Food oh Food

Everyone who has been away from Kuching would surely miss one important thing about the City of Cats… FOOD. That would include me, me, and me. Being away for almost one year… gosh.. now Kuching food tastes better than ever !! Yes, Kuching is where the cheap and delicious food are at. And by cheap, I mean, really cheap. With RM5 (approximately equivalent to AUD1.80) one can have a decent meal with a decent drink to finish the food with. There are hawker stalls or Kopitiam (coffee shops, with proper food) all around Kuching, available conveniently at any hour.

The following are my most frequently ordered food. In this post I shall be focusing on Noodles only. (Mee is Noodles in Hokkien)

KOLOK MEE

Kolok Mee(above) and Wantan Mee(below)

This is the most famous food in Kuching. Kolok Mee is simply normal plain dry noodles with BBQ pork, though nowadays Kolok Mee normally comes with extras like prawn, fishballs and green veggies. There are variations of Kolok Mee, such as Wantan Mee. Kolok Mee is the ideal meal for any time of the day, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night supper or snack… People do get addicted to Kolok Mee. Yes.. that is a known fact.

GUBAK MEE


Gubak Mee or Beef Noodles in English is one popular dish, a competing alternative to conventional Kolok Mee which dominates virtually the noodle dish preference in Kuching. Gubak Mee can be served in soup or dry. I usually order my Gubak Mee dry. My usual place of Gubak Mee would be either at Green Hill Corner or The Open Air. Perfect dish for late night supper.

TOMATO SAUCE FRIED MEE



Fried noodles in Kuching are simply unique. There are several variations of styles in fried noodles, generally with tomato gravy or dry style. I personally favor the Tomato Sauce Fried Mee. You just could not get it elsewhere, like Kolok Mee, this is purely Kuching Food. The thick sweet and sour tomato gravy with crispy fried noodles is just heavenly matched.

I remembered once my friend from Kuching told me a joke while he was in Kuala Lumpur. He ordered Tomato Sauce Fried Mee from a Mamak (Indian hawker stall, popular in KL), and guess what came. Yes, it was fried noodles alright. Dry fried noodles, the Mamak Style, with LOTS and LOTS of TOMATO KETCHUP on top of the noodles. The same case happened to one of my college-mates, who had lunch in one of the local Kuching Kopitiams and ordered the newly advertised 7-Up Ice at that time. Well, predictably, ignorant Kuching Kopitiam people served him 7-Up, the conventional one, with a separate glass, full of ice.

Ok, back to Kuching food. The noodles, each and every type of them is unique in its own way and unavailable elsewhere. Well, there are many things that create a remarkable and astounding dining experience in Kuching Kopitiam and hawker stalls. I would not want to go into much detail.
One of those things would be….

MEOW !!

Yeah, street beggers scrapping around for food. After all, Kuching is the city of CATS. Anyone feeling hungry now??