Update (15 Mar 2024):
Just as I thought I had found a great place to try different Sarawak dishes at leisure, the restaurant had closed.
Located among rows of shophouses outside KSL City Mall along Jalan Serigala, Happiness Restaurant (美满茶餐厅) serves Sarawak-style dishes. It is a family-run eatery that provides an option for home-cooked Sarawak dishes without having to fly to East Malaysia.
Sarawak-style options at Happiness Restaurant include the well-known kolo mee (哥罗面) and Sarawak laksa. The lesser-known Sarawak-Sibu-popular Kampua mee is also on the list. There are traditional Foochow dishes too, like red wine chicken mee suah, ding bian hu (鼎边糊), kompia (光饼), etc.
The original dry-style Kampua Mee (干盘面) looks simple with noodle topped with slices of tender char siew (barbecue pork) — a Foochow version of kolo mee except the noodles are not curly. The real taste is in the sauce of the noodle, which is made with scallion oil, fried shallot, spring onions, etc, to give the noodle a pleasant taste and aroma.
Happiness's kolo mee is a unique orange-colour egg noodle topped with minced meat, barbecue pork slices, fishballs, vegetable and garnishes. The noodle is not too dry and soft — I wonder what gives the noodle its orange colour. It's a nice dish to try too.
Unlike most other laksa dishes in Singapore and Malaysia that lean more to being either sour or spicy, Sarawak laksa is more balanced in its tanginess and spiciness from mixture of tamarind, sambal belacan, lemongrass and other spices and herbs. With prawns, shredded chicken, shredded eggs and strips of dried tofu, the laksa is full of flavours.
Kompia (光饼) is a traditional Foochow specialty that has became part of the local culture of Malaysia Chinese. Happiness’s kompia dish comes in two pieces and are toasted to make it crispy outside but still soft inside with a nice texture and roasted sesame fragrance. The mild-savory pastry is sandwiched with fried minced meat and is not salty. Each kompia is small and can be ordered as snacks to accompany any meal — and it’s the smallest kompia I have ever seen.
Without a doubt, I will try all the Sarawak dishes at Happiness Restaurant until I have the chance to visit Sarawak in East Malaysia — hopefully, in the near future.
Address:
Happiness Restaurant (美满茶餐厅)
8, Jalan Serigala, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
9am to 5:30pm | Closed on Wednesday