Archive for March 2015

OLD KUCHING: CARPENTER STREET PART 3, KIM JOO

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sking who Mr Kim Joo was, had to be one of the stupidest questions I had ever asked a store owner. It was a combination of curiosity and me trying to crack a joke. Unbeknownst to me and maybe quite a few patrons over the years, there never was a Mr Kim Joo. According to Mr Ming, the grandson of the founder of Kim Joo, it apparently was just a cool name Mr Ming’s grandfather made up for the coffee shop we know now today.


Though Kim Joo is a coffee shop whose age spans three generations, it was not until Mr Ming’s mother ran the shop that it began to sell Kolo Mee. For the older generation who were patrons of Mr Ming’s grandfather, they will know Kim Joo as a cake shop as opposed to a place now famous for its Kolo Mee. It isn't known when exactly Mr Ming’s grandfather started his business, but what is known is that they've been registered here since 1953.

Fast-forward back to 2015, Kim Joo is a quaint coffee shop that you might glance over if you’re not adventurous enough. Of course, you’d be missing out if you did. The simple layout makes for a pretty chill and care-free feel, while the family members that run Kim Joo, are welcoming and always keen to strike up a conversation.



Of course, they recommended me to try the Kolo Mee while I also requested to try the “Cheng”, which they are also famous for. Cheng, if you’re not familiar with the term – is what people in Kuching use to describe mixed pork soup that accompanies a bowl of plain Noodles.


My order was a little unconventional as I ordered Cheng for two portions with two bowls of Straight Mee and Mee Pok (Local lingo used to describe thin flat noodles) topped with Char Siew and some fried garlic. The total damage for that meal including two drinks was RM19.50.





I have never been a big fan of Cheng, especially when they involve me waiting an hour for *Ahem*, but I have found myself rather enjoying this comforting bowl of soup. If you're wondering, it didn't take very long at all to arrive at my table. Back to the Cheng, it is rather unconventional as most Cheng I’ve tried has strong flavours of pork, whereas the flavour of pork in this bowl is more of an accompaniment to the flavour of seaweed. It isn’t a bad thing, as it brings a good fresh contrast to the heavy flavours usually found in Cheng.  


It is good to note, that the pickles present also bring a good sourness while the bean sprouts add a good crunch of texture as you dig through the soup. Among the other worthy ingredients found here are the meatballs that are springy, and pieces of meat and spare parts that were cooked well. I must note that I didn’t taste much or any seasoning for the meats in this bowl, but I suppose it was done to not clash with the flavour of the soup.


The star of the meal comes in the form of these noodles. Cooked well to be rather springy and al dente while being drizzled with black vinegar, lard and topped with fried garlic and the all-important Char Siew. The black vinegar brings sourness to the aroma of the pungent garlic to provide a good bright flavour of balance to the noodles.



The Char Siew is disappointingly similar to most places in terms of the lack of flavour in them. Regardless, it is juicy and the fat present is evident of a certain home-made care.

Overall, it is easy to see why Kim Joo is popular among new and old clientele as the homey atmosphere coupled with the Asian equivalent of Soul Food is both comforting and delicious. What is hard instead, is to imagine a Carpenter Street without Kim Joo after how long it has made its mark within the hearts and satisfied tummy’s of the Kuching people.

Kim Joo’s operating hours are listed in the picture below.



You may also find them at this location.




Thank you for reading, so please like, share and comment if you have enjoyed reading this post. As a little gratitude, here's a sneak preview of where we'll be headed next Tuesday around 7 to 8pm Malaysian Time :) 


OLD KUCHING, CARPENTER STREET PART 2: NYAN SHIN

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mong all of the places we’ll visit throughout this multi-part series of food, none holds a greater place in my heart within this street than Nyan Shin. No it isn’t the cute setup they have, but how family oriented this shop is. Yes, you will see family members from cute grannies to grandkids that are currently in their early 20’s, but those aren’t who I’m mainly talking about. I’m talking about you too. The customers.


Badass Old guy and Candid Shot with me in glasses


In my experience at least, I’ve never felt unwelcome. Even when a trip is months apart from the last, the owner will exclaim, “Minced Beef Noodles!” when I try to order.




