Dinner @ Premier 101 Kuching

Lots of stalls, lots of people. I loved the merry atmosphere. I loved the little red lanterns and coloured lights hanging above me. I loved seeing the people browsing at the various stalls ... I loved the smell of food cooking as it wafted in the air. There is, in fact, a lot to like about this place, the food street at Premier 101 Kuching.

The thing about eating here, was that one had to know what to order and from which stall. Because the quality of the food served at certain stalls were really very substandard, so much so that I felt compelled to tell what they were!

 Hot tea for us .... 

 Pork satay ...

The satay were alright, but the peanut sauce was not so nice. I found that the peanuts were ground till quite fine, so much so that it had seemed to be somewhat of a paste, and the sauce was not spicy at all. I liked the sauce to have a little kick.

 Sambal fried kueh tiaw

Again ... another miss. The sambal flavour was neither here nor there, as if it could not decide whether it wanted to be sambal or not; the kueh tiaw was not well-fried and tiny cockles which I suspected were canned cockles were used. I did not like this.

Claypot pork rice

This was the worst claypot rice I had eaten ... cooked rice were used, with merely the topping poured atop and perhaps heated up over fire .... sigh .... 

What were nice ....... 

 Bitter gourd with egg

I liked this dish lots .... very well-fried and tasty .... 

 Steamed fish

The fish was really fresh and sweet, and the clear fish maw gravy was tasty as well; only that the fish was too large for the two of us to share ... we had a difficult time finishing it, and it was only a quarter of a fish too.

Fresh cut fruits

I loved the sweet and fresh papaya and jackfruit 

And that was the end of our dinner ...... some hits and misses, so be sure to know which stall to order from.

Little Hainan

Lunch at Little Hainan was a disappointment .... because we had not realised until too late that we were overbilled. RM29.00; AT was wondering why we had to pay so much ..... until very much later, we realised that we had ordered soy-braised eggs and it never came. Even if the eggs were served, our bill would not even come to RM29.00. We HAD to be billed wrongly. The food, too -  we recommended to me by a few people - perhaps I had too high an expectations and hence, was disappointed.

Coffee and tea; AT liked the thick tea very much

Salted vegetable soup and chilli dip; AT thought the soup was too salty, but I liked it

Char siew rice

My students K and M have raved to me a lot of times about the char siew ... for me, they tasted alright, but not exactly to die for; The rice was too soft and moist for AT, but I thought it was alright. The cucumber pickles were cut in large pieces .. and what I disliked as the granulated sugar coating the cucumbers .... 

Steamed chicken rice

OMG! Why don't you like the food? M exclaimed when I expressed my disappointment ...

Well, perhaps I just went at the wrong time; service was so slow ... I think they were undestaffed.  Certainly, it had not been a very pleasant meal for me, where the food, service and experience were concerned.

Dinner @ Coffee Talk

I kept telling AT that I wanted pizza for dinner. So he had no choice but to go with me to Coffee Talk for Tom's pizza.

Italian Smoked Turkey Ham Pizza, RM20.00

Yummy .... loved the thin, crispy crust  ... the subtle tomato flavour in the base, the ham, cheese and herbs.

I ate 4 slices! AT ate the other 4 slices. Haha ..... and he proceeded to order me a classic pork burger from Pig's Barn .... 

Yummy .... 

Can't remember how much it was .... but I loved the homemade pork patty, not so much the pickles ... and the bun looked a bit pale. Overall, it was alright. :))

Mint & Basil

AT and I walked past Mint & Basil at The Spring, and I made him eat here .....

Our orders .... 

Vietnamese drip coffee

We had it black sans condensed milk, and could appreciate the aroma and flavour of the coffee

Pho Bo

Pho Bo

Mix'em up

The rice noodles seemed a little bit too thick .... hmn .... let's just say that I've had better Pho Bo before. 

Fresh summer rolls

These tasted alright ..... I liked them but AT did not. Lols.

Nice ambience though. As a friend always puts it ..... people come here to be seen. Lol. Perhaps... but I honestly wanted to try the food out. :P

Breakfast @ Chen Fa Cafe

AT went to Chen Fa for breakfast. Chen Fa is located at Premier 101. I did not find both the dishes yum. Later, I found out that AT had asked them to cut down on salt ... No wonder. Lol.

Heng Hua Noodles

I loved the looks of the noodles, garnished with so much of yummy ingredients. 

Kolo Mee with seafood

I loved the succulent prawns and that was pretty much it ))

The two bowls of noodles would probably taste good had they had their regular amount of salt added. Lols. 

Guan Yang Cafe

Not knowing where to have lunch, D and I drove around at Ban Hock Road ... and after eliminating several of the coffee shops there, we ended up eating lunch at Guan Yang Cafe. D wanted to eat rice, and there was a wide selection of dishes there to choose from. You could also spoon dishes and the amount of food that you wanted too!

 Rice ... with 2 types of vegetables and chicken, RM6.80

I had ....

