Famous Sibu Diang Miang Ngu @ The Little Alleyway

Ding Bian Hu or in Foochow dialect Diang Miang Ngu is one of Sibu's specialty beside Kampua mee and Kompia. However, its popularity could not be compared with Kampua as Kampua you can get it almost anytime anywhere in Sibu as long as you sit into a kopitiam.

Diang Miang Ngu can only found at limited spots. If you ask a Siburian where is the best place to eat Diang Miang Ngu, he/she will never hesitate to tell you "The little alleyway's kopitiam" near butterfly park or the old Sibu bus station.

 

Siburian may dunno the name of the shop because that is not so important. However they definitely know where is the shop that specialized in serving Diang Miang Ngu for at least 4 decades! The shop is actually called "Chop Hing Huong". I could still remember I had been here since I was small and after more than 20 years, the shop still here serving the same food - Diang Miang Ngu.

  

The shop is small and had limited seats. Therefore, sometimes when it is full of patrons, you might have to wait for your turn to fight for a place to sit down and enjoy the old-brand and most original Diang Miang Ngu.

This is the cook or the taukeh that had been cooking Diang Miang Ngu for many decades, the same person who had been doing it when I visited here at very young age. Not sure about his age, but I guess should be over 70?

  

From the name Ding(Wok) Bian (Side) Hu(Paste) or Diang Miang Ngu in Foochow dialect, to cook it, a very thin layer of rice starch solution is first poured onto the side of the hot wok. The wok then is covered for around a minute or two to let the solution cooked. Once it is cooked, the paste is scrapped down into the center of the wok and cook with pork broth, black fungus, handmade fish balls and so on.

To make the serving fast and dealing with keep-coming-in patrons, the cook usually will cook the food in big portion and pour it into a big basin. His assistant will then divide it into smaller bowls and add more toppings as requested by the customers before serving it.

At one corner of the shop, you will discover a traditional grinder with dynamo attached on it is working hard to grind the rice to become rice starch solution which is the main ingredient of producing Diang Miang Ngu.

 

  

So, this is how the famous Sibu Diang Miang Ngu looks like! You can add extra topping on it when you ordered, such as squids or more fish balls. Sarawak pepper will be provided and adding some into the food will make it even tastier!

  

 

The price isn't that expensive. A normal bowl costs RM2.50 and if you want extra topping like squids, it is RM3.00/bowl. Actually I used to eat it at RM1.60 - RM1.80 or even cheaper last time, but because of increasing costs, it ain't that cheap anymore.

I personally felt that the quality of the food is dropping nowadays. It is not as tastier as the one I took many years ago. The hand made fish balls also more tasteless if compared to the one I had last time. Anyway, it is still a very proud specialty of Sibu and is a MUST to try if you are here!