Food reviews

Pete’s Deli

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petes deli

Pete’s Deli is a small gourmet deli in Miri. I was looking for a place to eat at around 3:30 pm and most of the eating establishments were closed, so I called Kim up and asked her to recommend a place that’s still open at this hour. She told me to try Pete’s Deli, so off we went to check the place out. Pete’s Deli has been around since 1992 – or so the signboard claims. That’s more than a decade of deli goodness!

petes deli interior

The interior of Pete’s Deli is decorated in retro 60’s style with B&W posters of The Beatles and Elvis Presley (has left the building) dominating the wall facade. The place is small enough to be cozy and there are seating arrangements to accommodate about 30 people if you really don’t mind having no elbow room. 😉

petes deli counter

Pete’s Deli is self-service and orders are taken at the counter. The person manning the counter is none other than Pete’s son. He asked me if I am a blogger, which took me by surprise, before I remembered that the blogging profession (?) has mushroomed and most people who take photographs of everything is probably a blogger. 😉

Peach Lassi (RM 5)

petes peach lassi

This was recommended by Pete’s son. The lassi is made with their famous home made yogurt. It tasted good but there is one major problem with the presentation – with a place like Pete’s Deli, you’ll be expecting proper glassware instead of a disposable Coke paper cup. It’s just not right. I noticed that the other patrons were also served with paper cups, this is a major turn off for a deli of this standard.

petes toasted sandwich 

The Original Pete’s Deli Toasted Sandwiches (RM 7)

petes sandwich

The Original Pete’s Deli Toasted Sandwiches comes with fillings of tuna & mayonnaise, roast chicken, corned beef, cheese or a mix of two fillings of your choice. I went for the roast chicken and cheese toasted sandwich. It was alright – the fillings were recommended by the proprietor, my original choice was for tuna and corned beef but he said it wouldn’t taste right.

petes oxtail stew

Oxtail Stew (RM 24)
Oxtail slow cooked till fork tender.

petes oxtail

This is the oxtail stew which is one of their more popular dishes from the dinner menu. Pete’s son was kind enough to cook this for us despite that fact that the dinner menu doesn’t officially start until 6:30 pm. It can be ordered with rice or mashed potatoes. KJ went with the rice. The oxtail stew is great, and there’s no false advertising here – the meat really is fork tender. 🙂

petes lamb shank

Lamb Shank (RM 34)
Lamb shank braised in mouthwatering gravy.

petes lamb

This is Faye’s order and is one of Pete’s Deli’s signature dishes. The lamb shank is huge and comes with an option of rice or mashed potatoes. Faye went for the mashed potatoes.

petes lamb meat

The lamb shank comes off easily from the bone and the meat is tender and flavorful. This comes highly recommended from me.

Pete’s Deli Cookie (RM 4)

petes deli cookie

This is not on the menu but was again recommended to me since it just came out of the oven. RM 4 for a cookie is a little on the steep side, despite the sprinkled powdered sugar presentation. It tasted good though, as all oven fresh cookies do. 🙂

petes deli us

Pete’s Deli would be your friendly, neighborhood deli that serves delicious lamb shanks and oxtail stew. Now, if only they would do away with the disposable paper cups…

Kokoberry in Delta Mall

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kokoberry

Kokoberry is a franchise specializing in bubble tea and other drinks. It’s a franchise that I saw in Miri and it’s now available in Sibu, operated by none other than fellow blogger Mary Ting in Delta Mall.

kokoberry menu

Kokoberry has a very impressive menu of drinks ranging from bubble tea to coffee. It focuses on milk based drinks and also has a range of crepes which were unfortunately out of stock this morning.

kokoberry counter

Mary (better known as goolooloo in the blogsphere) recommended the drinks from the Top 9 menu, which is the nine most popular drinks by Kokoberry. She was kind enough to allow me to tour behind the counter to take photos of Kokoberry.

blueberry yogurt shake

This is the Blueberry Yogurt Shake (RM 4.20 / RM 3.80). It’s one of the premium drinks from the Top 9 menu that contains real fruit pieces. It tastes great and I bet it’ll do wonders for your bowel movements too. 😉

ice blended cappuccino

This is the Ice Blended Cappuccino (RM 4.30 / RM 3.90) which would make a great start to your day. I made an appointment with Mary at 10:30 am but I…er, kinda woke up late and only got there at 11:15 pm. The coffee gave my hungover neurons a kick start. 🙂

ice cream rainbow

This is the Ice Cream Rainbow (RM 2.90 / RM 2.60) which is made with strawberry ice cream. Mary warned me that this is a very sweet drink and I have to agree, despite having a bit of a sweet tooth. Sugar rush! It contains bits of jelly and the squiggly green things in chendol, which adds to the texture of the drink.

