Kampua in Sibu

It would be so wrong to be in Sibu and not eat kampua. Early that morning, my colleagues and I decided to have kampua nearby. All of us were unfamiliar with Sibu, and we did not know where to eat ....

So we walked and walked, and we decided to eat at the food court at the Sibu Central Market. We picked the busiest stall since we did not know which stall sold good kampua.

The stall ... located somewhere in the middle of the food court on the first floor of the Central Market

I ordered .... 

Kopi 

Well, this morning I learned that even kampua came in colours. Lol. "White" Kampua was plain kampua, while "Black" Kampua referred to noodles in soy sauce. Of course, one would find chilli and soy sauce added to the  "Spicy Black". "

Both my friends ordered the "Spicy Black" kampua .... for which according to them was popular in Sibu. I still preferred the plain kampua, and so I settled for the White Kampua Special.

Kampua were served with a plain bowl of soup .... 

Soup

Black kampua was served first ....

Black noodles glistening in lard and soy sauce

Kampua noodles were different from kolo mee noodles. Kampua was slightly thicker and straight while kolo mee noodles were thinner and curly. I had a spoonful of the Black version ... and I found the noodles to taste predominantly of soy sauce (duh!); it was not spicy at all for me. A Special portion was RM4.00, and served with blanched mustard greens, fish balls and meat balls, a bit of black fungus, deep-fried tofu pockets, and that mandatory slices of pork. I wouldn't call the pork char siew .... I think they were not grilled at all. 

White Kampua

Looks wise, I would say that the Black kampua looked more appetising than the White one. Don't you think so? I also thought the White Kampua looked soggy, compared to the glistening black noodles. 

Where taste was concerned, I would prefer the White Kampua ... where I could fully savour the flavour of the fragrant shallot and lard oil. In the Black version, this fragrance was masked by the soy sauce. The accompanying ingredients provided lots of texture .... springy tofu, chewy pork slices, crunchy vegetables and black fungus. The fish balls tasted alright, but I thought the meatballs tasted funny.

The fragrance of the noodles was addictive .... and I found myself to be finishing the whole plate, even when I was NOT supposed to be eating so much. Lols.

Great breakfast to start a long, and boring day ahead .................