As hospitable as they may be though, good hospitality isn’t enough to bring you forward in the food industry. Fortunately, hospitality isn’t the only thing that draws customers here as the food is superb. Besides, you don’t get to sell the exact same bowl of noodles for three generations spanning the course of a century if it wasn't the case.



First of all, the noodles here are a little different from what you may be used to. Not only are they fresh, but they are also home-made. The noodles maintain its springiness while soaking up the juices (which also usually are topped up with lard by the way) that they are exposed to, thus creating noodles with mildly different tastes depending on what bowl you order.


Its ability to soak up juices is admittedly prone to drying to dish quicker than most, which means a drier bowl of noodles if you’re not quick to act. My word of advice is to not spend most of your time taking food pictures for your food/travel blog if you want to make sure that you finish this quickly before it dries up.


On that note, let’s try us some Hakka Noodles!


If I have to be honest, this is the most lacklustre of the few you will try here. On top of the noodles, you will have fresh spring onions that add a full aroma on top of the Char Siew and Minced Pork. 



The Char Siew isn’t anything to really sing about as it’s too thinly sliced to notice if it’s juicy or not, while the Minced Pork on the other hand is juicy and appropriately sized to still be able to taste mild flavours of pork.



The Wan Tan Noodles are similar in hand with the Kolo Mee in the sense that it is also topped with similar garnishes, but what the Wan Tan noodles lack in ingredients, it does well in its simplicity – if that’s what you’re looking for.


The Wan Tan has a nice bite to its skin as you can see, while still being soft. The inside of the Wan Tan is a good mixture of fat and pork meat that you can still taste the texture of the grounds as it isn’t overworked. Mind you, there might be a little more MSG for those who don’t like the taste.



The Taiwan Beef Noodles, as the name suggests isn’t really one of their more traditional bowl of noodles that they sell here. The noodles swim in a savoury beef flavoured broth while topped with some fresh herbs, a sliced tomato (which feels a little out of place), pickled cabbage and slices of juicy beef.





















The pickles contrary to what you may expect, is more salty than sour while the slices of beef are mildly seasoned to bring out the flavours of beef. Together, they aren’t as balanced as one might like as it leans more towards the saltier side of things but once again, to each his own.



If the Taiwan Beef Noodles bring forth natural flavours of the meat used, the Mutton noodles do the same in bringing out the natural flavours of Mutton. 



The slices are thick enough to feel the texture of the juicy Mutton and are cooked perfectly to slide off the bone. In terms of garnishes, it’s rather simple with only herbs to top it but it does well to balance the heavy flavours of the Mutton.


The coup de grace to this trip is the Minced Beef Noodles. This bowl is my personal favourite and is the noodles that have brought Nyan Shin to fame since its first inception about a century ago – and it’s easy to see why.


While simple at first glance, the textures that play in your palate is the combination of crispy pork and garlic that top the juicy Minced Beef. 


They are not stingy with their portion either, as this amount ensures that you have everything you need with each pull of noodles if mixed well. The balance of Beef and Pork sing as the pork complements the flavour of beef with crunchy pork bits and lard that coats the Minced Beef.



This business has been alive for a long time, and it makes perfect sense when you look back on the warm welcome that this family gives to their customers as well as providing delicious food. It seems fitting that an establishment with their legacy chose to set up shop in one of the most historical food streets in Kuching. Carpenter Street is very lucky to have had them within its company for the 20 years it has been here.


Nyan Shin is currently open every day from 6:30AM to 1:00PM if they do not sell out early – which they usually do, mind you!

OLD KUCHING, CARPENTER STREET PART 1: LAO YEA KENG

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admit it. I am guilty. I am guilty of enjoying the act of running against the current of the mainstream when it comes to food, but as much as I try, I can’t run away from Carpenter Street. As a born and bred Kuching-ite, it is no secret that this is as mainstream as it gets. You can tell from the double parked cars along the no parking yellow line that people love coming here. I love coming here. Why though? If you haven’t guessed already, it has to do with the food.

 The fascination with the food here is as old as the buildings that house them. As you can figure, these places are old. Really old. Most of the buildings you see here have withstood the test of time since the late 1800’s and it really is a treat to be able to have a peek into our past, even while all around us the world is changing and growing. If you can’t tell by now, I’m a sucker for the charm of Old Kuching.