kokoberry duo

I also found out that drinking from two different drinks at the same time does wonders to the texture and taste, much like the famous Ratatouille scene. 😉 Shotgun bubble tea!

kokoberry me mary

This is Mary, who is the owner of Kokoberry. Kokoberry has a loyalty program that charges lower prices for members (hence the two prices listed above). She was kind enough to provide us the drinks for free. Thanks Mary!

Support your local blogger business initiatives! 🙂

Kokoberry is located at Delta Mall, Sibu.

Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant

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marina bay seafood restaurant

Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant is a new eating establishment built at the Miri marina near the iconic seahorse statue facing the sea. Kim and Mark wanted to check it out at night but were kind enough to accommodate my schedule by bringing me there for lunch instead. 🙂

marina bay signage

The place seems to be referred to as ulumulu by a lot of local Mirians but the only signage I saw called it the Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant. The waitresses were all wearing uniforms with the same title so I’m not sure if this is the same place as ulumulu, but it’s the only restaurant at the Marina Bay in Miri.

marina path

There is a wooden path surrounding the area beside the sea and it offers a great view of the coastline and the cityscape across the body of water. There are also two smaller structures besides the main wooden restaurant construction as a more private dining enclave. The two clubhouses are still under construction but the main restaurant is complete.

seahorse miri

The landmark of the Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant is a huge bronze seahorse facing the sea. It’s the official mascot (?) of Miri, just like ours is the swan. Sibu is called Swan City for a reason…and no, I know we’ve not actually achieved city status yet, Kim. :p

marina yatch

The marina is located to one side of the Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant and all kinds of seafaring vessels were parked there – from fishing boats to yatchs.

deep blue sea

The sea in Miri is a deep blue that is rivaled only by the best beaches in Sabah. The gentle undulating waves and the cool breeze coming in from the beach makes the leisurely stroll from the car park (which is quite a distance away) to the restaurant rather enjoyable.

marina bali

The architecture of Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant is heavily inspired by Balinese and Siamese themes and attention is paid to the most minor details, giving it an authentic ambiance of a marina retreat.

marina server

There is a waitress on duty for seating diners at the main entrance. The ground floor of the place is a bar and lounge while the restaurant is located on the second floor.

marina stairs

There is a flight of stairs that one has to climb to reach the restaurant upstairs and you’ll be escorted by one of the Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant waitresses. The service over here is truly international class.

marina interior

The dining area is huge and consists of various seating accommodations of every configuration you can think of. There is no air-conditioning in the place but the sea breeze makes the temperature just right even for midday dining and you get all the benefits of al fresco dining without being rained on.

varandah

There is even a verandah area which doubles as the smoking section of Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant.

marina view

There is a great view of the ocean and the interior design capitalizes on this by making one side of the restaurant open to the breeze coming in from the sea. I find that the open sea view and the smell of the ocean does wonders to my appetite.

open kitchen

Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant has an open kitchen concept where the entire kitchen, ovens and all, are visibly located beside the restaurant. The entire place is kept neat and clean, which is quite a feat, considering the size of the restaurant.

marina waitress

This is our waitress for the day. She’s wearing a white Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant uniform.

marina oj

I had the orange juice (RM 8.50) which came with a slice of the fruit on the rim of the glass it came served with. The watermelon juice also contains a thin slice of watermelon as a garnish as well.

marina noodles

Mark went for the Oriental menu and had the Fried Yee Mee with Seafood (RM 30). The seafood bits are quite generous, with fish and squid dominating the dish. The general consensus was that the yee mee tastes better than the fried vermicelli.

marina rice vermicilli

Darren also ordered from the Oriental menu – Fried Vermicelli Noodles with Eggs and Seafood (RM 30). It tasted pretty good but it was a little bit too dry from the frying process.

pan fried salmon fillet

Kim had the Pan-Fried Salmon Fillet with Ragout of Squid and Lemon Grass Pepperonata Drizzle with Mirin Reduction (RM 38).

