Hartz Chicken Buffet is the new buzz in the little industrial town of Bintulu. This franchise-based restaurant is originated from Texas, USA. The local company that owned the franchise had license to operate within the whole of Sarawak and Brunei region.

Since it’s a buzz, I’ve decided to give it a go. It looks pretty tempting from the outside. Looks classy enough for an International-based restaurant.

I was in Halo Cafe Miri when the nation countdown to its 50th birthday. The cafe had interesting programmes lined up for that special night - with lucky draws and gifts giveaway. Miri was chosen to host this year’s state-level Merdeka celebration and early in the morning there are colorful arrays of events staged at the Miri Stadium. Thanks to Ian from Miricommunity.net for the coverage.

Back to the cafe, I’ve only come to know that the cafe is actually owned by one of my friends back in Melbourne - Mr. Kuek, and some other shareholders as well, namely the son of Honda Miri’s tauke (boss).

Following is a few shots I’ve taken inside Halo Cafe.

Wall decor in the cafe.

The performance stage, lights unlit.

Yes, they serve Tiger beers/alcohol in this cafe, too!

This is how the waiter dress.

Seatings inside the cafe.

Heavy rain outside Halo Cafe.

As soon as the fireworks goes off sharp at 12 midnight, the rain pours down and the fireworks lasts for about 10 minutes, or less? Must be very anti-climaxing for all the high-expecting guests and visitors, including me.

For all those who’re there at the City fan garden, it must be quite a scene to see them running for shades when the rain comes pouring down.

Well, some feedback for the cafe, I think it’s a lil bit too pricey for those someone like me. No doubt it’s a cool place to sit back with a cup of Jasmine tea and listen to live band performing. But not on a frequent basis. The audio system still has room to improve, I reckon the speakers are too focused and bass levels are too high they create distortion. Staging and tunings are expected to be better.

Take a chance to tease your taste buds as they serve a variety of delicious western/eastern fusion foods.

By the way, who wanna go and see Lim Yu Zhong’s mini concert at Imperial Mall Miri, I’ve got 2 tickets to give away courtesy of Miricommunity.net and Halo Cafe. Please SMS me. I’ve won it off Miricommunity but I couldn’t make it there. Someone please take my ticket

Take it today, cause the concert is on tomorrow 3rd of September, 2007. After that, it’s gone :/ So be quick.

This is probably the best price-by-portion Western/Eastern fusion restaurant in Miri. Although their waiters/waitresses looks like those from the old kopitiam’s, but their food is well above my expectation.

This is their counter, with bamboo fish traps hanging from the top. It’s said that if you place those near your counter, it’ll trap fortunes. Hmm, should I try that for my shop?

No fancy menu here, just plain handwriting, neat and readable.

Check out their prices for steaks!! For the same price or so, I get only half the quantity elsewhere. Mixed grill is a combination of 3 steaks, namely lamb, beef and chicken, and the portion is enough for a couple! Believe me, you don’t wanna go there and order 2 plates of those if you’re dining out with your partner. Unless you’re a really big eater.

My meal of the night, I had fried rice + fried chicken cutlets coated with mayonnaise. The photo might seem a little small here, but believe me, it’s much bigger.

This is the ultimate plate. 3 pieces of steaks for RM16.90! Eat all you can with this plate.

If you’re really, really hungry next time, do pay this cafe (restaurant) a visit! Everything is XXL-sized. If you’ve ever dined in angmoh (Caucasian) countries, this is the closest you can get here in Miri, by quantity. Most importantly, their food tastes good. I’ll come back again for sure.

If you love steamed chicken rice, you would love the chicken at Xin Fu Li Yuan Cafe here in Bintulu. Ever since the first time we tasted their chicken rice here about 6 months ago, we’ve been coming back time after time. They even provide free delivery at lunch time every working day, straight to our premise!

The shop is located at Berjaya Commercial Centre, where the popular Li Hua Hotel is. In fact, the cafe is only one block away from the hotel.

The “cafe”, with some old, classic furnishings.

RM11 for 3x steamed chicken and 2x rice. RM2.80 for 2x Barley Ice. Reasonably priced.

Steamed chicken rice, best when served chilled. Secret to its tastiness is their sauce. It tastes like soy sauce plus sesame oil, but there’s a lil bit more to that and I’m still I’m figuring what they actually put in their sauce.