KUCHING - Food Guide
"Food makes us excited."
Do you relate well to this sentence too? We managed to compile this list from the recommendations by the locals so be sure to try it with an open heart. We do love most of the food here and will definitely give our most honest comment.
FOOD
1. Aladin Cafe (神灯鸡粥饭食店)
I doubt there is a need to elaborate how good they are when they open for only 3 hours a day. Yes, merely 3 hours. They are highly raved about by the locals and do expect it to be full house from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Aladdin Cafe sells only chicken rice and so we tried their best... crispy chicken with sweet sauce.
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| Fried Crispy Chicken |
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| Fried Crispy Chicken with Rice |
The chicken meat is moist and tender, with the skin so crispy that it is no wonder it is that addictive. Let's not forget about the rice. Honestly i was a tad disappointed with the rice as it was not as fragrance as what i expected it will be but hey, that also means they did not put as much oil into the rice. Overall, we still recommend it and I honestly cannot stop thinking about the taste of it as I am writing this post. Do let us know your thoughts on their steam/roasted chicken.
OPENING HOURS: 18:30 to 21:30 Daily
ADDRESS: 23, Lebuh Carpenter, 93000 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
2. Chong Choon Cafe (泉春茶室)
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| Kuching Laksa |
3. Lau Ya Geng - Yan Chun Tai Food Court
Conveniently located opposite of Siang Ti Temple, it is no wonder this place is always bustling with customers. Locals say this strategic location actually brings good luck to the stall vendors but hey, they vendors really do sell nice food.
Satay Pork
We were a little hesitant when we were introduced to this pork satay. We have a certain disliking to pork because most pork are not handled properly to remove the meat stench. Marinated with their special sauce and slowly charcoal grilled to perfection, this satay pork really took us by surprise. It has a tad of sweetness and the meat was soft, tender and not overdone at all. We were quite impressed that it did not come off as tough meat that is stubbornly stuck onto the stick.
Beehoon Soup
This beehoon soup stall is right next to the Pork Satay stall. Do not be fooled by how blend and uninteresting it looks. Handmade with generous portion of fish meat, I was surprised by how the fishball tasted oddly good. Unlike most fishballs we had tried, their fishball is roughly textured with more fish meat than flour itself. It is deniably more flavourful than the commercial fishballs.
4. TopSpot food court
If you are looking for affordable and fresh seafood, you should definitely look for Top Spot. There are quite a number of stalls selling seafood around and the difference between them is the chef's skill. Most of them have similar cooking method and that kept me thinking why will people want to sell the same thing at the same location? Anyway, we came and tried the stall Ling Long as recommended by most. Some also recommended Bukit Mata too.
Check out the full review here.
5. Jing-Si Books and Cafe (静思书轩)
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| Multi-grain health drink |
We chanced upon this vegan cafe by luck. They do not sell any food but their beverages are really good. This is an ideal place for anyone who is looking for tranquility to do their work (for blogging, like us) or just read a book. We saw a few students working on their school work as well. They do sell vegan products and we were quite intrigued by their instant rice. They originated from Taiwan and had multiple franchisee all over the world.
We ordered ice houjicha latte and hot multi-grain health drink. The houjicha latte was refreshing; perfect blend of houjicha tea with milk. The multi-grain health drink is more like instant oat drink, except it is a mixture of 5 different health grains. If you are nearby and need a place to cool down for something refreshing, this is your place.
6. Asian Recipe Cafe
Located 15 mins drive away from the airport, we had this for dinner just right before we took our return flight. Been around for more than a decade, Asian Recipe Cafe is famous for their Tomato Kueh Tiaw and Malicai with Egg. |
| Tomato Kueh Tiaw |
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| Malicai with Egg |
For the tomato/ ketchup lover, you may have found your paradise. The Tomato Kueh Tiaw looks a lot like hor fun soaked in generous serving of tomato sauce, chicken slices, vegetables and prawn. The Malicai is another interesting dish by itself. It tastes a tad bitter but juicy as well. For those who dislike eating vegetable stems, this leafy vegetable certainly should be on your top list.