salmon fillet

The salmon tasted better than mine since it had sauce on it and it’s pan-fried instead of grilled.

trio seafood

I had the Trio Grilled Seafood on Bed of Mash Potato served with Crispy Julienne Veggie and Lemon Hollandaise Sauce (RM 78) which the waitress recommended.

salmon

There is grilled salmon, which came out a little bit too dry but the presentation was excellent.

cod

The cod is great though, tender and juicy.

prawn

The prawn is fully de-shelled and is one of the best fresh water prawns that I’ve ever tasted.

poached pears

I also ordered the Poached Pears in Saffron served with Vanilla Panna Cotta (RM 18) for dessert.

marina group

I know I look kinda fucked up. My eyes look soulless, or so I’ve been told. My drink was spiked with three (3) tablets of Ecstasy just the night before and I only slept for 2 hours before the lunch at Marina Bay.

marina bloggers

This is the blogger group photo from Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant. L-R: Darren, Huai Bin (me), Kim, Mark (who is a blogger by association with Kim). 😉

marina sipping drinks

I still had half a glass of OJ left and insisted on having Kim pose with her empty one. 🙂

marina me darren

This is me and Darren, who joined us at the Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant after he went back to get his d-SLR.

marina me kim

I had a photo taken with Kim at the veranda with the sea as the backdrop. I thought this would make a nice photo with the palm trees swaying in the wind.

hb kim mark

Thanks goes out to Kim and Mark who picked me up and drove me around Miri. Much love!

marina seaside

We went for a walk by the seaside to take a photo with the Miri Seahorse after the meal. The weather was just right for a stroll, if you disregard the midday sun and head for the shaded areas. 😉

beachfront property

There were a lot of beach front properties across the marina. It would be a really nice place to live in, just by the seaside with the beach just a step away from your front door.

mark kim

Kodak Moment: Mark attempts to throw Kim into the sea.

marina titanic

*cue Titanic music*

marina titanic take

This is Take #2 of the iconic Titanic scene. It seemed that we didn’t look “sad” enough for an accurate reenactment in the first photo. I put on my best sombre face for the second take but Kim was kinda smiling so this is the final version:

marina titanic final

Jack: Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me… it brought me to you. And I’m thankful for that, Rose. I’m thankful. You must do me this honor, Rose. Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.
Rose: I promise.
Jack: Never let go.
Rose: I’ll never let go. I’ll never let go, Jack.

marina titanic foursome

The Titanic Foursome (The Titans?)

marina fishing

The Marina Bay has a lot of No Fishing signs which in grand tradition, was largely ignored. 😉

miri seahorse

I had fun with Kim, Mark and Darren in Miri. Thanks for all the great memories! 🙂

Dragon Seafood Restaurant

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dragon seafood restaurant

Dragon Seafood Restaurant is a popular destination for seafood about 15 minutes away from Miri. I went there with with a couple of friends to check out the famous seafood restaurant in Miri. There is a huge neon sign at the eating establishment, prominently located beside the road, so you won’t miss it.

dragon seafood paradise

The actual restaurant itself is about 100 meters into the turning. The proprietor had the audacity to call it Dragon Seafood Paradise. 😉 It’s surrounded by palm trees and the structure is made of timber products which makes it very inviting. There was a bit of a cool breeze when we went there that night too.

dragon aquarium

This is the signature aquariums popular in seafood establishments where the marine life is kept alive until the customer picks one. The chef then uses a net to haul the one you want before it’s cooked straight in the kitchen. There are various fishes, mussels, oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters and prawns on offer at Dragon Seafood Restaurant.

dragon interior

The interior of Dragon consists of a large hall dining area which can easily accommodate 300 people. There is no air conditioning at the restaurant, but ample fans bring down the temperature and the breeze coming in from the sea cools the place down significantly. There’s a lovely beach view due to the locality of the establishment too.

dragon hut

Dragon Seafood Restaurant also has several private dining alcoves which contains a single table and a wooden walkway leading to the hut. I noticed that this is one of the more popular options – probably coz the people wouldn’t want to mix with the proles at the hall dining area. 😉 There are wooden Venetian blinds on all sides of the wooden huts for additional privacy.

dragon waitress

This is our waitress of the day. She recommended a couple of their signature dishes and was kind enough to pose for a photo for the blog. I was a little surprised when she mentioned that she blogs too (in Chinese). Interesting..

danish royal stout ginseng.

