LIGHT BITEZ: Kuching - Sarikei Food Trip

It had been more than a year since I last travelled out of Singapore (excluding Johor Bahru) and finally the chance came for me to go on a trip. I needed to find good quality Mee Sua to do up the Mee Sua series in this blog and the best Mee Sua are supposedly found in Perak and Sarawak. So which is better? I have tried Sitiawan Perak's Mee Sua and the verdict was VERY GOOD! As for Sarawak's Mee Sua, I only read about how good it was from other blogs. It was time for me to find out now by travelling personally to the small town of Sarikei. However I would need to stop by Kuching first because how could I have been to Sarawak if I have never been to Kuching yet? Hence I went ahead and booked the air tickets, the hotel rooms, the day tour, and researched + planned my itinerary. Off went DT and I on our 5 days food adventure from Singapore to Kuching to Sarikei!

Day 1 - To Kuching

It was my 1st time taking budget airline and it was definitely not a pleasant experience due to the bumpy takeoff, the cramp and dirty seats, and the not-so-pretty air stewardess. The view down the clouds were nice though... We reached Kuching International Airport and directional signs were not very clear as most were in Malay. After passing through the immigration, we went to take a taxi to the hotel for RM26.

Beautiful view from the lousy plane ride.

After checking in and unpacking our stuffs, we proceeded on foot to find our way to Green Hill Corner food centre to fill our hungry stomachs. However, we lost our way for an hour despite asking several passerbys and shop owners. Finally we found Harbour View Hotel just opposite Kuching Waterfront, where the coffeeshop was located too. It was almost 3pm and most of the stalls inside the coffeeshop were closed. An old uncle took our order and we had 2 plates of Char Kway Teow and 2 glasses of Teh-C-Peng Special (aka 3 layered tea). As the weather was really hot, we ordered Liang Teh and Teh Tarik after our meal there. Read more about Green Hill Corner here.

Left building: Harbour View Hotel (Green Hill Corner located on ground level of the hotel)

It had been years since I perspired like a tap but the journey must go on. After lunch we went to the Kuching Waterfront to book the Sarawak River Cruise for tomorrow evening. It cost us RM108 for 2 pax due to early bird discount. Then we walked across to the Main Bazaar to find Sin Min Joo Coffeehouse, which would be our lunch destination for Kolomee tomorrow. It took us nearly half an hour of searching till we realized that the place was just down the end of the lane directly across the Sarawak River Cruise ticketing counter... Check out more information about the cruise here.

River view at the Kuching Waterfront

As we made our way back to our hotel along the Main Bazaar, there were many stalls outside main shops selling beautiful rainbow-layered cake aka Kek Lapis. The stall owners let us try samples and the cakes were indeed quite delicious. However we did not buy any because it would be impossible to keep them till after the trip and still remained fresh.

A Kek Lapis shop in Main Bazaar

The route to our hotel was more familiar and shorter this time round. We washed all the perspiration away and rested our feet for an hour before heading to the famous carpark food centre, named "Top Spot" that Banana had told me about. It was quite easy to find as the multi-storey carpark was just behind MAS building, in front of Pullman Hotel and marked by a big red Prawn logo.

Top Spot Cafe's prawn logo

Carpark view of Top Spot Food Centre

Pullman Hotel behind Top Spot

We had to climb about 4 storeys before we reached the top of the carpark and before us were food stalls with neon-lit signs and wide variety display of seafood, meat, and vegetables for people to choose from. We tried Stall No. 25 "Bukit Mata Seafood" as recommended by a blogger. Just need to choose a table, go to the stall and order with the staff (or sometimes they would come over to take order), and tell them your table number... payment was made after the meal at a cashier counter beside the stall. We ordered Stir fried Garlic Midin, Butter Prawns, Oyster Pancake and Mango Chicken. We also ordered honeydew juice to quench our thirst. That was a lot of food for just 2 people. It was our first time trying Midin, a type of wild vegetable/fern and we were really excited about how it would taste like. We did not order Belachan Midin as both of us were down with slight sore throats. Our food were served and we tucked in hungrily and heartily. Everything tasted great! A definitely must-try and we would surely come again within the next few days. There were a lot more food to try out like Ayam Pansoh, BBQ fish and Satay.

Stall No. 25 that we ordered our food from

Stir fried Garlic Midin - Crunchy N flavourful! My personal favourite

Deep fried Butter Prawns - Gravy coating was creamy N fragrant

Oyster Pancake - Looked & tasted like keropok

Mango Salad Chicken - For people who like sourish food

After our meal, we strolled back to the hotel with bloated bellies and stopped by a local supermarket "EVERRISE" to buy more drinks and tidbits back. What a tiring day! We did not expect tomorrow to be worse...

