Best Kueh Chap in Kuching

Kueh chap is another signature dish of Kuching, but less popular than the kolomee and laksa. One reason it is less mainstream is because of the ingredients used i.e. pig internal organs such as stomach, liver, ear, tongue, and intestines, which might not be everyone's cup of tea. Kueh chap is unique because of the large pieces of flat noodles cooked in a thick stewed soup. Other ingredients include hard boiled eggs and boiled chicken feet. You can customise what you put in you kueh chap and if you are not adventurous like I am, you can just tell the seller you don't want any "spare parts", which refer to internal organs, like the one pictured below:

Sometimes it's hard to find kueh chap when you want it and even harder to find a really really good one. My pick is the kueh chap stall at Poh Kwong Park. It's just a small stall located in a vacant open-spaced car park lot. One of Kuching's best kept secret, is hard to find because it is hidden behind the shoplots in Poh Kwong Park, a residential area. For location map, click here.

The stall doesn't have a name, so I refer to it as Poh Kwong Park (PKP) kueh chap. It is a very humble stall with a humble owner (pictured above). What makes this kueh chap better than any others out there is his kick-ass belachan chilli. I always pour the first serving of belachan chilli into my soup and ask for another for the meats. The belachan chilli is really in its own class: strong in taste, not overly spicy, and a perfect addition to the stewed soup. This gives the kueh chap in PKP a very unique taste.

(Mind you, kueh chap already has a very uniquely Sarawakian taste).

Opens after 6pm, PKP kueh chap serves dinner and supper till around 9pm. He rests on Saturday and it might be a bit tricky eating there when it rains.

Best Tomato Mee in Kuching

The tomato mee is another signature dish of Kuching and Sarawak because it almost exclusively available only in Sarawak. I like to call it the local version of spaghetti bolognaise. The outstanding features of this dish is the fried crispy noodles and the tomato sauce gravy that is used to pour over the noodles. Newly opened in 2009, Cafe De Margherita serves the best tomato mee I've tasted so far. What makes it the best is the thick tomato sauce gravy. Many noodle sellers skimp on the tomato puree used to cook the sauce so it ends up tasting quite bland, but not the one at Cafe De Margherita though. You can literally see the chef taking a big scoop of tomato puree and cook it over such a fierce fire, that you would think they would go through a barrel of cooking gas every night. With that said, it is worth paying the above-market price of rm 5.The chef and staff never fail to greet me with a smile every time I dine there. Good food, friendly staff and a clean place to dine for dinner and supper. Cafe de Margherita is located on Green Hill Road, just opposite the more established Ah Ka Su Seafood Restaurant. For the location map, click here.

Check it out and leave a comment after you've tried it.

Famous Kuching Sio Bee

Just like my favourite har gau tim sum, the famous Kuching sio bee is a localised version of the standard "international" dumpling (or siu mai in Cantonese). The taste and texture is totally different, so it is a must-try if you're from out of town. The sio bee goes really well with the sweet chilli sauce, which is not very spicy. You order by the number of sio bees you want and each cost rm 0.60 at the time of writing. Compared to what you get in West Malaysia, the size of the sio bee is pretty good value for your money. The soya bean drink they serve is also very refreshing, especially during a hot day.
This sio bee establishment, Sin Kwang Heng, is of legendary status amongst the locals. It is located in the centre of town, referred to as "open-air market". It's a recommended place to go for a light afternoon tea or supper. As with the har gau place recommended in an earlier article, the selection of tim sum is pretty limited here as well. That's not really a problem because almost everyone who patronises this place is there for the sio bee.

Open-Air market location map (click here)