My missus and I were out and about the other day and we went back here for lunch. We would do that sometimes when Melissa is not at home – it sure saves us the trouble of having to rush home to cook something for lunch or dinner.
I wouldn’t say their kampua noodles are my favourite or what I would consider to be the best in town but my missus had that the last time around and she said it was nice and was only RM2.30 a bowl which would mean that it is cheaper than most other places here where they are selling at RM2.50 a bowl or more.
This time around, she wanted the noodles again, tossed in chili sauce…
…and yes, it is indeed RM2.30 a bowl, 10 sen more than here…but the serving’s really huge and for not-very-big eaters, that one bowl can easily be shared by two. As for the taste, I would think this one’s a bit better than that other place.
Well, since she was having the kampua noodles (and I could sample a bit to see what it was like), I decided to go for something else – their kolo mee…
For the uninitiated, kolo mee is to Kuching what kampua mee is to Sibu and they taste entirely different from each other…and no, I was not hoping it would be anything like the very nice ones that one can find in Kuching – I have given up on that long ago. Most that I have had here have been at best, kampua mee buried under all the ingredients. It would look like kolo mee with the kampua mee taste…and since those ingredients aren’t exactly something to die for, one might as well go for a plate of kampua mee instead…at almost half the price.
This one was good though…
No, it did not taste like kolo mee nor did it taste like our kampua noodles. I thought it had its own very unique and pleasant taste like the noodles had been tossed in oil in which they had fried some garlic and not shallots as in the case of kampua noodles and I would say that I did enjoy that! It did not come cheap though (RM4.50) and even though the serving was huge too and they were obviously very generous with the ingredients added, I probably would think twice about having that again.
To wash all that down, we shared a bowl of pian sip (meat dumplings) soup (RM2.30)…
…but I did not think it was any good. The skin was thick and the pian sip was quite tasteless, and the soup bland…and if that is what it usually is like, I would suggest you give it a miss should you happen to drop by there.
We saw a lady making dim sums and steaming them so we decided to give it a try as well. The siew mai (RM3.00)…
…tasted nice but it was meaty and did not have that fish ball kind of chewy texture that the usual dim sum siew mai would have…and because it was all minced meat, it was not in any way like our local Foochow sio bee either.
This one, also RM3.00 for a basket…
…had a rather peculiar taste – like it had salted egg inside though I could not see any trace of it. It would have been very nice, I thought, if they had used good salted egg but unfortunately, what they had in the ones we ate was a bit off and in fact, my missus did not like it at all.
I don’t think we would want to have those again nor the other choices that the lady has at her stall but it did appear to me that a lot of people liked them a lot – I could see those at quite a number of tables having those. Well, like I always say, one man’s meat is another man’s poison and what I do not really enjoy, there may be others who will find it very much to their liking. To each his own!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The second dish looks interesting. Is that dumplings and eggs mixed into the noodles?
Oh too bad the soup was bland, I love a flavorful soup. This morning, I thought about making a clear soup as a side dish sometime this week. Now the only thing I need to decide is exactly what I want to make!
Ya…tasteless, might as well just drink water but thankfully, it wasn’t overloaded with msg like some around here. The second dish? Those were frozen balls – fish and meat balls that they sell in plastic packets at the supermarkets. Those white fish balls do look like eggs, don’t they? Nothing like own homemade…and all the preservatives and artificial flavourings and seasonings – I would not go and buy to use at home, if I could help it.
So damn cheap for RM2.30 with huge servings! I cannot believe it lah…
I always thought kolo Mee and Kampua Mee use the same noodles but different ingredients only. I won’t be able to tell the difference at once.
Sure you wouldn’t – most important thing is that it must taste nice. This one’s good and I dare say that at many places in Kuching, the kolo mee isn’t great at all…same with the kampua mee here – must know where to go. So cheap hor??? For poor people like us in this little small town… Hehehehehe!!!!!
Gosh, why the pictures of food to tempt me at this hour? I’m pretty much alright with a bland soup, so long as there’s a bottle of salt within reach. =)
By any chance, is the second plate of dumpling siew mai?
Have to cut down on the salt, my dear… 😉 Yup, both siew mai – different versions/recipes.
Prices look so much more affordable than KL.
Definitely! And I do notice that at 20-30 sen less, they certainly enjoy brisk business compared to the “more expensive” places. Sure makes a lot of sense to charge less and earn more!
Strange but I am craving spicy pan mee after reading the post. No idea how or what triggered it from this post. Hehehe.
Certainly agree with you that one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Hear! Hear! That’s why I would qualify my comments with “I would think…” or “I think…” Others may not think that same way, that’s for sure.