I think that seafood is best paired with beer (or stout) and I ordered Danish Royal Stout Ginseng which is manufactured under the Carlsberg group. Carlsberg sponsored the neon billboard of Dragon Seafood Restaurant – it’s in the first photo. This stout is rich and goes well with seafood. The addition of ginseng is a great idea as it contributes to the rich flavor of the stout.

dragon rice

The first dish that came out was the Dragon Garlic Rice with Seafood. It’s customary for Chinese restaurants to divide the dish on another table into smaller bowls before serving it. This only applies to soup and rice though. The remaining rice is left at the center of the table for second helpings.

garlic rice

The Dragon Garlic Rice with Seafood tastes good. This is one of their flagship dishes that the waitress recommended in place of plain steamed rice. There are bits of seafood inside the rice and the garlic rice is done just right – perceptible, but not overpowering. It’ll still wreck all sorts of havoc with your breath though. This dish would give you some serious halitosis problems but it tastes great! 😉

soup divide

The next dish was the Seafood Soup. It was also divided on the adjescent table and divided into four (4) equal servings before the bowls were passed to us.

dragon soup

The Seafood Soup had clams, abalone and fish pieces. It’s more like a broth – the liquid is clear and infused with flavors from the seafood ingredients.

dragon clams

This is a clam dish cooked with a variety of herbs and spices. The clams are huge and different from the ones we get over here. It’s surprisingly tender and juicy too. The best thing about the clams is that it’s fresh, unlike the ones we get over in Sibu which tend to have a bit of an odor associated with it.

dragon prawns

The next dish is Faye’s favorite seafood order – prawns steamed with eggs. The implementation at Dragon Seafood Restaurant is nice and the presentation is better than the regular restaurants. The prawns were tender enough to be eaten wholesale together with the shell. Well, at least that’s how I eat it, but then again, I’ve been told I have a cast iron stomach. 😉

dragon crabs

The final dish was butter crabs. The crabs we eat over here tend to be cooked with eggs or chilli but there is now an increasing trend of ordering butter crabs. The crabs are deep fried with butter to create fluffy buttery pieces. I love this dish, and I could also eat the shell (except for the huge ones) which surprised my dining companions.

dragon us

Dragon Seafood Restaurant is a nice
eating establishment that s
pecializes in seafood. The seafood is fresh and the service is attentive. It can be a little far from Miri town but it’s worth the drive.

The Manhattan Fish Market

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manhattan fish market

The
Manhattan Fish Market (MFM) is a high end fast food eating establishment
in the vein of T.G.I. Friday’s and Chili’s Grill & Bar. The Spring has
one of the franchise outlets and Irene brought us there for lunch coz we
didn’t eat on the flight to Kuching.

mfm interior

The Manhattan Fish Market traces its
history back to the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, New York. The 180
year linage of the Manhattan Fish Market under the Brooklyn Bridge is the
basis of this seafood restaurant franchise. MFM specializes in seafood of
all sorts – fish, oysters, mussels, lobsters, crab etc. If it has fins or
a shell, it’s probably on the menu at The Manhattan Fish Market.

mfm tv

The MFM
outlet at The Spring shopping mall has a wood based interior with solid
timber dominating the features, a rather environmentally unfriendly but
warm design implementation. The localization attempt has a huge plasma TV
showing a video from Ikan Terhandal Malaysia (Expert Fishing Malaysia), a
monthly magazine for fishing enthusiasts with a VCD showing recreational
fishing amateur footage.

mfm wood

The Manhattan Fish Market also has a consistent
theme – the focus is on seafood and there are old framed posters of fish,
lobster and crab on the walls, presumably the very same ads from the
Fulton Fish Market nearly two centuries ago.

mfm board

The table has the signature
MFM chopping board in place of the usual plate setting in other
restaurants. This trademark is from the Fulton Fish Market days when fresh
tuna (and other catch) were brought in and chopped up before being
sold.

mfm quencher

Captain’s Quencher (RM 6.90)

This is a carbonated orange twist that I ordered. Very refreshing and thirst quenching. No misleading naming conventions here. 🙂

mfm espresso

Espresso (RM 12)

A much needed shot of caffeine to jolt myself awake…

mfm mussels

Garlic Butter Mussels (RM 13.90)

Delicious poached mussels in creamy Manhattan garlic butter sauce. Comes with slices of baguettes.

