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Fisherman Restaurant review

July 14, 2008 by HB

fisherman restaurant

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.

fisherman residents

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 interior

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.

fisherman crackers

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.

fisherman waitress

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.

fisherman menu

We ordered mainly from the TV3 selected menu for their program. This was recommended by the owner as the best of the best.

fisherman umai

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.

fisherman paku

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

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.

lokan inside

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.

fisherman beehoon

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 group

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

Payung Cafe review

July 11, 2008 by HB

payung cafe hidden

Payung Cafe is a new eating establishment nestled in a quiet corner of town. It’s only open for dinner so not a lot of people are aware of the existence of this place yet. Payung translates to “umbrella” in the our fine national language.

payung cafe

Payung Cafe is meant as a secluded al fresco dining establishment that allows you to BYO wine. It has a nice, quiet ambiance that is well suited to conversation. The owner of Payung Cafe is also the resident chef.

ambience

The concept of Payung Cafe is to serve fusion food incorporating elements of the ASEAN countries. The seating arrangements are comfortable, with freshly cut orchids garnishing the tables. It’s nice touches like this that gives out good vibes to the customers.

payung green tea shake

The special of the day was the Green Tea Shake (RM 5) which most of us opted for. It’s made from freshly brewed green tea, not the stuff in cans. It tasted great, the milk doesn’t overpower the green tea and less milk is a Good Thing (TM) nowadays since I seem to have become lactose intolerant ever since I was admitted into ICU for overdosing and got renal and liver failure. Strange eh?

payung papaya salad

The Papaya Salad (RM 5) was the recommended appetizer which we shared. It has strong Thai influences and tasted surprisingly spicy (even for me). It’s nice though, chillies always get the appetite going, or so I’ve heard. 😉

payung spring rolls

Spring Rolls (RM 6) is the Vietnamese influenced starter and it tasted pretty authentic. I know coz I did a tour of duty back in ‘Nam during the 60’s. Me love you long time!

payung shrooms roll

We also ordered the Mushroom Roll (RM 6). I have a lot of experience with the more magical variety of mushrooms and I’m sorry to inform you that this doesn’t contain that kind of mushroom. 😉

otak rice

This is the Otak Rice (RM 8) that Joyce ordered. She missed the otak otak from her days in JB and have been craving for it since.

otak otak

It was so good that she ordered another four (4) otak otak (RM 32) for us to try. Payung Cafe’s implementation of the otak otak contains a secret killer breed of chillies that makes it so spicy even the hardened ones amongst us (me and Kath) were tearing up due to the sheer Spice Factor and the others won’t even touch it. Heh!

payung beef ball bread

I went for the Beef Ball with bread (RM 15). The presentation for this carnivore staple is great, with mint leaves garnishing the dish. However, it should be noted that the portions at Payung Cafe tends to be on the small side. It’s a little bit too small for a main dish.

payung beef ball

There were about 3-4 large beef balls (not the dangling kind, the processed meat) covered with thick tomato based sauce…

payung bread

…and three (3) minuscule slices of garlic bread accompanying it. I wouldn’t even go so far as to call it bread, it’s more like crumpets.

payung pork chop

Colin had the Pork Chop (RM 18) which was also rather conservative in size. Size does matter, okay. It tastes good though, I had a small bite (which took up about 1/4 of the pork chop).

payung dessert 1

The proprietor was kind enough to serve us complimentary desserts though. He also handed me a pen and paper and asked me for my dubious guidance in naming the dishes. The first one was a baked banana pie sprinkled with powdered sugar. I wrote down Tropical Paradise, Bonkers for Bananas, and Banana Pockets.

payung dessert 2

The second dessert is a soft custard topped (heaped, more like) by ground peanuts, sultanas and raisins. I could only think of Nuts about Raisins and Tropical Shower. I don’t know if he’s going to end up using my suggestions but it was a fun exercise nevertheless.

payung group

The obligatory group photo thus ends this post. I’m the one in white. 😉

payung cafe end

Payung Cafe is a quiet alcove nested in a town that has excellent service and great food. The ambiance is soothing as well. They could do with larger portions for the mains but overall, we enjoyed the experience. Cheers!

