Recently in Food reviews Category

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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

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

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.

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

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. ;)

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

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.

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.

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!

"What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?"

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.

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.



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.



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



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



There are also various types of sausages...



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



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



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



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



My plate overfloweth. It contains:



Beef tripe and scallops



Deep fried prawn dumplings, beef rendang, calamari



Prime portions of chicken



Deep fried squid and braised duck



Chicken curry and shrimp with mayonnaise



Steamed fish



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



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



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



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



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!

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. ;)



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.



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.



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.



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.



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



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! :)



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

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 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.



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. :)



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.



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).



I like!



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.



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).



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.



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 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.



I went there with Faye for lunch on Sunday. You really can't miss the distinguished signage. ;)



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.



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 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).



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 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.





You'll hurt your eyes. ;)

Halia Cafe is a newly opened eating establishment offering Muslim food. The place is owned and operated by a couple of friendly Malays and serves authentic halal fare. I have been told a lot of good (and not so good) things about the spiciness factor of the servings they dish out, and I was eager to check out the place since I'm a big fan of spicy food.



The interior of Halia Cafe is clean and the abundant ceiling fans operating at full speed does wonders to the ambiance, considering they don't have air conditioning. Halia Cafe takes over from Eden Cafe (a Vietnamese restaurant) and much of the interior fittings looks rather familiar.



I went there with Faye during lunchtime and was pleasantly surprised to find the place relatively empty. My lunch hour is rather short and I have been looking for a place with quick service and good food. I ordered the Jus Cinta (RM 2).



Jus Cinta is a local concoction of sour plums and calamansi lime. The plums here are larger than the usual ones from coffee shops.



The waitress recommended the Set Nasi Kukus Halia Cafe which is a set lunch of sorts and their signature dish. There are options for fish, chicken and squid. This is the Nasi Kukus + Sotong Goreng Sambal (RM 5). The dish also came a couple of fried prawns (shrimp) which was a nice touch.



The steamed rice is flavored with santan (coconut milk) and the squid was fried with sambal. This is pleasantly (for me) spicy and salty, and gets two thumbs up from me. Faye didn't quite like it though coz she's a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy food. ;)



I ordered the Nasi Kukus + Ayam Kunyit (RM 5). The chicken was grilled in a banana leaf and topped with spicy sauce. There is also a serving of cold pickles on the side for those of the faint of heart.



I liked this dish as well, the chicken was grilled to perfection - sweet, tender and moist. It is rather spicy though so people with more conservative taste buds should take note.

Halia Cafe is a nice place with halal food offering authentic Malay cuisine. It comes highly recommended for those with a taste for adventure. People without desensitized taste buds need not apply. :)

Cuppa Kopi Roti is another one of those Hainan toast and coffee establishments that is springing up like mushrooms these days. These establishments cater to nostalgic memories of old coffee shops in modern surroundings, often offering free WiFi and air conditioning.



Cuppa Kopi Roti is located in Pedada and I went to check out the place with Faye (plus kids, not mine) this morning. There isn't much of a Sunday morning crowd to speak of but the open kitchen is doing a brisk business in boiling eggs (for whom, I can't say).



Despite the modern surroundings, Cuppa Kopi Roti uses the old coffee shop style kettles and filters for boiling coffee. They also insert the traditional pat of butter into the coffee for a richer taste. However, the eggs are done using a machine.



The back of Cuppa Kopi Roti is air conditioned and comes with tasteful fittings. There are also games like Uno and Scrabble for customers to indulge in.



The place also has a space for live performances. I'm told that the proprietor plays music on weekend nights here.



I ordered Set A which is their flagship product at RM 4.50. It comes with 2 slices of traditional bread toast, 2 half boiled eggs and your choice of coffee or tea. The coffee comes in those small cups and saucers that you see in the traditional coffee shops that this place is emulating (albeit with more comfortable surroundings).



The half boiled eggs are HUGE and comes with pepper and soy sauce on the side. I've been told that this place serves huge eggs and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Another plus point is the chicken motif bowl that it came in, definitely authentic traditional Hainan. :)



The traditional bread toast was crispy and bigger than the usual bakery produced bread. It's sliced rather thin and that probably contributes to the crispness.



The butter is not slathered on but sliced and then inserted. I like this method, it makes everything creamier.



