Mitsu Tea House, Airport Road, Kuching...

Dim sum anyone?

Mitsu Tea House by far serves the best dim sum in town, for me, that is. Service is quick, which is part of its attraction. And it always has a table for me... partly due to me visiting the place at non-peak hours, another part because it's not in the center of town, and also partly due to it being non-halal.

This place serves other dishes too of the local varieties, chicken and BBQ pork rice, etc... but the only reason I drop by is for the dimsum. Because let's face it... it is hard to find non-halal dimsum in town, so why not enjoy it?

My favorite dimsum... steamed pork ribs in taro (or yam). I wish I could replicate this at home but it's not the same as having it here. =)

steamed pork ribs with taro/yam...

And then there's the fried carrot cake. I like that they mix it with that red chinese sausage and also that crunchy salted turnip (did I get that right?). And there's enough egg to complete it.

Fried carrot cake...

The steamed chicken feet here is the best I've found in town. It's tender and not dried, and not too much herb which I like, and it's complemented with nuts of the big kind... probably giant ground nuts, but it's really tasty.

Chicken feet with nuts...

This pork stripe isn't my favorite (as is the rest of the innards) but I find this one done just about right. The pepper sort of mask the musk etc and for me, it doesn't have that weird innard taste =) (not a fan of innards, except liver)...

Pork stripe in pepper and salted vege...

Yes this one... beef belly/stomach... or shall I just call it 'the towel'? The texture is not hard or too chewy, unlike some that I found elsewhere.

Beef stomach ...

And the purple sweet potato roll! Really pretty and looking appetizing. Perfect to go with a cup of hot English tea on a hot afternoon. =)

Sweet purple potatoes...

This is another one of my favorite here... beancurd skin in really nice sauce. I wonder what's in the sauce? The beancurd is crispy on the outside and really moist and flavorful on the inside.

Beancurd skin...

Grilled sweet potato... Ok you may not want to order this if you plan to pig out on the rest, because one slice of that can render you full in minutes. So maybe at the end?

Grilled sweet potato...

Steamed bun or bao... Small and very fulfilling. The skin is so fluffy I could eat just that without the filling.

Sio bao...

And yes the classic siew mai... or is that correct? I don't remember the name but it has shrimp and vege in it and it's a tiny pack of goodness.

Siew mai...

I don't know what this was either, but I remember that it was superb. All vege inside, and the skin is so transparent you just want to keep staring at it...

What mai...? forgot...

There you have it! My favorite dim sum place. Price wice? Reasonable but who cares.

Location: At Airport Road. RH Plaza area - Opposite Four Points Hotel. Mitsu Tea House is right next to Marie France Bodyline. :D

My Rating: 5/5

Foochow Specials at Spring Garden Cafe, Padungan...

We found this new cafe by chance, and I've been hooked ever since. It's right behind Kuching Park Hotel in Padungan, and you can't miss it.

Spring Garden Cafe from outside...

There's this one stall specializing in Foochow dishes, and since I've ate a few Foochow dishes in Sibu, I can attest that this stall totally hit it spot on! And I've tried most of its dishes, so yep, Sibu is here!

The stall I frequent...

It's specialty: Kampua mee! This one is plain or white, simple but a killer. They're very generous with the charsiew meat.

Plain kampua mee...

Whenever I order the plain kampua, I like to partner it with a bowl of steaming hot pork liver soup. They're very generous with the liver ... freshly sliced and blanch to perfection! And very generous with the Chinese wine too, and if you still think it's not enough, you may ask for more haha, just be careful on the dose... might render you sleepy for afternoon shift. Haha

 Pork liver soup + kampua mee...

I also tried the special kampua - with soy sauce (kicap) and wonton on the side. And what I like most about this stall... they add bits of crackles in most of their noodles. Crackles totally add more flavor to whatever dish you cook up. My favorite seasoning, if you can call it seasoning. :-)

Kicap kampua mee + wonton...

And the all-time favorite Foochow classic - Chicken Mee Sua! Again, you may ask for extra wine to go with it if it's not enough. I do since they always oblige nicely. :-)

 Mee sua...

This was what my friend ordered... dry wonton. They put seaweed as extras, and according to my friend, it blend really well. I must try soon...

 Dry wonton...

And another Foochow classic and must-order... Din Bian Hu! It's basically like porridge but made with flour, and mixed with egg and stuffs that I just have to say look really fantastic. This is my friend's too (thanks Sherry for the picture) and she said it's the best she ever had. Careful though... can burn your tongue. =)

Din Bian Hu...

So there you have it. Price for each is between RM4 - RM7, worth it I must say. They open from morning till late afternoon. Go have some Foochow specials!

My Rating: 5/5 cause I'm one satisfied customer!