7. Black Bean Coffee
We were excited approaching this Black Bean Coffee cafe but our excitement quickly died down. One of the likely reason could be because they close at 6pm and we arrived around 530pm in the late afternoon. We did not have any pleasant experience with the staff who was clearly irritable especially when we asked for recommendation. We tried Cappuccino and Ice Cafe Mocha. Although the aroma of the coffee is notable from a distance, we found ourselves largely disappointed with the coffee. It is could be because the beans are neither Robusta nor Arabica beans but exclusively Sarawak Liberica beans. As a flat white lover I found that i was forcing myself to down that cup of hot Cappuccino even after adding sugar. It could be the original taste of the black bean, or the barista had accidentally over-roasted the beans or... we could be just pure unlucky. With these 2 cups of coffee experiences, coupled with the unfriendly staff, we will be hesitant to visit again. If you are a black coffee lover though, please do try it and let us know how do you feel about it.
8. Abee Traditional Bun
We got to this place in the afternoon and was a little surprised they were still making batches of bun. We bought both steamed and baked coconut buns, as well as their 'charsio' bun. Their buns remained moist and fluffy even in the afternoon. We personally felt they could have added more fillings than the buns itself. The fillings were not as fragrant as what we had expected and was a little too dry. Perhaps some other bakeries had already set our benchmark on the standard of buns. Nonetheless, many people still do recommend their buns.
9. Noodle Descendants
Speaking about this street, the locals will definitely bring up Noodle Descendants. They are largely popular for their pig organ soup and the long snake queue that will take at least an hour. We are not a fan of pork and pig organ soup so we let it slide. Please do tell us your opinion about it. Who knows? We may want to change our mind about it for our next visit.
10. Sin Lian Shin Kolo Mee
This is our deepest regret. The best Kolo Mee in Kuching is located somewhat far from us and by the time we decided that we should check it out... it closes at 1pm. When in Kuching, make sure you try kolo mee. I really do love the Kolo Mee I had even though it was not the best in Kuching. The char siew is coated with a layer of sweet marinade that covers up the porky smell and the noodles are usually chewy, springy with a light taste of seasoning. I like to describe it as Chinese version of Aglio Olio noodles with an additional springy element to it.
MUST TRY BEVERAGE
1. Teh C (Tea with Milk)
The odd thing about Kuching is you get nice Teh C (Bing) ANYWHERE. As much as I am aware that they do have other nice beverages as well, I cannot seem to get my eyes off Teh C off the menu. I am missing their ice Teh C as I'm writing up on this post. The combination of milk and tea is always in good proportion and as a Teh C fanatic... you will know it when you see the colour of it. The local said the best Teh C is at Chong Choon Cafe so do make sure you order it!
2. Three-Layered Tea
Unlike Teh C, the 3 Layer Tea comes with an additional layer of gula apong (palm sugar) and that is causing it to be inevitably sweeter than the usual Teh C. Due to the addition of gula apong, this 3 Layer Tea also has a faint palm sugar aroma. This specially crafted tea is ideal for the sweet tooth who are particular to taste and smell of food, including beverage of course.
3. Honey Chrysanthemum Tea
To put it simply, honey chrysanthemum tea is made by chrysanthemum flower boiled in water with an addition of a tad of honey. The sweetness of the honey and the aroma of chrysanthemum makes a perfect blend of thirst quenching beverage if you are looking for something light and without any caffeine. I had long forgotten the taste of it because it is no longer readily available anywhere anymore.
4. Ice Lemon Tea
Ditch those instant powdered tea! Ice lemon tea in Kuching is certainly made from scratch by infusing black tea together with lemon and of course, a touch of sugar to sweeten it. If you are not a crazy Teh C fanatic like me (though i have never regretted my choice of ordering teh c all the time), do try out their Ice Lemon Tea because it tastes so much better than instant powdered or even canned Ice Lemon Tea.If you have yet to make any bookings, make sure you check out our travel promo deals here on this page. We update regularly to make sure you get the best deals.
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