Kuchingites worship *Kuching* food.

Disclaimer: All the pictures features are taken from sources online using GoogleImage search engine including personal blogs. Any infringement of copyright(if there is one) was purely unintentional and the post is done with pure love for Kuching and Sarawak food.

*LOL So formal*

Kuching, the great city with the great food and great people.

One thing that any Kuchingites abroad will definitely miss is definitely, THE FOOD. KUCHING FOOD. And for me being at another food haven (Pearl of Orient aka Penang) makes me realize how much I miss Kuching food and how does it differ from what I have now.(Not a bad thing actually) With plethora of food with local touch that Kuching can offer, it is almost OBLIGATORY for any Kuchingite blogger to blog about and pay tribute to the glorious Kuching food that we all dear most. It is basically...our second religion...*bow down for Kuching food*. Without further a due, lets get it on!!!!

KOLO MEE (干捞面)
Of all the food in Kuching, Kolo mee is definitely the one that can be considered as the signature dish and true representative of a Kuchingite. Anyone who came here without eating a bowl of kolo mee doesn't know Kuching at all. So what exactly is kolo mee?

Kolo mee is basically noodles(very different from the peninsular wantan mee type) flash boiled/blanched/or whatever term that suits and drip dry (hence 干捞), then flavored/mix around with white vinegar, oil with fried red onion/garlic and the most important ingredient of all, Char siew Oil!! The reddish looking char siew oil is the key ingredient that makes the distinctive flavor and reddish color of kolo mee. Even though it is optional, but I personally feel that kolo mee without char siew oil is not really kolo mee. Kolo mee is classically topped by char siew and minced pork with a little sliced shallots but other variations are available as well. Its is quite easy to make actually if you have the ingredient and appliances ready. I know because my dad sell kolo mee at pasar malam for a few years after his retirement in airforce. But soon he got himself a better job as technician in power plant and he got himself a better rest.

A typical kolo mee...but I prefer it to be served in Porcelain bowl with chicken pattern...

So which place/stall/kopitiam sells the best kolo mee in Kuching? Actually this is highly debatable and depends on the eater's personal taste and experience. Plus most of the stalls have different..formula on their char siew oil or on making kolo mee so its kinda hard to reach a general consensus about it. The most common suggestion are the KY Cafe of Sekama Road(recommended by KennySia) and Green Road.(opposite of SMK Green Road which is Jess's school) But for me my personal favorite are much more closer to home(literally), Fatt Fatt Kopitiam which is within walking distance. I had always been eating their kolo mee since back in Kindergarten when my father always bring me there for breakfast before he goes to work. For certain reason, they closed down when I am in secondary school and I was pretty much devastated. But they came back at the start of 2007 carrying the same name and most importantly, the same kolo mee that I had been eating with the same porcelain bowl with chicken pattern since years ago. Since then I always drop by their kopitiam to eat their kolo mee for breakfast. And during the last semester break, I went there during my first day back in Kuching and I had my last bowl of kolo mee at the last day before I came back to Penang also at Fatt Fatt. So basically, I grew along with kolo mee ^_^.

Kolo mee captivates the heart of all Kuchingites abroad and most of them who came back to Kuching will tapao kolo mee in bulk before they gone abroad again, besides to savor it themselves, give and share to all their friends and acquaintances especially the other Kuchingites who can't go back to hometown because of works or others. I, myself did that as well when I go back home during study break last semester. I tapao 10 packs of kolo mee to bring it over to USM and I was like so worry I will be stop by the custom at airport LOL. In the end, I reach USM with kolo mee in my bag and I message all the Kuchingites friend to come and get their order of Kolo mee. It was very heart warming for all of us cos at least we have a taste of home in the foreign land. For our muslim friend however, the classic kolo mee are totally non-halal and even though there are malay stall that sell halal version of kolo mee(subsituting char siew with chicken) but it doesn't feel the same without the red of char siew oil...

A typical serving of kolo mee will also include a small saucer of sliced cili in vinegar as condiment. But of course, a typical meal of kolo mee will not be complete without the famous 3-layered Teh-C-Peng which is the drink in this pic!!!

THREE LAYER TEH-C-PENG

A relatively young invention/concoction that explode into a city-wide phenomenon, Three layer Teh-C-Peng is different than the normal Teh peng because we use evaporated milk instead of condensed milk.