Guide to making rojak

July 8, 2008 by HB

rojak

Rojak is a local variant of the fruit salad that is usually served with thick, dark sauce and topped with coarsely ground peanuts. It’s a very popular dish for snacking on and Bintangor rojak is one of the most famous rojak concoctions out there, much like Klang bak kut teh. Keing managed to get hold of the rojak sauce from her trip to Bintangor and we decided to make some rojak at Joyce’s house.

The sixthseal.com Guide to Making Rojak:

You will need:
Cucumbers
Pineapples
Potato cakes
Tofu
Rojak sauce

slice cucumber

Slice some cucumbers into coarse chunks. You can peel the cucumbers beforehand if you don’t like the skin. It is important to slice both ends of a cucumber first and use the ends to rub the cucumber – this somehow attenuates the bitterness of the cucumber through reasons unknown to modern science.

diced cucumbers

The cucumber should be processed to be roughly angular chunks instead of pure circular slices for authenticity. No one slices cucumbers into rojak – slicing cucumbers is better suited to sandwiches and eye masks.

heat oil

The next thing to do is to heat up some oil in a frying pan. This is for the tofu and sweet potato fried in batter (optional).

sweet potato

The sweet potato slices in batter can be bought from your friendly neighborhood kueh vendor for RM 0.30 per piece. This can be fried (basically reheated) later for the rojak.

tofu

The tofu should be fried whole instead of being sliced. This is so the frying process only imparts a certain crunchiness to the tofu while maintaining a soft and sauce absorbing interior when sliced.

cut tofu

Joyce tells me that fried tofu should never be sliced – it flattens the entire thing. The proper method is to cut it using sharp kitchen scissors.

build up

The build up of ingredients should be contained in a large base serving dish for easy tossing and mixing.

pineapple

Next, the pineapples. Now, dealing with pineapples can be a bit of a prickly problem. This is due to the circumference of “thorns” on a pineapple (which is one of the naturally occurring Fibonacci sequences in the world). The trick is to slice in an oblique direction down the entire length of the pineapple to cut out the “eyes”. The de-thorned pineapple can then be further sliced into appropriate lengths…
(Or you could just do it like us normal folks and get the pre-sliced pineapples)

pineapple chunks

…and then chunks. Pineapple must be present in rojak despite the hassle involved. It’s not rojak if there’s no pineapple in it.

rojak sauce

The essential ingredient in rojak is undoubtedly the rojak sauce. This is acquired from the famous stall in Bintangor and has a thick, gooey consistency. It’s RM 7 for a bottle of the sauce.

ground peanuts

Ground peanuts is an optional but highly recommended ingredient. You can get it pre-ground in hypermarkets and other supermarkets or just do it yourself in a food processor/mill.

add sauce

Heap all the ingredients into the bowl and then add in the rojak sauce to taste. The rojak sauce should completely cover and saturate all the ingredients until it puddles down at the bottom of the bowl.

add peanuts

Sprinkle ground peanuts over it…

mix

…and mix it well. Don’t toss it like a regular fruit salad, the pineapples are fragile and would likely bruise. Just mix it carefully, blending in all the sauce into the ingredients.

meal

We also had Coke chicken, prepared by Joyce earlier in the day. It’s awesomely tender, the meat practically falls off the bone! It tastes great too. Katherine’s mom also cooked some curry chicken, and she brought a pot of it over and made it into a meal.

rojak done

Here’s a closer look at the finished rojak.

Peppino’s Pizza

June 25, 2008 by HB

peppinos pizza

Peppino’s Pizza is a hole in the wall located in the Pedada area in Sibu. Peppino’s Pizza serves semi-authentic Italian pizzas (about as authentic you can get over here) and there’s a neon sign showcasing their product. It is easy to be put off by the garish fittings, but it’s actually a very nice place to eat, if you don’t mind al fresco seating arrangements.

peppinos pizza seating

Peppino’s Pizza only serves pizza but they are good at what they do. The menu is somewhat limited with just 10 choices, but they also serve Calzone – which is not a Pizza Hut trademark, contrary to popular belief, but a type of pizza which is folded over.

peppinos pizza oven

Peppino’s Pizza puts their pizza in a huge electric oven and it’s about a 15-20 minute wait for each pizza to be ready.

peppinos pizza girl

This is one of the staff with a peel (the paddle thing) when our pizzas were done – baked to perfection.

