Oriental Park Kolo Mee: Breakfast Episodes

One of the many meals one would have during a typical breakfast here in Kuching is none other than a bowl of Kolo Mee, paired with a nice and refreshing glass of Teh C Peng Special or Kopi Peng Special. Yes, Kopi Peng Special. Here in Sarawak, we can make anything special.

Kolo Mee is one of the most highly consumed breakfast meals here in Kuching. In fact, kolo mee is also consumed during lunch, tea, dinner, supper, you name it.
So what could be a better way than for The Makan Post to kick start our Breakfast Episodes with this amazing and popular local dish: Kolo Mee.

Oriental Park Kolo Mee, one of the most famous Kolo Mee spots here in Kuching, also one of the most talked about kolo mee stall in Kuching, is well known for their char siew also known as roasted pork meat, as well as their authentic bowl of kolo mee. Here we are, about to give this hyped about place a shot.

It’s located in the midst of a few shop houses, I would say it’s actually quite noticable as you would be able to see the many cars parked around it when they’re open. Also, if you are familiar with the old Cathay Cinema, it’s actually just located next to it.

It would be great if you can manage to find a table there, or if not, just be prepared to wait at least 15 minutes or so to get one. If you have been to Noodle Descendants along the streets of Padungan, you would be able to find some similarities in their ordering system. The rules are simple: No walking up to any of the staffs to order, just wait till we come and get your orders.

Wondering who made these famous bowls of kolo mee? It’s this uncle right here. 

Apparently he has been making these for many years as generations from all sorts, young to old, claimed to have been eating these bowls of noodles that were made by him ever since their younger days in school.

We ordered two different varieties to try, one which is the usual original kolo mee and the red sauce kolo mee (red char siew oil).

Mine came with a strand of noodle hanging on the side. 

Decorative don’t you think? Jokes.

As I dug into the bowl of noodle, mixing and tossing them, I noticed that it’s fairly dry, not your typical bowl of kolo mee you normally get outside in most kolo mee stalls where they are served drenched in sauce. For this one, it had totally no sauce or gravy found in it. Upon taking a bite in to these noodles, I noticed that the texture of the noodles are very springy and bouncy, a great perfect kolo mee texture you would want to have. The noodles themselves however, tasted a little more towards the salty side. Actually, they are slightly saltier than average. It was overpowering too as I could only taste the saltiness of it, even though there were small bits of pork lard in it.

I was very curious to have a taste of the char siew, as we heard this place is well-known for it, as the char siew are actually barbequed at their pit located just outside the shop.

The char siew was flavourful, and you could taste the smokiness from it. It did bring some sweetness to balance out the over-powering saltiness from the noodles itself. I would say the char siew was alright, but also, it was nothing much special compared to most char siew found in other kolo mee stalls.

As for the red sauce kolo mee, I expected it to have at least a bit of sauce but it was indeed still sauce-less, and as dry as the original plain kolo mee. The sweetness from the char siew oil did give the noodles a better balance in flavours- the salty and the sweet. The good thing was, it definitely was not coated with a cheap red colouring like some stalls use for this dish, you will be able to tell its sweetness is the type that comes from the juices of the char siew. This dish was a better version than the original kolo mee.

Overall, I would say this place brings just an average kolo mee to my taste buds. Nothing special about it as well, I would have to say I’ve definitely eaten better ones. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure you food lovers would like to give this place a try too as well and see for yourselves. Here are the details below:

Oriental Park Kolo Mee
Jalan Market
(Next to Old Cathay Cinema)
Kuching, Sarawak.

Opens daily from 6am to 1pm. (Might sell out earlier than closing time).

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Cheers.