My favorite way of eating these things is to dip the bread into the heavily seasoned eggs before eating it. Kinda like toast soldiers. I don't know why nobody I know likes eating it this way.



The kids (not mine, as mentioned above) went for the square bread toast (RM 2.30). This uses the standard thicker bakery produced bread slices.



They also shared a chocolate milk bubble tea (RM 3.50). It was alright, but specialty bubble tea establishments do this better.



Faye went for the French toast set (RM 4.50). The French toast came out soft and fragrant and it has a side of kaya to taste. She liked it, but I didn't think it was anything special.



The cheese toast (RM 3.80) also uses the thicker style of bread and comes with a slice of cheddar toasted into the bread. Surprisingly the bread was soft despite toasting.



The hotdog bread (RM 3.80) was the best of the bunch. It also came with a side of kaya and this is an especially nice touch.



The saltiness of the sausage combined with the sweet creaminess of the kaya adds a whole level of texture to this offering. This comes highly recommended. :)



Cuppa Kopi Roti has reasonably priced food and comfortable surroundings. It's a nice place to spend a quiet Sunday morning. :)

I am told that Lian Kiew Cafe has the best BBQ Chicken Rice in Sibu. The four of us decided to check out the place and found it packed during lunch hour. The coffee shop is doing a rather brisk business in chicken rice and it seems that most of the patrons were ordering the dish.



There is a wide selection of BBQ cuts at the chicken rice stall. There is no steamed chicken on offer, the proprietor only does BBQ chicken. There's a wide variety of BBQ meat available - BBQ chicken, BBQ duck, BBQ pork (various cuts), BBQ Taiwanese sausage and even BBQ chicken wings.


"They call me The Butcher"

I ordered an assorted platter of BBQ meat and it was sliced up into a bed of cucumbers.



L-R: BBQ Taiwanese sausage, BBQ chicken wings, BBQ char siew, BBQ chicken, BBQ duck, BBQ pork. (RM 25)



The rice is pretty fragrant for chicken rice too.



It comes highly recommended from me for meat lovers. :)

Manna Cafe is located pretty close to where I work and thus, I headed down to Manna Cafe for lunch with Amy. My lunch hour is just what it sounds like - an hour (plus 15 minutes to get to and from the place) so it tends to be a rather hasty affair.



Amy went for their Nasi Lemak which is really the February 2008 promotion, but for some reason it's still on the menu due to its popularity. It's served with either beef rendang, chicken curry or beef masak hitam and comes with coffee or green tea for RM 7.90.



I opted for the Stone Bowl Ribeye Steak Rice for RM 8.90. The dish is billed as "grilled ribeye steak over savory rice, topped with black pepper sauce and melted cheese, brought piping hot from the oven to your table". I like Manna Cafe's stone bowl offerings and I thought this version was pretty good.



It also came with a complimentary dish of fresh fruits over shaved ice. :)



I think the food from Manna Cafe comes out a little on the slow side and one hour is probably cutting it a little too thin, especially taking rush hour traffic into consideration. Unless you work somewhere in the building itself, of course.

Sushi Tie is an eating establishment that has been around for some time. The exterior has seen a face lift since I was last here and the dominant orange hue lends a dash of gaiety to the family sushi restaurant.



The interior looks pretty much the same as I remembered and the place was packed during lunch. The ambiance is preserved by the friendly staff who shout out a cheery "Irashaimasu!" upon the tinkling of the bell at the front door. I remember that part about Sushi Tie too.



Sushi Tie does not have a sushi train but makes up for their lack of locomotive conveyor belt action by offering an "open kitchen" of sorts, with their resident sushi chef making sushi and maki in the middle of the eating establishment.



I had iced Green Tea (RM 1.30) while my dining companion opted for the hot variety of the same.



This is the Shiro Maguro (Albacore tuna) sashimi that goes for RM 6. The sashimi here is just about the freshest you can get in Sibu.



We also ordered salmon sashimi (RM 6) and it came in nice chunky slices. I like thickly sliced sashimi. I'm not really a big fan of the thinly shredded stuff.



I also ordered the Unagi Set (RM 13.90). It came with rice, miso soup, deep fried tofu and watermelon.



I'm a big fan of eel. I love the rich, oily taste of the stuff. :)

Sushi Tie is a good place for Japanese food in Sibu. It's marketed as a family restaurant and they don't serve alcohol of any kind, so don't go looking for Kirin here.