CITY CAFE : KOLO MEE EPISODES

Good food is often found at popular spots, spots in which many would come to know of and can be seen just as you pass by the streets. Spots in which food can be commonly found as well. However, good food can also be found at the most unexpected areas, areas one would not go to for a satisfying meal. Sometimes, food served at these hidden gems can also taste better than well known spots in the city. Today, an adventure to one of the hidden places selling Sarawak's favourite, the kolo mee. In fact, it's located in a very old shopping mall, now mostly known for computer related gadgets, electronics and handphones. It's City Cafe located at the basement of this shopping mall, Wisma Saberkas.

This basement floor at Wisma Saberkas is surrounded with a few cafes just next to each other, with tables and chairs scattered along the walkway. During lunch hours, the whole place would be packed with the majority of the crowd from offices nearby. A popular cafe here is City Cafe, selling a tasty bowl of kolo mee.

City Cafe's kolo mee stall sells other dishes as well besides the usual kolo mee. Here's the menu.

A plated filled with freshly fried yong tau foo can also be seen placed next to the cooking station. Some prefer to have their kolo mee along with some of these freshly made yong tau foo.

Their kolo mee comes with a small bowl of clear soup as well. It is a tradition to drink the soup at the end of every kolo mee meal, as a palate cleanser and a comforting way to end the meal.

This special bowl of kolo mee comes with fishballs, processed crab meat sticks, meatballs, pork belly, prawns and vegetables. The noodle was springy and the texture was just right. It was seasoned well, and was drenched in a generous amount of gravy, so each bite of noodles wouldn't feel dry and would be coated well in sauce.

In most kolo mee shops, the clear soups served are often known to be bland and filled with hints of raw flour taste to it from the process of cooking the noodles. However, the clear soup served here was really flavourful, tasty and indeed comforting.

It had a peppery taste to it, had the right amount of saltiness and served as a great palate cleanser at the end of the meal.


Now it's your turn to give this hidden gem a try.







City cafe opens daily except Tuesdays from 8pm to 6pm

LG21C, 

Wisma Saberkas, 

Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, 

93000 Kuching, Sarawak, 

Malaysia.

This is Jolynn signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.

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The Makan Post brings to you weekly food adventures, so be sure to catch us every week for new episodes and dont forget to subscribe to us. Just click on the Follow button below. Also, check out our instagram page @themakanpost. Cheers.

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STALL NO.19 KAMPUA MEE : HUI SING EPISODES

In this episode of Hui Sing hawker centre, we 're heading to stall no. 19, which I personally feel, sells the best kampua mee and kolo mee out of the rest of the stalls here. With just a great deal of RM3 per plate of kampua mee, this stall has it's kampua selling out fast in just a few hours.

Let's take a look at it.

Each strand was well coated in sauce, not leaving out any dry toughened strands in the dish. It was not too springy for a kampua, has a slight rubbery texture to it as well, which makes for a perfect texture. Besides the normal char siew that comes with it, this one has additional fish cake slices, fish balls and vegetables. It was very fragrant from the pork oil used, and added a very nice flavour, which was just enough, not overpowering.

It takes you back to the time you had your first delicious authentic plate of kampua noodles from Sibu. Guaranteed to satisfy and definitely a bang for the buck.



Their kolo mee did not fail to impress as well. We had the straight noodles for this one.

It was also fragrant, still with evident pork oil, and has an aromatic roasted char siew smell to it. The noodles were springy and light, drenched in their generous amount of sauce. This also had the extra condiments such as fish cakes and vegetables.



Come try for yourselves and you'll get what we mean. And if you missed our previous post on Hui Sing Episodes here:
http://themakanpost.blogspot.my/2015/11/hui-sing-episodes.html

Hui Sing Hawker Centre's opening hours are not fixed, as some of the stalls open earlier on some days and might be closed on certain public holidays. Estimated to open around 5.30pm to 10pm or until sold out.

Hui Sing Hawker Centre

169-177,

Lorong Taman Hui Seng 3,

Taman Hui Sing,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak.

This is Jolynn signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.

-

The Makan Post brings to you weekly food adventures, so be sure to catch us every week for new episodes and dont forget to subscribe to us. Just click on the Follow button below. Also, check out our instagram page @themakanpost. Cheers.

themakanpost@gmail.com

STALL NO.9 HUP GHIM HENG: HUI SING EPISODES

Of all places in Kuching, Hui Sing Hawker Centre remains as a favourite for many as it is one interesting open air eatery, known for their many stalls offering char kueh tiaw, mee, satay, ABC, kampua mee and not to forget, the ever famous East Malaysia favourite, tomato kueh tiaw. 

This evening-night place opens daily and the whole area which includes part of a road side, would be occupied with plastic tables and chairs. It is said that customers would then have to sit at the correct area which means, to sit infront of the stall they would like to order from; although sometimes, you are still able to get your order from other stalls delivered to where you are seated at- if it’s not too far.

