Kuching, Sarawak - Day 4 (Kuching Town)

Finally on our 4th day in Kuching I got my first taste of Sarawak laksa! We took a Grab ride to Chong Choon Cafe, 3 minutes drive (950m) from Hilton, Kuching. (Grab fare - RM 4). We reached there around 10.35am and surprisingly the laksa is still available. So we ordered one bowl of laksa and a glass of teh ping (milk tea - a bit sweet for my liking). Sarawak laksa comes with bee hoon (rice vermicelli), shredded chicken, prawns, bean sprouts, herbs and spices with a little coconut milk. Initially, the bee hoon texture is a bit hard for my liking but after sometime it's soften. Not too spicy and it has a flavourful soup base with a tinge of sourness.

Chong Choon Cafe

Teh ping (milk tea) - RM 3

Sarawak laksa - RM 7

Address:

Chong Choon Cafe

275, Jalan Chan Chin Ann,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

We walked over to Hon Hin Cafe, just 3 minutes walking distance (230m) from Chong Choon Cafe. We were here on our 2nd day in Kuching but the shop is closed. This shop is famous for its kolo mee. So we ordered a bowl of kolo mee, mixed pork soup, Cotechino toast and a glass of iced barley water. The barley water is mildly sweet and taste good.

This is the first time I heard the name Cotechino. When I google search, Cotechino is an Italian large pork sausage. We had this Cotechino toast that comes with a pork patty, lettuce, cheese and egg. The patty is way too peppery for my taste. Kolo mee on the other hand has a good noodles texture. It's neither too hard nor too soft. Kolo mee comes with minced pork and red bbq pork.

Mixed pork soup comes with fish balls, pork balls, pork belly, vegetables and pork slices. The soup is very flavourful because they add in pork skin as well. However, I felt very thirsty after drinking the soup. Since both of us were too full, we couldn't finish the noodles and Cotechino.

Hon Hin Cafe

Iced barley water - RM 1.40 and soy sauce

Kolo mee

Mixed pork soup & kolo mee - RM 13

Cotechino toast - RM 8

Address:

Hon Hin Cafe

174, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

It's time to burn some fats and we took a Grab ride to Fort Margherita, 17 minutes drive (8.8km) from Hon Hin Cafe. (Grab fare - RM 15). Fort Margherita was built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak. Admission fee is RM 10 (adult). There's a note stated that Brooke Museums are operated on a non-profit basis. All ticketing contributions are solely allocated to the operation and maintenance of the museum and this historical building.

Fort Margherita

Fort Margherita

Fort Margherita

Brooke gallery

Brooke gallery

Brooke gallery

Sir James Brooke (first Rajah of Sarawak) and Sir Charles Brooke (second Rajah of Sarawak)

The Brooke family coat of arms & old notes and stamps - Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe, I hope)

Old Japanese paper money

Brooke gallery

Spiral staircase

Spiral staircase

Fort Margherita 

Fort Margherita

Kuching city view from Fort Margherita

Souvenir shop

Fort Margherita

Fort Margherita

Fort Margherita

View from Fort Margherita

Old binocular and we have no idea what is this thing hanging there

Fort Margherita

In memory of Annie, wife of J. Brooke and also their son Francis Basil Brooke who died in Sarawak

Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak

Water Cascade

Water Cascade

Address:

Fort Margherita

Petra Jaya,

93050 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Opening hours: Open daily - 9am to 4.45pm (last entry at 4.15pm)

After we have finished exploring Fort Margherita we took a Grab ride to Cat Museum, 11 minutes drive (5.5km) from Fort Margherita. (Grab fare - RM 8). The museum is located in Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (Kuching North City Hall). Admission fee is RM 3 (adult) including a free DBKU Cat Museum wrist band. Since I'm not a cat person this museum doesn't really interest me.

Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara

Galeri KU

Galeri KU

Galeri KU

Galeri KU

Cat Museum

Cat Museum

Cat Museum

Free wrist band

Cat Museum

Blue cat postcards

Cat alphabet

The Malay's proverbs in relation to the cat family

Cat Museum

Cat Museum

Souvenir shop

Address:

Cat Museum

Bangunan DBKU,

Jalan Semariang, Petra Jaya,

93050 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday - 9am to 5pm (Closed on Public Holiday)

Feeling slightly hungry, we decided to go for tea break at Tom's. However, we couldn't find any Grab driver around DBKU building. We waited for almost 15 minutes and finally found a driver to Tom's. (Grab fare - RM 15). I love Tom's so much that we went two days in a row! This time I ordered fresh strawberry shortcake and Madagascar chocolate Praline. Strawberry shortcake is moist and filled with fresh diced strawberries. The strawberries are slightly sour. It would be perfect if it's sweet.

On the other hand, Madagascar chocolate Praline is slightly bitter but overall the cake has the right texture. My partner ordered a glass of fresh orange juice which is a bit sour for my liking. I ordered strawberry banana which is refreshing to cool me off on a hot Saturday afternoon.

Total bill - RM 75.95

Tom's

Fresh orange juice - RM 12 and banana strawberry smoothies - RM 14

Fresh strawberry shortcake - RM 22.10 & Madagascar chocolate Praline - RM 23.10

Address:

Tom's

No. 82, Jalan Padungan,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

Tel: +6082 - 247 672 / +6016 - 889 9137

Business hours: Monday to Saturday - 11am to 9pm (closed on Sunday)

Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre is just 2 minutes walking distance (150m) from Tom's. We were there on our 2nd day in Kuching but we're unaware of their popular sugarcane with coconut drink. So this time we ordered a glass of sugarcane with coconut drink from stall No.1, kong pia and rojak from stall No.7. Sugarcane taste is very strong and the drink is slightly too sweet for my liking.

Kong pia is a popular snack biscuit in Sibu. It's small, flat and chewy filled with salty meat filling. Definitely not my favourite snack. Rojak is a mixture of fruits such as cucumber, pineapple, green mango, jicama, drizzled with a sweet and spicy sauce. A good rojak is always a good thick concentrated prawn paste mixed with tamarind sauce and sugar. However, we couldn't really taste the prawn paste and the sauce is just too gooey for us. Too lazy to walk after our tea break, we took a Grab ride back to our hotel. (Grab fare - RM 4)

Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre

Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre

Sugar cane with coconut drink - RM 5 (Stall No.1)

Kong pia - RM 1.30 (Stall No.7)

Rojak - RM 5 (Stall No.7)

Address:

Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre

Jalan Song Kheng Hai,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Lepau is a restaurant serving Sarawak ethnic food. It's just 4 minutes drive (1.4km) from Hilton, Kuching. (Grab fare - RM 4). We reached there around 7.30pm and waited half an hour for a table. They only use digital menus whereby you need to scan the QR code to access the restaurant menu. We ordered midin with belacan, Lepau special fried rice, pansuh chicken and terung asam bawal emas. Whereas for drinks my partner ordered tree bark (recommended by the waiter) while I just prefer to have a glass of water. This is the first time we heard of tree bark drink and it tastes like gummies or jelly.

Midin is a popular vegetable in Sarawak, similar to fiddlehead ferns. It's crunchy even after it has been cooked. Pansuh chicken taste like salted chicken to me. I quite like their asam fish. It has this unique asam taste that's slightly spicy, salty and flavourful. However, I don't really enjoy Lepau special fried rice because it's stir fried with tapioca leaves. Since I'm quite picky when it comes to vegetables this dish is not for me.

It was raining cats and dogs after our dinner. The rain unlikely to stop anytime soon. So we proceed with Grab ride back to our hotel. (Grab fare - RM 4). Since we don't have any umbrella with us we have no other option but to ran towards our Grab car. We got completely drenched by the rain. Glad that it's just a short ride from Lepau to Hilton, Kuching.

Total bill - RM 110.50

Lepau restaurant

Restaurant ambience

Tree bark ice - RM 6.90

Midin with belacan (small) - RM 15.90

Lepau special fried rice - RM 10.90

Pansuh chicken (small) - RM 18.90

Terung asam bawal emas - RM 57.60

Address:

Lepau Restaurant

No. 99, Jalan Ban Hock Road,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday; Lunch - 11am to 2pm; Dinner - 6pm to 10pm (kitchen closes at 9.45pm) Closed every Sunday
Tel: +6012 - 884 5383