I never did get around to asking the coffee shop owner about the restaurant name, whether they meant it to mean small or something else..although mini only has one meaning. Perhaps it is someone’s name (you know, translated from Chinese or something) or perhaps they just like the sound of it. I don’t know.
For one thing though, this restaurant is definitely not mini and neither are their portions!
Mini Restaurant over at Bagan Ajam
Mini Restaurant is more like the typical old-fashioned coffee shop where decor is minimal and the focus is mainly on the food. It is one of those ‘no frills’ eating places.
Taking a look behind the scene
I like the ‘drinks station’ with the rows of old-fashioned cups as the person in charge of preparing drinks go about mixing up the drinks for customers. Over in the kitchen, there is only one chef, the restaurant owner. As you can see, there are plenty of sauces that he used for his culinary creations.
As with any Chinese meal, we must have our chili paddy in soy sauce and chilli sauce!
Fried belacan chicken and pineapple prawns
On the left is the fried belacan chicken with the pineapple prawns in the background and on the right is a close-up of the pineapple prawns.
The fried belacan chicken is crunchy and has the salty full flavour of belacan. Great as a starter while waiting for the rest of the dishes to arrive.
As for the pineapple prawns…it is their signature dish and rightly so because it is the best I’ve ever had. Cooked in a sweet, sour and spicy curry, the prawns are fresh and sweet. And yes, it was not only served in the pineapple but some of the pineapple was used to cook the curry. Thus it gave the curry a tart-y fresh flavour and yet, not too sweet or sour. The wonderful thing about it is that you can drink it as a soup (well, I did!) or as accompaniment to white rice.
A look at the food we ate in Mini Restaurant
From top left (clockwise): A close-up of the fried belacan chicken, pineapple prawns, a general picture of the dishes we ordered and the two different types of green vegetables we ordered.
We ordered two different types of green vegetables to go with the meal, naturally. No Chinese dinner is complete without the almost-compulsory stir-fried green veg! Since we all love green vegetables, we ordered two different types.
Just look at the spicy curry crabs!
On the right! These are sea crabs, not freshwater ones and it is cooked in a curry paste. Spicy and succulent.
Here’s a closer look…
Spicy Crabs
Although it is really, really messy to eat these, I don’t mind one single bit! It has the spiciness of the curry paste with the flavour of turmeric and chillies all mixed in. It is flavourful with a tinge of sweetness and a taste of the sea thanks to these fresh crabs.
Two other specialties
They also specialise in Guinness Stout Chicken and Char Tua Pan (fried flat rice noodles).
Now, let’s take a closer look at the Guinness Stout Chicken
Guinness Stout Chicken
It is as delicious as it looked. Obviously, they use Guinness Stout as part of the recipe for this dish, thus the dark colour. Although you may think it taste bitter because of the ingredient, it is most definitely not. Instead, it is sweet with a taste of malt to it. Sorta bittersweet. What I can gather is that they either add honey or sugar or syrup to it other than just the Guinness Stout. Also, the chicken pieces are darn tender.
A closer look at the Char Tua Pan
I am not one who goes for Hor Fan fried in a Char Koay Teow style but I made an exception this time and boy am I glad I did! This is really good as it is full flavoured with just the right amount of sauces and yes, it is so tasty, I ate more than I should.
The last one to arrive is the steamed fish
Probably because they had to defrost the fish before cooking it. There is nothing all that remarkable about this fish although I can say the fish is still quite fresh. They could not have kept it frozen for more than two days. Otherwise, I’d not touch it at all. I can’t stand eating any fish that is not fresh, especially if they steamed it.
In conclusion, this restaurant / coffee shop is a great place for a taste bud tingling experience from the spicy crabs to the sweet and sour prawns to the bittersweet chicken. I’d definitely want to go back there for more.
Rating: 7/10
Price: $$ (It costs us around RM115 for the whole meal for seven of us)
Here are the restaurant details:
Mini Seafood Restaurant / Coffee Shop
6691, Bagan Ajam
13000 Butterworth
Tel: 016-4704361 / 016-4037779
Open from 6pm – midnight. Closed on Thursdays.
Click here for a map to this place.
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