Location: Siong Kee Kampua Stall at Emas Corner 2002

Everyone knows that Sibu is famous for its Kampua Mee. You can find Kampua Mee almost everywhere and anytime you want. And everyone seems to have their own favorite Kampua Mee stall. But I was told that Siong Kee’s Kampua is perhaps one of the most well-known and authentic of all.

I was born and raised in Sibu. I don’t know how Siong Kee’s Kampua taste like and I don’t know what’s the meaning of “Most Authentic”. This morning I went to find up both.

Located inside the Emas Corner 2002 Cafe next to Wisma Sanyan, Siong Kee was probably the heartbeat of the establishment. I went in and saw almost everyone was having their Kampuas. You could spot their staffs wearing their trademark white caps, white T-shirts and red aprons.

I ordered the plain Kampua. That’s all. I found an empty table outside the cafe, in a small side-alley. I didn’t mind. Actually I loved it.

Soon my Kampua Mee arrived. You know I was told by some people that Kuching’s Kolok Mee is served in a bowl while all Kampua Mee is served in a flat plate. Well, the most famous and authentic Sibu Kampua was served in a tiny bowl. The end of the myth.

I tasted the steaming soup first. And I thought even the simple plain soup tasted really nice. It was lightly seasoned, had warming and clean taste. I was delighted. I was more ready now for my Kampua.

Forget about the meat, dry and tough.

And how should I describe the Kampua Mee? It’s not too salty or oily to start with. You could really taste the lard working into the flavor. The noodle was soft. It’s pretty average to be honest but I thought this Kampua Mee retained the old-flavor. This was exactly how Kampua tasted like when I was a kid. Maybe that’s why many call it “Most Authentic”. You can find better Kampua in Sibu. But if you ever wondered how Kampua tasted in the past, Siong Kee is the place to go.

Well, I finished the soup. The Kampua was not bad, but no WOW.

Siong Kee, I think, deserves 2 1/2 Stars for carry on the taste of the tradition.

Chinese specialty, Coffee Shop, News, Sanyan Plaza Area

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Location: Siong Lok Yong Coffee Shop

The old Siong Lok Yong restaurant originally was located in Rejang Park, used to be a hugely popular spot for banquets and dinners. Anyone who had the experience of dinning there before would definitely remember their signature dish, the Braised Pork with Man Tou.

We just had our dinner. But we thought we really missed the dish. It had been a while since any of us tasted it. And so we went for a takeaway. The new restaurant is located near the Dewan Suarah.

The thick cut of streaky pork was braised in five fragrance spice, sugar and soy sauce broth. The fatty part was sticky and jelly-like while the leaner part was moist and still tender. It had a rather sweet taste to it.

The Man Tou was basically small size steamed bun with super soft texture. You need to open up the bun’s mouth and stuffed it with the pork. The bun would absorb the broth like a sponge.

We gave it a try and it was still very nice. But I thought the Man Tou’s size was hugely reduced. The old Man Tou that I remembered was in 3-bite size. Today, it’s hardly a single bite-size. And it’s has nothing to do with the fact that I have a bigger mouth today. Serious!

2 1/2 Stars for this old dish.

Chinese specialty, Coffee Shop, News

Food: Ding Bian Hu & Chao Zhu Mian
Location: Chop Hing Huong, Butterflies Garden, Blacksmith Road.

Chop Hing Huong has been serving old school Foochow food in this back alley tiny cafe for as long as I can remember. This is the birthplace of Ding Bian Hu in Sibu, even possibly the whole of Sarawak. This is where I had my first Ding Bian Hu when I was very young. This is my memory lane.

I returned tonight to do a review. I felt proud. As you could see, it’s personal.

I came with my brother and sister-in-law. We ordered Special Ding Bian Hu (RM 2.60) and Chao Zhu Mian (RM 2.70). As I was taking some pictures of the cafe, looking through the digital viewfinders, I thought as if this place was suspended by time itself. The Hing Huong Cafe looked exactly how I remembered it in my childhood memory.

And so was the Ding Bian Hu. I stared at the bowl placed before me. The Ding Bian Hu looked and smelled the same. When I stirred with the spoon, the subtle motion of the Ding Bian Hu relaxed me. And after I had tasted it, that moment was a bit sentimental. It reminded me of my childhood. Again.

The cuttle fish was crunchy, the fishballs were flavorful, the “Hu” (rice paste) was smooth with good consistency and the broth was comfortingly good, perfectly seasoned, light and delicious. I never ordered any drinks whenever I eat here because it is simply unnecessary. And so was tonight.

The Chao Zhu Mian again was really good. The noodle used had a light crunch on it. The soup was thick and flavorful. Again, the homemade fishballs were quite exquisite.

What I really like about Chop Hing Huong is that they don’t expand their business with setting up branches or offering ambitious list of new menus etc. But instead, they keep doing what they do all these years, and they do it exceptionally well.

If someone lies to me now that Chop Hing Huong’s Ding Bian Hu and Chao Zhu Mian are the best in the world, I would self-ignorantly choose to believe it.

Ding Bian Hu and Chao Zhu Mian get 3 1/2 Stars.

Coffee Shop

Food: Banana Leaf BBQ Stingray, Squids, Fried Kampua and Stir-fried Local Snails.
Location: Bandung Cafe, Bandong Foodcourt Sibu.