2nd Day - In Kuching and Bau
We woke up at 6am and went for breakfast at the hotel lobby at 7am. The buffet dishes were good and we waited for the guide to fetch us to Bau Fairy and Wind Caves. I won't go into the details of the cave trip because it wasn't related to food... just that it was super tiring especially the climb inside Fairy Cave which left our legs sore till the next day. There were many fruit bats inside the caves too. Nothing very special and we were recommended by our guide to visit the Niah Caves in Mulu, Miri next time.

Bau Fairy Cave - Best to visit accompanied by a seasoned guide

The Wind Caves. Hotel's driver told us that 2 people were struck dead by lightning here last yr

Nearing 12pm, I requested that our half-day tour guide drop us off at a lane near Sin Min Joo coffeehouse instead of our hotel so that we could go straight for our Kolomee lunch. When we reached, the coffeeshop was filled with people and luckily we managed to find 2 seats to share with an elderly couple. They were friendly and we saw that they ordered mee pok and kway teow instead of mee. It was a good 20 minutes wait and our Kolomee was served. It wasn't the usual Char Siew and Wanton version that I saw in Singapore, in blogs, and what the elderly couple was eating. The boss gave us his funkier ('funky' word as taught by my Pinky) Pigs Innards Soup version though I think we could have ordered the Char Siew one if we knew what was coming. Nonetheless we didn't mind it at all because we had been trained by dad to eat such stuffs since young. The noodles were rather oily, so for people who don't like too oily food, do not stir the kolomee too much from under. As for the soup, one word to describe it... FANTASTIC!

Sin Min Joo coffeeshop (Cross intersection between Jalan Bishopgate & Jalan Carpenter)

The kolomee served with fried onions and oil at the bottom

Our pig's innards soup to eat with the noodles

After our satisfying meal, we walked under the scorching hot sun in search of Sarawak Museum. However when we finally reached after a tedious walk through construction and 'jaywalking', someone told us that the museum would be closed till 2pm. So we decided to forego the visit and headed back to hotel to shower and rest our aching arms, legs and feet. We watched the repeat telecast of Euro Cup 2012 till 4pm and strolled out to the Kuching Waterfront to catch our river cruise at 5:30pm. I didn't manage to take a picture of the cruise boat as I kept forgetting to.

As it was still early when we reached, we decided to buy a packet of rojak to share. I have tried Singapore and Penang rojak so how would Sarawak's taste like? Ok, my conclusion was that the pineapple stole the whole show as it was simply sweet, smooth and yummy. Yes, we all know that Sarawak's pineapples are infamously famous for being the best. Without the pineapples, seriously I would forego the whole packet of rojak because the sauce tasted cold and gooey which didn't suit my tastebuds at all. But it was worth a 1st try as the friendliness and seriousness of the rojak uncle in his work were commendable.

Rojak stall beside Sarawak Rivercruise's boarding gate

Sarawak Rojak

We boarded the cruise boat and it felt "tourisy". I know... we were tourists BUT seriously if not for catching a glimpse of Kuching's sunset, I wouldn't be caught dead on such rides. The light refreshments were nothing to wow about but the scenery that I saw during the 1.5 hours ride were breathtaking at times due to strange feelings of nostalgia. Definitely recommended for people who like "tourisy" stuffs during trips! More information on this blog link. Below are some of the pictures that I took on the boat.

DUN (Dewan Undangan Negeri) building

Rundown factories with boat docking facilities by the bank

A luxurious condominium with yacht docking facilities

Kuching fisherboys waving and dancing for our entertainment

A portion of Sarawak's Chief Minister's Grand Mansion

Caught someone in the act of burning rubbish. The haze was already bad enough!

Dragonboaters chasing our cruise boat at sunset

Simplified tribal dance for the tourists

Lounge and dining area of the cruise

Finally we alighted from the cruise at 7pm and as usual I was hungry. DT got slightly bothered and asked why I was always hungry. Well, there will be stomach pangs wherever there are good food! So I made noise about wanting to try out the Benson Seafood Restaurant that we saw whenever we walked back to our hotel. Hence we walked along the long waterfront and admired the shiny colourful neon lights with growling stomachs. My whole mind was Midin, midin, midin, midin! I must try belacan midin this time!

Evening walk along the neon lit Kuching Waterfront

The food centre across the river. Fastest way to get there was by sampan boat

We reached our dinner destination and it was really empty and quiet. The food on display were not as much as those at Top Spot so I really wondered about the taste and quality of their dishes. They served an odd dish named "Little Bird" and the proprietress showed me the frozen carcass of a bird. I didn't ask which type of bird that was because I didn't want to know.

