penang asam laksa) but not Sarawak laksa, curry laska or any laksa with santan in it.
Hey bro, serious call me 016 888 2069 when you’re in Sibu. I hang with a bunch of really cool people back home, we get into all sorts of shit and have a lot of fun together. Join us! 🙂
princess: Kamen, don’t forget my dinner. 😉
clement: Haha! I give credit where credit is due. Ang kao kampua is damn good kampua. I’ve had the beef noodles but I don’t like soupy stuff. If you ask me to name the best beef noodles in Sibu, it’ll be Aho (opposite Wisma Sanytan):
http://www.sixthseal.com/2008/09/aho-mee-sapi-nasi-ayam-restaur.html
Oh really? Then after this a lot people will come to try this THE ONLY ANG KAO KAMPUA in Sibu. ;p I remembered few years back they did serve beer..
Shirley Snow: Yeah, but the problem with Sibu and beer is the licensing issue which most coffee shops don’t care about (at least at night). However, they can be hesitant in the morning.
Ang kao kampua in Sibu is the best! 🙂
Oh glad that i came to read about Angkau Kampau…as i’m going back to Sibu to visit my grandparent over chinese New Year and i’ve been cravin’ to eat a nice bowl of KAMPUA…..wish they have it here in London! I will be their no.1 fan.
Laughin Karma: Yeah, this is one of the most established kampua places in Sibu. It’s so established they even had a run in with the income tax department. 😉
Awesome! I’ll be heading back to Sibu during CNY too, have been missing the kampua back home.
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