Bandong Foodcourt has always been my favorite supper heaven in Sibu. Located nearby the Malay village area, Bandong is famous for its BBQ seafood. Although over the years the popularity in Bandong has declined dramatically due to the establishment of other newer eating places in town, I actually prefer the now more quieter Bandong. For me, this is still the best place to eat reasonable good food with affordable price.

We arrived today after 8pm for a late dinner.

There are many cafe-stalls in Bandong but basically offering rather similar menus. So I was never choosy over which stall to eat. Tonight, we chosen the one located conveniently in front of the entrance called Bandong Cafe.

We ordered what almost everyone would; the BBQ Stingray, BBQ Squids, Fried Kampua and Stir-Fried Local Snails.

Our Ice Bandung and Special Teh-C-Peng arrived. Just okay. Tasted better before.

The BBQ Stingray arrived first. Not much point scored for the presentation. The BBQ sauce was dark and dull, surrounded with a layer of oil. Not sure if I like that.

What I like about Stingray is that you can eat the whole thing and I especially like the edible crunchy soft bones. But speaking of the dish, I guessed the deciding factor was really in the BBQ sauce. Similar to the BBQ Squids that arrived later, I couldn’t guarantee whether the seafood were fresh enough. The strong intensed sauce used to cook the seafood had over-powered everything. The fish was a bit flaky and the squids were a bit rubbery and over-cooked.

I would suggest to side request few more limes and really drenched the whole dish in order to cut through the excessive grease besides adding a sharp fresh sourness to the spicy BBQ sauce. I thought the limes really completed the BBQ sauce.

Kampua noodle was first invented in tossed noodle dishes. Not sure who and when did someone come out with the idea to fried the Kampua noodle. And it actually works. I thought it was nice.

But my favorite was the Stir-fried Local Snails cooked in Gong Bao’s way. I thought the thick-sweet-spicy-gravy coating the snails, cooked with dried chillis, onions and sweet oyster sauce was really delicious and flavorful. In order to eat these local snails, you need to suck out the flesh from the shell’s opening. Just remember to spit out the menbrane attached. The snails were crunchy and tasted really good with the gravy.

I’m not sure if there’s any season for better snails. But what we had were rather small and to be frank, nothing much to eat. Its more of Beer food.
But I did enjoy the dish the most.

Both BBQ seafood and Fried Kampua deserve 3 stars each.There were flaws here and there, but the rich flavors were not to be denied.

The Stir-fried Local Snails get 3 stars as well.
So I guess Bandong Cafe’s food were rather consistent in the quality.

Bandung Area, Coffee Shop, Malay Specialty, News, Sea Food

Food: Beef Noodle
Location: Aho Mee Sapi Nasi Ayam

I was never a big beef noodle fan. But everytime I’m about to leave Sanyan Shopping Complex, I always notice that this cafe is always packed with crowds. This morning, I thought want to give it a try. But to be honest, I went with pure scepticism.

I walked towards the stall and studied the menus. I didn’t know how to order. Caused I really didn’t know what to eat. Maybe I didn’t want to eat at all. Maybe I should leave. But the stall owner kindly recommended me to try the Dry Beef Noodle that comes with a beef soup. I smiled and nodded lightly like a friendly puppy.

I took the smallest seat near the roadside and marvelled at the Sanyan Shopping Complex just across the road. For your infomation, Sanyan is the tallest building in Sibu and the whole of Sarawak.

The beef noodle arrived. The Dry Noodle was tossed in Chilli and Soy sauce, garnished with generous sprinkles of fried and green onions. It had good color and looked very tasty already.
The Beef Soup on the other hand had intensed dark rich color, with generous cuts of beef, tripes, tendon and sprouts. Typical ingredients for Beef Noodle. But I thought so far, the colors on both the Kampua mee and the beef soup were really gorgeous.

I tried the Dry Noodle first. It’s curly texture was a crossover between Kolok Mee and instant noodle. It’s very moist and to an extent, a bit sticky. It tasted salty and a bit hot, from the chilli sauce I reckoned. The onions really made this simple noodle a bit special. The crispy-caramelised fried onions and crunchy sweet green onions really added whole lots of textures and flavors. I actually thought the dry noodle was pretty nice on its own.

The soup on the other hand had a stong beefy and herby aroma. The soup was salty but not the usual boring flat saltiness from soy sauce or salt. I couldn’t say that the taste was complicated, but I would certainly say that the soup was unique. At least it didn’s taste like any of the beef soup that I have tried before.

The beef slices were really thin and tender. The tripes were thick and chewy, in a good way. The beef tendon was jelly-like, melting in my mouth effortlessly. So far, I thought the beef soup was really well-cooked. But the real surprise and my favorite part, was actually the humbled looking sprouts. On outer apprearence, the sprouts did not look like those generic sprouts. It had extra lightness, crunchiness and refreshing sweetness. And it really matched the strong beefy soup perfectly. I was really taken surprised by the sprouts.

And sooner than I thought, I emptied the whole thing. I thought this meal was really better than I expected. Priced at RM 4.50, I thought it really worth the value. I think beef lovers will appreaciate this dish more than I do.

I was never a big fan of Beef Noodle. But after today, I might even start to become one myself.

Aho’s Beef Noodle gets 3 1/2 stars from me. I will definitely come back again to see if they deserve another half star.

Aftertaste: I was told by a foodie friend in Sibu that Aho uses Borvil Beef Stock as the base of their beef soup. That explained the complexity of the wonderfully riched flavor.

Coffee Shop, Sanyan Plaza Area