After two nights in Kuching, all too soon, it was time for Philip and I to head back home.
We stopped by the Open Air Market with the intention of having breakfast there but the guy had just started steaming the stuff so in the end, Philip just bought the sio bee and the char siew pao that he wanted. still frozen, plus a big pao for me to try and we left to head across river to get his kek lapis and fruit cake. Having done that, we went to this shop…
…along Green Road for breakfast. This is one of the most famous in Kuching for its kolo mee…
…so I felt it was a good place to go to for that. Gosh!!! It was so crowded with tables laid out all over in front of the shop and even the one next door. Luckily, despite that, we were able to grab a table and our orders came very fast.
Philip had the regular (RM3.50)…
…while I had the special (RM5.00)…
…but they looked almost identical to me. It seemed that there was more meat in the special, that was about all…but I really thought the noodles were really very very nice. It had a stronger flavour than those elsewhere and I could sense the strong garlic fragrance that I liked a lot.
A cousin of mine, the one who took me out for lunch on the day I arrived, dropped by to pass me some stuff but I will blog about that in another post at a later date. As soon as we were done, we left the place and were on our way. Initially, we went on the four-lane highway…
…out of Kuching and past Serian but that did not mean that it was an easier and smoother ride. There were a lot of cars with some very unpredictable drivers at times. Later, the road became narrower with only two lanes…
…the rest of the way – one going and one coming, that was all but there were not many cars and even though there were some slow coaches going at a snail’s pace, there were quite a few overtaking lanes along the way. There were parts where the road could get quite hilly and were rather winding but at least, it was smooth with none of those uneven and bumpy patches that I would encounter on my way from Sibu to Selangau when sending my daughter to her jungle school and coming back. Other than that, there seemed to be comparatively a lot fewer vehicles on the road so that certainly made the drive a whole lot nicer.
On the way, we made a pit-stop at this little bazaar…
…that had only two rows of shops, one longer one…
…and a shorter one at the far end. No, no…the spelling is correct – they did not forget an n or anything. Hehehehehehe!!!
There was a shop selling these very nice ethnic handicrafts…
…where I was particularly attracted to these beautiful scabbards…
…made of beads for the parang (the ethnic version of the sword).
All along the front of the shops were stalls selling all kinds of jungle produce, fruits and so on. There were quite a few like this man selling durians…
…and other types of fruits like these buah terap, for instance…
I bought these dabai (black olives)…
…for only RM10 a kilo, around half the price they’re charging in Sibu and when we ate them at home, I was delighted that they were really very very nice.
I also got these bua’ alung…
…which were only RM2 for a basketful to dry the skin to use for cooking – they are very sour like asam keping (dried tamarind slices).
These terung Dayak are also sour…
…and I got a basketful for RM5.00 – there were 6 big ones altogether. I hear they are selling these in Kuching for around RM10 a kilo.
Actually, we stopped by here as all the time, I had the understanding that this was the place famous for its very delicious kolo mee with braised duck but when we asked around, it turned out that one would have to go to Sg Tenggang for that, not here. I had seen that place earlier – we had already gone past it and there was no way we would want to turn back. I wanted to go on our way but Philip insisted that we might as well stop awhile at this coffee shop…
…and try their kolo mee…
…since we were already there. I thought it was nice, anytime a whole lot nicer than those pale imitations that we have in Sibu.
Soon after that, we were back on the road again…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
the parang very nice!!! i like the colorful corak on the parang 🙂
Yes, very nice. Wanna take one home? Come, come… 😉
Your photos are beautiful. Sorry I haven’t been here in a bit, I am having some health issues.
Thanks for your kind words. I’ve been away myself – to another town here, just got back Wednesday…so I had not been blog-hopping as much, just made sure I replied to comments in my blog.
Yeah, that is one of the more popular places for kolo mee in Kuching! 🙂
I mean everyone has their favorite, but general consensus, definitely a top contender. I personally don’t like it coz it’s too crowded and the service can be a bit hurried e.g. if you finish your kolo mee, they’ll take the bowl away before you even have time to light a smoke and finish your drink!
I personally don’t like to be rushed like that, I can still remember this place does that, pet peeve of mine so I never went here often unless someone wanted to go.
I do love Open Air though, miss the gu bak mee there so much! The sio bee is something else too, with a bowl of ang tao peng, that’s soul food that satisfies one deep down indeed!
Haha! Need to go to Kuching soon, waxing lyrical.
Welcome back to Sibu!
The popular Open Air ang tao peng isw no longer there – blogged about its new location yesterday. We did not stay long enough at that Green Road place – just had the mee quickly and left quickly so we could be on our way home. You’d love RTM Cafe in Sibu then – can just sit there and chat the whole day. 😀
Yeah, I read that bit about the ang tao peng moving.
It was just my favorite thing, eating those 3 things – beef tripe noodles, sio bee, ang tao peng, so that’s what I miss so much! 😀
Haha! I don’t want to stay the whole day, I just can’t stand people taking away my plate/bowl when I *just* finished and haven’t even SWALLOWED my last mouthful. I think it’s rude but a lot of places do that if they’re full and wants to turn over tables fast.
Wow!!! That bad, eh? We did sit a while to chat as one of my cousins dropped by. Maybe they’re not so desperate now as they have a lot more tables up front…and even in front of the next door shop. The last time I went sometime ago, they only had tables inside the shop…and it was not at all comfortable, hot and stuffy and all.
Hi, I just saw your comment on my blog about your comment disappearing. 😦 So sorry about this, there must have been a Blogger glitch, as I only saw your “Oops” comment, not the comment you originally made. I am so glad you are back. 🙂
Lost in cyberspace. Often happens with blogger.com, it seems. Saw people complaining about their comments disappearing in other blogs as well.