The mussels in garlic sauce tastes absolutely divine! There weren’t
enough to go around.

mfm catch

Grilled Catch of the Day (RM 17.90)

Grilled catch of the day complete with
Manhattan garlic butter sauce – a healthier choice (presumably compared
to their famous Manhattan Fish & Chips)

Irene had the grilled catch of the day (think it was halibut for that Saturday)

mfm platter

Manhattan Seafood Platter For
Two (RM 42.90)

Deep fried fish fillet, calamari, oysters, and prawns served with chips and garlic rice.

mfm flaming

I shared the Manhattan
Seafood Platter For Two with Phoenix. The waiter had a can of combustible
material and flamed the platter in front of us. This flaming treatment
chars the top of the platter and ensures the carbon goodness is
transmitted properly. 😉

mfm us

The Manhattan Seafood Platter is meant for two
(2) people but even the three of us couldn’t finish it. The serving
portions at The Manhattan Fish Market is generous, meant for larger
appetites than ours. I think the flaming treatment got too close to Phoenix coz her face seems a bit charred from it.

mfm irene

It was really good to meet up with you again on
this trip, Irene! 🙂

mfm logo

The Manhattan Fish Market – now available in
Sarawak.

Mitsu Shabu-Shabu Restaurant

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shabu shabu

Mitsu
Shabu-Shabu Restaurant is one of the oldest and most successful Japanese
eating establishments in Sibu. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to “swish-swish” and is a Japanese variant of the hot pot. This makes it well
suited to local taste buds since the steamboat is already a popular
communal dining option over here.

interior

Mitsu
Shabu-Shabu is unique in a sense that all the seating arrangements have
individual hot pots recessed into the tabletop. The bar dining area and
tables all have personal hot pots. A table for four would have four
individual hot pots and a table of two would have, well, you know, two hot
pots. This must have made it a very popular destination during the Avian
flu scare a couple of years back when people jumped two feet back if you
even looked like you were about to sneeze.

table

The proper method of eating shabu-shabu is to take a piece of the
thinly sliced meat and swish it around several times in the boiling soup
(broth). However, I noticed that it’s more common for the fine citizens of
Sibu to just dump the entire stash of ingredients lock, stock and barrel
into the hot pot. This method is more suited to the coarsely chopped
ingredients of a steamboat instead of the thinly sliced meats of
shabu-shabu.

beef

This is the Mitsu Mixed Beef
Meat Set (RM 25) which contains a selection of thinly sliced cuts –
tenderloin, rib eye, sirloin and even bacon (of the beef variety).

nori

The main orders come with a dish of nori
(edible seaweed) which is something of a mandatory component of
shabu-shabu (or any other Japanese cuisine for that matter).

sausage

There are also a wide range of side orders from
the mundane to the obscure. This is Taiwanese pork sausage (RM 3).

chicken

This is hand made chicken balls (stop
snickering) which is priced at RM 2 for six balls.

crab

Crab sticks (RM 2) goes very well with hot
pots. It’s actually made of fish meat and flavored with crab (no idea how
they do that) and I love this stuff.

abalone

The
more exotic options include premium grade A1 Taiwan Abalone which is
priced at RM 13.

dump

Faye is a big fan of
shortcuts so she dumped the entire plate into the broth instead of
swishing individual slices of meat around. It should be noted that she was
born and bred in Sibu. 😉

hot pot

The poor meat
and vegetables (and even the abalone) was practically being boiled alive
in the hot pot.

food

I quickly saved a couple
of them by scooping it up into a bowl. Shabu-shabu is eaten with goma
(sesame seed) sauce and steamed rice.

gyoza

The
Seafood Dry Dumpling (RM 3.90) in Mitsu Shabu-Shabu is amazing. The gyoza
is filled with succulent prawns, squid, and fish before being deep
fried.

dumpling

The flavor and moisture of the
ingredients are somehow preserved during the deep frying process,
resulting in a burst of flavor when you bite into one of these. Highly
recommended!

us

“What kind of restaurant
makes you cook your own food?”

mitsu

Mitsu
Shabu-Shabu Restaurant is open till late and adequately air-conditioned.
It’s a good destination for hot pots without being subjected to the
hyperhidrosis associated with steamboats eaten al fresco.

