Quest for the best Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee (SIN-KCH on AirAsia and SilkAir)

[ycp81]

Missing the great food in Kuching, Sarawak and being the foodie Singaporean, I booked a weekend trip to Kuching over the recent weekend, with flights up on AirAsia and return on Silkair. At the time of booking less than a month ago, the return flight on full-service Silkair was actually cheaper than on the LCC AirAsia!

Rushed to the airport after work on a Friday evening. Terminal One's newly renovated check-in counters at Rows 11/12.




We have already pre-printed boarding passes. Just make sure to clear immigration by the stated boarding time or you would be sent to the AirAsia service desk to have the boarding pass verified (which happened in my case as I was 4min too late)




Proceeded to D35 for boarding. There was still a line at security and boarding had just started.





28 October 2016
Air Asia
AK 1772
Singapore (SIN) - Kuching (KCH)
A320
9M-AHL
Economy Class
Flight Time: 1H04M


Boarding. Nope, we are not boarding a yellow Scootie aircraft.




Instead, it was a "Prince Lubricants" special-liveried aircraft.




Standard LCC-ish seat pitch with more advertising on the seat.




View out the window.




Inflight mags




It was a totally full flight. Flight time to be slightly more than an hour. Doors closed, safety demonstration performed and started the long taxi to the runway.






Departure from Rwy02C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUfZrx6WaBQ


Right turn shortly after lift off.




View of cabin.

[ycp81]

Not yet taken dinner, I pre-ordered hot meals for the flight. Tried the festive selection of Asok's Butter Masala Chicken Briyani and Kabali Vegetable Briyani.






With the cover opened, both selection actually looked similar, with the only difference being the butter chicken or mock meat at the side. Taste wise, it was pretty decent though spicy. Meal came with a cup of water.






Very soon, we were descending into Kuching, with some beautiful night views of the city seen.






Landing on Rwy25 ahead of schedule.






Video of landing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIl0ez3EKR8


Disembarking.




A decent experience on AirAsia for the short flight, with decently priced BOB meals and punctual flights.


Stayed at Pullman Kuching for 2 nights, and the deluxe room was huge and comfortable, with a bathroom that is almost as big as the already sizable bedroom.

[ycp81]

Supper was at a nearby supper joint, Teresa Laksa, where I had my first taste of Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee for the trip. The laksa was actually pretty good and was well-recommended too. Also has the Sarawak-available only Teh-C Special (3-layered tea).










Spotted my first kuching in Kuching as well haha. Kuching is actually the malay word for cat, hence Kuching is also known as the Cat City.




Nice view from my hotel room the next morning.




Brunch was at Lee Coffee Shop along Jln Ban Hock, a 10min walk from the hotel. Again, had the usual Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee, as well as mini "burgers" and bak kut teh. Not forgetting a glass of cold Teh-C Special!

[ycp81]

Had a simple and tasty seafood dinner at See Good Seafood Restaurant. Apart from the usual seafood dishes, also ordered the popular wild fern "midin" dish, a must try when in Sarawak!












And a sweet ending with sinful cakes from Secret Recipe cafe.






Breakfast on the final day was at Choon Hui cafe, a very popular eatery in Kuching, famed for its Sarawak Laksa and touted as the best in Kuching. Even Anthony Bourdain is a fan of the laksa and visited the eatery twice to have it! The cafe only sells a few selection of items (toast, popiah, kolo mee and laksa), and we had it all. It was a long wait for the laksa, but was definitely worth it.

[Pinkfloyd]

Cheers for the TR! Midin is good but I much prefer Mani Chye stir-fried with egg... If you get the chance, try the local Kelabit cuisine... it's pretty good... And let's not forget the Tuak!!

[ycp81]

And the famed Choon Hui Sarawak Laksa arrived after more than 30min of waiting. Well worth the wait!




Our final meal in Kuching was a late lunch/early dinner at a busy eatery in Chinatown. Of course, also had my last bowl of Sarawak laksa before leaving Kuching!








Verdict: Sarawak Laksa and Kolo Mee are the staple dishes of Kuchingnites. All the ones I tried are pretty good and it is hard to determine the best as it is up to individual preferences, an the taste do vary among the many stalls. I must say that I have not been disappointed with any of the ones I have tried so far.


Proceeded to the airport for the evening Silkair flight back to Singapore. For unknown reasons, the check-in hall has yellowish lighting and was very dimly lit compared to the rest of the terminal. No queues for check-in even though it was a full flight. Due to overbooking, the flight was upgraded from the original A319 to an A320.




Boarding pass issued.





Departures for the evening.





30 October 2016
SilkAir
MI 377
Kuching (KCH) - Singapore (SIN)
A320
9V-SLO
Economy Class
Flight Time: 1H07M


Boarding was on-time and orderly.




Decent seat pitch. Blankets and pillows were available on request.




View out the window.




November edition of the inflight magazine.




SilkAir Studio wireless streaming IFE selection. Wet towels were distributed after boarding was completed.

[calvinoeh]

Slrrppp... man I'm hungry and miss home looking at those pictures. Thanks for the trip report...

[yflyer]

Nice TR, ycp81! The food looks so good! I am a big fan of Sarawak hawker fare too...esp the Sarawak laksa (Which is practically a different dish from Singapore Nonya laksa) and kolo mee...

[ycp81]

Even though boarding was completed early, pushback was delayed due to a maintenance issue, as informed by the captain. Necessary paperwork was required after the issue was fixed, which resulted in a 30min delay.

Finally doors were closed and safety video played as we pushed back.




A quick taxi to the mid-section of the runway and departed into the night via Rwy25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7HZWHLQb9c







Very shortly after takeoff, refreshment service started immediately. Service was very good and crew responded to all requests swiftly even though the flight was full.




On offer today was a warm Chicken Masala Wrap, along with a full range of beverages. The wrap actually tasted rather good and portion was quite big too.








Very soon, we were approaching Changi from the north and landed very smoothly on Rwy20R. We were almost 20min late though due to the delayed departure from Kuching.






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIdAVdsMV20


Taxied to Terminal 2 where we parked beside a Scoot Dreamliner.




Disembarking.




A very comfortable flight on SilkAir, with good service and pretty decent catering on this short sector, and was made even sweeter with the price even lower than LCC AirAsia!

Thanks for reading and hope you have enjoyed the food pictures!

[ycp81]

Nice TR, ycp81! The food looks so good! I am a big fan of Sarawak hawker fare too...esp the Sarawak laksa (Which is practically a different dish from Singapore Nonya laksa) and kolo mee...

Thanks! Fell in love with Sarawak hawker fare as well after my first trip few years back. Gonna make yearly "pilgrimage" to Kuching just to satisfy my Sarawak laksa and kolo mee craving

[ycp81]

Cheers for the TR! Midin is good but I much prefer Mani Chye stir-fried with egg... If you get the chance, try the local Kelabit cuisine... it's pretty good... And let's not forget the Tuak!!

Will try these next time!

[9V-JKL]

Thanks for sharing one of my fave places in Malaysia..... need a trip there again soon