Saw that’s no clouds in the sky, was the weather very hot that day?
It’s VERY hot every day here for a long time now.
I thought kolo mee special got all the innards but it seems no difference at all, just a bit more of minced meat. Terung dayak so cheap, I bought 2 from 5.40 at the Stutong market and was told RM12 a kilo. Love the ethnic handicrafts, beautiful & attractive.
You don’t know kah? Not at this Green Road one. And the soup that I love so much, they do not have it here either. I think they told me that on my previous visit a long time ago and I had forgotten all about it.
Yes, my cousins and aunties are all complaining that the terung Dayak is so so so expensive in Kuching.
Yes, I know about this kopitiam and people are praising high to the skies about their kolo mee but I never step foot there. 1st thing, bad traffic jam, 2nd, always long queue.
It must have been our lucky day – no jam, smooth traffic along the whole of Green Road, no problem finding a parking space (had to pay of course), there was a table available, I ordered the noodles from the man himself and we were served very quickly. I was glad we had the chance to eat there before we left town.
wow, so many photos, my first load failed to show all photos, need to refresh the page to get all the photos loaded!! my lousy internet connection.. nice little bazaar there huh, like they have everything, and many things i have never seen before (or shall i say, never seen before in real but definitely seen before in pics here)..
Would be good if you hop over sometime to see the real thing. Connection has been poor for quite a while now, something wrong somewhere. I would have to connect and disconnect after each comment I make or reply to any. Frankly, the internet has made me a very patient man – in the past, I would have gone raging mad and given up long ago.
I’ve seen dabai, but never seen bua’ alung and the terung dayak.. Looks like persimmons..
Nothing like that. I think this is more like from the same family as the tomato.
The RM5.00 and RM3.50 seem not much difference to me except more minced meat and char siew, i thought will be others additional ingredients…
That was what I was expecting too…
What a fruitful trip, Arthur! So when is your next destination? 🙂
I love going on trips like this.. sitting back and enjoy the goodies, local food and sightseeing. But of course, knowing myself, I need to “rejuvenate” for some time before another trip is planned.. 🙂
I left for Bintulu a few days later…and now I’m back again. Watch out for the posts on that trip. Well, I’m a lot older than you – I find it is more tiring once I get back, never mind driving or flying – sleepy all the time, will take a few days to go back to normal.
Tak borong dabai back and sell triple the price ?
No sampling – if I had known it was so good, I would have bought a whole lot to give to everybody back home in Sibu.
I think their special one is more meat added… lol. The roads seems so quiet over there but I guess it’s nice driving though also dangerous as it’s quite narrow.
Nothing like the highways over at your side, of course – see how we have been shortchanged? Yes, it did seem narrower, even narrower than between Sibu and my daughter’s school…and maybe it was the time of day, there seemed to be a lot fewer cars and vehicles on the road as well. It certainly was a pleasant drive as the road though winding and hilly in parts was not bumpy, smooth drive all the way.
kolo mee special.. :D.. i seem to be seeing a lot of kolo mee on your blog, I must call you the Kolo Mee expert already! hehe.
You mean these few days when I was in Kuching or you are grossly confused between kolo mee and Sibu kampua? Looks like you’re another one who needs to read this:
http://www.sharesinv.com/articles/2010/11/30/myths-on-mee-debunking-the-myths-on-sarawak%E2%80%99s-kampua-noodles/
They’re as different as curry laksa and Penang asam laksa and even the names are different.
The buah terap looks like cempedak or nangka. So what is it llke? The bua’alung look like cherries and the terung Dayak look like persimmon. But both sour! These are fruits I never get to see over here.
Terap is the same family as the cempedak and nangka – of the three, I like it best, much nicer than both of them but even so, I would not bother to go and buy. Bua’alung is not like cherry, they say the inside of the fruit tastes like manggis, not a fan of that as well…and the terung Dayak seems more like the tomato, probably the same family. Hop over and you will get to see all these and more!
That Green road kolok mee business is so good. Need to go very early to avoid the crowd and long wait. I love the kolok mee and kiaw soup there!!
It is black olive season now. Pretty cheap. RM10 only.
We were there around 9, not real early and everything was fine. Lots of people but not a problem at all, in any way. Yup, the dabai was a lot cheaper than in Sibu…and a lot nicer too!
Wow 2 kolo mee in the day! Kolo mee overload! Hehe but totally worth it!
Yes, one for breakfast and one for lunch. We had something else for our early dinner or was it our late lunch? LOL!!! Next post…
I’d like to try all of those exotic fruits – maybe not exotic for you, but for me yes!
Not just you, even for many around here – many of them would not have seen them…or even if they have, they may not know how to go about eating them – never tried all their lives. Lots here are not very adventurous, wouldn’t mind the same thing day in, day out.
Got noticed the difference for ‘regular’ & ‘special’, firstly the spelling, then the price & finally different bowl used, perhaps an extra of minced meat for you…;),
Clever boy, this kim chio!! Pat pat on the head! 😀
Gorgeous kolo mee!!
Is it dabai season now?? Yum yum!!
Now I know, there is place named Lachau, interesting name and place.
Yes, so many things about our own home state that we don’t know. I knew of the place but first time stopping by. Really enjoyed this short trip to Kuching and coming back by road. By the way, there is a town in China by that same name with the n – I always avoided saying it out loud when teaching Geography but the students would do that and laugh themselves silly, those monkeys! 😀
By the look of it I still can’t differentiate kolo mee and kampua?
Kolo mee has real char siew and minced meat (and at times, other things as well), authentic kampua would have a few thin slices of red-coloured boiled boiled meat only but these days, there are those hybrids that look like kolo mee but is actually kampua in disguise. Their tastes are different – can’t pass off one as the other.