BY JAMES WONG
KUCHING: Game for a healthier, fruity kolo mee, anyone?
‘Blue kolo mee’ served with fruits, an outrageous twist to the iconic Sarawak delicacy, set the internet ablaze not too long ago.
It quickly became the talk of the town with netizens raving about wanting to experience the dish.
Manna Cafe, home of the ‘blue kolo mee’, is operated by Lim Ee Hua, 59, alongside his children and daughter-in-law.
The dish that put them on the map was the ‘fruit kolo mee’, yes, served with fresh fruits instead of roasted pork.
But what makes this dish truly remarkable is the striking blue hue of the noodles, made with all natural ingredients.
The colour comes from the butterfly pea flower, which he sources from local gardeners, and processes into food dye himself.
The inspiration for the dish was an amusing story on its own.
“We keep hearing people ask, why is there no other colour for kolo mee? It has been the same colour since the beginning, and why don’t we have other colours for it?”
“From there, we went through an experimental period, using trial and error to figure out what colour works and what doesn’t, all to create something special out of the ordinary.
“Even now I am still finding ways to reinvent our kolo mee, looking for ingredients to keep our local cuisine fresh to the eyes,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
He was surprised by the overwhelming interest in their blue kolo mee, which went viral on Facebook after a prominent food blogger wrote a positive review about Manna Cafe.
Lim said he has been in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years, starting out in the early 2000s with a chicken rice stall at an electronics factory.
“About four years ago, I relocated to a new food court in town, and was running a chicken rice stall and a western food stall.
“At the same time, my daughter was managing a ‘char kuey teow’ stall in the same food court,” he said.
Unfortunately, the owner of the food court decided to call it quits earlier last year, and all the stall operators had to relocate and find new places to set up their businesses.
The relocation process was challenging for him and his family, as most of the food courts they approached had rents that were way above their operating budget.
They continued searching for half-a-year without success, until a promising opportunity presented itself.
A friend was letting go of a shophouse, so he jumped at the chance to open and run his own cafe.
Enter Manna Cafe
The cafe focuses on local cuisine and some Taiwanese street food with their own unique twist on it such as steamed rolls, fried glutinous rice balls and sticky rice cakes.
The idea was floated by his son who is currently studying culinary arts in Taiwan.
“My son suggested we come up with our own recipes for these Taiwanese street food using our own local ingredients in order to localise it,” he added.
In addition to their innovative food menu, the cafe also offers a refreshing take on the local favourite ‘kopi peng.’
Infused with a burst of creative flair, their kopi peng incorporates unconventional flavours such as coconut and lemon juice, resulting in a harmonious, yet interesting blend of tastes.
“We were inspired by coffees served in foreign countries, and we wanted to challenge ourselves to come up with unique coffee flavours.
“The experimenting process took a lot of time and ingredients, but we ultimately settled on those flavours. But we are always looking to create new flavours,” he said.
Priced at RM9.90, the coffee is served in a large pint glass, with condensed milk and topped with whipped cream.
The name ‘Manna Cafe’ also has a meaningful story behind it.
Suggested by his friend, it was named after the book of Exodus from the Bible, which tells the story of the Israelites’ escape from Egypt.
As detailed in the Bible, the Israelites had been traveling in the desert for three days without any food when they began to complain to Moses and Aaron.
Moses prayed to God, who then promised to provide the Israelites with bread from heaven.
The next morning, the Israelites woke up to find the ground covered in a flaky substance that resembled frost – manna.
Manna was the bread that God promised to provide, which sustained the Israelites throughout their journey to the Promised Land.
Lim said he resonated with the story, as Manna is often seen as a symbol of God’s provision and care for his people.
“I feel like the name fits really well because for me, this cafe and the opportunity it provides resembles God’s promise and grace for me and my family,” he added.
Despite facing hardships along the way, he persevered, and everything fell into place in the end.
Manna Cafe has had a positive reception since its launch five months ago.
“I am grateful that the business has been going well for the past five months since opening, and that our marketing and promotions helped the business a lot,” he said.
As an aspiring businessman himself, he has plans to expand his business to a wider demographic by coming up with new halal recipes for local cuisine.
“For now, we are still using the traditional way of making kolo mee which contains lard, but we are currently looking for alternatives such as peanut oil or shallot oil to make kolo mee.”
“We are determined to maintain the authenticity of the taste while making it accessible to our Muslim friends,” he shared.
Moving forward, he is also looking forward to invent more recipes that incorporate Taiwanese street food.
Manna Cafe, located along Jalan Lapangan Terbang, operates Monday to Saturday, from 7am to 6pm.
