SIBU: Craving for a plate of that famous delicious Penang char kuey teow? But you are in Sibu, so how are you going to satiate your taste buds?
No worries, Sibu chap Othman Ali has introduced the flat rice noodles stir-fried with shrimp, bloody cockles, eggs, bean sprouts, and chives in a mix of soy sauce as a signature dish at his stall in Sibu Town Square Bazaar here.
The 58-year old graphic designer explains why he chose to introduce of all dishes, Penang char kuey teow, at his stall.
“Char kuey teow is something that is very seldom found in Sarawak because it is only popular in Malaya.
“Hence, I introduced something different from the others here with different recipes,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
Talking from experience, he said looking for Malayan food in Sarawak, especially in Sibu, was very difficult.
“Even though I’m from Sarawak, I have been living in Malaya for more than 30 years before this. Sometimes I miss that delicious food. But it is very hard to find it here,” he said.
A great char kuey teow should be not only flavoured with the freshest ingredients, but equally important is the elusive charred aroma from stir frying the flat rice noodles over very high heat.
Hence, it is not an easy delicacy to prepare.
However, Othman who loves cooking, shared how he learned to cook the flat noodles during his college days in the US.
“I went to the US to study. When I was a student, I worked in a restaurant and that’s how I partly financed my education and learned how to cook.”
Coming back to his stall, Othman revealed that this was the first time he opened a Ramadan Bazaar stall here.
“Actually in terms of cooking I have years of experience, however when it comes to business it has only been four to five years this is the first time I have ever participated in a Ramadan Bazaar,” he said.
On public response, Othman it was quite good so far.
“Boleh tahan, alhamdullilah. We take it slowly because things cannot happen overnight, you have to do something.”
Othman said he had to modify the recipe to suit local tastes as customers were fussy about spicy food.
“Here we cannot make it too spicy. Compared to people in Malaya, here you have to make something people can eat.
“You know Sarawakians cannot really take spicy food. If we follow exactly the original recipe, people won’t eat,” he said.
Othman’s stall is one of the 65 stalls at Sibu Town Square Bazaar, and he sells his char kuey teow at RM10 per plate.