As per the name

The emptiness in it

We ordered Sambal Belacan Midin, Salted Prawns, and Steamed White Pomfret. I still preferred Garlic flavoured Midin as belacan taste was too overwhelming till I couldn't really enjoy the special taste of the vegetable. The prawns were really good though and slightly spicy. As for the steamed pomfret, there was nothing special about it as we could get to eat the same freshness and taste in Singapore. The only regretful thing was that we didn't order their Prawn Keropok as we didn't bring enough stomachs with us. The price of the meal wasn't worth it at all and twice as much as Top Spot. Hence we left with bloated bellies but unsatisfied mood. Though I don't really fancy crowds and noisy places, those would definitely be better than eating at a deserted one.

The chillies and sauces to go with our food

Sambal Belacan Midin, not to my liking

Salted spicy Prawns. Shiok!

Fresh Steamed White Pomfret

It was time to turn in for an early night for the long trip to Sarikei tomorrow. Good night!

Day 3 - To Sarikei

We woke up at 6am to pack all our things into the luggage then waited for the driver at hotel lobby. He was surprised to know that we would be taking the ferry to Sarikei instead of Sibu as Sarikei is a really small town. We reached the Pending Express Wharf in about 20 minutes then we bought our ferry ticket (Kuching to Sarikei) for RM40 each. The ferry was scheduled to depart at 8:30am daily and we were 1 hour early so decided to have some breakfast in the meanwhile.

Pending Express Wharf Entrance

The Wharf Ticketing Counter

View of the river from the wharf

There was a small cafe in the station that sold pre-packed food like bread, sweets, tidbits, drinks and Nasi Lemak. They also had a cooked food menu but to our dismay, there was limited variety and none were really healthy. We ordered maggi mee and milo and finished our food by 8am. By that time, people had already started boarding the ferry so we also followed them.

Wharf Cafe's All-day Menu

My "Leh Fah Ayam Mee" breakfast

DT's Curry Maggi Mee breakfast

DT's seat ticket - Checked twice by the uncle onboard the ferry so do not lose it!

The interior of the ferry was rather rundown but clean. There were two sections of seats; one behind a closed door, the other without a door. The toilet was in between both, near the main entrance/exit. It is advisable to seat in the section with door because the smell from the toilet was really overpowering at some point in time during the 3.5 hours journey. As forewarned by a blogger, no announcement would be made at each stop made by the ferry. And the only information was when we overheard an uncle telling another that the 1st stop would be at Rejang. Tidbits and drinks were for sale onboard but we didn't buy any. The TVs onboard also aired 2 movies to entertain the passengers. Finally we reached Sarikei Terminal 2 around 12:15pm, which was the 2nd stop.

Our cabin without door

One of the run-down windows onboard

Sarikei's Wharf Terminal 2 (For ferry back to Kuching and to Sibu)

This small town wasn't quiet at all because cars and people were bustling around. I couldn't wait to check out all the food that I had read so much about online. Anyway, we had to check into our inn first. It was really "homely" as the inn's staff were all seated around the lounge area watching their afternoon tv program when we entered. The room that we had booked a few weeks earlier was no longer available to we had to settle for a family sized one for RM100. It was barely comfortable as everything in the room was old and there were 2 stains on the bedsheets. The basic amenities were not complete and we had to request for kettle, spoons, glasses, iron and toilet paper over the counter. Hence we quickly settled down and went out for our food hunt.

Our room and the bathing towels (with odd smell) provided to us over the counter.

We went in search of our ABC Special dessert but didn't manage to find the stall described by bloggers inside a 2-storey hawker centre. There was a halal and non-halal side and I remembered that bloggers wrote about a superb ABC Special at the halal side. But before I could take a better look at every stall, DT became scared and insisted on going off and pulled me to the non-halal side. ==" There was an aunty who got curious about us and kept asking what we were looking for. So I told her that we wanted ABC Special. She pulled us to a corner drink stall beside the staircase and ordered ABC Special for us. I was sceptical about it at first and it took the Uncle 10 minutes to prepare it but... it was the best ice kacang I have ever eaten in my life! I began to wonder if all the standard ABC Specials in Sarikei tasted this good. I gobbled it down in less than 5 minutes.

