Old Rex

I have only been to Old Rex Cafe in its new location back in early 2021 with my dad and sis. That time we didn't have its well known cucur especially the cucur udang (prawns fritters). 

It has been more than 2 years since, and I was craving for the fritters one afternoon. A nice spot for afternoon break that's for sure. After picking up my girl from school, we drove to the coffee shop which was few minutes drive away. An afternoon tea break while killing the time as we needed to pick up Jay from his afternoon class session after that. Convenient to hang out at that area than driving home and then need to drive out again in an hour time. 

There was many patrons at the coffee shop when we reached there around 415pm. Luckily we were able to find a table, just right in front of this cha kueh stall. 

The friendly stall operator served us by helping to order our drink. And we also ordered from him a serving of cha kueh with additional egg (RM7 total) to try on. 

Initially we wanted to tapau to enjoy at home so he served in a takeaway pack but we ended up eating there. It sure tasted good while it was warm!!

Our assortment of fritters that mil and I ordered; we had cucur udang (prawn fritters),  fried yam, fried sweet potatoes, and ngor hiang (spring roll). 

My mil had ABC (above) which she enjoyed as it wasn't that sweet. Meanwhile I had ngor mee th'ng (sweet chilled dessert).

Digging into the shaven ice, my ngor mee th'ng hidden beneath it. Great to take on a warm late afternoon.  And enjoy with the fritters that we have. I was surprised that my Jamie loved and ate most of the cucur udang that I bought 4 pieces @RM1.60 each home. 

After done with our tea break, we took our leave and headed to school to wait for Jay. And he finished off all the cucur udang in the car!!

Special

Today I am featuring 2 dishes from 2 of my stalls. 

One is from the Laksa stall, where Sarawak laksa lovers could order something special to satisfy their palate. 

Sarawak laksa with sea clams (RM18) would be something you would enjoy. Super fresh sea clams with tasty, flavourful broth, this is one of the special series offered by Ben's Kitchen.

Another dish was this fried wet noodle that  most customers order from the Wok Fried stall. 

Normal bowl is RM10, but if you want an add-on (egg), then this RM12 is something will get you excited and fit for sharing as well. 

 

Warm claypot mee

If you are looking for something warm and flavourful in a claypot, then you can give this claypot yee mee by Chicken Rice stall a try. 

Two claypot option to choose from. Normal (RM8) and With Prawns (RM12). 

On my first try, I requested for normal but specifically only meatballs, fish balls and chicken slices. No crab sticks for me, and it turned out good. Flavourful chicken broth, piping hot noodle; great to take on any cold morning. 

Then on my 2nd try, I requested with prawns, but forgot to ask to exclude the crab sticks. Nevertheless it was still nice but the crabstick turned soft after been soaked in the broth. 

I always love claypot mee since I was a kid. Used to take the well known claypot noodle at Thompson Corner when I was small but each time I had it, I will always burnt my mouth. Can't wait for it to cool down.  Lol. 

Stall name : Chicken Rice

Dish : Claypot mee

Shop: Jia Hao Cafe

 

On the tree

Some beautiful shots of the trees not far from my shop in MJC. The park cum big roundabout of the town. 

Lovely blooms at this time of the year. Weather has been unpredictable lately. But some morning, it was nice and breezing to enjoy a walk at the park. 

A short post today. Something to fill up and update the blog. Happy weekend, guys!!

 

Kway chap at night

There was this Kway Chap stall at backlane of Poh Kwong Park that only opens in the evening. Been there once and just last Friday, I was back for its delicious kway chap for supper.

The night breeze was super nice as it rained late afternoon that day. So it was super comfortable to sit at the back lane and enjoying the food.

Few occupied tables when we reached there but we found a table right behind the stall. Rather dim to take recent food photograph, so please pardon the quality of my shots. 

We ordered herbal tea (something like tea drink in KL). Sweet and chilled. Nice to drink after a bowl of 'heaty' kway chap. 

The kway chap (RM9) was nice but strong in taste. Both of us prefer milder taste of kway chap broth but once in a while we don't mind such strong flavour. 

Mine had the kueh while hubby ordered cheng (no kueh) for himself. We happily drove home after our supper. 

Raining in Hui Sing

It was last Sunday. No cooking at home that evening as we planned to go out and eat. 

But luck wasn't on our side that evening as it was raining like crazy when we drove out. By the time we reached Hui Sing Hawker centre slightly after 5pm, the rain was still pouring. We found a nice parking spot which was exactly in front of the hawker centre. A short walk to the centre and irregardless of the pouring rain,  we spent time looking around and buying our takeaway. 

Rain or not, there were customers waiting and queuing patiently for their food. Mostly were takeaway as seats were limited. 

The only satay stall in the centre and we grabbed 30 sticks of pork satay (RM1.2 per stick) home. They sell lamb, pork and chicken satay but only pork and chicken satays were available that day. 

While I went to buy kolo mee from another stall, Jan and her grandma queueing up at the stall next to the satay stall to buy fried noodles. Business was good for this stall as it took a long time for the order to be ready. 

It was still raining in Hui Sing after we were done with our loots. And a slow drive home as jam and visibility was poor. By the time we reached home, the rain has slowed down. 

Kolo Mee (RM5 each) for the boys. Looked and smell good. 

My tomato kway teow (RM7) and Jan's fried mihun (RM7) from Stall 9 were quite big in portion. 

Plus the 30 sticks of satay, we had a good and enjoyable dinner at home. 

