Despite our hurry, we couldn't get to Choon Hui cafe before 11 am when they close 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. Big portion but not exceptional soup. Maybe we were too full.I think Chinese vermicelli (thicker, more breakable and in individual pieces) is more suitable for soup while Thai vermicelli(thin strands, not easily breakable and usually in a large uncut bundle)is better fried.
Boiled chicken and roasted pork with curry sauce on rice from Golden Arch Cafe RM4.50/USD1.40. Nah.
We sat alfresco behind Golden Arch Cafe. The pavement was uneven and broken, the floor dirty and the air smelt bad. 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 hadn't intended to meet up with anyone in Kuching because of the lack of time but I messaged Nee for advice on where to eat Fuzhou ding bian 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' ! reputati on 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. Greg and Nee are both university lecturers and busy 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 creative masterpieces liven up the cafe walls.
I especially liked the banana choc mousse cake, the banana cheesecake and the double chocolate cake while Yi loved the Rocher chocolate cake. Oh, the cookies are addictive!
A friend said to me one day "Kuching people are so lucky! How come they get a place like Nee's but not us?" I agree. Every piece of Nee's beautiful cakes was a! wesome. Her cakes are perfect in texture and taste, rich yet not cloying and the sweetness level just right. 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 city like KL, she'll have big investors knocking on her door.
A thick seafood soup.
My favorite dish of the meal, very fresh and sweet baby razor clams in soy sauce and lemon grass.
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 and wish we have it in KK.
I was probably wrong about Kuching being the second best place in Malaysia for food after Penang. I actually think that KK is better because whatever they have in Kuching, we have too in KK and more, maybe because there is a sizable Sarawakian community here but not the other way around. The upside to Kuching is the much lower cost of living and the city is less crime-prone.
Kuching reminds me of colonial KK: big trees, big old bungalow houses, 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, and would I prefer to live in peaceful Kuching than chaotic KL. However, 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 and although I am from the same country, I was only given 2 months' stay. The official reason is to protect the state from unwanted people and influence but this protective stance is a double-edged sword as it isolates the state from progress. That still doesn't explain Kuching's lack of progress because Sabah has the same immigration policy although not as stringently enforced.I think that there are political reasons in keeping Sarawakians in the backwaters.While development is not always necessary for the better, the young and educated are not going back to Kuching because jobs are scarce. Every family that I know in Kuching has family members (some are whole families)who have emigrated. The same situation exists in KK but I'm 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. I ! may be w rong, but this is my impression of Kuching (Malay word for cat), the City of Cats.
p.s. The best Kuching laksa according to Nee is found at Chong Choon Cafe.
Kuching laksa, RM4/USD1.30. Big portion but not exceptional soup. Maybe we were too full.I think Chinese vermicelli (thicker, more breakable and in individual pieces) is more suitable for soup while Thai vermicelli(thin strands, not easily breakable and usually in a large uncut bundle)is better fried.
Boiled chicken and roasted pork with curry sauce on rice from Golden Arch Cafe RM4.50/USD1.40. Nah.
We sat alfresco behind Golden Arch Cafe. The pavement was uneven and broken, the floor dirty and the air smelt bad. 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 hadn't intended to meet up with anyone in Kuching because of the lack of time but I messaged Nee for advice on where to eat Fuzhou ding bian 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' ! reputati on 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. Greg and Nee are both university lecturers and busy 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 creative masterpieces liven up the cafe walls.
I especially liked the banana choc mousse cake, the banana cheesecake and the double chocolate cake while Yi loved the Rocher chocolate cake. Oh, the cookies are addictive!
A friend said to me one day "Kuching people are so lucky! How come they get a place like Nee's but not us?" I agree. Every piece of Nee's beautiful cakes was a! wesome. Her cakes are perfect in texture and taste, rich yet not cloying and the sweetness level just right. 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 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 the food was great.
A thick seafood soup.
My favorite dish of the meal, very fresh and sweet baby razor clams in soy sauce and lemon grass.
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 and wish we have it in KK.
I was probably wrong about Kuching being the second best place in Malaysia for food after Penang. I actually think that KK is better because whatever they have in Kuching, we have too in KK and more, maybe because there is a sizable Sarawakian community here but not the other way around. The upside to Kuching is the much lower cost of living and the city is less crime-prone.
Kuching reminds me of colonial KK: big trees, big old bungalow houses, 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, and would I prefer to live in peaceful Kuching than chaotic KL. However, 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 and although I am from the same country, I was only given 2 months' stay. The official reason is to protect the state from unwanted people and influence but this protective stance is a double-edged sword as it isolates the state from progress. That still doesn't explain Kuching's lack of progress because Sabah has the same immigration policy although not as stringently enforced.I think that there are political reasons in keeping Sarawakians in the backwaters.While development is not always necessary for the better, the young and educated are not going back to Kuching because jobs are scarce. Every family that I know in Kuching has family members (some are whole families)who have emigrated. The same situation exists in KK but I'm 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. I ! may be w rong, but this is my impression of Kuching (Malay word for cat), the City of Cats.
p.s. The best Kuching laksa according to Nee is found at Chong Choon Cafe.
