Monday, September 22, 2008

Dinner in Sibu, Sarawak


RH Hotel
Hubby needed to go to Sibu for the weekend and asked if I wanted to come along. Since Bryan got his driving license and took over the chauffeuring for the two girls before his course starts I am not about to let any trips short or long slip past. I know when I resume my duty as the chauffeur again I will be grounded. So, meantime the answer is always yes (I might have hesitated a little if I had known we were to go in one of those tiny aircrafts with propellers!). 
We stayed in RH Hotel which is a new hotel next to the tallest building in Sibu,  Wisma Sanyan and Sibu Town Square.

The views from the hotel window...

The tallest building in Sibu.

The Rajang river that hugs the town.

The Sibu Town Square.

Never been to Sibu before but heard a lot about the food, especially the Fuchow's. My first taste of Sibu was years ago when my brother, P brought his girlfriend, J from Sibu to meet my parents. She introduced a dish which was new to us all and that was mee suah. I remember the silky smoothness of this noodle and how we were to slurp it up loudly but which I found difficult because of its length.
For this trip, we had a very good food guide, L. She loves food with a 'nyaman' passion. When she tastes something great she goes 'nyaman nyaman' - it means delicious, I think.

Teochew's steamed patin. One of the best I have ever tasted. Fish fresh, tofu smooth and best of all the gravy, just the prefect balance of tanginess and sweetness with hints of plum sauce and rice wine. Finished every drop and it would have been soo good with rice...

It was part of a big fish but the flesh still very smooth and the skin was the best part. 

Another Sarawakian's special, midin, a fern very much like the paku but much more tender and sweet. We tried with red wine instead of the usual sambal fried and it was delicious.

Fried mee suah. Very lightly done and good but somehow, mee suah to me is always associated with chicken rice wine.

This fried noodles taste better than it look, not oily at all and super smooth. I have problem when taking food pictures with other guests beside my family as I feel bad having them wait. So I tried to be quick and usually take one shot only.

Fuchow tofu soup. Texture very similar to hot and sour soup but the taste is totally different. Very mild taste with hints of seafood flavors from the tin oysters and stock of ikan bilis. The tofu remained the star of this dish.

A refreshing glass of cucumber and lime juice with a pinch of salt.
Kompia and mee kang puan to follow....

10 comments:

nikmatnya... said...

http://lh6.ggpht.com/avanzakubiru/Rv58ipfhyOI/AAAAAAAAA04/Op6v6oa5_IA/s800/bbqland_map.JPG but still don't have their phone no, lah! hehe... how about u r other friend, they know?

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

i've always wanted to visit sibu for the food...everthing looks good, esp the ferns, which look tender n diff frm the ones we get here. l love fuzhou noodles, n am looking 4ward to more sibu food:)

Precious Pea said...

I have got a food guide featuring Sibu and so tempted to visit the place one day. Nothing much there to see except for food right?

a feast, everyday said...

terri, fuchow ppl like L, very demanding where food is concerned so, like the HK ppl they get better food even in kopitiam.

p pea, our stay was so short but i don't think there is anything more interesting than the food.

wmw said...

Ahhh....Wanna make a trip there and explore the food..not only in Sibu but all over! :p

a feast, everyday said...

wmw, d next time if i do get to go back to Sibu or anywhere in S'wak I'd like to give the native food a try... especially the jungle produces..

Precious Pea said...

Congrats congrats. your this post is in Star Metro today!

Anonymous said...

and that Star Metro tell the whole Malaysia Sibu is in Sabah. A disapointment... make the whole article (in Star Metro) more like a copy and paste job without reading the title...

We Sabah and Sarawak should deserve more respect from our own countrymen/women.

cheers

a feast, everyday said...

p pea, tq. My hubby told me last nite but I was too tired to check online (don't read Star daily).

fred, i almost cried when i saw tt mistake...sibu in sabah!! It just goes to show how little they know of our eastern states..

Anonymous said...

I saw that in the Star (That's how I got ur blog's url!) After 45 years, many West Malaysians don't know the difference between Sabah and Sarawak. You did not mention the name of the restaurant, and the plates do not look familiar...so I can't comment about the food. There are a few restaurants here that emply cooks from China. Hope you did not go to one of those...and ended up eating pseudo-authentic Sibu delicacies!