Da Niu's Favourite Home Town Delicacies

It has been a while since i last updated by blog. I have been back in Sibu during the new year eve. Have not gone back to Sibu for more than a year. Many things have changed and i was having a hard time trying to recognise the roads and places.

Bustling Sibu airport with students embarking flights to West Malaysia (National Service).

Generally, roads are still bad with holes and bumps and we were having huge fun on our way back from the airport, imagining us riding a bull in the countryside at the speed of 80km/hr for full 30 minutes. Geesss...what a ride. Sibu municipal council must have done quite a bit to turn boring roads into such a fun-filled playgrounds.

Da Niu riding his big bull to town.

We went straight to the Sibu town right after we touched down. Heading no where else but the town centre in searching for my favorite ‘Ding Bien Hu’. Actually it’s just hard boiled soup cooked with rice starsh. But what the difference is most of the ingredients and material are home made which includes the rice starch and the fish balls.

Little rice mill grinding rice into starch....

The boss adding rice to the grinding mill....

Cooking my all time favourite.


Cooked 'Dian Bian Ngu' is placed inside this basin and later on distributed to bowls. Thought Chinese uses that during wedding ceremony...Geess....

Rice are ground in a small milling machine to produce starch which was later used to cook 'Dian Bian Ngu' (Foochow) / 'Ding Bien Hu (Mandarin). Rice starch is poured to the side of the wok which is already filled with soup to form thin layers and later added on with fish balls, cuttlefish, black fungus, dried lily flowers and a sprinkle of oil fried and green onions before serving to the saliva drooling customers.

A bowl of heavenly 'Dian Bian Ngu'.

'Dian Bian Ngu' with all the goodies!

This shop is already in existence even when my mom was a kid. According to her, a bowl of ‘Dian Bian Ngu’ would only costed her RM0.20 back then. Well, many people have seen how it’s done, and open shops and claimed that they are having the original recipe. Saw the same thing in Astro in China. But this shop has been around for so many freaking years. I remembered it costs me around RM0.80 per bowl when i was still studying in the nearby primary school.

This shop has been in existence for more than 30 freaking years!!

My dear dear and I ate a bowl each. Tapao another rm5 back home and finished all at home again as well. that’s what I normally recommend to my friends especially those coming from abroad. Kompia, kampua mee, stired fried noddle (chao zhu mian) and 'Dian Bian Ngu'.

Trying to find myself some nice kampua mee seller here in Sibu but have tried two stores and they all ain’t worth my effort to blog them. perhaps i will do more once i found a good one later.

We went to the pasar malam that night as well, in search of my favourite meat 'pao' and we found a store selling 'You Chan Kueh' (Kueh with fried onions) with mixture of diluted sweet soy sauce and onions which makes it sweet, heavenly flavoured and a perfect match for the 'kueh'. This is my old time favourite.

This whole bowl of 'You Chan Kueh' only costed me RM1 nia.

Trust me! it tastes a lot yummier than its look.

Da Niu having a hard time deciding which one to bite first. Pao or 'You Chan Kueh'?

Da Niu decided to do both at the same time.

The kueh (obviously made from rice starch as well) are formed in small plates and sold at RM0.50 per plate. The sauce mixture comes free with a generous amount. You may even have enough left over for the your facial treatment according to some secret Chinese herbs recipe. Perhaps!

Da Niu's Favourite Kolo Mee

Guess, this is my first post here. Personally, i was having a tough time deciding which platform to use for my blog. Friendster, Xanga and Blogspot. A quick personal review then. I have been using Friendster for my Kuching City Rover Council. Pretty much basic utility tools. Can't expect much when the service is provided free though. It's not that i would expect wonders from a blog anyway. Xanga - no offence! Provides a lot of platforms for editing as per personal preference and you can upload your mp3 and video clips, but equally time consuming when you tried to jump from one page to another. A nightmare for a lease patient guy like me. After much thoughts and persuasion from Alvin :) over Ice Kacang (in Kuching, we call it ABC or perhaps Ang Tau Jan Luk), guess i would just use 'Blogspot' then. Well, simply because it's kinda user friendly and suitable for a comp idiot like me without having to know much rocket-science computer jargons and terminologies.

Enough said of that. I was having Kolo mee last Sunday with my dear in this small little shop in Ang Cheng Ho Road (Opposite Jubilee Hall and KMC Swimming Pool). This is one of the best Kolo mee sellers in Kuching. Well at least that's what i feel. OK! OK! no one is paying me to say this and i don't get treats to enjoy free noodles from the tauke (boss). The shop's name is "Dawankung" (Big Bowl Grandpa).

Thumbs up for the grandpa of all big bowls!!

Normally, this shop is packed with families especially on weekends (perhaps lazy housewives taking a break and decide not to cook on weekends). I have to stand outside the shop waiting to be seated. Not that you would get a pretty waitress leading you to the table. Basically, you would have to stand next to the potential fast eaters, eyeing them gulp down their last mouthful of noodles, wipe their mouth with plenty of tissue papers, sip their last drop of Kopi-Peng and proceed to the counter for bills. Then you have to quickly plunge yourself to the vacanted table only waiting obediently for them to order your favourite kolo mee.

Hungry customers quickly grab the seats and plant their butts to the stools
Foods and drinks are normally served within minutes. I have to help myself with my favourite sweet and sour chillie paste, conveniently available in a small plastic container on every table.

Oiiiii! This is not kolo mee lah! Wipe your saliva off the monitor.

Ordered myself a Teh-Peng (Iced tea with milk) and my dear, a Teh-C-Peng (Iced tea with 'Ideal' milk). Then amuse ourselves, watching crowds streaming in and out of the shops. Tables are always full and not to mentioned a few unties giving their 'Smack-down eagle eyes' look at those who are still enjoying their bowl of kolo mee.

Can tell the difference between a Teh-peng and a Teh-C-Peng?
While waiting for my kolo mee to be served, I notice a small sticker with a big 'A'. It was given away by the municipal council to those food operators who score good grades in hospitality, good command of english, good listening and comprehension skills, good geographical and historical knowlegde, IQ and EQ above 200, tonnes of pretty, sexy, mini-skirt wearing hooters (waitresses), muscular chefs... bla, bla, bla. Ok! Ok! I lied about that part. Generally, stickers with grades are given to food operators based on the frequent evaluations on the overall hygeine and cleanliness. Guess no one would be stupid enough to glue their sticker at the front door when they score an 'F' then.

Dawankung scoring an 'A' for good command of English.
Finally, here comes our heavenly kolo mee. Basically, it's a nice bowl of noodle, covered with 'Cha Siew' (BBQ pork) and a sprinkle of onion leaves and crispy, aromatic fried garlics. The difference between kolo mee sold by Dawankung and others is that the mee, Ahem! noodle is boiled to perfection with the 'Q Q' taste and despite the soggy, well boiled noodle for perhaps...errrrr......senior citizens. The shop also serves saliva droolling kolo mee with chunks of chicken meat and also 'Yong Tauhu' (beancurds stuffed with meat/pork/fish).

Yeap! The bowl looks big enough! But certainly the noodle doesn't look plenty enough for me!! :(
Don't ever think that you can wave at the 'Small Two' (waiter) and asked them for bills after you have stormed through your foods. That system doesn't apply here, bro! The bussiness is just too good that you have to drag yourself to the counter to pay up. Of course you can have other alternative by just leaving the shop. No joke! Instead you are going to enjoy Free curry rice over the next few days, courtesies and compliements from the Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysian Police Force).