Despite our hurry, we were told that Choon Hui cafe closes by 11 am daily and the other place for Kuching laksa as recommended by Kuching's golden blogger boy Kenny was Golden Arch at Golden Arch Mall. We got there but the laksa was all gone and they told us to get it from the cafe behind.
Kuching laksa, RM4/USD1.30. Pretty good soup but not good enough to fly 800 km for. I especially dislike Thai rice vermicelli (thin strands, not easily breakable and usually in a large uncut bundle) in soup. I think Chinese vermicelli (thicker, more breakable and in individual pieces) is more suitable for soup while Thai vermicelli is better fried.
Chicken and pork curry over rice from Golden Arch Cafe RM4.50/USD1.40. Nah.
We were seated sort of alfresco behind Golden Arch Cafe. The pavement was uneven and broken, the floor dirty and the air smelt bad. I think it was both. A small roach came from under the table and explored our plates. Golden Arch Mall is such a nightmare, avoid it. It isn't even a mall. It's just two rows of crummy shop houses linked by an overhead shade.
Help came in the form of Greg and Nee, a couple I know through Nee's aunt Linda. I had messaged Nee for advice on where to eat Fuzhou dian ben hu. It turned out that everything I wanted to eat was in Sibu, the Fuzhou town of Sarawak. Kuching is a Hokkien town. But, true to Malaysians' reputation of being super hosts, Greg and Nee and Nee's bro Roger who was visiting from Melbourne made sure we were happy for the rest of the time that we were there. G! reg and Nee are both busy university lecturers and Nee not only owns a cake shop but also became a mom two months ago to a beautiful baby girl.
Nee's cakes are made with the finest ingredients and baked at home with passion. Greg's masterpieces liven up the cafe walls.
The oatmeal raisin cookies are delicious and when my bro came to visit today, I gave him a piece and watched smugly when his eyes widened upon first bite. Uh huh. They are that good.
I especially liked the banana choc mousse cake, the banana cheesecake and the double chocolate cake while Yi loved the Rocher chocolate cake.
A friend said to me one day "Kuching people are so lucky! How come they get to have a place like Nee's but not us?" I agree. Every piece of Nee's cakes was delicious, perfect in! texture and taste. Her cakes are rich yet not sweet. Just eating Nee's cakes made my visit worthwhile and I am inspired by this young woman who only started baking seriously less than 6 years ago. I'm sure that if her cake shop is in a big city like KL, she'll have big investors knocking on her door.
A thick seafood soup.
My favorite dish of the meal, baby razor clams in soy sauce. The clams were fresh and sweet.
An oyster 'pizza', something new for us. I think this was the only dish I didn't like because the oysters were too fishy and the sauce too gooey.
Done very well if not too oily but then it was butter prawns.
This is midin, a jungle fern. It tastes like a cross between the pakis and sayur manis. Love it.
Kuching reminds me of KK when I was a kid: big trees, big old houses and a lot of land and greenery. I can imagine that growing up there must be fun and coming home to a place that hasn't changed much is comforting. It does feel homey, even for me. However I can't help but feel bad for Kuchingnites. I didn't expect the city to be so far behind KK. Some say that Kuching is left behind because of its immigration policy. The state government is very careful about the people going into the state. Although I am from the same country, I was only given 2 months' stay. I think it's the same for visitors to Sabah. The official reason is to protect the state from unwanted people and influence but this protective stance is a double-edged sword: it isolates the state from progress. I think there are sinister political reasons in keeping Sarawakians in the backwaters.While development is not always necessary for the better if it is not carried out well, the young and educated are not going back to Kuching because jobs are scarce. It's no wonder that of all the families that I know of in Kuching, nearly all have at least half their siblings overseas. The same situation exists in KK but I am guessing that it's not as bad as in Kuching.Kuching should be a much better city given thatSarawak is the biggest and one of the most resource-endowed states in Malaysia.
p.s. The best Kuching laksa according to Nee is found at Chong Choon Cafe.
