Kuching; similar to any other states in Malaysia, owning its own culinary specialties. Our local friends and Ah Chai had done a good job in bringing us to try the local delicacies in Kuching. The content of this blog entry included the epicurean journey in Kuching.
1. Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre
We arrived late from airport and the hawker centre was almost closed during that time. The place that we sat determining the boundaries of stall that we could order foods from.We ordered rojak from two different stalls. It was different compared to Penang rojak or KL rojak I ate before.
The main ingredients of the rojak: kangkung and cuttlefish; topped with shredded peanuts.
Belacan vermicelli.
Vermicelli served with belacan gravy and topped with cuttlefish.
It's one of the recommended Kuching delicacies. I disliked the taste though.
2. Premier 101 Foods Court
A large area was used as food center where various famous Sarawak local delicacies could be found here.The name of the food court came from having 101 hawker stalls there.
The crowds
ice kacang
Kolo Mee is Kuching’s signature dish.
This is the plain type with red char siew and minced pork meat.
Gong Pia which is a toasted bun with juicy char siew as fillings.
Notably to mention that it's Foo Chow's snacks.Highly recommended!
Sambal fried vermicelli which suited my taste buds compared to belacan vermicelli that I had during noon.
3. Golden Arch Cafe
Light snacks before breakfast.
We ordered two different types of kolo mee for sharing.
The red kolo mee was mixed with red char siew (barbeque pork) sauce and oil while the white type was the original one.
Thin rice vermicelli was served in flavorful spiced soup with bean sprouts, big prawns and some shredded chicken meats. It was less spicy compared to Penang's curry noodles.
Dim sum were available here but our stomachs were full.
4. Annah Rais Longhouse * recommended *
Big thanks to Ah Chai otherwise we might not be able to try the local Bidayuh foods and drinks. Entrance fees for entering Annah Rais Longhouse was not very costly.Touring the Annah Rais longhouse was an excellent opportunity to experience traditional life in Borneo from both historical and modern day perspective.
We were greeted with a small glass of locally brewed rice wine at the entrance of Annah Rais Longhouse. The traditional local signature dishes were our first try of Bidayuh foods, especially the world famous bamboo rice and village chicken.The ferns (paku) were collected from the surrounding jungles and simply organic. The organic herbal tea was served as beverages.
Homemade herbal tea which was made from a tree bark.
Paku
5. Sarawak Kek Lapis
We had come to Kek Lapis Dayang Salhah shop for buying the famous kek lapis (layer cakes).
The generous sampling
6. Benson Seafood Restaurant
Benson Seafood Restaurant ; ariverside restaurant which offers wide range of seafoods.
Prawn fritters
Midin or Paku is the local vegetable in Kuching which is normally cooked with belacan or garlic.
You can see the curl part of the vegetable.
The soup that had embedded in my mind- Soup made of fish lips.
It was tasty but it made me feeling creepy when though of the numbers of fish lips in producing this large pot of fish lip soup.
Bean curd with minced meat
Sweet and sour fish
Mango chicken.
7. Oriental Park * recommended *
One of our breakfasts was taken at a coffee shop named Oriental Park.It's located right in one of the oldest places in Kuching and well hidden. Let's see the hidden gem of authentic kolo mee.
It's the best kolo mee I had in Kuching. It's served with crispy char ciew (BBQ pork), minced meat, spring onions and barbeque pork oil.
The char siew was roasted over charcoal fire; inducing the meat scrumptious,crispy and fragrant .
Again, we tried the kolo mee.
Tomato mee with your choice of noodles in thick tomato gravy, served with seafood & pork.
The tomato mee with big prawns and char siew.
