Sarawak Trip (Day 1)

In the early October, I finally had the chance to fly, the very first time in my life, though it's just a short one hour and forty five minutes fly to Kuching, the Cat City!

After settled down in the Harbour View Hotel, we were on our way to find good food. A man in the Kuching International Airport had recommended us a mee stall somewhere nearby the hotel we staying in. So, we were on our way to the famous mee stall!

Finally, the view of the shop was in our sight. It's not really that difficult to find, even though it was our first time in the Cat City.

The Front View of the Min Joo Restaurant
Min Joo, corner of Carpenter & Bishopsgate Street. Small but very popular coffee shop selling Chinese noodle dishes. At breakfast time the place is packed. (Extracted from Kuching Official Guide 2006)


This restaurant sells Kolo Mee (also in Keow Teow), Vegetables and Pork Soup. Due to our late schedule, the mee had sold out when we were there. To avoid disappointment, we ordered the Keow Teow version instead.
Keow Teow or Kuey Teow are a kind of rice noodles. Rice noodles are noodles that are made from rice. Their principal ingredients are rice flour and water, though sometimes other ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are also added.　Rice noodles are most commonly used in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia, and are available fresh, frozen, or dried, in various shapes and thicknesses.　(Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_noodles)

Kuching 'kolo mee', 'kolok mee' or 'koh-loh mein' is a dish of egg noodles which are flash-boiled and then served with sliced barbeque pork also known as "char siew", minced pork, pork slices, prawns, fish balls and fish paste slices. (Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuching#Cuisine)

Customer can have the dry version.


Or the soup version.


We also ordered a cup of Hot Kopi O' (Coffee with only sugar). I was not sure whether the coffee was made of the Sarawak Coffee bean. However, it was pretty condensed and I was contented with it. :P


The Min Joo Restaurant is so famous that a well known host from a TV Food Show, Ah Hong （阿鸿） in Taiwan actually dropped by and tasted the food there.


On my way to the restaurant, I noticed this... Don't it look familiar? :P


After our late lunch, we went to walk around the Cat City and stopped by at this stall to buy some apam balik which is the Malaysian style of Pancake with nuts, margerine, sugar and sometimes with sweet corn kernels.


During the night, we was informed that there was a cultural event along the Carpenter street (the street where the Min Joo Restaurant located in). So, we decided to attend the event and of course, to search for nice food from the available food stalls!

The first that we tried was the Prawn Stick.


Then, some fried dumplings.




Next, the　chestnuts.


The Oyster Omelette.


Some pancakes.


And this - the special and cheaper version of Ice Kacang, the "Ice Stick" or known as the "GanDongBing" （甘冻冰） by the locals. It's actually the shaved ice squeezed around a stick and is pour some sugar dressings to add some colouring and flavouring to the tasteless ice. A kind of the dressings that is used tasted like Sarsi (Pepsi-like).




Since all the food stalls did not offer any tables and chairs for us to take our meal properly, we went to a food court nearby. I heard this food court was pretty famous with its fish soup and fish balls.
Chinese Food Centre, Jalan Carpenter (opposite temple). A wide range of Chinese food stalls. One sells excellent fish balls (afternoons only), while another sells superb fish and prawn soup from late afternoon until late at night. (Extracted from Official Kuching Guide 2006)

The Chinese Food Centre.


This is the stall selling the fish soup. There are also fish porridge, prawn porridge and kuey chap served.


The Kway Chap or Kueh Chap.
Kway chap (粿汁), a Teochew dish of flat, broad rice sheets in a soup made with dark soy sauce, served with pig offal, tofu derivatives and boiled eggs. (Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Malaysia#Chinese_food)


The Fish Porridge


The Plain Porridge and Fish Soup


Closer View of the Plain Porridge


Closer View of the Fish Soup