I had always thought that ice would always be ice. But this was mushy snow with juicy red beans n not-too-sweet syrup

Next, we went in search for the famous bao at the hawker centre beside it. However the stall wasn't open for business yet. Hence we went in search for Kampua Mee at 33 Repok Road. Sad to say, it was closed too as they just sold out after lunch hour. Hence we went to buy Mee Sua and spotted 2 shops selling really fine looking handmade ones. We bought 1 kg from each of them then set off to find noodles to fill our almost empty stomachs. We walked back to Wharf Road and most of the coffeeshops were already closed for the day. Finally we saw one that was opened and settled down for 2 bowls of Kampua Mee. It looked just like Kolomee with Char Siew to me but was good and we finished every strand of it.

Our Kampua Mee Lunch

We headed back to our hotel for a bath and rest as the weather was really almost unbearably hot. While DT watched Astro channel on TV, I began to check the 2 types of mee sua. I realized that the one sold by a young lady was really of premium handmade quality as the strands were super thin and uneven unlike the usual ones sold everywhere. My guts told me to buy more from her before her shop closes for the day. Hence after half hour of rest, I dragged DT out and rushed to the young lady's mee sua's shop again. She was pleasantly surprised to see us again and instantly knew that we came back to buy more mee sua. I bought 4kg more from her. Had wanted to buy more but we ran out of bags and arms. While carrying the box back to our hotel, I felt hungry again and went to buy 2 baos from a provision store and ate them in the hotel room.

My 3/4 eaten bao. Prefer Singapore's version though.

T was tired but I was bored so I went out in search of Sarikei's 5 supermarkets, the pineapple sculptures, the clock tower, tonight's dinner place at Everwin Coffeeshop and tomorrow's breakfast places at Aik Seng Coffeeshop and the cafe beside Payang Puri Hotel. I managed to find all of them except for 1 of the supermarket. After that, back in the hotel room again I watched a few episodes of a hilarious Korean drama then dragged the tired DT out for dinner.

1 of the 5 supermarkets in Sarikei

1 of the 2 pineapple sculptures that I found

The clock tower that wasn't working anymore

One of our breakfast places for tomorrow beside Payang Puri Hotel

Our very important breakfast place for tomorrow at Aik Seng Coffeeshop

I read about the Ang Chiew Mee Sua but did not do enough research to know where the best one was. So I settled for one sold by a lady in Everwin Coffeeshop that I read from Moonsworld. DT had Sarawak Laksa. The laksa was good but I couldn't get used to the taste of Ang Chiew soup as it was a little too strong for my preference in chicken soups. The meesua was thin like thread but not exactly super soft texture. DT wanted ABC Special again and we saw quite a number of people ordered it from the drink stall in the coffeeshop. We were greatly disappointed at the taste of their version so I came to the conclusion that not all ABC desserts were that great in Sarikei so had to choose only the good stalls.

DT's Sarawak Laksa

My Ang Chiew Mee Sua

The not-that-great ABC Special

We were really full after dinner and went for a stroll by the river and took some nice pictures of the buildings, people, structures and sunset view. This was a really nice peaceful town with friendly people and I didn't really want to leave but I could see that DT couldn't wait to. After the long stroll, we headed back to our uncomfortable inn and watched a Korean comedy and bathed again. Before dozing off, I kept telling myself that I had to make full use of and enjoy the few morning hours tomorrow before going back to Kuching.

Bank Road (Right), Repok Road (Middle), Wharf Road (Left)

Nicely decorated Public Toilet

Sarikei's Bus Terminal

A small shelter by the river for people to chat in groups

A bench and playground by the river

Candid shot...

Day 4 - Back to Kuching
We woke up at 7am and I didn't have a good night's rest as the room was uncomfortable. After washing up, we rushed out for our breakfast to avoid the 8am crowds at coffeeshops. We headed for our Roti Kahwin breakfast at Aik Seng Coffeeshop. DT didn't like ordering food so we had a quarrel. Nonetheless, our roti came and the super delicious toast calmed our moods down instantly. I had never eaten such soft yet fragrant and scrumptuous toasts like this. It felt like having fallen in love oO". The milo and tea were excellent too. Next, we went to the coffeeshop beside Payang Puri Hotel but couldn't find any man making Pien Neek (dumplings) with his fast hands. I wanted to explore further but DT wouldn't let me again! =( Hence I told her that I still needed more food and wanted to try the New Elfa Coffeeshop beside King's Inn. This was 1 of the few coffeeshops that opened till late night and it served a wide variety of fried and soup noodles. Then I saw "Mee Golong Keling / 云吞" on one of the stalls' menu so immediately ordered 2 bowls of it. It was Pien Neek! Woohoo! It tasted great especially with added sliced chillies.

