2-3-20 Kuching from the outsider's view - Part I - Food

A bit of background to begin with.

I was born in Kuching, Sarawak. Before I could remember, my family moved to Miri, where I grew up (~17 years of my life). 2 years was spent in Singapore for studies. Now, I've lived in Canberra, Australia for more than 11 years.

In other words, Kuching was foreign to me. I've never lived there, practically speaking. Hence, this last Chinese New Year (CNY), when we were gonna go there for at least 10 days, I decided to do some research to see what places were recommended and what there was to do and eat there.

The last trip that we spent in Kuching in 2018, was rather abrupt and my parents had not settled in proper as they had just moved back from overseas. That trip, we got to visit the Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary/Nature Reserve but that was probably the main highlight.

This time round, our 10-day trip ended up being extended to almost 4 weeks due to unforeseen circumstances (my wife sprained her ankle + Covid-19 in Singapore) and it was truly a blessing in disguise.

Working off the online recommendations, we were quite disappointed with what little was mentioned and how so many more gems were left out so I thought I might do a bit of promotion for my dear city of birth. Maybe it was just that I couldn't find many recommendations but I thought I'd provide a bit of an outsider's perspective to the place.

Being Malaysia (or East Malaysia, which is quite distinct from West Malaysia, my wife keeps reminding me...), there's no better place to start than food. I'll just mention the places we enjoyed and what stood out. They are all different types of places so I'm not ranking them in order of preference.

Madeleine Cafe@Green Heights
Google Maps link here 

This place was easily the top on my wife's list. She's a big dessert fan and having being spoilt with cafes like Zumbo, Sydney (now closed), Flute Bakery, Canberra and Hopetoun Tea Rooms, Melbourne, she had high standards for her dessert.

Yet Madeleine did not disappoint. Erene (wifey) had this on her list to visit from the moment we had Kuching added to our itinerary. Their desserts don't just look stunning, they wow with flavours and texture too!

Prices range from RM5 to RM18. The cakes were in the upper end of the range but for those special occasions, I definitely think they're worth it!

We've tried out some other bakeries around and as Erene put it, Madeleine is so good it's almost out-of-place being in Kuching! They would give the bakeries in Australia a good run for their money! No kidding!!!

Gala Food Court
Google Maps link here
Not for those who have a hard time making choices. This place is packed with food stalls, practically a culmination of four (4) cafe/kopitiam into one food court. This was definitely Erene's favourite kopitiam. I'll pick out a few of the highlights for us, not that we've tried everything in our 2-3 visits here...

Best char kueh teow in texture, ingredients and flavour.

This stall's kolok mee is probably the best one we had this trip, with smoked char siew instead of the usual char siew. Be prepared to wait in line if it's a busy day!

Ah Di's Popiah is probably the best value-for-money and one of the better popiah we had in Kuching. Erene compares with popiah in Singapore, which is quite different but this one was probably the closest she could get. Quick service too, which is a plus.

Apam Balik here was really good! Crispy and tasty without being too greasy/buttered.

Topspot Food Court
Google Maps link here
Fantastic value-for-money seafood that is equally tasty. I wouldn't say it's mindblowing but it is definitely good on the tastebud! We ordered from one of the two Ling Loong Seafood stalls (same owners). They were polite and prompt and held no surprises (in the good way!). Halal option.

Ling Loong Seafood

Ikan bakar (grilled sting ray with sambal chilli on top), Tofu (meh...), 四大天王 (four emperors - 4 vegetables fried with garlic). 

333 Charcoal Fried Kueh Teow
Google Maps link here
This one's an interesting one and not many people would have eaten like this before. The Google Map first photo can be deceiving, showing a food court but this is actually in someone's house! I hypothesized that they moved out of their stall at a food court and decided to just do it out of the comfort of their own home. (Note: OUT of the comfort... it's actually outside their home. Not indoors.)

Nevertheless, I loved the fragrance and taste of their char kueh teow (CKT)and the dish options - ranging from standard CKT to numbing spicy (麻辣) to salted egg CKT.

You wouldn't tell from looks but the top one is the spicy CKT (too hot for me!) and the bottom was the salted egg CKT.

Roast pork rice was ok.

The chicken rice was interesting... Tasted a bit more western to me.

DP Ice-cream
Google Maps link here but actual location is here

Gula apong is to Sarawak what Gula Melaka is to the west. Similar taste but gula melaka is coconut sugar while gula apong is palm sugar. *Leaves the room and lets you finish your spiel about the issues around palm oil*

*Goes to own corner to make some ice-creammmmm...*

Look for the "Noisy Room" on Google Maps to locate it. In front of SMK St Mary.

This was truly one special soft-serve. A must-try! This monster was a measly RM5 (~AUD2 or USD1.20)!!! You could get a
smaller one for RM2 (AUD0.80 or USD0.50), of course.

Yunique Bubble Tea
2 locations but we went to this one.
Bubble tea was everywhere and after the first one left a really bad impression, Yunique was a pleasant surprise. We only tried it because it had a very good promotion - RM8 for everything on the menu.

Nothing on the real stuff from Taiwan but this was probably... If Taiwan's bubble tea (Tiger Brown Sugar) was full marks, this would probably be a 65%. Not a distinction but a decent credit.

Rock Road Seafood Restaurant
Google Maps location here
One of the more popular restaurants around. I can see this one being one of the top few here. Pretty good food, as can be seen from the patronage. Halal. You pick your dishes from the display downstairs before you head to your table. They even weigh out your seafood before you so there aren't any surprises with the bill.

I quite enjoyed the oyster omelette you see here. This cooking method is unique to Sarawak, I was told by my West Malaysian cousin-in-law.

The Coffee Code
Google Maps location here
Decent coffee. Amazing souffle pancake! The pear yogurt ice-cream thing was very good too!

My son demolished the desserts, constantly asking for "More! More!"

ICE+Garden

Google Maps location here

Very nice ambiance. Very interesting dessert options. Was recommended this by my sister who frequents this when she visits from KK.

Salted peanut shaved ice. MMMMmmmm... Best savoury ice-cream we had!!

Mango yogurt snow ice. This wasn't on the menu and was recommended by the cashier lady. Costs quite a buck at RM20+ (~AUD7 or USD5) but very nice!

That's pretty much most of our palate trip. Leave a comment if you have any questions or remarks!

11-11-19 Next big security issue - manufacturing

***Update 2/3/20*** Covid-19 has proven this point now. With China's factories shutting doors to contain the spread of the virus, we are seeing global supply chains disrupted with no country escaping unscathed... ***End of update***


I had foreseen the "single-use plastic" and "single-season clothing" were to be global issues a few years before them actually happening but never documented it anywhere. Not to say that I'm a futurist and in that time I'm sure thousands of others would have thought the same, if not more.

I write of another impending issue for countries around the world for the upcoming future. One that is surely on the minds of many.

We talk about security in many aspects - water, food, energy, border and cyber. I do not doubt the gravity of those issues but another aspect of security for countries is silently being neglected - manufacturing.

It is a major concern when up to 90% of a specific good is made in one country. We have no one to blame but ourselves when we're all pushing to buy cheap, cheaper and cheapest. There's no way to fight it as that's how the economy and finances work and a country is smart enough to capitalise on that.

While it can't be said that it certainly will or will not happen but if the country should decide one day to close its factory to a specific country or the whole world, that country or the world will have massive issues with providing goods for their nation. A scary thought for any country, no matter how great they may think they are.