Old Bazaar Café, Kuching

images by Veronica Ng

Lot 65 – 66, Lebuh Wayang 93000 Kuching Tel 082 238521

No pork served. Free Wifi. Open 7 days a week.

 

Old Bazaar Cafe is located right in the city center of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The premise used to be an old theater in front of a temple, believed to be the oldest temple in Kuching. The existing theater is still being used for religious celebration purpose nowadays, with 3 Chinese operas a year during March, April and August.

 

Their 3 kitchens serve a variety of Asian fusion local Borneo, Chinese and Malay food featuring noodles and fried rice. A firm favorite is the salted egg fried kueh teow. 'Lok Lok' steamboat can also be found here. The homemade chicken rice is extremely popular and there are expansion plans for a Satay garden at the side of the café. A recent addition is the San Francisco Grill with an Englishman from the UK as chef.

 

There are plans to expand the current 60 seater arrangement to a 120 seater outlet due to its popularity both among locals and tourists. There are also 2 air conditioned cozily furnished private rooms for functions.  For entertainment there are cultural dances and acoustic performances.

 

Besides the usual pouring liquors and wines, this place offers customers a taste of Sarawak’s original Tuak which it sources from a Bidayuh village. The outlet does not sport any draught beer taps, preferring to sell its Heineken, Tiger and Stout by the bottle. Non tipplers can indulge in both hot and ice cold Nescafe, Cappucino, Tea, White coffee, Milo, Teh tarik, Lemon and green tea, soft drinks, pulpy juice or refreshing bottled mineral water

Happy hours start daily from 1530 - 2100

The extremely friendly operator Alex Yap is always around to offer you his personalized brand of hospitality.

Old Bazaar Cafe is highly recommended by frigglive.com for its all round feel good factor. Do check it out on your next visit.

Premier 101 Food Court, Kuching

We'll let Veronica Ng's pictures tell you the story

Jalan Tun Jugah, Kuching, 93350, Sarawak.

 Yes, they really have 101 food stalls here

 Bamboo Chicken

 Bamboo Chicken

 BBQ Chicken

 Portuguese Grilled Fish

 Herbal Pork Soup with Mee Sua

 Kolo Mee

 Midin/Pucuk Paku/Fern shoots

 Pork Satay

 Salt Baked Chicken

Seafood Kueh Teow

Madam Tang Restaurant, Kuching

images by Veronica Ng

Jalan Petanak, 93450 Kuching, Sarawak

Operation Hours: 7am - 12pm

Madam Tang’s serves the usual laksa Sarawak, but with a wide range of toppings and sizes. They also cater nasi lemak, kolo mee and beef noodles which are extra scrumptious as well.

Madam Tang’s looks like any other kopitiam with an ambience almost like Ipoh Oldtown White Coffee.

A must-have is the Laksa Sarawak, a signature dish in Kuching. The bowl of Laksa topped with prawns, chicken slices, omelette strips and bean sprouts is served in a fragrant spicy coconut milk soup with a side of sambal belacan and lime.

Prices range from RM5.80 (classic) to RM13.80 for the special version. There are also other choices to choose from, including beef noodle, a traditional dish with braised beef. This type of laksa is quite different to the common types of curry or asam laksa as it contains sambal belacan (a chilli shrimp paste). A squeeze of lime into the belacan paste mixed into the Sarawak laksa and you’re good to go.

Carpenter Street, Kuching, Sarawak

images by Veronica Ng

In the old days, Carpenter Street was called "attap street" because of the thatch houses on both sides. This was where carpenters set up their workshop, earning the street its name.

A facelift took place in 1884, by courtesy of a big fire that razed all the wooden houses along the street. Charles Brooke, the then White Rajah of Sarawak, issued a decree that henceforth the houses to be rebuilt with non inflammable material. This necessitated the construction of the more permanent brick shop houses along Carpenter Street, a few of them surviving till today.

During those days, Carpenter Street was a lower working class neighborhood filled with opium dens, gambling joints, brothels and other clandestine activities. These were eventually cleaned up by the British.

The whole area oozes charm and character. Off Leboh China there is a row of perfectly preserved 19th century Chinese houses. Kuching's oldest streets dating back to 1864 is a row of 2 storey shop houses. Today it is considered as an 'antique arcade' because of its old-fashioned facade and for the variety of antiques and handicrafts sold here. Souvenir-hunters can seek out an assortment of traditional brassware, pottery, ceramics, tribal arts and many unique souvenirs of Asia.

The main entrance is at the eastern end of Carpenter Street opposite the Old Courthouse compound. Otherwise, you can find the Chinatown in the Main Bazaar area along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman opposite the Kuching Waterfront and Leboh Cina (Upper China Street).

Kuching Chinatown is marked with a grandiose Chinese-inspired red archway that certainly indicates the entry point of this popular shopping and eating place. The refurbished old shophouses sport brightly painted walls and windows, garbage-free streets. Kuching is a clean city.

Most of the shops along Carpenter Street are selling mostly non-touristy stuff. You will find bicycle shops, book stores, hardware stores, antique furniture stores and quaint kopitiams, although there are a number of establishments that cater to tourists, namely the Carpenter Guesthouse which seems like a decent backpacking place, Century Café which provides a great cocktail bar, and the exquisite looking Chinese restaurant.

There are also many Chinese temples in the precinct. Along Carpenter Street alone, there are two of them, with delicate stone carvings and pagodas. The most popular temple has to be the Tua Pek Kong temple along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman which is the oldest Tokong Cina in the city.

The temple is believed to be built back in 1843 although the city's official records show its came into existence only in 1876. Opposite the old temple is the Chinese History Museum which displays the history of the Chinese community in Kuching and Sarawak in general, tracing their heritage from various migration origins in mainland China. The museum is opened every day except on Fridays.

The temple is built back in 1843 opposite the old temple is the Chinese History Museum (Muzium Sejarah Cina). The museum displays some history of the Chinese community in Kuching and Sarawak in general, tracing their heritage from various migration origins in mainland China.

Main Bazaar along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman is a must-visit in many travel itineraries. Main Bazaar showcases almost similar characteristics of the old shop houses on Carpenter Street and Leboh Cina, with fancy souvenir outlets as the norm rather than an exception. 

We went to the famous open air ( Lau Ya Keng) opposite the Temple where Pork satay and fishball beehoon are some of the specialties. Main Bazaar, opposite the Waterfront, is the oldest street and the heart of old Kuching. It has some superb examples of Chinese shop house architecture, many of which have been occupied by the same family for generations. These families still pursue traditional occupations such as tin-smiting, carpentry and petty trading.