This has been the 36-year-old Iban’s routine since she began working at a nearby factory in 2018. Unsing is usually accompanied by her colleagues of other backgrounds who also relish this delicious noodle offering synonymous with Sarawak.
During peak hours when the restaurant is packed with customers, she and her friends happily share a table with others. Such a sight – where people of all stripes sit at the same table to eat – is commonplace in eateries in the town of Stutong and, indeed, throughout the state.
Unsing patronised the business even back when its proprietors ran it as a stall at the Stutong Community Market, prior to opening the restaurant.
Owned by Sainah Mahdi, 41, and her husband Mohammad Ariffin Liew Abdullah, 47, the café specialises in mee kolok. Most establishments in Sarawak serve only the non-halal version, but the couple have tweaked the recipe and ingredients to turn it into a halal
According to Sainah, when she and her husband, who is Chinese Malaysian, were courting in 2006, he’d told her mee kolok was his favourite food, but he refrained from eating it in front of her as it was non-halal.
“That was when I got the idea of creating a halal version of this dish so we could enjoy it together,” Ariffin told Bernama.
The couple opened a small stall in 2017 – nine years after he converted and married Sainah – serving only mee kolok and Sarawak laksa, another local delight. Their customers gave them their seal of approval, and they were soon selling no fewer than 200 bowls a day.
“It took me two years to modify the original recipe, as I wanted to make sure the halal version was similar in terms of taste and flavour to the original dish. But my recipe requires the use of more ingredients than the original,” said Ariffin, who loves to cook.
Their mee kolok is served with three types of sauces – normal, sweet (which is red), and salty (black soy sauce). Each bowl is topped with slices of marinated barbecued chicken instead of the traditional roasted
“We also sprinkle chopped mushroom on top, which is something other eateries don’t do,” he said, adding that their Malay customers tend to prefer the mee kolok with sweet sauce, while Chinese diners prefer the normal sauce.
When the couple, who have two children aged 10 and 14, moved to their current premises in 2021, they also added dishes such as mee kampua, seafood fried rice, and chicken fried rice.
One of their customers, Mathius Hanson, a 20-year-old student from Serian, said he and his college mates patronise the restaurant three or four times a week as the food is good and reasonably priced.
“I also like the environment,” said Mathius, whose favourite dish is mee kampua with sweet sauce.
So, if you happen to find yourself in this part of the hornbill state, check out Sainah Café and see for yourself how Malaysians’ love for food can be a key unifying factor.