Megabite Cafe, Batu Kawah New Township, Kuching...

Drop by at this kopitiam for a bite to eat before you run rampage at the 24-hour EMart Batu Kawah. It's right next door to EMart and you can't miss it. The cafe is still new and therefore is well maintained and clean. They have a lot of stalls selling all kinds of food such as kolok mee, kueh chap, Laksa Sarawak, Ayam Penyet, various desserts, mixed rice, etc. When we were here last week, I saw one or two Muslim stalls but they were closed probably because of the Ramadan month.

 

Outer look...

Didn't have much appetite to eat then so I ordered the pork leg rice. Service was quick, the stall owners were courteous and the dish was not bad, although the gravy was slightly salty for my taste. 

Pork leg rice...

My hubby had the mixed soup which came with plain rice. Now this was nice and steaming hot when it came so it kind of neutralized the slightly salty taste from the pork leg rice (for me -- I had a few sips of the hot soup).

Mixed soup ...

Then we ordered banana cheese fritters from the next stall to top it off. Hot and melty cheese! Very fulfilling... although service was a bit slow because the orders were queuing up.

Pisang cheese...

Next time if we had the chance to drive by here again, would probably try the Laksa Sarawak and Ayem Penyet... looks nice from the next table orders. :-)

This Cafe opens daily, but is mostly crowded at night.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Hong Kong Pau Cafe, Jalan Padungan, Kuching ...

A cozy place to have dimsum and steamed bun, pastry and sandwiches. You can either dine in or order to go. I prefer to sit down and enjoy my 'meat pau' and various warmed-up dimsum with a glass of iced coffee... nothing like snacking up at 10am in the morning.

This cafe has been around quite awhile in this neighborhood but I don't drop by often enough due to parking spaces but I pass by it everyday going to and fro on working days. I don't really fancy the pau here but since I can always find a table, it's a reason to sit down and order some dimsum instead.

The interior...

The steamed pork ribs with salted black beans is my favorite... I can whip 2 of this at one time. RM3.50 one plate.

 Steamed rib in salted black beans...

This siew mai however is too meaty for me. You can get full very fast just eating one of those. RM3.50 per plate.

 Siew mai...

The white meat pau is supposed to be my favourite anywhere elese but here it's just okay only for me, with a tiny quarter boiled egg inside it. The red meat pau is better here I supposed. You can tell the difference with the colour stamp on it. The sio bee on the other hand, is nice and juicy, not too meaty nor starchy either which is perfect.

 

 Pau and sio bee

This cafe also sells fresh kuih nyonya but it's usually gone by midday. And while you're enjoying the shade on the outer side of the cafe, be sure to feed the pigeons too. They're very tame. :-)

Hungry pigeon...

This cafe is Non-Halal of course. It's the same row with the famous Noodle Descendant and Fish Ball Cafe.

No 266, Jalan Padungan,
93100 Kuching, Sarawak
Tel: 082-411276

My Rating: 2.5/5

Elephant Cafe & Bistro, Jalan Ang Cheng Ho, Kuching...

I used to come here whenever I need solitude a few years back, when the place was not that much known. It had a romantic feeling to it, and it wasn't always too crowded. But, what was years ago.

These days, it's always packed during lunch time. From dating couples to business lunch meeting, Elephant Cafe and Bistro is an ideal place to hangout and enjoy good food. It's also Halal, which explains why it's most always busy on peak hours.

The intrerior...

This Cafe specializes in Western food. The grilled chicken chop that I had for lunch was perfecto, especially it's black pepper sauce and the french beans. Service was fast too even though it was lunch time and people were coming in the door in groups.

Chicken chop...

Although they have more Western variety, Elephant Cafe also adds in local dish to its list. Like this nasi lemak... The rice is just creamy enough (not too creamy or berlemak actually) and it's accompanied by a fried egg, chicken curry, crunchy peanuts and fried anchovies, and a piece of fried fish. A fulfilling combination for a simple lunch. And because you're having it here, don't expect a stall price. 

Nasi lemak...

Chicken sandwich with focaccia bread. I love the bread, but the chicken meat was a bit slab and dry but you can moisten it up with extra mayo (upon request).

Chicken sandwich...

And the drinks! A sweet and creamy chocolate shake which tasted very much like melted chocolate icecream and a glass of refreshing iced peppermint tea.

 Peppermint tea and chocolate shake...

This one's my favorite though... what I'd like to call lemon twist in some other place, but here it's just fresh iced plum tea lemon. Very soothing to the throat.

 A variation of lemon twist...

