Walking in the dark…

I would usually go to bed early, at around 9.00 p.m. and get up at around 4 or 5 when it is still dark. Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy and wise, so they say.

However, when I was in Kuching, I did not call it a day that early, past 10 or later and yet, I would wake up at around that same time. That was why I could go out and walk around in the dark in search of something I could try for my pre-breakfast breakfast.

The first morning there, I had the kueh chap at Lao Ya Keng and the second morning, I went around the area to see what else I could find. This one…

…was open and looking at what was available at the stall in front, much to my delight, I saw that they had duck noodles!

I loved the duck kolo mee at Sg Tenggang, a little bazaar along the road from Kuching to Sibu so of course, I wasted no time in ordering that…

I can’t remember how much that was now – I think it was RM4.50-5.00 – things are not as cheap as in Sibu there. The duck was fine but they tossed the noodles in the gravy from cooking the braised duck so it drowned out the kolo mee taste plus it was way too strong on the ginger and I did not really enjoy it. In the end, I just finished the meat and left most of the noodles behind.

There was a lane beside the shop and there were a kueh chap and a chicken rice stall there and tables and chairs laid out for customers to sit and eat. I did not bother about those, of course.

I did notice this coffee shop…

…at the corner of Carpenter Street and China Street that morning because of the lovely blue windows and all the plants around them…

One of my cousins told me the following day that their traditional Hakka handmade noodles from this stall there…

…was nice so I went back on another morning to give it a try…

*Oopsss!!! Sorry for the blurry pic!*

I can’t remember how much that was either, probably the same as the duck mee and I also asked for a bowl of the kiaw, dry…

…or what we call pian sip in Sibu except that they only look the same – the ones here had more meat and all lean, it seemed so it was kind of “coarse”. Other than that, perhaps it was the preparation, the ingredients added and maybe the texture of the skin as well so it did not taste the same either. My girl had this at Lao Ya Keng and she liked it – as for me, I think I would stick to our good ol’ Sibu pain sip.

I saw that they had mutton noodles at the stall and later, somebody told me that it was nice, and their beef noodles too but I did not have time to go back and try. Another time perhaps!

The duck mee coffee shop (1.558132, 110.34614) is two doors to the left of Ann Lee Restaurant along Carpenter Street in Kuching, separated from the Kuching Hainan Association to its left by a small lane and Nyan Shin Cafe (1.558215, 110.345923) is located to the right at the corner, at the junction of the aforementioned street and China Street.