Payung Cafe @ Cherating Village

Payung Cafe, a reggae pub-bistro is one of the very few cafes in Cherating that sells beer. Carlsberg is its only 'vice', there's no other alcoholic drinks on the menu. Did I say pub bistro? Yes I did. If Payung Cafe were located in KL, it would have been a full fledged reggae pub bistro, I'm sure.

With this kind of welcome, how could I stay away?  :P

At the entrance, beneath the roof, is this sign.......

It was a good thing I went as Mrs Potato, and not my alter ego, Blackie Bond. Blackie Bond would have been armed. As Mrs Potato, my only weapon is my huge elephant-sized thighs. 

The reggae-look interior, with reggae music playing in the background

Photos of the  proprietor and his wife

The proprietor, in his dreadlocks hairstyle, was about to leave with his wife when we arrived at 12:45pm. His wife is the cook, and we had to persuade them to cook for us before they went gallivanting. Other guests were not so lucky. They were turned away.


The menu was rather limited, but it's ok. We are not too fussy when we're on one of those "back to kampung" holidays.

Baked tomatoes with bolognaise and cheese

The baked tomatoes with bolognaise and cheese were yummy, but not so the garlic bread. The latter was rather common.

Penne Arrabiata

Speaking of common, I ordered a very common dish, Penne Arrabiata. It was a little disappointing. The tomato sauce was way too diluted.


On a totally unrelated subject, rice is supposed to be the Chinese's staple food. Some Chinese must have rice for every meal or they'll feel like they haven't eaten yet. We call those people fun-tong in Cantonese, or pnui tang in Hokkien, which literally translated, means rice bin. It makes me wonder, what would people call me? Pasta bin?? 

A non-paying guest.....hubby's cousin??

For other non-food related stories on Cherating, please visit my other blog:
1. Turtle watching
2. Mangrove river tour
3. Cherating, The Good and The Bad

Beef with tomatoes for my guinea pigs

I admit I'm hyper and I get bored easily. I like changes and anything new. That includes what I serve for dinner, to the delight of hubby and dismay of mum. They never knew if one day I might serve them roasted mice on skewers.


But I haven't figured out yet where to get my mice or how to marinade them, and until I do, I'll just have to contend myself with trying to replicate the food that I had enjoyed on my pigging out trips.


Last Sunday I had beef with tomatoes in Uncle Duck. It motivated me to try to recreate the 'real' beef with tomatoes that I had enjoyed so much at Wong Kei. 


I'm not good with beef, I'm not one of those who could churn out slices of tender moist beef strips. So I cheated by making beef balls instead.

The ingredients are: minced beef, bread crumbs, 1 large onion, 2 medium-sized tomatoes and 1 celery stick. Cut the onion and tomatoes into wedges, and slice the celery about 1/2 inch.


To make the beef balls, mix minced beef with some ground black pepper, a pinch of salt and breadcrumbs. Deep-fry until golden brown, remove and set aside.


For the sauce, combine 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon chicken stock, half teaspoon corn starch in half cup water. But please note that I did not use the measuring spoons or cups. I was too lazy to take them out of my drawer and simply used the dinner spoons and tea spoons. I used a regular mug, but the amount of water was about half a measuring cup. 


Heat up the wok with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, stir the onions until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and celery. Stir fry for a while, then add the combined sauce and simmer for about 2 - 3 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Pour in the deep-fried beef balls, and simmer for another minute or so. Serve immediately, or keep warm while you cook another dish.


Accompanying that beef with tomatoes is bitter gourd in black bean sauce, a dish that hubby and mum would not touch until hubby was diagnosed diabetic. Bitter gourd (or bitter melon) is good for insulin production.

I do not believe I need to go into details on how to fry the bitter gourd (it's just like any vegetable), so I'll just focus on the ingredients I use for the black bean sauce. They are: 1 tablespoon preserved black beans, washed and rinsed, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon anchovies stock.


Hubby's verdict? Two thumbs up. Mum gingerly spooned the sauce onto her rice and tentatively raised it to her mouth.....


Bon appetite......


*disclaimer: the author shall not be held responsible if any readers suffer from diarrhea as a direct result of following the above recipes......*  :P