Today is 31 August, so wishing all Malaysians, Happy National Day!! 

Friday night @ Little Sushi

It was Jay's 14th birthday on Friday, so it was his call for a family dinner on Friday night. And he wanted Japanese food, so we went to the nearest Japanese eatery which is this Little Sushi situated in Pine Square.

We had visited it twice being the last time was back in May 2023. We pretty enjoyed the food there. The sushi wasn't little but in generous portion. And their creative presentation was there to impress you on any occasion. 

The birthday boy wasn't feeling 100% well that day, down with flu and sore throat. He skipped his school that day and rest at home. Actually I also wasn't well but after took antibiotic and a good nap that afternoon, I was much better. 

We were ushered to a private box as it was 6 of us and no available seats at the main area. They given us menu and paper chit to write down the code so it was much better than browsing the menu through phones. After looking through the menu, everyone decided what they wanted for dinner. 

Unagi sushi

2 sets of unagi sushi came first to our table. Jay and Jan's favourite. 

Ebikko

Next was ebikko sushi which the youngest requested for 5 sets. Enough for everyone to take a bite while waiting for our main course. 

Half shelled scallop mentai

We ordered 2 flavours of the scallops to enjoy. Half shelled scallop mentai (above) and half shelled scallop cheese (below) which I personally felt the former one tasted better and suited my palate. 

Half shelled scallop cheese

The birthday boy went for cha soba, which he loved and tasted once in another eatery. How he ate it?? Pour the quail egg in the soup, mix it and then dip the soba in the soup and eat it. 

Cha Soba

The other boy opted for udon so he had chicken udon. 

Chicken udon

Yours truly was thinking of red meat that evening, so went for yakiniku bento. 

Yakiniku bento 

Jan and mil both had unagi don.  And my man went for this salmon zukushi for his dinner. 

Salmon zukushi bento

Very satisfying and filling dinner for us at Little Sushi. Our dinner billed to over RM300! 

Secret Recipe

It was Tuesday. Together with Jan, we went to Secret Recipe in MJC for lunch before heading home. My girl wanted Western for lunch and the weather was so hot that afternoon, so I decided to have our lunch in an air-conditioned place.

Never been to this branch in MJC although we stay in the vicinity. It was a quiet Tuesday as we were the few diners there but we didn't mind as it was quieter and cozier. 

Luckily we shared this watermelon juice as by the time we finished our food, we could hardly finish the juice.  

The food portion was quite big for us, who are small eaters. My tummy no longer could hold on to too much food space unlike when I was younger.

I had this chicken parmigiana which was good and tasty. Thick juicy chicken chop with crispy outer skin. RM22.84 per plate. 

My girl decided to have something other than the usual fish n chip and she went for the Carribbean style fish fillet. RM21.72 for her serving and she also had tough time clearing her plate. 

And since it is my birthday today (yours truly is turning 46), just for the occasion, I was having this slice of Hokkaido chocolate cheese cake (RM8.59 after 31% discount). Of course I shared this dessert with Jan who is a cake lover.

Maybe I will come back to try its rice dish like nasi kerabu. More localised menu now, not like what it used to be in the past. Used to enjoy its lamb shank but unfortunately it was not available that day. 

Side order

Come 17th this month, we are 2 months old!! I mean, my coffee shop. Time flies when one is busy. I can't even keep track of the times.

As I mentioned before, I rented out the food stalls to few tenants. For my part, I am in charge of the drink, baos and breakfast. Soon, my menu will be listed in Grab food app, so hopefully the business will pick up from there. 

For now we are serving walk-in customers but sometimes we do have takeaway for our drinks and baos. 

Kopi O Peng & Kopi C Peng 

Our coffee is well received; customers commented that the taste has improved. We had experimented with few coffee powders but glad we found the right one with the right mix, ended up with the right taste and consistency that customers enjoy and like. 

Other than coffee, our signature teh tarik peng special also receive praises. Those who love sweetened tea will agree and love this extra large glass of milk tea with overflowing foam. 

Besides coffee and tea, we serve local drinks and canned drinks as well. And some side order such as toast while customers waiting for their food from other stalls to be served. 

A coffee shop without roti kahwin is not a complete coffee shop. We called it roti kiap over here, because basically it is two slices of toast with one slice of spread butter and one slice of kaya, kiap (stick) together.  

Usually we have our roti kiap with soft-boiled egg seasoned with soy sauce and pepper. And that is a nostalgic breakfast that our older generation had when they patronised the traditional coffee shops back then!! 

Move on, we also serve French toast. My mil's recipe. Super tasty and addictive, the youngsters in particular, love this. If you are looking for more value, then our French Toast Special is for you. Sandwiched with fried egg and cheese in between the toast, a great protein based breakfast to have. 

We also have this roti cowboy, which is not the same as French toast where you dip the bread in a mixed custard and pan fry it. Roti cowboy is where you make a hole in the middle of the bread slice and pour the egg in it. Savoury taste, unlike our French toast which is sweeter and buttery. 

Our baos are outsourced, we have a fixed bao supplier now. 5 types of baos sold but the most sellable is char siew bao. 

Besides baos, we also serve sio bee (siu mai). Since starting, we buy sio bee from Sin Kwang Heng in Open Air Market. So once or twice a month, we will go to Open Air Market to collect our sio bee supply.

If you happen to come to Kuching and just around MJC, do drop by my coffee shop. And have a taste of our coffee or tea and some toast or baos to go with your drink. 

Google map:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/s1x6zqgcXC1eC1Sf7