Kuching: Must Eats

When you do travel to Kuching and ask around the locals, they never fail to recommend you a few must-haves dishes.  If you didn't, it's like you have not truly experience Kuching.

Here are some of the must eats.

1)  Kolo Mee:  Egg noodles drizzled with oil & white vinegar served with garlic/shallots, minced pork and sliced char siu

Click here to find out where you can possibly find good Kolo Mee

2)  Sarawak Laksa:  Meehoon in spicy coconut prawn soup topped with egg & chicken strips and prawns.

Click here to find out where you can possibly find good Sarawak Laksa

3)  Tomato Mee:  Crispy deep fried noodles served with tomato sauce, vegetables & chicken

4)  Kueh Chap:  Thin square sheet noodles served with braised pork broth flavored with dark soy sauce & spices, and a variety of pig's internal organs - sometimes served with hard-boiled egg  & deep fried tofu

(Sorry, no pics.  Forgotten to get pics of it)

The above tomato mee & kolo mee are from Stall No. 25 @ Song Kheng Hai food court, just next to a large field behind Jalan Padungan.  You can also find another nice snack called Gong Piah, a type of donut-like filled with juicy pork meats, pretty similar to siew pao.  Just look out for Stall No. 7.

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Other dishes you must also try are:

• Pork Satay @ Carpenter Street

We stumbled across this stall purely out of coincidence.  We were shopping for souvenirs along Main Bazaar and after a while, we started to feel tired & hungry (could be the heat).

At first, our intention was just to eat at the nearest restaurant/cafe we find on the map.  So, the closest listed was a local hawker food court (no name mentioned on the map but it is located at Carpenter Street, just opposite a temple).

As I was tired, I left it to KS to do the ordering.  There weren't much choices as it was quite an awkward time to eat - almost 5pm - not tea-time nor is it dinner time.

Initially, when the pork satay arrived, it didn't look very attractive.  But the moment you put it into your mouth, wow! :o  The pork satay was so good!  I am pretty sure it was not because I was hungry as KS gave me the same shocking look too.

It doesn't taste like the usual satay, more like BBQ char siu on sticks.  The meat was tender & has some layers of fattiness, drenched with lots of dark soy sauce & honey.

The only downside was the peanut sauce.  It didn't have that kick that will make you want to dip your satay in.  It just tasted like peanut butter.  But then again, the pork satay is good enough to go by itself.  You don't need anything else to go with it.

Oh, how I miss it now!

BTW, this stall also sells nice, springy homemade fish balls & yong tofu served with vermicelli.

• Bipang

Okay, I know this is not a dish, but I think it is worth mentioning.  Before I went to Kuching, I had no idea what it is.  KS keep mentioning how nice it is and I had to believe him.

Turns out, it is actually rice crackers.  A bit different from the Japanese ones in that Bipang is sweeter & it has a stronger rice fragrance (& a lot more crunchier)

There are many flavours:  black rice, red rice, chicken floss, black sesame, onion & peanuts.

You can find these (Wide Way Bipang) almost everywhere, just look out for the old man with moustache trademark.  Plus, it comes in different sizes.  I bought the minis as it will be easier to store without worrying it will go soft.

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Know of any other must eats in Kuching?