Kuching, Sarawak (II) - Day 3 (Kuching Town)

One of the popular foods in Sarawak is kolo mee. So we decided to try the kolo mee in Oriental Park, which is a 6-minute (2km) drive from the Sheraton, Kuching (Grab fare - RM 6). It was not very crowded when we reached there around 11.30am. My partner had their red kolo mee, which is chewy, springy and flavourful. I, on the other hand, had their kolo kueh teow, which is oily but flavourful. You can choose either noodles, vermicelli or kueh teow (flat rice noodles). The char siew or bbq pork is lean and tasty. However, the soup tastes bland. Overall, it's just acceptable for me, but my partner loves it. He ordered teh c ping without sugar and it was light and smooth. We bumped into Barth and his family while having our brunch there. The noodles were completely sold out by 12pm. 

Total bill - RM 15.20

Oriental Park Kolo Mee

Oriental Park Kolo Mee

Chili padi marinated with vinegar

Teh c ping and soup

Red kolo mee - RM 6

Kolo kueh teow - RM 6

Address:

Oriental Park Kolo Mee

GF, Lorong Gertak,

93000 Kuching,

Sarawak

After brunch, we took a Grab ride to Vivacity Mall (Grab fare - RM 12). I was tempted to try the gula apong soft serve ice cream from Ding Tea, so I bought one. To my horror, it tasted so sweet that I had no choice but to toss it away. I have never tossed away ice cream before until that moment! My throat is still filled with the ice cream's sweetness after a long time.

Once again, we ran across Barth and his family at Vivacity Starbucks. It's definitely a small world. While walking around the mall, we came across Koi and stopped for a cup of milk tea with konjac ball. I chose standard ice with a 50% sugar level. The milk tea tastes mild, and I enjoy the firm, chewy texture of the konjac balls. Since it was my birthday month, I received a complimentary drink on top of my purchase. When asked for a recommendation, the employee suggested I try their honey fresh lemon with coconut jelly and aloe vera. The drink is not overly sweet and is quite refreshing.

Ding Tea gula apong ice cream - RM 3.50

Haidilao Hot Pot in Vivacity Megamall

KOI The

Koi The

Honey fresh lemon medium (RM 12.40) with coconut jelly & aloe vera (RM 3.10) - Total RM 15.50 and milk tea medium (RM 10.80) with konjac ball (RM 3.10) - Total RM 13.90 (FOC - birthday discount)

Address:

Vivacity Megamall

Jalan Wan Alwi,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak

We took a Grab ride from Vivacity to Jelly Beancurd (Grab fare - RM 6). As I got out of the car, I noticed John's Pie, a shop suggested by my partner's friend. We happily entered the shop and ordered their signature steak beef pie and a bottle of drinking water. It's a small shop that serves pies, pastries, quiches, sandwiches, pasta, coffee and tea. There are many different kinds of pies available, including chicken bolognese pie, chicken laksa pie, smoked chicken pie, chicken cheese pie, signature steak beef pie, smokey hot beef pie, beef cheese pie, beef bolognese pie, veggie mushroom pie, lamb pie and cranberry apple pie. 

Overall, their signature steak beef tastes good. It's flavourful with a strong pepper taste. The pie is served warm, but I would prefer if it were hotter. The pie crust is golden brown and has a hint of crunch. Luckily, the beef doesn't have a strong, gamey flavour. However, there's some tendon in the pie.

John's Pie

John's Pie

MOMA drinking water - RM 2

Signature steak beef pie - RM 9.80

Signature steak beef pie

Address:

John's Pie

Lot 11411, Song Commercial Centre,

Jalan Song, Tabuan Heights,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak

Jelly Beancurd is just two stores away from John's Pie. We only had a bowl of rice balls with beancurd because soy milk was sold out. The beancurd, or tau fu fa has a soft, tofu-like texture and can be easily mashed. It reminds me of my hometown's Saturday night market's tau fu fa in Klang. The bowl comes with four black sesame rice balls. The skin is quite thick, but it's soft and chewy. One of the reasons I like glutinous rice balls is that they have a similar texture to mochi.

