RM 30 Coconut Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodles @ Dian Xiao Er

dian xiao er prawn noodles

I’ve heard people telling me about this after I posted about the RM 33 big prawn noodles in a coconut available at Glory Cafe in Sarikei. Rowena and Alex both told me that Sibu itself has a version of this which they copied from Glory Cafe so I went to check it out with my dad yesterday. It’s located far inside the Ding Lik Kong industrial area near Igan River, which is about a 20 minute drive from Sibu town.

ding lik kong 31

It’s actually quite easy to find, I just forgot about the place. My dad called my uncle and got us oriented and it was just a matter of following road signs after that.

dian xiao er

The name of the coffee shop is Dian Xiao Er and it’s located along a block of shophouses that has three (!!!) coffee shops – it’s the middle one and they have a large banner promoting their Coconut Tom Yam Big Head Prawn Noodles.

dian xiao er sibu

The guy taking our order was a very friendly and chatty young kid who seemed to take a liking to me. He told me that there’s at least 5 different places in Sibu that offers the same thing now – all duplicates of the original recipe from Glory Cafe. He also confided that he’ll be shifting work places at the end of the month and he personally did not think this was as good as the Sarikei version.

sibu coconut big prawn noodles

I was pleased to see that the big head prawn (大头虾) is indeed quite large with claws intact.

big head prawn

The big head prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is favored by Sarawakians due to the more intensely flavored meat. The other common type of prawn here is the big white prawn (Litopenaeus vannamei) which is milder. You can see the difference – the former really has a huge head in relation to the size of its body. If it were an inanimate object, I’ll compare it to a bobblehead or a chibi anime character. smirk

claws 2B pencil

The claws are very important too as the meat from them is equivalent to a *2B pencil*!

me big prawn noodles

I had a taste of the tom yam soup and I thought it was quite similar to Glory Cafe except for five key differences:

  • Calamansi lime not cooked in
  • Lemon grass stalk is chopped up (makes it hard to eat with the short inedible bits)
  • Cheap canned mushrooms from China used here
  • Not as much coconut juice
  • Spicier tom yam soup but less prawny broth

uncooked calamansi lime

The uncooked calamasi lime is the obvious one as Glory Cafe in Sarikei has a very mushy lime that’s almost *disintegrating* compared to this relatively fresh specimen and that adds a lot to the tom yam flavor profile.

sibu me dad

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my meal and it turns out to be cheaper than driving down to Sarikei for their RM 33 Tom Yam Coconut Big Prawn Noodles. It’s also better than the notorious RM 35 big head prawn noodles in Min Kwong. There are some problems with the recipe and it’s not exactly similar to the original one in Sarikei – anyone would be able to tell from a blind test taste.

sibu big prawn noodles

However, the one in Dian Xiao Er is a reasonably good facsimile of the original Glory Cafe Tom Yam Coconut Big Head Prawn Noodles and I’ll recommend it if you don’t feel like driving down to Sarikei – you can have your fix right in Sibu! It’s located at Lorong Ding Lik Kong 31.

Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodles served inside a coconut for RM 33

coconut tom yam big prawn noodles

Behold! This Coconut Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodle is the latest innovation from Glory Cafe in Sarikei and it’s not just served inside a coconut, it’s cooked with *coconut juice*! I’ve been eating their famous tom yam spin on big prawn noodles since 2008 and it’s worth the hour’s drive from Sibu. It used to retail for RM 14 and was subsequently raised until the current price at RM 33 per bowl (or coconut, rather).

glory cafe sarikei

The first time I went, I was so taken by their take on the big prawn noodles that I wrote a glowing review. Strange thing was, the owners actually took notice and printed out my blog post and pasted it on their stall. Thus, the next time I went, they actually served me a complimentary bowl of their tom yam big prawn noodles for the early exposure!

glory cafe

I drove down to Sarikei to show my better half and my dad what this storm in a teacup bowl is all about over the weekend. We just had lunch and wasn’t sure what time Glory Cafe closes so it’s a good thing Joyce got us the number and I called ahead. It used to be cheaper than the notoriously priced RM 35 big prawn noodles in Sibu so people in the know started coming here but it’s now almost the same price.

big prawn noodles sarikei

The Coconut Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodles here tastes a lot better though! They still serve the old version in a bowl instead of inside a coconut but the new coconut variant is better. The updated recipe is actually very sweet and I asked what the difference was – it turns out that they actually use coconut juice instead of water to make the tom yam soup for the big prawn noodles!

