Sarawak Specialty : Kolo Mee

"What's the difference between kolo mee and kampua?" I asked my friend one morning, while we sat awaiting for our breakfast orders at a local coffee shop.

"I don't know," she replied and then added, "I think one is from Kuching and the other is from Sibu".

"I think one has minced pork, and the other one doesn't have," I supplied.

"Yeah," she agreed, "and kolo mee char siew is always edged red while char siew in kampua is brown."

"Some people think kampua is more fragrant and tastier than kolo mee," I said, as I vaguely remembered someone mentioning it to me eons ago.

Not wanting to refute that, my friend said, “Oh yes, the condiments are different too. Kolo mee is served with seasoned cut chillies while kampua is eaten with chilli sauce. Oh, and kampua comes with a variety of flavours. There is soy sauce kampua, for example.”

"Well, so does kolo mee. It is sometimes dressed in char siew oil," I replied.

“Oh, I know, I know,” she said. “Kampua comes in a plate while kolo mee is served in a bowl,” she quipped.

“Hmnn, my friend from West Malaysia thinks kolo mee is like instant noodles,” I said.

We looked at each other, “Naahhh.” We both disagreed with that opinion.

Our discussion was abruptly interrupted as our orders arrived.

Coming from Kuching, the Cat City, I am more accustomed to eating kolo mee. In Kuching, kolo mee can be found everywhere, and all the vendors bring their own unique touch to this simple noodle dish.

Well, just what exactly is kolo mee? Kolo mee, also known as “dah mee” or “gan mian” or “dry-tossed noodles” is a popular hawker fare in Sarawak. It is Sarawak's signature noodle dish.

It is simply just noodles tossed in shallot oil, lard (essential!!), light soy sauce, vinegar, and topped with a spoonful of minced pork, char siew, spring onions, and deep-fried shallots. The toppings vary from vendor to vendor. Some would add fresh pork slices, pig offals, fresh fish slices, fresh prawns, fishballs, fishcake slices, and also strips of mustard green. Kolo Mee is eaten with seasoned red cut chillies. It is ubiquitous enough to be eaten at anytime of the day - be it for breakfast, tea, lunch, dinner and even supper.

While Kuching is known for kolo mee and Sibu is known for kampua, Miri vendors seem to be selling a cross between the two. Why do I say so? Well, most of the char siew are tinged brown, and yet there seem also a sprinkling of minced pork. The kolo mee sellers in Miri also have a variety of condiments to serve their noodles with - some provide chilli sauce with the noodles, others provide seasoned cut chillies, while some used some kind of blended dried chillies. What I dislike the most is that they conveniently forgot to give you the condiment until you demand for it.

I am quite selective when it comes to eating kolo mee in Miri. I don’t just walk into any coffee shop and order a kolo mee because from experience, it usually disappoints as it just lacks that aromatic fragrance that kolo mee must have.

Nonetheless, there are also good kolo mee stalls around in Miri. One just needs to know where to eat it.

A yummy bowl of kolo mee ... Miri version