The birthplace of Three layered Teh-C-Peng, Fresh Food Court

Actually the birthplace of three layer teh-c-peng phenomenon is also very close to home(literally) where my row of house is basically right behind the shoplot where Fresh Food Court is. My town, Kota Sentosa(also known as 7th mile) finally have an accolade that we can live up with besides the dubious honours for having the only asylum/mental hospital in the island of Borneo. Now, almost all the kopitiam across Kuching sell three layer teh-c-peng but everyone knows that original is always the best!! So come to my town and I will treat you teh-c-peng!!!

A colorful three layer of Teh-C-Peng.

So what makes up a three layered Teh-C-Peng? The darkish bottom layer is actually gula melaka, then the white layer is the evaporated milk then followed the light brown layer which is a mixture of tea, evaporated milk and sugar water. Then by the general understanding of simple physic on density of liquid, you have yourself a three layer teh-c-peng!!! We are suppose to mix this three layer up which will create a very rich and sweet mixture. Some really smart kopitiam owner goes even further by offering 4, 5 or more layered teh-c-peng which can be sago, pandan, cincau and even more! So if anyone of you wanna come over to Kuching and/or tumpang at my house, this one should not be missed!!

LAKSA SARAWAK

If Kolo mee is the guilty pleasure for only the Kuching Chinese and non-muslim, then Sarawak laksa will be the one that is guilty pleasure for every single one of Sarawakian regardless of religion and racial background. Its what we call, an all-sarawakian breakfast.

A typical laksa Sarawak. Tasty eh?

Sarawak laksa not just look different, it taste way different than all the other laksa variant across Malaysia. One major difference about Laksa Sarawak is that we use rice vermicelli(BeeHun) instead of other types of noodles. The broth is spicy, coconut milk and prawn paste based and it is topped with sliced strip of fried egg, sliced chicken meat, a couple or more prawns(size depend on those who cook it) and beansprout(taugeh).

Great breakfast to start a day: A bowl of laksa and a warm cup of Teh C...

Usually Laksa Sarawak will be served along with a small saucer of belacan and half of those small lemon thingy.(I forgot whats the official name of it) There many way of eating your laksa with the belacan and lemon. Some will squeeze the small lemon juice onto the belacan on the small saucer, mix it up a little and act as an condiment. Then, some people(like my younger bro for example) prefer mixing the belacan and lemon INTO the laksa which add the spicyness even more with a little touch of sourness. I, who can't really take food that is too spicy, prefer to just squeeze the lemon into the laksa and thats it. I love my laksa with sourly taste. And of course there is the last choice: eat it as it is without touching the belacan and lemon. It all depends on personal taste actually.

Again, the place which sells the best laksa had always been a subject of debate of all Kuchingites, with many people including Kenny Sia recommend ChongChoon of Padungan Road, Foody Goody's of Tabuan Stutong, Bormill and more...it all come down to personal taste and preference and there is always the pleasure of discovering more and more place that sells good food.

KUEH CHAP
Kueh Chap, a teochew delicacies(Kuching has sizeable population of Teochew besides Hokkien and Hakka) is basically flat rice noodle(most of them the triangular type but some use kueh teow) cook in slightly salty dark coloured broth and top with seasoned hard boiled egg, dried tofu and all sorts of PIGS part: meat, stomach, intestine, liver, you name it. Same like laksa, it came along with a small saucer of belacan and lemon which can either be used as a condiment or additional spice into your kuehchap. My younger brother, again prefer the second type while me which can't stand too much of a spice will just squeeze the lemon juice into my kuehchap. To be simple, its a bowlful of pigs organ. LOL And since it is full of pigs, kueh chap is strictly non-halal. Don't let the dark colour of the broth and the content scares you, it is actually much more delicious then its look. Again, place for the best kueh chap is always on debate from 3rd mile, Poh Kwong Park to Petanak Wet Market at night.

Kueh Chap...the best pig part for me is the intestine.

TOMATO MEE/KUEHTEOW

Tomato KuehTeow is basically fried but unseasoned flat rice noodle(kueh teow) cook in a thick tomato flavoured soup and top with vegetable, char siew, slice fish cake, slice squid, prawn etc. Tomato mee has the same soup but the mee(usually the same time as the one used for kolo mee) was first deep fried to make it crispy and then it is served in the same fashion of YeeMee here in peninsula. Me and my younger brother have personal experience with Tomato KuehTeow/mee and we still cook it once in a while at home for breakfast. No more char siew though ever since my dad stop selling kolo mee at pasar malam. Anyway, usually I am the one frying the kueh teow and get the other ingredient ready while my younger brother is always the cook of the tomato soup. His tomato soup is the bomb and the tomato soup that I cook myself still can't match of my younger brothers. Him along with my elder brother seems to inherit my father's touch of cooking while I suck at it. But who cares if they will be the one cooking instead of me!!! LOL

Tomato KuehTeow. I will ask my younger bro or parent to cook for you if anyone of you come to my house!!!