Perhaps the kolo mee bears some resemblance to pan mee…with the minced pork? 😀
*Salivating* over the kampua and the kolo… How wonderful if I could have that now for my breakfast… the roads are closed today for Merdeka rehearsal and my stomach is growling… hmmm.. guess I got to make do with instant oats for the moment… this is indeed torturing, right???
Kesian. See! Don’t want to come to Sibu – go lah! Go ahead and drool…drool…drool!!! Muahahahahaha!!!!
It is terrible that they used the salted egg that was a bit off. Had a bad experience once. Ordered bittergourd with salted eggs and yuks!! The egg was not fresh and had an awful smell. So of course we sent the dish back and we never went there again. And this from a newly opened restaurant!
Not too sure if it was that but it tasted like that to me. My missus did not like it at all. You can bet that we’re never going there for those again.
Torturing post but like them all. Wow, so much for lunch only, That huge portion of kolo mee can last me till dinner time or maybe I need to skip dinner. Drooling!!!!…
I think so too. Huge serving….so much really and the kampua especially, soooo cheap!
Kolo Mee with meatballs, fishballs and minced meat .. Wooaahh.. but then again.. the normal kolo mee with charsiew at Pending costs RM3.30 T_T .. glad that I went to a foochow kopitiam at Demak Laut for its Kolo Beehoon @ RM2.20.. hohoho.. cheapest i can find so far…
i don’t fancy eating dimsum cause I think one dimsum meal will at least cost me more than RM10 per person.. unless my parents are craving for it then I won’t mind treating them dimsum breakie.. hahaha.. kedekut to myself 😀
Yup…expensive and everything’s msg overload too! Not crazy about dim sum but don’t mind going sometimes for a change.
Wahhhhh!!!! So cheap? Where on earth is Demak Laut? I think kolo mee is more expensive here, compared to Kuching. Cheaper to stick to kampua, if in Sibu – also nice, maybe even nicer.
RM2.30, RM2.50, RM3.20, RM4.50.. all are considered cheap in KL.. i guess noodles starts from RM4.50 at a normal kopitiam here to like over RM10 in some restaurants, RM2.30 would be the prize like 25 years ago~~
We’re so far behind mah…caught in the time capsule and can’t say I’m complaining….
Never had this version of kolo mee before but it seems so porky which chases me away LOL, hope it doesn’t taste that “porky”
Didn’t you have the same in Penang? http://www.kenhuntfood.com/2013/01/house-of-kolo-mee-dpiazza-mall-penang.html
Oh no, you didn’t. You had your own variations which means that you were not having the real thing, not at all. Kuching people will tell you – that’s adding insult to injury. The A01 on the menu on the wall looks like the authentic kolo mee in Kuching – the Hakka version. The Teochew version would have all the innards – liver, intestine, pig’s blood too sometimes… Ooooo…I super-LIKE!!!!!
I wonder what you mean by porky – you mean that horrible smell that the pork overseas has? Ours doesn’t have that smell – very nice. Some friends tell me they do not know how to slaughter…and others say it is because they’re male pigs and hence, the urine smell. I wouldn’t know.
Bought that once in the late 70’s when I was teaching in a rural town – the smell was so bad that I would not touch it…but my housemate did not seem to mind so I just let him enjoy it all, no…thank you.
now to go get myself a plate of those “Sarawak” noodles that I saw at the makan stalls nearby my place. Maybe I’ll post how it looks like on Facebook. Definately not as yummy looking as the ones you have on your blog 🙂
Imposters! Imitations! I saw on Facebook this “Fatty Kampua” place – somewhere in Cheras area..and I hear that Sibu guy is opening a branch in the Ampang area. That one may be more authentic – more like the real thing that those cooked by Banglas or some Myanmarese.
ok.. i got so confused after reading your post.. about the kampua mee and kolo mee.. so what are both of them to kl? hahahaha.. I always got them mixed up. Then what about hakka mee? don;t they taste almost the same? ;P
i love kolo mee anyway!! The plain white noodle that looks not-so-appealing but taste damn awesome (becz there’s lard) .. hahahha!!
They do not even look the same as you can see in the photos…and they’re not supposed to taste the same.
