Trenos Coffee, Jalan Keretapi, Kuching...

Another Coffee Place in town, Trenos Coffee is swiftly getting popular among coffee lovers. I've been meaning to visit this cafe for awhile now and one fine day just decided to drop by after the initial two planned dinner venues were closed for business. Fell in love instantly after the first sip of coffee, a chance meeting.

The place is clean, cozy and tastefully decorated and equipped. A fine place to have a family meal, and not just for coffee.

The interior...

Anyway, if you ever visit this place, you should try at least one of the coffee brew. This one is a hot latte. Pretty, almost felt bad sipping it and ruining the artwork and froth. The coffee is surprisingly the kind I like, not too sweet, not too bitter, slightly groundish and yet creamy.

Pretty hot latte...

And yes, the food! The reason I come back here actually. The variety of food in the menu is not much (it's a coffee place after all), but the quality it goes by is splendid. This grilled lamb chop for instance, is medium rare done and is a big portion for one person. I'd ask for black pepper sauce, but the peppermint sauce they serve it in is just as nice (normally I'd skip the peppermint for a thick drip of black pepper sauce... =).

Grilled lamb chop... 

And the crispy chicken strips, a nice finger food to go with the hot coffee, if you're thinking of eating light, that is.

Chicken bits...

For other menu, check out the specials of the day too. I'm planning to go back to try other coffee variety and their food. Such love for this place. =)

Location: Jalan Keretapi. Right next to McDonalds at 3rd Mile.
Note: Halal

My Rating: 4.9/5

Nosh Restaurant, Crown Square, Kuching...

Nosh Restaurant is a simply a hidden gem. Came here once when it was still called Mr Ho Fine Food, and was delighted to note that some of the menu has been improved and some were added in.
The environment is a balance between classy and affordable. It also gives out a cozy chill-out vibes where you can dine or lunch in with dates, colleagues, or friends. Bringing a kid here is also a good choice since it's air conditioned and they have proper baby high chair.

 Interior...

Nosh serves fusion food but they have more Western variety. For starter, this wild mushroom soup tastes authentic and you can feel the remnants of pureed wild mushroom. The overall taste is not bad, just perhaps should have been creamier.

Mushroom soup... 

A local variety, the signature fried rice is actually a good choice of order. The deep fried pork belly pieces they included is a delight, together with mixture of seafood with baby kailan, egg and top with local chips give off a balanced diet. Very fulfilling.

 Fried rice...

I forgot the name in the menu for this, but it's crispy pork strips, nice to go with a glass of hot coffee or a cup of hot Earl Grey in the evening.

Pork strips... 

And this is all-day breakfast! (because it's available even after breakfast hours, which is so fantastic! For me, that is..). A fat German sausage, crispy bacon, baked tomato, 2 bulls eyes sunny side up, baked beans and a piece of white bread. It's not too heavy for lunch and yet not too light, just enough to last me the whole day. 

Western breakfast... 

And for some on-the-side-order, this crispy and yet juicy roasted pork belly is served by gram, and this is 100gm (I think). Enough for two. Served with apple sauce, although I prefer it with chilly and soy sauce.

 Crispy pork belly...

 

What's a perfect dinner without a glass of hot coffee? I like that they prefer you to add in your own sugar to taste and it's cubed instead of granuled. :-) Been awhile since I last visit a cafe that uses sugar cubes.

 Coffee, sugar, mini pineapple tart...

 

Or for a healthier option... a glass of hot honey lemon and another iced honey lemon to even it out.

 Iced and hot honey lemon...

 

Nosh serves a variety of wine, liquor and beer too, for the wine-and-dine experience. All in all, a nice meal, good service, good food, good price, will come back to try other dish.

 The exterior...

 

Location: Ground Floor, Crown Square. Can't miss it.
Note: Non-Halal.

My Rating: 4.9/5

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!

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