Chicken Rice Lunch @ New Capitol Restaurant, Sibu

The taxi driver recommended for us to have our chicken rice here. RM5.50 a plate, he said, but a large portion served. Don't go too late, he advised, lest the chicken finished.

This was purportedly the first chicken rice shop in town. They used to operate near the Capitol Hotel in Sibu, and hence the name. Now, they moved to their present location, just opposite Premier Hotel.

So at 12.00 noon, we headed to the shop. Downstairs, they were no more vacant tables, so we went ushered upstairs. It was only after I was seated that I realised that this was a full-blown Chinese restaurant. People would have banquets here .... and here I was eating chicken rice? Hmn ....

"Are we in the right shop?" I asked TY, my colleague.

"Yes," he replied.

"No need lah ..... only 3 of them ...," I overheard the staff saying.

Huh? Only 3 of us and they weren't interested?

"Do you have chicken rice?" we asked when she approached us.

"Steamed chicken?" he asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Anything else?" the staff asked.

We ordered a stir-fried baby kailan to go with our rice.

While waiting for our rice, we were served a plate of peanuts, and 3 glasses of Chinese tea to drink.

Peanuts

The peanuts were crispy and tasty .... 

The condiments  ....

Just one saucer of chilli sauce ... guess we had to ask for more if we needed to; either that, or they were confident that we could do without the sauce

Ginger sauce

The taste of the ginger was rather subtle

Before long, our food was wheeled out on a trolley ... 

The rice

The rice was fragrant and tasty, but I found it to be a little light on the salt .... 

The steamed chicken 

Judging from the look, free-range chicken was used; The chicken was fresh, tender and succulent, and naturally sweet too; The texture of the meat was also good. However, it tasted a little plain to me; I definitely had to add the condiments to my chicken - chilli, ginger and also soy sauce .... Those condiments, to me, brought out the flavour of the plain steamed chicken.

Stir-fry baby kailan

The vegetables were stir-fried with oyser mushrooms and a few slices of carrots, the portion felt a little small. Taste wise, the vegetables were alright - crunchy and not over-fried, and lightly flavoured too.

How much did the whole meal cost us? Well, looking at the bill, the chicken and vegetables cost RM22.00; 3 bowls of rice was RM4.80; 3 glasses of tea were RM1.80; and 1 plate of peanuts cost RM3.00. The total amount we paid was RM31.60. I'd say that the price was reasonable. 

That afternoon, I was chatting with my friend, and she recommended me the shaomai at New Capitol. Yeah? I did see someone eating shaomai at the restaurant, but it did not occur to me that it was a specialty. Hmn .... I'd definitely try them in the next few days ....