4 seasons pizza

This is the 4 Seasons pizza that the proprietor recommended. The pizzas are served on a wooden block and pre-sliced into four (4) slices. It’s RM 19 for a small 8″ pizza, RM 28 for a medium sized 10″ pizza and RM 36 for the big 12″ sized pizza.

4 seasons slice

The 4 Seasons pizza (RM 19) comes with toppings that include sweet peppers, mushrooms, ham and tuna. It tastes pretty good, it’s kinda like a fusion between a seafood pizza with the tuna and a regular meat pizza with the ham.

peppinos special pizza

We also had the flagship Peppino’s Special pizza. This is their premier offering and is priced at RM 20 for the 8″, RM 28 for the 10″ and RM 34 for the 12″ pizza. I don’t know why the pricing structure is different from the 4 Seasons pizza, with the largest size ending up cheaper than the 4 Seasons, which contradictorily starts out cheaper for the smallest size.

peppinos special slice

Peppino’s Special is topped with tuna, ham, mushrooms and pineapple and tastes kinda like a Hawaiian pizza with the pineapple topping. I like this one more than the 4 Seasons pizza, it’s juicier with the addition of the mushrooms and pineapple and I like pineapples in my pizza. I like eggs as well, which is an Australian style pizza, but we don’t get that over here.

peppinos pizza us

Peppino’s Pizza serves their pizza on a thin crust, and it’s been around for quite a while and doing brisk business with the overseas students currently working in Sibu. I think that is their target market with their pricing structure (which is similar to Pizza Hut) and the owner has a daughter studying in Australia or New Zealand. I have gotten a lot of good feedback about the quality of their pizzas compared to commercial franchises like Pizza Hut.

Panzer Restaurant

June 21, 2008 by HB

panzer restaurant

I went to Panzer Restaurant last night for dinner. My sources informed me that the place is about to close down and he suggested a bloggers meet at the soon to be defunct Panzer Restaurant before the fat lady sings. Unfortunately, we already made plans for the next weekend’s bloggers meet so thus I went with Faye instead to catch one last dinner before the place shuts down.

panzer interior

Panzer Restaurant has been a regular haunt of mine due to the proximity to my home but to be honest, the quasi Italian fusion food with heavy local influences isn’t really anything to write home about. However, I’ve heard rave reviews from other people. I just go there coz it’s convenient. *shrugs*

cappuccino

She ordered a cappuccino (RM 5) for her drink…

heineken

…while I went with the more manly Heineken (RM 7). 😉

panzer crispy breaded prawns

We ordered the Crispy Breaded Prawns (RM 14.50) for the starter.

panzer sweat prawns

It’s served with sweat and spicy sauce, which made me more than a little dubious about trying the dish.

panzer prawns

It turned out alright though, I think they meant sweet and spicy sauce there. 😉

panzer spaghetti

I had the Spaghetti ai fruta di Mare (RM 19.50) for the mains.

panzer fish

It’s spaghetti with chilly, shrimps, prawns, fish and tomato sauce and is one of their premium dishes. I do not recommend their “flagship” Spaghetti Panzer (RM 16.50) since it’s a poor imitation of this dish and does not come with the fish.

panzer lamb

Faye had the Lamb Shoulder Steak (RM 13). It comes with salad and French fries as well as the sauce of your choice.

panzer garlic

She’s a big fan of garlic sauce despite the havoc it can wreck on your breath. 😉

panzer dragon eye

We shared the Dragon Eye (RM 6.50) for dessert.

panzer dessert

It’s dragon fruit slices with two scoops of the ice cream of your choice and whipped cream.

panzer us

Panzer Restaurant – Catch it before it closes down for good.

Pete’s Deli

June 10, 2008 by HB

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.

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…

Marina Bay Seafood Restaurant

June 6, 2008 by HB

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

June 5, 2008 by HB

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.

Pineapple rice

October 6, 2006 by HB

pineapple rice

Pineapple rice is fried rice with pineapple served in a half a pineapple.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! 🙂

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Sidewalk Cafe review

September 10, 2006 by HB

sidewalk

Sidewalk is an eating establishment located at the BDC / Green Heights area which is similar in concept to Oregano [sixthseal.com], the other eating establishment it is frequently compared to.

sidewalk exterior