Of course, regular customers would have their own personal favourite stall they would always order from. Here, each stall is unique and known for different styles of cooking, specialties and such. Which is why, TMP would be adventuring to try each one of these stalls for you food lovers out there and we would be writing about them in our Hui Sing Episodes. Today, we would be adventuring to eat some of their fried noodles and of course the tomato kueh tiaw, at stall no.9, Hup Ghim Heng, as our first stall to start of our Hui Sing episodes.

No.9 offers delicacies like fried noodles, kueh tiaw, tomato kueh tiaw and others along this line. 

For those of you who love sweet fried noodles, (taugeh mee) this is a store you would want to try when you come here. The title may get you wondering how can a savoury dish such as fried noodles be cooked sweet? Here in Kuching, this is one dish commonly ordered. It doesnt lose it's savoury side despite what it's called, instead, the sweet soy added to it makes this dish even more delicious. And if cooked right, would leave you wanting for more after each bite. 

Personally, I think the best tasting sweet fried noodles is when the sweet flavours of this dish is able to gel perfectly with the noodles, not leaving any separate savoury flavour. In other words, you should be able to taste the sweet and savoury all in one. Not separately. You'll get what I mean once you get to try a really good one. Like what stall no.9 offered. 

It was really good, with all the flavours balanced and the noodles fried well. It had a smoky burnt flavour from the hot wok, and was springy. The beansprouts also added a nice crunch to the dish, and wasnt overcooked. It also had a slight amount of gravy to it, so it will never leave your mouth feeling dry. You should definitely give this a try.

The tomato kueh tiaw left a very nice aroma when it was served. As you can see, the tomato gravy was thick and rich. They were very generous with the gravy as well, ensuring the kueh tiaw and everything else was coated enough. 

The kueh tiaw was also fried well enough, leaving a nice charred flavour; right amount of heat used. This is also one important aspect that determines whether this dish is done well. They also had chicken strips, char siew, fish cakes, vege and fish fillet strips. The tomato gravy however, left a sour-bland end taste to it. I thought that they were actually using a cheap version of tomato sauce for the gravy and I think that this gravy can be improved. 

Among these 2 dishes, I highly recommend the sweet fried noodles (taugeh mee). Come to stall no.9 to try these for yourselves. Stay tuned for the next Hui Sing episode, where we will be bringing to you our adventure on another different stall. 

Hui Sing Hawker Centre's opening hours are not fixed, as some of the stalls open earlier on some days and might be closed on certain public holidays. Estimated to open around 5.30pm to 10pm or until sold out.

Hui Sing Hawker Centre

169-177,

Lorong Taman Hui Seng 3,

Taman Hui Sing,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak.

This is Jolynn signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.

-

The Makan Post brings to you weekly food adventures, so be sure to catch us every week for new episodes and dont forget to subscribe to us. Just click on the Follow button below. Also, check out our instagram page @themakanpost. Cheers.

themakanpost@gmail.com

CHONG CHOON CAFE: BREAKFAST EPISODES

Here in Sarawak, it is a norm to see many heading to their favourite breakfast or brunch spot for laksa, kolo mee, mee jawa and so on, accompanied with a nice cold glass of teh c peng special. Because of this, some of thse breakfast spots have become so popular, that they opened even more branches to cater to those living in different areas as well. Today we'll be adventuring to one of these breakfast spots, that has also opened another of it's branch in Green Heights. Located at Abell Road, it's none other than Chong Choon Cafe.

One thing to bear in mind, if you plan to make a visit here, parking is pretty hard to get. We parked along the streets of Padungan and took a walk to Chong Choon. Why not explore some of Kuching's city scenery as well right?

Here we are at Chong Choon.

This place would be pretty packed with many people and normally you would have to wait at least 10 minutes to get a seat. 

Chong Choon Cafe offers many local delicacies such as laksa, kolo mee, mee jawa, mee goreng, char kueh, toast and also a selection of traditional kuih.

Many would come to Chong Choon Cafe specially for their laksa and teh c peng special. Here you could also order them in extra large sizes. These XL sizes are guaranteed to satisfy and quench your thirst as the size of these XL glasses can fit your whole fist if put in.

Besides the laksa, most people would come here for the mee jawa as well. It came with generous sticks of chicken satay drenched in peanut sauce. The chicken satay was very tender and flavorful playing its role as a nice compliment to this dish.

The noodles were also cooked just right and its texture was not too soft either. The potato gravy was thick and had a nice savory-sweet taste to it. It was also not too thick but coats everything in this dish just right.

I like how it has a little sweet taste balancing out the other savory flavors in this dish. It wasn't too spicy either, but has a small mild spiciness in the gravy.