Cantonese styled Kueh Tiaw, RM5.00

It looked pretty good

And tasted pretty good of wok's breath

The noodles were quite good ... I loved the fresh ingredients like the pork slices and fresh prawns, and the crunchy green vegetables too; enjoyed it. :)) 

Hearty Fish Porridge

It seemed that I had not had a hearty homecooked lunch at home for a long time now. That day, however, Mom decided to cook fish porridge on an impromptu. She was not feeling well the day before, and therefore, thought that a light meal of porridge would be utmost palatable.

Me? I hanged around the kitchen to help ... or perhaps to get in the way. Lols. Anyway, lunch was really yum.

Fresh fish porridge

Mom had marinated fresh fish pieces with some Shao Tsing wine, a dash of salt and pepper. And we cooked first in a broth. Then we added in cooked porridge, seasoning and finally cracked in a whole egg. Served hot, it made a wonderful lunch. :))

Kuching Festival Fair : People's Fair 3

The fair is drawing to a close, only 1 evening left. I'd been countless of times by myself, and sometimes with different people ....

Vegetarian delights at one stall

Fourth Aunt's friend selling ... 

Rice rolls

Something new ..... Pot mashed potato which I was tempted to buy but did not buy. 

Dumpling King .... AT bought a piece. I forgot to ask which one he bought or whether it was nice.

Hong Kong Char Kueh stall

Looking so yummy ... 

Salted fish buns being pan-fried

Squid King, RM8.00

Steamed meatballs, RM5.00 a cup... claiming to burst with juices with each bite .... 

Some other stuff I'd tried from the People's Fair included ...

 Lin's Taiwan Sausage, RM2.50 each

My friend CM recommended this stall for grilled Taiwan sausages. . 

Bamboo Charcoal Ice-cream, RM3.00

It's just bread wrapped with vanilla ice-cream, and it was grilled on charcoal with just a bit of butter before served.

Churros, RM5.00

Not bad, but a bit hard, and the chocolate sauce could be more decadent. 

Frozen soil, RM6.00

This I bought because of the novelty. I know how to make this myself at home ... probably one of this days I'd do it!

Matcha Gelato, RM6.90 for double scoop, sold at a stall named Gelato Italiano
Smooth, and not too sweet. I liked this much better than frozen soil.


Taste Taste Extra Large Taiwanese Style Crispy Chicken Chop, RM8.00
It was really a large portion and quite enjoyable to eat! Fourth Aunt said it was cheap, and she liked it too.


Tornado Potato, RM3.00
Fourth Aunt and I shared this potato .... which we both enjoyed very much as well.

What else do you want to eat? Fourth Aunt asked me.

In fact, we were both really full already. So I shook my head ..... 

Then you have to wait till next year to eat them, Fourth Aunt said.

Oh well ........ 

Yummy Lui Cha

My colleagues asked me to go with them for lunch and I did. They wanted to eat lui cha or thunder tea. At Jalan Tengah, they said.

Oh yes, I do remember eating lui cha here before. In fact, it was where I got inducted into eating this, and thereafter, falling in love with this dish.

We were there about at 12.30 p.m. and we ordered a bowl each .... and were told that the rice is almost finished. 2 of my colleagues who came late, in fact, had to have the lui cha without the rice. While previously white rice is used, now the  healthier brown rice is used.

There were 2 versions of the herbal soup here - bitter or non-bitter. Having tried both before, I much preferred the bitter version, which had a fuller flavour. All my colleagues preferred the bitter broth too.

A large bowl of lui cha cost RM6.00, while a smaller bowl sold for RM5.00.

My bowl of lui cha 

Yumm .... the lui cha tasted just like I had remembered it. The rice and vegetables, being textural aside, were well-balanced in flavour. The boiling hot soup was bitter-sweet, and warmed my stomach wonderfully. It's got detoxifying properties too, and so I made myself finish it.

Well, I've in fact, posted on this before. Read here and here.

Black Glutinous Rice and Sago Dessert

I loved this traditional dessert of black glutinous rice and sago, cooked in coconut milk or santan.

A yummy bowl of homecooked black glutinous rice and sago dessert

 It's a very satisfying dessert for its rich taste and texture, and can be served hot or cold. At home, Dad was the one who always cooked desserts. And he cooked it for my aunts the other day when they came over for lunch. Everyone had a bowl ... even Grandma loved it. :P

Auspicious Heng Hua Mee

The weather has been so unbearably hot these days, and I needed iced coffee to quench my thirst.

Iced coffee

I loved the iced coffee here, which had a good flavour and yet did not taste too sweet. 

Lunch was at Courtyard at Wisma Nation Horizon, and today, I had the Heng Hua noodles or Pah Mee.

Heng Hua Noodles, RM6.00

 I had to wait quite long for my noodles, what with the busy lunch crowd. But it was quite worth the wait, as I enjoyed the noodles a lot. 

Peek into the bowl .... 

For this dish, thick wheat noodles are used. I did quite like the texture, which is smooth yet not too springy. It soaks up the broth in the a flavourful way. The soup, was really hearty and sweet. The ingredients were varied from stall to stall, but here at this stall, there was seaweed, prawns, fishballs, pork slices, minced pork, egg omelette and roasted peanuts. I loved this dish!

D tells me that he used to have this traditional on every first day of the lunar new year. It symbolises longevity, he says. The Heng Hua clan also eat this on their birthdays. How apt, because today is my hatch day. :))