Ambiance of Old China Café creepy, service is slow and food is just average

[Pixs copyright Ewe Paik Leong]

“Eeeeee…those old photos look creepy,” says the apple of my eye, pointing to the wall behind me.

“Why?” I ask.

“Those are photos of people who have died."

I slide a glance behind my shoulder. Holy Toledo! She’s right! Sheesh! With more than a dozen photos of dead people gazing at me, I wouldn’t want to pass a night here.

I look up at the ceiling (pix above). It has turned yellow. I look at the pilaster of one wall (pix below). Old paint is peeling off and the edges are nicked. I turn to my right. Stack on a wooden stand are magazines that are probably older than those found in a doctor’s waiting room. I scan around to count the number of tables: 11 tables are crammed almost elbow-to-elbow.

After a wait of 45 minutes, our food finally arrives. The cincalok omelette hardly contains any cincalok, all I see are mint leaves (2/5 stars).

This prompts my other half to ask the supervisor, “Is this cincalok omelette?”

“Yes!”

The babi assam (assam pork) reminds me of perut ikan and the spicy aromas dance a happy tango with my palate (4/5 stars). The thick soup of the salted vegetable duck makes my tongue twist in protest to the over-saltiness though it has a rich aroma (3/5 stars). The flesh of my coconut is nearly as hard as the head of a catfish though the juice is sweet.

Though prices are reasonable, I'm not coming back. Only one out of four items is delicious -- that's not good enough.

/end