Absolute Kitchen Bistro Bintulu

Absolute Kitchen Bistro is located within Jinhold Apartment Hotel Bintulu serving a mix of food from local, western and eastern. I have been to this restaurant since it's opening in 2011 and was really disappointed back then because of the odd choice of food and service, you might be asking how odd could it be?Well had you ever order a mix grilled garnish with oranges that came out served with rice?

Since then the menu has gone through a revamp which I was particularly happy because I love the traffic free location where the restaurant sit in a cosy area facing the sea so you could either sit outside to feel the cool breeze with the acoustic sound of the waves or within which is my favorite because I am always sweating. Enough of my sweaty arm pit and on to the foods!

I ordered the lamb shank while my partner in crime ordered spicy malay chicken rice with an umai fish as an appetiser  The umai fish if you do not know is local dish here in Bintulu where raw fish are being served with onion, chilli and mixed with lemon juice and there is a variation being served by Chinese and Malays which will be another topic but this one is definitively Chinese style. I would say one of the best umai fish dish you can find in Bintulu.

deliciously spicy and sour Umai Fish

Then the spicy chicken Malay rice arrived which look unappetizing , to be honest it didn't taste spicy at all but just tasteless.

Spicy Chicken Malay Rice

My lamb shank came after that which was a big portion. I previously had the same meal at this place and it was superb as the meat is so juicy tender that it just slide off the bones. However I could not say the same this time around. The meat was so hard I might as well be eating a live lamb. I could barely cut through it and after 5 minutes of trying to saw through a wooden plank I was seriously sweating and my palm was hurting badly. I was quite mad as I didn't paid to be a carpenter! I asked the waiter for an explanation and her only response was "Uh, I don't know" and didn't even bothered to get someone to answered until I asked another waiter that he offered to changed it.

Lamb Shank made of wood

After twenty minutes of waiting, it was the second trial and I was equally disappointed as I suspect the chef had no idea how to treat this poor lamb some respect for it's sacrifice. I didn't even bother trying to eat it as it was too tiresome so I paid the bill and left for some other food as I was still hungry.

Overall I was disappointed and furious with the food and service but from past experience their other food was alright but for now this restaurant is in my black list until I feel like coming back again maybe next year. I would recommend this place but avoid the lamb shank and "spicy" chicken Malay rice.

Total Cost:
Lamb Shank - RM38
Spicy Chicken Malay Rice - RM10
Umai Fish - RM15
Watermelon Juice - RM5
Plain Water - RM0.05