One of Bukit Bintang's most relaxed restaurants, offering a soothing retreat from the throngs of tourists and shoppers on this street.
Most of the highlights here comprise Borneo cuisine, including favorite recipes of the Foochow community in Sibu, the hometown of this cafe's founder.
Sarawak "kompiah," stuffed with fried shallots. We had mixed feelings about these. Doughy and chewy, but somehow still addictive. Carbs have a vicious hold on us.
Highland Bario rice porridge, with fish & green peppercorn. Tummy-heating and wholesome-tasting; porridge lovers should have no complaints, though we still can't really tell the difference between Bario rice and regular varieties.
Anjau Duck, our favorite of the evening. Basically duck braised in glutinous rice & fermented red rice yeast. Tender meat in an inimitably sweet, aromatic sauce.
Mee Kolo. Not as authentic as the other dishes here, since minced chicken is used instead of pork. Irresistible nevertheless, with a huge heap of juicy, yummy meat.
The salted terubok fish was so tasty, we lapped up every spoonful of the lemak curry. Beware though: there are hundreds of thin, tiny bones in this fleshy fish.
The Sarawak Laksa wasn't quite as successful. Less fragrant and flavorsome than many versions elsewhere (including Alexis').
Green Chicken, a Kalimantan recipe of chicken in green sauce. Skip this one; it tasted precooked and reheated. The gravy was wholly forgettable.
Terra Mater Merlot 2006 (Chile).
White Rajah Borneo Cafe,
Piccolo Galleria, Bintang Walk,
Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Aiyo.. I was happy w the first part of the review.. thn suddenly got my happy bubble pricked with the let down of S'wak Laksa, Kolo Mee and the Green curry (ayam pansoh? )
ReplyDeleteSadly lor.. these are the signature dishes of S'wak..
tng: ya, there are both hits and misses here, though i'd still recommend it for at least one visit :D hmmm, but i think the 'green chicken' here is a bit different from the 'manok pansoh,' which is supposed to be cooked in bamboo...
ReplyDeleteI was a bit excited thinking it's the old White Rajah from Bsar coming back to live. Hmmm, looks interesting only if I'm in the area.
ReplyDeleteBtw, congrats on the magazine feature. Which magazine is this? Must go score a copy.
boo: ya, gosh, i'd forgotten about that white rajah in telawi. i vaguely recall having some steak and lamb dishes there, but i can't even remember when it closed down ... ouh, it's clive magazine. frankly, i had never touched it at all before this, but i guess i'm gonna start reading it from now on :D
ReplyDeleteI still have not tried mee kolo before. :(
ReplyDeletewell at least theres now a kolo mee in KL though. took this people quite a while!
ReplyDeleteKolo mee without PORK? That is like, uhm, a pork knuckle without pork - so salah! :P
ReplyDeleteYour review was like a rollercoaster ride - gooood, baddddddd, goooood, baaaaaad! LOL. :)
ReplyDeletemichelle: it's quite tasty when it's done right. and it does feel relatively healthy, especially compared to fried noodles :D
ReplyDeletejoe: ya, some of the strangest places in kl serve kolo mee though, including a kopitiam stall in puchong!
lfb: heheh, but when meat is minced, its tastiness depends on a whole lot of other factors. i recently had a pork burger where the patty tasted like chicken :D
j: i hope the roller-coaster ride was interesting, at least (i love amusement park rides btw, but when i'm strapped into the seat, just before the ride starts, i always get this terrible sinking feeling of regret and dread) =)
Congrats in the feature! :)
ReplyDeleteI think the Kompiah is a foochow thing. You either like it, or hate it. I cant get enough of it. Especially the ones with only pork lard inside. My only complain is the chewing...I get soo tired after two biscuits. LOL.
wow this place looks like a heaven for those from Sibu! I would love to try the Kompiah as I have not seen it anywhere before.
ReplyDeletebangsar-babe: thanks! yeah, too bad this outlet is halal, so there wasn't any pork stuffing in it. that would definitely have made it yummier (and maybe easier to chew too, heheh)!
ReplyDeleteeiling: yep, i haven't seen it elsewhere in kl either (though we can buy it in sitiawan). they have two versions at this restaurant; i think the other one is crispier and topped with sesame seeds...
*gasps!*
ReplyDeletePork that tastes like chicken? Next time you'd tell me the chicken tastes like fish! How salah! :P
lfb: where got salah. it showcases the versatility of food and how they can taste! maybe someday, u'll discover pork that tastes like cockles :D
ReplyDeleteI saw this place which was quite empty last Saturday.. I was passing by this place on my way to Farenheit88 (yay! I got myself Uniqlo's flannel shirt)..
ReplyDeleteleo: ya, i think the restaurant is open all day long. heheh, so far, i'm still only going to fahrenheit to eat and drink, not to shop :D
ReplyDeleteThe day pork tastes like cockles, I will quit my membership of Babitarians Anonymous. Or, have my tastebuds checked.
ReplyDelete*choi, choi, dai ka lai see*
lfb: the day pork tastes like cockles, we can have a merger between babitarians anonymous and cockle-suckers anonymous, forming a new and glorious union! why, with our combined strength, we needn't even be anonymous anymore! cockle-sucking babitarians has a nice ring to it :D
ReplyDeleteROFL. Ok, you win. (Rather fast today hor?) :P
ReplyDeleteLfb: very soon, I'll start winning within three comments! :D
ReplyDeleteHi Sean,
ReplyDeleteKindly be informed that this post has been reprinted on JoinMe.com.my, thanks. ^^
P/S: We have put your name and link credit back to this article.