Interior of Aik Seng Coffeeshop drink stall section

Our Roti Kahwin set. SEDAP!

Smooth and good Pien Neek in clear soup

The soup tasted even better with sliced chillies added!

After a filling breakfast, we walked around town for a while longer before going back to the inn to pack our luggage. I was really sad as I packed all our stuffs in because I didn't know when would I have the chance to come back here again. I thought about the Wanton Noodles in Singapore and it didn't make me the least interested in going home. I guess I still miss the Curry Chicken back home so tried to put my mind on it. We checked out of our inn at 11:30am and walked slowly to the jetty terminal. We sat there like dummies and by 12pm, my tummy was growling for more food again. However, loaded with baggages, there was nowhere we could go for food except to wait for the ferry and buy tidbits on board. The ferry was rather late today and only set off at around 1pm. I was really reluctant to leave and DT had to nag me all the way to the boat. We bought a packet of roller coaster, a packet of chicken flavoured cracker and mineral water from the same uncle we saw yesterday. It was a boring 3.5 hours journey back to Kuching and I think the boat captain really love Angelina Jolie because he kept airing her movies on TV.

When we reached Pending Express Wharf, there was no taxi in sight for us to take and we had to call to our hotel in Kuching for assistance. Our taxi finally arrived after 2 hours of wait and by them we were super hungry and in bad mood. After check-in, I told DT that I wanted to eat garlic midin again and so we went back to Top Spot. We ordered all the food that we ordered on first day except the Mango Chicken but added 10 sticks of chicken satay. My verdict on the satay was, Singapore's satay tasted the best so far. Perhaps due to our lousy moods, dinner didn't taste as good as the 1st day we ate here. Since we didn't manage to do much today due to the long boat journey and 2-hour delay, we decided to hangout at an IpohTown outlet for some beverage. Hmm... it wasn't that nice and OldTown was much nicer. By the time we went back to hotel was already 10pm. I didn't take any photo for the day after leaving Sarikei simply because mood was really all-time low. Tomorrow would be our last day in Sarawak so better rest more tonight and tune up our mood. Oyasumi...

Day 5 - Back to Singapore
The moment I woke up, I just sat on bed stunned and told myself "I'm going back to Singapore today...". It didn't feel good at all. I didn't miss home but DT did. I didn't want to leave! Anyway, I rushed to wash up, packed our luggage and dragged DT out of bed. We would be going for the popular Sarawak Laksa at Chong Choon Coffeeshop this morning. Yay! But we had to eat the hotel breakfast first. Haha... make the most out of it. DT couldn't stand me and remarked that I was such a food enthusiast and next time wouldn't go on food trips with me again. =( We ate a little of each dish at the hotel's breakfast buffet including some juices then walked to Chong Choon Coffeeshop. The place was really packed with people and we managed to share a table with 2 aunties. The laksa was good. It was really good! 5 succulent prawns + some chicken meat for RM5 per bowl. We also ordered Butter Cheese Toast from another stall and some milo. The toast was soft like Aik Seng's but in a different shape. It was yummy too. Definitely a must-try. We sat there observing what others were eating and saw that many of them ordered yam cakes and fried kway teow. Everything looked so good.

Chong Choon Cafe (closed) taken a few days back

Poh Lam Laksa at Chong Choon Cafe

Our RM 5 delicious Sarawak Laksa. Don't forget to squeeze in the lime!

Our Butter and Cheese Toast. Soft and fluffy texture.

Milo that wasn't too sweet nor too milky and just right.

After our breakfast, we decided to burn off some calories by walking to the Kuching Waterfront and Main Bazaar to do some last minute shopping. It was a good walk and we met some friendly locals who greeted us. I bought crackers, black pepper paste, laksa paste, sweets, tea, table mats, and an extra bag to store these extra things for our trip home. We headed back to our hotel on foot and met some friendly locals again including a bored taxi driver who chatted with us.

Bus agency to book bus tickets to various places in Borneo

The food centre opposite Kuching Waterfront in daytime

Crocodile sculpture for the animal-loving notti mei

This used to be a local town prison

A tree in red bloom

This wall actually had other sections that wrote the whole story of the crocodile and deer

We checked out of the hotel at 12pm and the same friendly driver chatted with us about our Sarikei trip. Finally we were at the airport and checked-in. I was hungry again and decided to try out Sarawak's version of KFC. The chicken texture was definitely nicer than back home and the coleslaw was good too. After the meal and a short walk around the departure section to buy some postcards, we boarded the plane and byebye to Sarawak! T_T Hello to Singapore. Hello to same old people. Hello to urbanization. And Hello to commercialized food.