REAL TRADITIONAL SARAWAK CUISINE: MIDIN & AMBAL

When you want to talk about real Sarawakian cuisine, these two gotta be the best that should appear on your lunch table: Midin and Ambal.

Midin is how Sarawakian call the fern or pucuk paku in Bahasa Malaysia. But the midin that we cook are much smaller than pucuk paku and usually we choose the top part of the shoot to be cooked. Midin are widely available in the typical wet market and usually sold in small bundle. Once in a while my mom will buy a bundle back and cook it for dinner. There are two major variant or style to cook your midin: first is fried with Belacan while the other version is fried with a dash of white wine or tuak. My personal favorite: fried with white wine or tuak. In fact everyone in my family love this version and it has very nice aroma of white wine beside the normal crunchy bite of midin. A must try for everyone.

Midin fried with BelacanMidin cooked in white wine...mmm tasty!

Another must try for the seafood is Ambal which is bamboo clam. With Kuching's proximity to the sea, Kuching offers plenty of choice for seafood but Ambal is uniquely Sarawakian. This odd looking shellfish with tube shape shell can be easily found along the coastline and delta of river of Sarawak. It can be cooked in various way whether it is steamed or in curry. My parent buy one whole bag of bamboo clam when my parent goes to fishermen's kampung with my uncle to get the freshest seafood. So in the end, my dad cook in both ways: half steamed, the other half in curry. I love both variant but steamed bamboo clam are one notch higher as it is in the natural sweetness and flavor of the shellfish untainted by seasoning. The steam water/juice is naturally sweet and I can't get enough of it!!!

Ambal or bamboo clam cooked in curry.

SEAFOOD KOLO MEE of HongYan, Sekama Road
Ahha, this one is a little bit more special then the rest of food that I featured here. Why, you ask? Well it is not just touted as the best seafood kolo mee in Kuching(as per recommended by KennySia and all the other patron), it is also highly related to one very close friend of mine which I know really well. He is none other than...

Yes, its him, His Majesty Tua Pao king of UNIMAS, YangLip aka Joaquin Lip!!! Don't get weirded out by him though, he is very friendly and damn hilarious!!!

To be precise, HongYan was operated by YangLip's parent and they specialized in making seafood kolo mee. Their shop was pack from early morning and it will be sold out well before noon. Aunty really takes her time making each bowl of seafood kolo mee even though there are many people waiting(all of us are willing to wait, actually) but its worth the wait as you savor on one perfectly made bowl of seafood kolo mee. And even though their price are relatively expensive compared to other competitor(RM 5.50 per bowl), it is still greatly adored by all the patron who visited here because it is just that good!!!

That's aunty's back and you can see the price over there, RM5.50 per bowl. But worth it!!!
Here it is, the famous HongYan's seafood kolo mee!!!

The noodle used for this seafood kolo mee was vastly different as it was much more tangier and it is top with generous amount of juicy prawn, minced pork, meat ball, fish ball, pork liver, vegies etc. Another notable thing that is worth mention is that aunty will know the exact portion that you can eat which can make you full. I came across this before our fieldtrip to UNIMAS with YangLip, Owen, SanHui and BeiShan. The ladies was served in a smaller portion but approximately filling while me and Owen being a big guy served in a bigger portion. I don't know whether is because aunty know us already or some other reason but it is very personal and good for business as well. Knowing every customers need. And another thing that is also worth mentioned is the cleanliness of the shop. It is FAR MORE CLEANER than any kopitiam in Kuching with marble lining the wall and floor. Their table are spotlessly clean without a single black spot. I heard from Owen that they clean their shop thoroughly EVERYDAY, scrubbing the wall and the table and the chair after their business is done by noon. Their daily hard works earn them a very well-deserved A class from the City Council, almost second to none in all kopitiam.

One thing that we found slightly hilarious though, is how serious and concentrate YangLip is when he was helping his mom with the chores. He totally did not pay attention to us and totally committed to his job which makes him almost...un-him.(actually it was us that is an distraction for him) But since it is a family business, it is correct for him to be serious when he is working. We love you when you are funny but we also love you when you are committed. *muaks*


Finally, my very first Kuching post is done!!! It takes me like 5 hours plus(including searching the photo) just to make this post and actually there are still a very long list to go for what can Kuching offer to satisfy all the food connoisseur across the nation. Kuching are not food haven for nothing!!