I’ve blogged about it many times and this Singapore guy explains it very well – http://www.sharesinv.com/articles/2010/11/30/myths-on-mee-debunking-the-myths-on-sarawak%E2%80%99s-kampua-noodles/ Go read! (But don’t bother about the place mentioned. Some die-hard kampua lovers from Sibu living on the island went to try – and they were not impressed)
KL ones – there are some QUITE authentic kampua or kolo mee, stalls run by people from here – as for the others, I would say some may taste nice but no, they’re nothing like the real thing…like this one here. Good grief! It does not even look like what it’s supposed to be – https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/all-the-way Probably good enough to bluff KL folks who do not know better…
To me, kolo mee is with char siew, minced pork and lots of shallot. I would not try the so-called kolo mee here, because like you said, it would not be able to be of par with Kuching kolo mee. So you bet when I am back to Kuching this year end, I will go hunting around my favourite coffee shops for their kolo mee. hahaha!
If you ever drop by Kuching next time, I will bring you to some famous kolo mee stalls.
It tastes very good – this much, I would say but it tastes different…and much better than the kolo mee I had at some places in Kuching – not all are nice there…same with the kampua mee here. You just need to know where to go. Your kolo mee is Hakka style – personally I like the Teochew ones with the liver, pork intestines and all…the ones along Carpenter Street: https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/if-i-were-a-carpenter and https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/yesterday-once-more-1 Slurpssssss!!!!!
I like both kampua and kolo mee. To me; they both are like brother & sister. Must try both of them when I’m in Sarawak 😀
You know where to go for the not-too-bad ones in KL and the surrounding areas now…so no problem for you. 😉 Tried 7th Mile yet?
Ya, I went there last Sunday after Church serivce and I ordered kampua chili. The taste is nice and the chili sauce is super and I wish the noodles can be more “kiu-kiu”. The dim sums costing RM3.00 each, is considered cheap compared to other shops and I like the belacan sauce.
Hah!!! Many here would want the noodles soft or even soggy – the original authentic Foochow kampua. I’m like you – prefer it a bit firm – that’s why I like kolo mee more than kampua.
Dim sum here – so far the cheapest would be the RM10 for 3 baskets places – dunno if the price has gone up. This one’s definitely cheaper…but no, thank you. I don’t feel it is nice enough to go back there again for that.
Ok…I want to make kolo mee this weekend…**keeping fingers crossed**
Good luck! 😉
I guess the difference between kolo and kampua is sauce and ingredients? the noodles look the same…
anyway, what I definately always drool is the pian sip… if I do go Sibu, first thing I wanna try is pian sip and kompia… eheheh
Nope, even the noodles are different – in texture and in taste. Yes, yes…come on over! So many things here that you can’t find over there – it is really different, you’ll see. When will you be here? 😉
Both kolo & kampua start with ‘K’ am pretty sure they are sure to be different at least in spelling but Bananaz cannot make sure they are sure different in taste. Have to trust the food mayor of Sibu as you made sure and you’re sure.
Yes, I’m very sure…and you can be sure that I’m sure so you can be as sure too, that’s for sure.
That bowl of chili kampua, look awesome, just the way i like it. Slurp! Now i am munching my banana cake while reading this. 😦
Pian sip soup, can add some vinegar and wine into it..so yum yum!
LOL!!! Banana cake also nice mah. Hehehehehe!!!! Yup, my missus would pour half a bottle of red wine into the pian sip soup that she buys home – I do not like it like that. Just a bit would be ok. But the pian sip here – the skin was thick and the meat was quite tasteless, not nice. Better to go elsewhere if it’s pian sip that you want. The kampua’s ok, quite good…and the kolo mee is nice, just a bit expensive. 😦
Looks promising but yeah, it doesn’t even look like kolo mee – wrong type of noodles.
Is that squid on top of the siu mai?
Nope, imitation crab sticks more likely. Yup…kolo mee should be thinner and more curly – obviously they just use the same that they have for their kampua…but it tasted pretty good, so it was ok. I’ve had the so-called kolo mee at a number of places elsewhere that sucked big time. Tsk! Tsk! 😦
wahhh, i count six balls in that kolo mee and lotsa meat topped on the noodles. i’d have guessed RM5 for that if u hadn’t listed the price 😀
That’s KL price. Hehehehehe!!!! Here, maybe RM3.50 would be all right…considering that they’re all those frozen supermarket stuff, not own handmade.
wah, rm2.30 only, i must try this when back to Malaysia~ =D
You’ll have to come here for that… 😉
Sir, i miss tien pien hu… please go eat on behalf of me… first bite shout my name hor….
Not my favourite. I once ordered a bowl and I could not even finish half of it… 😦
All considered very cheap lo, can’t find this kind of prices in KL!!! =]
I guess not. That’s the price for living in the city.
Wow! The kolo mee looks really good with the fried garlic and the generous portion of the ingredients! Like Like!
It certainly more more colourful and photogenic than our Sibu original – the kampua mee.