I will wait…

My cousins were horrified when I told them where I would be going for breakfast the following morning and tried to dissuade me, saying that I might have to wait for as long as two hours and I would be able to get something just as nice or even better elsewhere. However, my mind was made up so there I was at this place, Noodle Descendents…

…along Jalan Padungan, somewhere in the middle…

…in Kuching. It did not matter much to me as I was in no hurry to go anywhere or do anything so I just told myself, “Yes, I will wait!”

I cannot remember exactly the last time I had it but it sure was a very very long time ago, back in those days when I was involved in doing some work for the then-called Curriculum Section in the state Education Department and the office was a stone’s throw away in the old Pavilion Building, opposite the Kuching General Office. That would probably be sometime in the early 90’s when I went with my friends/colleagues to this little coffee shop at the corner of Bishop Gate Street beside its junction with Carpenter Street. I can still recall how packed it was but we did manage to get a table and a little boy took our orders – we were amazed by how he could remember everything even though each of us wanted this or did not want that and when we were served, we got everything the way we wanted it!

Well, they have moved from there to the present location for quite a while now and have changed its name as well. This current place is very nice and very clean, not quite the regular coffee shop kind of place and the noodle stall was right in front…

…at the entrance. That guy sure does not look old so my guess would be that he’s one of the “descendents” who have taken over the family business.

There are not all that many tables in that spacious shop so we had to share with one very friendly guy and it was a good thing that we did as he told us what we were supposed to do or not do. He said that we would just have to find a seat and sit down and wait. Somebody will come…eventually…to take our orders and yes, somebody did! It was way past 8.00 a.m. already and the guy making the drinks had not showed up for work yet so we could not order our drinks till he finally appeared. In the meantime, we sat and chatted…and waited for our noodles. The guy’s family who opted to eat at a coffee shop a short distance away came over as they had finished so he had to cancel his order and left with them but I did see him tapao-ing some of the noodles to take away with him.

This would be their regular kolo mee with meat (RM4.77)…

…but I had their kosong (RM2.12)…

…no meat, and the mixed soup, small (RM6.36)…

I don’t quite remember their noodles, how good they were that last time I had it so very long ago, but the fact that I truly loved their soup has always remained clear in my mind – that, to me then, was the main attraction…and yes, I must say that I enjoyed it very much that morning and the noodles as well.

I was kind of surprised though that they gave this with the orders…

…as I am more accustomed with the usual sliced chili, red or green, dipped in vinegar at the kolo mee stalls that I have been to in Kuching but they do it a little differently here.

As for whether it was worth the wait – around one hour or so…

…I would agree with my cousins that one could have something just as nice elsewhere or settle for something that is second best without having to spend so much time sitting there before one would get served. In other words, if one is in a hurry and does not have all that time to spare, it would be best to head elsewhere but if one does not mind sticking around, chit-chatting…or reading the morning’s papers…or these days, many would be able to kill time easily browsing online on their smartphones, then this is a good place in the city to check out for kolo mee and the very nice soup.

This is their menu in front of the stall…

…and if you look at the aforementioned prices, you do need to fork out a little bit more for the GST payable. Here, you pay for all your orders, food and drinks inclusive, at the counter a little to the back, beside the drink stall, after you have finished eating.

Incidentally, I did not know about this before but it seemed that parking would be for just half an hour per ticket. If you wish to park longer, you would need to come back every half an hour and put a new ticket each time – otherwise, the parking fee payable would be progressively more for the next half an hour and the next and the next. It is not like here in Sibu where it is 42 sen per half an hour, and if one would be gone for say, 2 hours, one can just leave 4 half-an-hour tickets or 2 one-hour tickets on the dashboard. You can’t do this in Kuching, it seems – the attendant will come round and issue tickets for over-parking and you would have to go to a booth some place to pay the surcharge.

Well, I came and I had what I had wanted – something that had been a lingering memory in my mind all this time…