All in all, that comes up to RM54.00. Not bad. Opens everyday from 11am - 10.30pm, except Monday.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Laksa Sarawak at Chong Choon Cafe, Jalan Abell

Can't have enough reviews about Laksa Sarawak, one of my favourite weekend breakfast. Laksa Sarawak at Chong Choon Cafe, Abell Road, Kuching is definitely one of my few really good ones. The problem with this place however is just the seating (because it's always crowded) and parking (because it's by the roadside. But those are just minor stuff. How to offset that? Get there early, or wait around for seats, or better still, share a table with a stranger, they usually don't mind at all.

This place is most always crowded because all races in Sarawak love this place. The Chinese, the Malays, the natives, etc all come here for either the laksa or mee jawa. A manifestation of true 1Malaysia spirit.

 At Jalan Abel, same row with AirAsia sales office...

When you wait patiently, you'll be rewarded abundantly. :-) They also have huge size drinks, ask for Jumbo if you can handle it. =)

The cafe opens as early as 6am and closes around 12pm, sometimes earlier. AND they open everyday, except Tuesday. Bon apetit!

My Rating: 4.9/5

Laksa Sarawak at Sin Chong Choon Cafe, Kuching

Craving for Laksa Sarawak on a relaxing weekend?

One of the places I normally go to for my Laksa Sarawak fix is Sin Chong Choon Cafe, Green Heights, Kuching. This place is always busy and crowded during the weekend and by 1pm most of the stalls will start to close for the day. 

Sin Chong Choon Cafe, right next to Green Heights Cold Storage...

I visit this cafe mainly for the Laksa Sarawak of course, and waiting for a table is worth it. (Although you can also opt to share tables with strangers if you don't mind). RM8 for a big one and RM6 for a normal size one. Go for the big, recommended, because the difference is only a shrimp or two.

Laksa Sarawak...

For extra garnishing, we always order a plate of steamed chicken from the chicken rice stall. The steamed chicken here is juicy, tender and goes really well with the Laksa. Don't have to order the rice with it because then you'd be really full.

Steamed chicken breast...

The cafe also serves various types of toasts, all looking delicious and pretty. The bread is soft and thick with crispy edges where the toaster got to it.

Peanut butter and chocolate toast...

Kaya and butter toast...

And the kampua mee here is also not bad. You can either order them plain or black (with soy sauce).

Plain kampua mee...

By the way, am a fan of coffee but the Teh C Peng here is really nice!And they have Big Size (double the glass size and double the content) and normal size (which is also an average big). The iced coffee here is sadly, not up to my standards. :-(

Anyway, Sin Chong Choon Cafe opens everyday from 630am - 1pm at least or until the food are sold out. Crowded mostly on weekend so be sure to come early.

Landmark: Green Heights Cold Storage or SideWalk Cafe.

My Rating: 4/5

Banana Leaf Restaurant, Kuching

Not much of a fan of Indian food, but sometimes when I feel like eating no-joke curry, I'd look for any good Indian restaurants or cafes. One of them around town is this one -- Banana Leaf Restaurant. 'South Indian Food' it says on the signboard and menu. Looks like an ordinary coffee shop from the outside, but check out the menu... everything is as good as Indian food gets.

Google pix (I forgot to snap)...

When ordering, the waitress will ask how you like your rice... plain or briyani? And how do you like it served... on a banana leaf or in a plate? Hubby was doing the ordering so he opted for plate (perhaps he should've requested for banana leaf instead because they would definitely look good in pictures though... hahaha).

Anyway, he had the briyani rice, served with a complimentary papadom (Indian crackers)...

Briyani rice...

... while I opted for the plain rice, also comes with a complimentary papadom...

Plain white rice...

And my choice of dish of the day... Fish head curry! The fish head is huge, even bigger are the eyes (my favorite part of a fish head)! Two person can share this. Careful of the curry spiciness though.

 Fish head curry...

Hubby ordered the lamb curry. It was okay cause I'm not a real fan of lamb curry, or beef curry, or any of the kind. He seems to like it though so I supposed it's a good choice for some.

Lamb curry...

And our accompanying dishes are fried kangkung (water spinach) mixed with bean sprout (the combination is kind of weird for me) and sweet pineapple curry (I sensed raisins are added in it). The pineapple curry was nice though.

Fried kangkung + taugeh (bottom) and pineapple curry (top)...

Damage done: Plus 2 glasses of iced lime tea and a glass of Teh C Peng, altogether is RM33. Perhaps it's the fish head curry and I should've expected that from any Indian restaurants but still I was a little shocked at the price.

Address: Lorong Rubber 1, Rubber Road, 93400 Kuching
Tel: +6082-239404
Cash terms.

My Rating: 3/5