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Kuching: Familiar Foods with a Twist
By estar | January 16, 2008
Work brought me to Kuching, Sarawak in East Malaysia, where life is, as I expected, a far cry from the hustle-bustle of Singapore. However, I was heartened to find the food in Kuching was better than its dismal shopping scene (they have a total of 3 major shopping centres, each no bigger than 5 stories).
We treated ourselves to a big seafood dinner the first night. While most of the dishes we ordered were familar fare, the ‘orh-luak’, or oyster omelette was a real surprise. The Kuching version didn’t have egg, but was more like a gigantic ‘keropok’ or cracker studded with oysters. Delicious nonetheless.
On the recommendation of our Sarawakian driver, we also ordered ‘midin’, a local fern with curly leaf stalks, fried with sambal belachan. Definitely a good call. This vegetable was crunchy and had no bitter vegetable taste at all.
I washed down everything with the ‘Teh-C Peng Special’, a concoction of iced tea, evaporated milk and a dark syrup (I suspect it’s gula melaka).
Before we left, we just had to try the famous Kuching ‘kolo mee’, their version of wanton noodles. Instead of chili, ketchup or soy sauce, their exceptionally springy noodles are tossed in oil flavoured with pork and onions.
Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to sample authentic Sarawak laksa. But there’s always a next time!
Topics: Travel |
January 16th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Ask for the best that the local can bring you to for the laksa. Its really different.
Alternatively, you can buy the freshly prepared laksa paste and bring back to SG to cook for yourself.