Kuching laksa, RM4/USD1.30. Pretty good soup but not good enough to fly 800 km for. I especially dislike Thai rice vermicelli (thin strands, not easily breakable and usually in a large uncut bundle) in soup. I think Chinese vermicelli (thicker, more breakable and in individual pieces) is more suitable for soup while Thai vermicelli is better fried.
Chicken and pork curry over rice from Golden Arch Cafe RM4.50/USD1.40. Nah.
We were seated sort of alfresco behind Golden Arch Cafe. The pavement was uneven and broken, the floor dirty and the air smelt bad. I think it was both. A small roach came from under the table and explored our plates. Golden Arch Mall is such a nightmare, avoid it. It isn't even a mall. It's just two rows of crummy shop houses linked by an overhead shade.
Help came in the form of Greg and Nee, a couple I know through Nee's aunt Linda. I had messaged Nee for advice on where to eat Fuzhou dian ben hu. It turned out that everything I wanted to eat was in Sibu, the Fuzhou town of Sarawak. Kuching is a Hokkien town. But, true to Malaysians' reputation of being super hosts, Greg and Nee and Nee's bro Roger who was visiting from Melbourne made sure we were happy for the rest of the time that we were there. G! reg and Nee are both busy university lecturers and Nee not only owns a cake shop but also became a mom two months ago to a beautiful baby girl.
Nee's cakes are made with the finest ingredients and baked at home with passion. Greg's masterpieces liven up the cafe walls.
The oatmeal raisin cookies are delicious and when my bro came to visit today, I gave him a piece and watched smugly when his eyes widened upon first bite. Uh huh. They are that good.
I especially liked the banana choc mousse cake, the banana cheesecake and the double chocolate cake while Yi loved the Rocher chocolate cake.
A friend said to me one day "Kuching people are so lucky! How come they get to have a place like Nee's but not us?" I agree. Every piece of Nee's cakes was delicious, perfect in! texture and taste. Her cakes are rich yet not sweet. Just eating Nee's cakes made my visit worthwhile and I am inspired by this young woman who only started baking seriously less than 6 years ago. I'm sure that if her cake shop is in a big city like KL, she'll have big investors knocking on her door.
Our dinner, hosted by Greg and Nee, was at Stall ABC on therooftop of Permata Carpark, the place where the locals will without fail take their visitors. The rooftop is the place to go for seafood and from what we ate, the food's great.
A thick seafood soup.
My favorite dish of the meal, baby razor clams in soy sauce. The clams were fresh and sweet.
An oyster 'pizza', something new for us. I think this was the only dish I didn't like because the oysters were too fishy and the sauce too gooey.
Done very well if not too oily but then it was butter prawns.
This is midin, a jungle fern. It tastes like a cross between the pakis and sayur manis. Love it.
Kuching reminds me of KK when I was a kid: big trees, big old houses and a lot of land and greenery. I can imagine that growing up there must be fun and coming home to a place that hasn't changed much is comforting. It does feel homey, even for me. However I can't help but feel bad for Kuchingnites. I didn't expect the city to be so far behind KK. Some say that Kuching is left behind because of its immigration policy. The state government is very careful about the people going into the state. Although I am from the same country, I was only given 2 months' stay. I think it's the same for visitors to Sabah. The official reason is to protect the state from unwanted people and influence but this protective stance is a double-edged sword: it isolates the state from progress. I think there are sinister political reasons in keeping Sarawakians in the backwaters.While development is not always necessary for the better if it is not carried out well, the young and educated are not going back to Kuching because jobs are scarce. It's no wonder that of all the families that I know of in Kuching, nearly all have at least half their siblings overseas. The same situation exists in KK but I am guessing that it's not as bad as in Kuching.Kuching should be a much better city given thatSarawak is the biggest and one of the most resource-endowed states in Malaysia.
p.s. The best Kuching laksa according to Nee is found at Chong Choon Cafe.
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