Special Mother’s Day buffet dinner @ RH Hotel

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rh hotel

RH Hotel is having a special Mother’s Day buffet dinner promotion at Oriental Bistro with a door gift and a free ticket for every five tickets purchased.

mothers buffet

It is priced at RM 44 ++ per person and there’s a 50% discount for children below 12 and senior citizens above 55 years old.

rh inside

I went there with Faye and KJ since my parents had a church function they had to go to.

rh steak stand

The highlight of the Mother’s Day buffet dinner is a kebab/steak stand where the chefs cook the cuts of meat you want.

rh steak

There are also various types of sausages…

rh slice

…and they even slice it up nicely for you at your request.

rh abc stand

There is also an ABC (a kind of shaved ice dessert) stand for something sweet to finish your dinner with.

rh abc

You can customize the ingredients and toppings you want inside. I had mine with chocolate sprinkles, which is a decidedly unorthodox topping. 🙂

rh eat

This is what I ended up eating…and this is just for starters coz I was REALLY hungry last night.

rh plate

My plate overfloweth. It contains:

rh scallops

Beef tripe and scallops

rh calamari

Deep fried prawn dumplings, beef rendang, calamari

rh chicken

Prime portions of chicken

rh squid

Deep fried squid and braised duck

rh shrimp

Chicken curry and shrimp with mayonnaise

rh fish

Steamed fish

rh side

There’s even a side dish of various cuts of beef and veal!

rh puffs

I was still feeling a little hungry after all that excess so I attacked the pastries counter for dessert.

rh cream puff

I noticed one of the chefs bringing out a new batch of cream tarts so I got some as well. =D

rh dessert plate

This is the dessert plate that I finished the meal with – I even got four (4) scoops of ice cream to go with it.

rh us

I am a rather fast eater, as Faye has been telling KJ. Faye took a video of me eating the entire plate. This is really the usual speed at which I eat, unless I’m with polite company. 🙂

Speed eating!

Wine & Dine Promotion @ Peppers Cafe

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wine and dine

Tanahmas Hotel is having a Wine & Dine promotion this month with steak air flown in from New Zealand paired with their Seifried wine from Nelson, NZ. Faye was in a generous mood, so she bought me dinner last night. Perhaps me helping her out tutoring had something to do with it as well. 😉

ribeye steak

I had the Grilled Ribeye Steak (RM 44.00 ++) which came with broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, young corn and mashed potato. It comes with your choice of black pepper sauce or mushroom sauce. I’m a big fan of garlic sauce, which I guess is a little unrefined, and can be hazardous to your breath, but it’s really good. Unfortunately, they don’t have that, so I went with the black pepper sauce.

ribeye steak macro

I had it medium rare and the steak came out tender and juicy. The portion is very generous too, well worth the RM 44 price tag.

grilled lamb chop

Faye had the Grilled Sizzling Lamb Chop (RM 26.50 ++) which is also part of the Western Food Promotion (also known as the Wine & Dine promotion). It comes with the same trimmings and sauce options. She went for the mushroom sauce.

fried mee mamak

We also ordered fried mee mamak (RM 13.00 ++) to share. I like Tanahmas Hotel’s (the place is really called Peppers Cafe, I don’t know why everyone calls it Tanahmas Hotel) fried mee mamak – it’s very spicy.

chimpanzee shake

This is the Chimpanzee Shake (RM 10.00 ++). It’s a peanut butter milk shake and I’ve been having cravings for the stuff ever since I had it a couple of weeks ago. It’s a thick and sinful concoction of peanut butter and ice cream and if you think you’ll like something like this, you probably would. Honestly, everyone I recommended this to came back with rave reviews.

faye present

Faye also presented me with a crudely wrapped DVD sized package as a token of appreciation for my tutoring efforts.

adata 8 gb

It’s an 8 GB USB flash drive. I’ve been wanting to get another one since the one I got earlier this month filled up. It’s the perfect gift for a blogger (or photographer). Thanks Faye! 🙂

us tanahmas

Hey, what’s with the feeding each other routine? :p

Min Kong Cafe RM 20 prawn noodles

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min kong cafe

Min Kong Cafe is well known in Sibu for its RM 20 prawn noodles. Their flagship dish actually reached an all time high of RM 25 per bowl before dropping to its current RM 20 rate. There are other places offering the same dish for RM 12 but for the original Min Kong prawn noodles, there is but one place to eat it.

min kong interior

Min Kong Cafe is air conditioned and also offers traditional fare as well as rice dishes but most people go there for their flagship RM 20 prawn noodles. There are actually three (3) RM 20 offerings – big prawn cooked noodles, big prawn fried noodles, and fish noodles.

tiger beer

I couldn’t try all three in one sitting so I had the famed big prawn cooked noodles first with Amy and some other people from work. I also took the liberty of ordering Tiger Beer (RM 8) since I saw someone eating big prawn cooked noodles on the office Intranet (a supplier) and drinking Tiger Beer and had felt the craving for the same ever since. I guess it’s alright since both times I went there were Saturday afternoons. 🙂

big prawn noodles

The cooked big prawn noodles (RM 20) is known as “ta sia chau chu mien” and is the flagship dish of Min Kong Cafe. It’s very well known for its unapologetic pricing and generous portions of prawns. There are four big prawns in every bowl (it’s actually two, sliced horizontally) and the broth is very prawny.

big prawn noodles macro

Min Kong certainly doesn’t skimp on the good stuff and the portions of noodles are reasonable so it doesn’t fill you up too much. The prawns are also pre-shelled so there’s no hassle involved in shelling the prawns in a bowl of soup (which can be pretty unwieldy, and can cause no small amount of splash damage).

min kong amy

I like!

fish noodles

I also went there earlier this afternoon with Faye and she opted for the fish noodles (RM 20) since she’s not a very big fan of prawns (being allergic to most shellfish as it were). The fish noodles is topped with generous slices (slabs?) of prime fish meat on the top.

fish noodles macro

I just love the beautiful mosaic swirls on the fish meat. It’s wonderfully tender too, well worth the RM 20 price tag. This is a good option if you don’t like prawn, the fish noodles is also chock full of prime ingredients (with an appropriate prime price tag to boot).

big prawn noodles fried

I went for the fried big prawn noodles (RM 20) this afternoon. It’s the lesser known contender to the RM 20 cooked big prawn noodles throne but I certainly wasn’t disappointed by its performance. The same neatly shelled prawns are heaped on top of the fried noodles and I even found the feelers nicely shelled and ready to eat! The gravy is very prawny and concentrated, and the noodles fried just right. I would recommend this lesser known dish to real lovers of prawn instead.

min kon faye

Bon appetit!

Word of the day:

splash damage
(verb)
Otherwise known as the mee soup incident, it is the inadvertent soiling of work clothes due to uncooperative ingredients mishandled during lunch hour.

Ba Sen Baku Teh

by

ba sen baku teh

Ba Sen Baku Teh is an eating establishment specializing in Bak Kut Teh (Pork Rib Tea). It’s located in Kampung Hilir and there is a huge bak kut teh ceramic pot hanging outside the large shop front.

ba sen sign

I went there with Faye for lunch on Sunday. You really can’t miss the distinguished signage. 😉

ba sen interior

The interior is nicely decorated with large, ancient ceramic spice holders and see through blinds. It really goes quite well with the warm red tones that the place is painted with.

ba sen pot

We ordered a pot of pork bak kut teh (RM 5). Bak kut teh is by default made with pork meat. There was a variant called chick kut teh (chicken bone tea) during the swine flu scare a couple of years back but that trend kinda petered out coz the tea just doesn’t taste right without the robust taste of pork.

ba sen bak kut teh

Ba Sen Baku Teh offers add-ons ranging from sea cucumber to pork intestines which is charged accordingly and put into your personal pot of baku teh soup before cooking. We went for pork kidney (RM 2.50), pork liver (RM 1), pig tail (RM 1) and sliced pork (RM 1).

ba sen rice

It tasted quite good and Ba Sen Baku Teh also offers pork bak kut mee where they put noodles into the bak kut teh soup. The place also makes dried Klang style bak kut teh during Saturdays and Sundays.

ba sen group

Ba Sen Baku Teh only has bak kut teh on the menu so unless you’re a fan of the stuff, there really isn’t anything else on the menu to cater to your tastes. However, if you like bak kut teh, it comes highly recommended from me. 🙂

…and I know some of the guys out there have a habit of squinting at the interior photos for any inadvertent upskirt pics. Please don’t squint.

ba sen upskirt

You’ll hurt your eyes. 😉

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