Chong Choon is one of those places serving laksa with these sprouts instead of coriander. The broth was spicy and had more of a curry flavour in it. This laksa didn't really have a rich broth, but I would say, leans more towards the spicy side. The whole dish was pretty light as well, and didn't quite have a strong fragrant laksa taste to it. The rice noodles were also a bit undercooked and didn't really go well with the rest in the bowl. Overall, I would have to say, I have definitely tasted better ones.

I really love the Teh C Peng Special here, you can tell that their tea is really strong. It has a thick dark yellow-orange colour and has a nice strong fragrant tea smell to it. When combined together with milk, gula apong, and enough ice, just makes you wanna have more.

One thing special about this char kueh is that they add bean sprouts to it. The char kueh had a mild spiciness to it, complimenting it's savoury taste well. The carrot cake was also soft, leaving some crispy bits inside along with a generous addition of pickled radish.

Wondering where to have your next brunch? Come visit Chong Choon Cafe and try those for yourself!

Chong Choon Cafe opens daily except Tuesday from 6.30am till noon or sold out.

Chong Choon Cafe
Lot 121, Jalan Abell,
Section 3,
93100, Kuching,
Sarawak.

This is Jolynn signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.

-

The Makan Post brings to you weekly food adventures, so be sure to catch us every week for new episodes and dont forget to subscribe to us. Just click on the Follow button below. Also, check out our instagram page @themakanpost. Cheers.

themakanpost@gmail.com

NYAN SHIN CAFE: BREAKFAST EPISODES

We all have that one breakfast place where our family has been going to for the past generation. One where your mom or dad went as a child now he or she is bringing you. For me, it was my dad's dad who brought him there when he was a kid, and now he brings us for as long as I can remember to it. I don't know how true that is. But I just can't imagine my dad as a child.

Anyway, used to be every Sunday morning but he got concerned about the health of eating noodles every week and well now we go there whenever we feel nostalgic, which is every two to three weeks. Which upsets me since we have been donwgraded to semi-regulars, they used to reserve a parking space just for us in front of their shop, but now we have to find a space like common folk. I mean, a parking space, A PARKING SPACE. But the lady there though still remembers our orders every time, she sees us and ask how we are and then goes into a string of our regular meal.

It's well known to a certain group of people, like me, their parents were regulars and now so are they. I mean their noodle is that good till like two set of generations would be regulars. I mean it's not even a competition to every other mee stall but I have to proclaim right now that they are the best. I know it's probably cause I'm biased, since I've been going as long as I can remember and my taste buds and brain now just compares every other noodle I ever had to it but it's so true. Ask my brother.

It's a small shop, with I think less than ten tables, so when it's full, you got to wait. They sell hakka mee, or whichever type of noodles you prefer, regular mee, kueh tiaw, bee hoon, with a choice of pork, chicken, beef (taiwanese style) and mutton. I always have pork with mee, it's making me water right now thinking about it. And then we'll have a bowl of dumplings and our drinks.

It's a family operated restaurant, the brother cooks the food, sister takes the orders, the two girls working at the counter are cousins, I can never remember which one belongs to which sibling and they hired some other people, some who I've know since I was kid, that serves the drinks or your meal.

Their noodles are handmade. The guy cooking the noodles is the one that makes it.With a certain taste to it that differentiate itself from all other mee. I can taste a certain tangy sensation on my tongue whenvever I eat it, I don't know what the ingredients are to the mee but it's delicious, and then there's the minced pork and char siu they put on top, like every other kolo mee.

 I love it when I mix the mee with the onion oil and the fried shallots, the condensation flies in front of your face and the smell just overwhelms your senses. The noodle is just tossed with the meat and the oil and shallots, and you take a huge bite with your chopsticks. And it's heaven, everything makes sense in the world and you're as happy as clown. I cannot forget the taste of it till the day I die, honestly the best noodles in the entire world.

The dumplings are seasoned well, and so is the soup. There's the onion oil and shallots in as well. I like drinking the soup, but I eat the dumplings with the noodle together.

There's always going to be a queue because it's not a very big shop, but I think it's worth the wait. It's not a very big wait anyways, and another thing, the noodles run out pretty fast and they close like at 11.30 am, also because of it's location on carpenter street, finding parking space is a hassle. But like I said, it's worth it.

I highly recommend this place, if you don't think it's the best mee ever, you suck. I'm joking, it depends on your taste. To each, your own. Regardless, there's no harm in trying it out right? They have a page on tripadvisor, which gives out the location. The link below:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g298309-d3562423-Reviews-Nyan_Shin_Cafe-Kuching_Sarawak.html

Nyan Shin Cafe
Carpenter Street (Blacksmith Road)
Kuching, Sarawak.

Opening hours:
6.30am to 11.30am (or until sold out)
Opens everyday.

This is Sharon signing off this week's episode on The Makan Post. Stay tuned for more.

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The Makan Post brings to you weekly food adventures, so be sure to catch us every week for new episodes and don't forget to subscribe to us. Cheers.

themakanpost@gmail.com

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.