Food reviews: April 2008 Archives

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.