When I bit into the last black sesame rice ball, none of the black sesame oozed out. Instead, it is solid and hard, similar to a frozen sesame ball. When I approached the owner, he told me that if we ordered something cold, it would get frozen. So he said we had to eat it quickly or order hot rice balls. I wasn't convinced by his explanations because the other three black sesame rice balls I had were perfectly good with the black sesame seeping out. I was disappointed, but I didn't want to debate any longer and left the shop.

Jelly Beancurd

Rice ball beancurd (cold) - RM 8.20

Rice ball with frozen black sesame filling

Address:

Jelly Beancurd

Lot 11413, Song Commercial Centre,

Jalan Song, Tabuan Heights,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak

Malaysia-China Friendship Park is just a 7-minute (500m) walking distance from Jelly Beancurd. The park was built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China. One of the popular features in the park is the big statue of Admiral Zheng He. There is a large pond with lots of fish and turtles. You can feed the fish by buying the pellets from the seller for RM 2 per packet. There is also a bubble tea shop named Chagee, which is crowded and nowhere to sit.

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Friendship globe

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Admiral Zheng He statue

The Malaysia murals

The Malaysia murals

The Malaysia murals

The Malaysia murals

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Admiral Zheng He statue

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Pond with fishes

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Address:

Malaysia-China Friendship Park

Jalan Song, Tabuan Heights,

93350 Kuching,

Sarawak

After a quick stroll, we took a Grab ride to Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak (Grab fare - RM 5). The Grab driver had just dropped off his customer at the park, and it was the shortest wait time we had experienced when using Grab. Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak is an open-air food court and drinking place located at Tabuan Dayak. My partner ordered Babitunu's bbq pork and Lai Lai Seafood's grilled fish. The bbq pork is delicious. It has a crispy skin and the meat is juicy. It's served hot and a little salty, but overall, it's tasty.

On the other hand, the grilled fish tastes fishy on the first bite. Due to the over-grilling, the skin is crunchy and slightly bitter. Even though it's spicy, it's tolerable for me. In the end, we couldn't finish the grilled fish and gave it to the stray cat.

Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak

Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak

Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak

Iced water - RM 0.50 each

BBQ pork from Babitunu - RM 9

Grilled fish from Lai Lai Seafood - RM 18.20

Grilled fish

Address:

Rumah Asap Tabuan Dayak

Jalan Tabuan Dayak,

Tabuan Dayak,

93250 Kuching,

Sarawak

It was raining cats and dogs as we were about to leave the food court. Luckily, we were able to catch a Grab back to our hotel (Grab fare - RM 9). We had dinner at The Junk, a restaurant that serves western food, which we didn't get to eat the first night. We walked past Topspot Food Court on our way to The Junk. Most of the restaurants here serve seafood. I also saw Sam's Ice Cream and plan to return for their ice cream after dinner.

Topspot Food Court

The Junk is around an 11-minute (800m) walk from the Sheraton hotel. The restaurant appears small from the outside, but once inside, it is like a maze. The restaurant is big and has an upper level. We ordered salmon steak and grilled chicken chop. The salmon steak comes with mashed potatoes and salad. The salad has balsamic vinegar on it, which I don't particularly enjoy. Besides that, the mashed potatoes were not creamy enough. My grilled chicken chop comes with fries, onions and mushroom sauce. It's flavourful and the fries are crispy and well-seasoned.

The Junk

The Junk

Restaurant ambience

Iced water and candle light dinner

Salmon steak - RM 47

Grilled chicken chop - RM 47

Address:

The Junk

80, Wayang St,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak

We passed by Goceli and Topspot Food Court on our way back to the hotel after dinner. I decided to end the night with Sam's Ice Cream, which is located inside the Topspot Food Court. Instead of climbing the stairs, we took the lift to the 6th floor. I had the soft serve gula apong, which was creamy, buttery and not overly sweet. The buttery texture of the ice cream reminds me of Mister Softee, which I tried in Hong Kong.

Goceli

Goceli

Sam's ice cream

Sam's ice cream classic - RM 3.90

Address:

Sam's Ice Cream

Topspot Food Court

Off, Jalan Padungan,

93100 Kuching,

Sarawak