coconut tom yam prawn noodles

There are two different options for prawns/shrimp – RM 25 for a coconut bowl of big white prawn (Litopenaeus vannamei) and RM 33 for the larger giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). The latter is actually cheaper in Sarikei coz it’s closer to the source and it’s what people here call da tou xia (大头虾) or big head prawn. We went for the latter since it tastes a lot better and it’s the traditional prawn to go into big prawn noodles.

prawn noodles in coconut

It’s absolutely delicious! My dad was still full so me and my dear shared a coconut bowl of the tom yam big prawn noodles. There’s actually not a lot since the volume inside of a coconut is rather small (the husk makes up a large mass of the actual coconut) but it’s the perfect serving for one.

sharing plates

There’s one large big head prawn inside split into four and about a fistful of noodles but it tastes soooo good – the broth is spicy and savory and sour and sweet at the same time, this really hits all the notes. I wished we ordered a coconut bowl each but that would be too much since we just ate lunch.

coconut juice

We also ordered coconuts for drinks (RM 3.50 each) and my dear tried their new homemade coconut pudding (RM 6). The coconut pudding is very popular – almost every table ordered it, and we wanted to check it out too. It’s made in-house with coconut milk and coconut juice and it’s not the same thing as the coconut jelly that we have in KL and Thailand. It’s sweet and the perfect counter-balance for the tom yam big prawn noodles.

coconut pudding

The tao geh nio gave me a strange look when I paid the bill and she said I looked familiar and I told her about how I used to make the hour long drive down just to eat their noodles and wrote the original review they printed out six years ago. Haha. This is a relatively new dish – it was just launched last year so if you haven’t been back in a while, I would highly recommend Glory Cafe’s Coconut Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodles.

glory cafe us

It’s definitely worth the time to drive down but keep in mind that they’re very full during weekends and the last order is before 4 pm.

Kedai Kopi Wan Wan

kedai kopi wan wan

Kedai Kopi Wan Wan is an auspiciously named eating
establishment in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The eatery specializes in fish
noodles (as in noodles made of fish puree) and fish pieces (also made
from the same puree). It came highly recommended from a KK resident who
claimed that seafood and the fish noodles here are the only noteworthy
specialties in Sabah.

wan wan al fresco

It seems that a lot of KK residents agree, as the place was packed
during lunch and even well after lunch hour. Kedai Kopi Wan Wan spans
two large shop houses and is neatly compartmentalized into indoor and
outdoor (the term al fresco should never be used to describe the
Malaysian dining experience) spaces. The tables were filled with people
eating the much lauded fish noodles and a side dish of fish slices in
soup.

wan wan fish community

The three of us and the couple residing in KK that we met up with
recommended eating the dish like the locals do – having a personal dry
noodles dish and a shared fish noodles and fish slices in broth
community bowl. The fish slices/noodles (or a combination) is cooked
with the soup of your choice and the interesting bit about this
establishment is that the soup is refillable at no cost, much like a
steamboat.

assam tom yam fish

This is fish slices in Assam Tom Yam soup. It tastes like tom yam soup with a dash of the sour assam
tang. The fish slices in this dish are made from real fish cuts. Fresh
fish is cheap and plentiful in KK due to its proximity to the sea.

assam tom yam fish personal

Here’s a closer look at the fish slices in the orange looking Assam
Tom Yam soup. The soup is hot and spicy and the fish tastes good when
paired with the dry noodle dish.

cin tan fish noodles

This dish is based on plain broth (cin tan in Mandarin) and
is a combination of fish slices and the famous fish noodles. It tastes
better in this implementation as the soup is bland and does not
overpower the taste of the fish.

cin tan fish noodles personal

The fish slices are made from fish flesh which has been grinded up
and shaped into rough, uneven slices. It’s a little like a flat
fishball. The fish noodles are thick, flat noodles made of the same
processed fish.

dry tossed noodles

The main fish soup dishes are meant to be eaten with this dry noodle dish, in lieu of rice. This dry noodle dish is also called kon lo mee
(dry tossed noodles) like its Kuching counterpart, except that it’s
eaten with fish instead of meat, presumably due to the relative
abundance of the former in KK.

kon lo fish noodles

Our hosts were kind enough to order another popular variant of this – kon lo
fish noodles. It’s like the dry noodle dish, except that it’s made with
fish noodles instead of flour noodles. It’s tossed and served dry, and
it’s interesting to eat a noodle dish made entirely of fish flesh.

It’s surprisingly good…

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