Selera Assam Payak

For lunch today, we had decided to go to Selera Assam Payak, which is situated at Satok. It is located opposite Benteng Satok and next to Taka bakery. It has become one of the hotspots for lunch time in Kuching and the best part is that, it is Halal.

They serve a la carte food which you can order from a menu and also a mix dish of rice with meat and vegetable. The vegetable and meat were displayed in trays arranged neatly and kept warm with slow fire below the trays. For the mix dish, it is a self service affair and therefore you can have good control on the amount of food that you take. The man (must be the tow kay) behind the food counter, neatly dressed with apron and hat, overlooking the displayed cooked food, is very delighted to assist you should you need it.

The self service food counter

When we reached there, the shop was half full (not half empty) with customers. More came later although it started to drizzle outside. This definitely bears testimony to the taste that we are about to savour later.

Nasi campur with chicken and 2 types of vege.. nice and balanced.

We have decided to go fo the mix dish ('nasi campur'). I had rice with 'ayam masak hitam' (chicken in soya gravy), 'keladi' (boiled aroids aka Colocasia esculenta), and 'ulam' (raw and cleansed vegetable) with the accompanying 'sambal' (sauce usually with chilli and spices). My other half had the same with addition of spice added boiled 'rebung' (bamboo shoots) and the four angled beans with sambal as the ulam. For the drinks, we opted for cool plain water instead to avoid the post prandial glucose surge that can make you feel full 'prematurely'. After getting our food, a worker from the shop will go to our table and start to key in the price of our food into his handheld gadget that looked like a huge fat calculator that can print. However, the payment is made at the counter only.

Now you see it...

...now you don't

The ambiance was satisfactory, the lighting was just adequate with the murmuring from the gradually forming crowd forms the background music to the ears. Most importantly, cleanliness of the shop was acceptable, with no cats or other animals running around. The glass panels forming the walls of the shop ensures that the air inside is kept dust free and pleasant at all times.

All in all it cost about RM9.56 with 5% service tax. It was a fullfilling, hearty and healthy meal. I ran into some minor dispute of the price earlier when the lady at the counter overcharged me by RM4 when it was meant for the other table. It settled amicably and she returned my RM4. Lesson to be learned here is to check on the receipt everytime before you leave a shop.

Generally, it was a nice place to have our meal. The mix dish however, is not available at night. Surely, I would not mind to go there again for meals in the future.