Kuching, Sarawak - Day 3 (Kuching Town)

Noodle Descendants (one of the famous eatery in Kuching) is located at Jalan Padungan, approximately 11 minutes walking distance (900m) from Hilton, Kuching. We decided to take a Grab ride since the weather was really hot and we were too lazy too walk. (Grab fare - RM 5). We reached there before noon and there's a long queue outside the shop. We waited around 15 minutes to get seated and another 30 minutes for our food to arrive. My partner ordered a glass of teh ping (milk tea) (less sweet) which is good. We only ordered one bowl of mixed pork soup and one bowl of kolo mee since it's our first pit stop of the day.

Mixed pork soup comes with seaweed, meat balls, slices of meat, pork belly, minced pork, fish balls, fish cake and salted vegetables. First sip the soup tastes bland. However, the soup becomes saltier after sometime. The salted vegetable makes the soup taste really good. Their kolo mee is good too. I like the soft noodle texture. Kolo mee comes with fish ball, meat ball, slices of red bbq pork, minced pork, fish cake and pork slices. 

Total bill - RM 23.90

Jalan Padungan

Noodle Descendants

Teh ping (milk tea) and chili padi

Kolo mee

Mixed pork soup

Address:

Noodle Descendants

No. 188, Jalan Padungan,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak.

So after our meal, we walked across the road and head to Makino Kochi Ramen Bar. It's a small shop and it's quite warm inside. There's a small queue of people but it took us less than 10 minutes to get a table. We ordered a bowl of Gyuniku shoyu ramen, cold tofu fah pudding, Chinese tea iced (a great cooler for a hot day) and organic apple cider vinegar lime mohito (too sour for my liking). We wanted to order their steamed rice water cakes but it's already sold out. 

Cold tofu fah pudding comes with dark smoky syrup, crushed peanuts and brown sugar. It's smooth and creamy but the peanuts taste burnt. Gyuniku shoyu ramen on the other hand comes with corns, spring onions, shredded carrots and slow braised Australian beef. The broth is very flavourful and beef is very tender. However, the noodles tend to stick to my teeth during chewing. Overall it's quite satisfying because we just love the tender beef and flavourful broth.

Total bill - RM 29.40

Makino Kochi Ramen Bar

Restaurant ambience

Chinese tea iced - RM 1.80, Organic apple cider vinegar lime mohito - RM 4.90 and Tofu fah pudding (cold) - RM 3.30

Gyuniku shoyu ramen - RM 19.40

Address:

Makino Kochi Ramen Bar

No. 179, Jalan Padungan,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

I'm a dessert lover and there's always room for dessert. So we head to Tom's, just few shop lots away from Makino Kochi Ramen Bar. It's easy to spot the shop because it's painted in dark green. Nice atmosphere and a great place to chill. My partner ordered a cup of hot honey lemon, a bit sweet for my liking. I still prefer a glass of iced cold water to quench my thirst.

I felt like trying all their cakes but I only have room for two cakes. Ended up I ordered their fresh mango delight and double chocolate praline. Both were equally good. Mango cake is refreshing and most importantly the cake is moist. I love the fact that the cake is wrapped with fresh sweet mango. Double chocolate praline on the other hand consists of rich praline, sandwiched between layers of chocolate mousse leaves you wanting more.

Total bill - RM 60.95 (Including iced water RM 1.50)

Mural

Tom's

Restaurant ambience

Restaurant ambience and hot honey lemon - RM 8.50

Fresh mango delight - RM 24.40 and Double 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)

We were too full to go for another round of food hunting and decided to visit Borneo Culture Museum. So we left Tom's at 2.40pm and took a Grab ride to Borneo Culture Museum. (Grab fare - RM 6). Currently admission to the museum is free of charge. We were lucky because it's not crowded when we reached there around 2.50pm. It's a new, modern five-storey building. By 4.30pm, we have finished exploring the museum including the souvenir shop. We took a Grab ride back to our hotel (Grab fare - RM 6) to freshen up before we went out for our dinner.

