MOI SOUNG CAFE AT CHANNEL ROAD, SIBU

I've had a wonderful breakfast at Moi Soung coffeeshop today. Before, I never walked into this shop because I thought it was crammed due to the fact that it is the gathering place for old folks. You can see that it is always crowded with senior people chatting and having tea here. I was suggested by many of my friends to try out the kampua there because they agreed thumbs up that the kampua there was nice. And yes, I agree.

It's not only fragrant, but the noodles were tossed brilliantly that they were just right for your bite.

I love the pork meatballs soup that you can get with it... and to add more flavour to it, add a few drops of foochow red wine into it. Absolutely fantastic... and I'm getting extra inches on my waist... what the heck!

I tried the wontons as well... quite nice but not comparable to the kampua they serve. Do give it a try!

TUNG LOK CORNER AT JALAN PAHLAWAN, SIBU

For fans of a beautiful bowl of prawn noodles, I would highly recommend 'Tung Lok Corner' which is situated at Jalan Pahlawan, near the Sibu Bus Terminal.

The chow chai hung ngan prawn noodle is tantalizing with a mixture of salty, sour and spicy soup of preserved vegetables and medium-sized prawns. The noodles are excellent... look at the pictures below... I bet they make you drool.

Chow chai hung ngan prawn noodles

Chow chai hung ngan fish noodles

RASA SAYANG CAFE AT JALAN PAHLAWAN, SIBU

The Rasa Sayang Cafe is situated at Jalan Pahlawan, near the Sibu Bus Terminal. It is one of the popular coffeeshops in Sibu.

Kampua

The kampua here is widely regarded as the epitome of good Sibu-style delicacy. It is tossed in a subtle fragrant shallot and lard oil, and served with pieces of pork and fried shallots.

Laksa

Laksa here is amazing, with a mixture of seafood and strong coconut aroma. The broth itself delivers a tang of delicate spiciness that lingers in the mouth. 

Mee sapi

The mee sapi (which is the beef noodle soup) is more of like a taiwanese beef noodle. It has a tempting stewed beef stock and big soft chunks of braised beef served in it. Yummy!

I am a coffee lover and here they serve an ideally nice coffee... love it.

MEI LE CAFE AT JALAN PEDADA, SIBU

My father loves this coffeeshop for its nice plate of kampua.

Here, we ordered the bihun one, instead of kampua. He says that the kampua here are not as oily as you get elsewhere, as you can see from the picture. It may look blant but it has a nice taste.

Chow Chai Hung Ngan

There is a stall here selling pork porridge, tomyam noodles with soup, laksa, etc. We ordered a chow chai hung ngan (thick vermicelli noodles with preserved vegetables) and pork vermicelli. The chow chai hung ngan tastes nice and sour because of the preserved vegetables. The pork vermicelli was palatable, tasted of light savoury pork, not the strong flavour we get elsewhere. I would say that the food here ae suitable for those who are health-conscious.

Chow chai hung ngan with egg, tomatoes, preserved vegetables, bits of spring onions and pork 

Thick rice vermicelli called 'hung ngan'

Pork vermicelli

SUNDAY MARKET OF SIBU

The Sunday Market in Sibu is located at Pedada Road. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays. Unlike the Sibu Central Market, the variety of goods, poultry, vegetables and fruits sold here are limited. However, some say that the prices here are relatively cheaper during rainy days and near mid-noon.

Crowded by locals buying and bargaining

An ideal shopping spot for fresh vegetables

Housewife picking and choosing for the best - no worries, the hawkers here are nice that they help you to pick the good ones as well 

Fish anyone?

More jagungs

Sellers displaying their own farm-grown vegetables

Livestocks for sale

Dried herbs and herb plants for sale

Some of the herb plants are known to have healing properties for certain illnesses.

Plenty of yams

Stalls shaded from sun makes shopping delighting despite the warm weather

Imported fruits at discounted prices

Edible frogs for sale at roughly RM20 per kilo - a delicacy which is known to be rich in protein and omega-3 

Going home

Usually cars are parked at the nearby shophouses.

DIANG BIANG HU AT BLACKSMITH ROAD

I love the diang biang hu at the back alley of Blacksmith Road. I remember that during my pregnancy, I could have it everyday and each visit I have to order 2 bowls of them to satisfy my hunger pangs.

Usually, people always order from the opposite coffeeshop called 'Ah Hee Kopi Tian' and they will bring it over to you. 'Ah Hee Kopi Tian' has a wide selection of food, from kampua to fried noodles to light savoury porridge with accompaniment such as stir-fry long beans, salted eggs, etc. as you like. It is normally crowded in the mornings when people go there for their breakfast.

The diang biang hu is grinded rice cooked in porridge-look-a-like broth. They are served with fishballs, black fungus, dried lily bulb, squid and some bits of spring onions and fried shallots. Adding a few dashes of white pepper powder will bring out its flavour.

This is indeed a good choice of a simple meal.

MOVIE REVIEW : OPERATION BILLIONAIRES

Depicting the infamous criminal Cheung Tze-Keung a.k.a. Big Spender, 'Operation Billionaires' is a based-on-reality film. In this movie, they changed the name of the criminal Cheung Tze-Keung to Cheung Chi-Ho, starred by Simon Yam.

Cheung, 'Big Spender' enjoys his lavish living and has a largesse personality, giving his friends and strangers gifts funded from a crime spree that brought in at least $2 billion. He reportedly gave away tens of thousands dollars to a young street painter when in Bangkok.

Together with his partner-in-crime,Yip Kai-foon, they masterminded some of the kidnappings of tycoons, including the kidnapping of Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, son of Li Ka Shing, and Walter Kwok, chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties. He reportedly reaped HK$1.38 billion in ransom money from Li Ka-shing, and HK$600 million for Walter Kwok.

These kidnappings caught the personal attention of then PRC Paramount Leader Jiang Zemin, who took action after a meeting with Li Ka Shing.

Cheung even tried to bomb a jail to rescue his associate but to no avail when his massive amouts of explosives were discovered by the police. He fled to China in January 1998 under an assumed name after failing to kidnap Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan, in retaliation for the jailing of his associate, Yip Kai-foon. However, he was arrested there and all his assets were frozen by the government. The movie ended here because it was understandable that the trial of Cheung had not concluded during the filming of this movie.

In reality, the trial was held in Guangzhou even though the events occurred in Hong Kong. Cheung's lawyer, and other constitutional experts, lobbied the government for the trial to be transferred to Hong Kong where Cheung's crimes would have carried a less severe punishment, but they were rejected.

The trial of a Hong Kong resident in Mainland China has created legal controversials. Hong Kong public were concerned whether if they commited crime in Hongkong, they would have to stand trial in the Mainland if arrested there. The Chinese government responded saying that although these crimes by Cheung were committed in Hong Kong, but they were masterminded in Mainland China. Therefore, the PRC was entitled jurisdiction over the case. There were some who maintained that the Li and Kwok families could get their revenge on Cheung since a trial in the Mainland could guarantee a death penalty, whereas capital punishment was not enforced in Hong Kong.

The Mainland authorities formally charged Cheung and his 35 followers with a series of charges relating to "cross-boundary crime including illegal possession, transporting and smuggling explosives and firearms, robbery and kidnapping". The charges, which were denied by Cheung.

The trial was criticised by some human rights observers for its lack of transparency, as Cheung's mother and lawyer were not allowed in the courtroom, and others alleged that the PRC was holding the trial in secrecy to cover up embarrassing links that military officers had sold weaponry to Cheung. On 16 December 1998, Cheung was convicted and summarily executed in Guangzhou by a firing squad.