So here we are today in Carpenter Street. Rarely are there these many eateries in Kuching as famous as the ones here that can be found within a single street spanning 350 metres. You must be wondering how on earth can this guy fit all those eateries in one post. I won’t be. I’ll be taking this journey with along with you from the beginning of this Street to each notable eatery to the last eatery. Trust me! It’ll be fun. So here we go, PART 1. We visit the famous, Lao Yea Keng.

Apart from the much loved Kueh Chap, Laksa or Kolo Mee, we will be looking at what this famous opera house to me is known for. Yes, you might be wondering why I spelled it that way, but let's just say that everyone has their own way of translating what they've heard from Chinese to English. That, and the fact that the Borneo Post spelled it that way too. Click here for proof.


But before I enter the Lao Yea Keng, I’ll grab myself some banana fritters. This specific stall serves different kinds of fried stuff during tea time, but what I’ll be here for is the banana fritters. This isn’t the kind that you will see in most coffee shops currently that actually use bananas and is topped with cheddar and drizzled with condensed/evaporated milk.


These fritters are made from a different kind of banana called the plantain and are just roughly sliced plantains coated in a light batter. In this case, simple is simply delicious. The lady who makes them knows what I’m talking about as she’s been in the business for about 40 something years while her mother and grandmother have been doing it for around 40 and 50 years respectively. These guys know what they’re doing.



Once I’m done I’ll head inside and if I’m lucky to find a seat during this hour, I’ll be ordering from this shop right here. Unfortunately, I can’t read any form of Chinese so I won’t be able to tell if their name is written on their sign. Someone in the comments section, help me out?

While waiting for my order, let’s have a bite of some Banana Fritters.




From the frying, you’ll notice that the heat has caused the banana to ooze out of the light batter. When eaten fresh, the light crispiness of the batter coupled with the oozed caramelized banana, brings a crispy kind of sweetness to the already sweet soft gooey banana within.



Normal bananas when fried this way for fritters sometimes become too soft and a lot sweeter than they already are when cooked. Plantains when cooked this way maintain its firmness and becomes just the right amount of sweet. Please note that this opinion is coming from someone who doesn't enjoy the sweeter side of food.




















For one of the lighter things to eat here, the Fish-Ball Tauhu Soup is a particular favourite. The Tang Hoon glass noodles are made beautifully as they’re just the right amount of springy and possess a very light bite to them. The light pork broth that they’re swimming in, though having noticeable MSG flavour when tasting is perfect to complement the theme of the noodles.




The fish/meat balls are delightfully springy too upon biting, while the Tauhu that hugs the pork is also very soft and light but if I have to be honest, the pork in the Tauhu doesn't really taste like anything. The common theme with these noodles is how light it is, and it makes sense as this is typically a tea time kind of meal. You wouldn't want to have something heavy so soon after eating lunch and so soon before dinner.





What I come here for, and what most people I believe flock here for are the Pork Satays, which are slices of meat skewered on a thin stick and barbequed. The Satay usually takes a while depending on the size of crowd but they’re worth the wait.



The sweet and savoury flavours of the meat from the Satay are achieved by being beautifully marinated just enough to infuse flavour without taking away any of the natural flavours of pork. You’ll notice how well they’re cooked from how juicy they are and from the way you see the juices dripping onto the plate.
This Satay is good enough to eat without the classic peanut sauce, but you’ll be missing out as the Peanut Satay Sauce is delicious. You’ll notice the consistency of the sauce is thick enough for you to scoop it up and stick to the Satay, while also not being as thick as Peanut Butter. The sauce just sings of savoury peanut flavours while having sweetness to balance it.



What you’ll notice from eateries like these, like most of the places we will soon visit is the connection the people have to good food. You’ll notice grandfathers that would come here as children, bringing their own children and grandchildren of their own to enjoy the food of their youth. You’ll notice how good food brings people to good relationships and long lasting bonds.

These shops reviewed are open from 1pm to 4pm daily or till everything is sold out. They are open every day except on Fridays and Mondays.






Wow, you're still here? Well thank you! Here's a sneak peek at next week's post while you're still here :)


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