Borneo Cultures Museum

Visitor pass and floor directory

Children's gallery

Arts and crafts

In harmony with nature gallery

In harmony with nature gallery

In harmony with nature gallery

Tapong bilong helmet with frightening image belonging to an elderly warrior

Hunting of wild pigs

Paddy healing - wooden mask

Burial jars

Buffalo

Rice preparation

Time changes gallery

Painted cave

Objects of desire

Japanese jars

War boat

Souvenir shop

Address:

Borneo Cultures Museum

Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg,

93400 Kuching,

Sarawak.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday - 9am to  4.45pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays - 9.30am to 4.30pm

Last admission at 4pm

Natural History Museum

Tugu Pahlawan

We took a Grab ride to Bella Italia, 12 minutes drive (7.6km) from Hilton, Kuching. (Grab fare - RM 20). It's norm for me to take photos of the menu, restaurant and food when I travel. So right after we placed our order, the guy who took order from us warned me that it's illegal to take photos of their menu. He looks like an Italian so I assume he's the owner of the restaurant. I was slightly taken aback because this is the second time someone forbid me from taking any photos. My first incident happened at Black Star Pastry. Anyway, back to this story... so I asked the owner would you like me to delete all the photos taken here? He then mentioned that unless you want to post something good about it else it's considered illegal. At first I thought he was trying to crack a joke but not so with his facial expression. He doesn't look friendly at all and seems that his remarks implied a threat. I felt very uneasy throughout the dinner.

We ordered mushroom soup, fettucine ala carbonara, lasagna manzo al forno and tiramisu. They were very fast in serving food. Both of us like their mushroom soup very much. It's creamy and rich. However fettucine tasted a bit bland for me and beef lasagna was evenly cooked but it's very filling for me. Ended up we couldn't finish it. Tiramisu on the other hand is too sweet for my liking. I was very tempted to try their pizza but we were too full to order anymore food. Since I don't feel welcome there, I doubt so I will return to this restaurant in future...

Total bill - RM 108.50

Bella Italia

Restaurant ambience

Orange juice - RM 12.50

Mushroom soup - RM 21.50

Fettucine ala carbonara - RM 30.50

Lasagna manzo al forno - RM 30.50

Tiramisu - RM 13.50

Address:

Bella Italia

RH Plaza Ground Floor,

Lot 9958 Block 16, No. 111,

Jalan Lapangan Terbang 1,

93250 Kuching,

Sarawak

We took a Grab ride to Hui Sing Hawker Centre approximately 7 minutes drive (2.6km) from Bella Italia. (Grab fare - RM 6). This hawker centre is a popular spot for local people to enjoy street food such as pork satay and ice kacang. When we reach there around 8pm, seems that most of the stalls already start cleaning up and there's not many options left. So we took a Grab ride to Premium 101 Food Centre which is another 5 minutes drive (2.6km) from Hui Sing Hawker Centre. (Grab fare - RM 6)

Hui Sing Hawker Centre

Hui Sing Hawker Centre

Address:

Hui Sing Hawker Centre

178, Jalan Shernip Masahor,

Taman Hui Sing,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak

Premier 101 Food Centre is really huge! It was packed with people and we were lucky to find an empty table. There's plenty of food choices but since we've already had our dinner earlier we decided to look for some snacks. I ordered mochi with different flavours but it turned out to be disappointing. I love soft, sticky, stretchy and chewy mochi but they are not.

My partner on the other hand is a Taiwanese sausage lover but he only took a bite and left the rest untouched. I guess the only food that we enjoyed that night was the chicken wings. We didn't get to order any pork satay because the owner wasn't very friendly. Basically he was too busy and not keen to take our orders. That was our last stop of the day. We took a Grab ride back to our hotel and called it a day. (Grab fare - RM 12).

Premier 101 Food Centre

Herbal tea & sugar cane drink - RM 4.90 and Taiwanese sausage - RM 3

Mochi (all flavours) - RM 7

Chicken wings (2pcs) - RM 7

Address:

Premier 101 Food Centre

154, Jalan Kempas,

Tabuan Heights,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak