KUCHING
MALAYSIA
19 - 21 May 2018
My boyfriend and I had 3 days off from work and we couldn't decide where to go. We then realized we both have not explored much of Sarawak/Sabah.
We decided on Kuching cause there's a direct flight from Singapore and the air fare is reasonably cheap. We rented a car as we figured the public transportation in Kuching would be scarce, just like anywhere in Malaysia. And we finally settled on a hotel just a few days before the trip that has great reviews online.
We decided on Kuching cause there's a direct flight from Singapore and the air fare is reasonably cheap. We rented a car as we figured the public transportation in Kuching would be scarce, just like anywhere in Malaysia. And we finally settled on a hotel just a few days before the trip that has great reviews online.
19 May 2018 - Saturday
Our flight departs from Changi Airport Terminal 4 and this new terminal is just beautiful. The lounge chairs, the indoor garden and the charging stations are so out of the norm.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 11.45am, but the plane only started moving at 12pm. Nonetheless, we arrived safely in Kuching at 1.20pm.
After going through immigration, we searched for our car rental desk at the arrival hall. Epta Car Rental Sdn Bhd is located almost to the end of the arrival hall. Charlie attended to us and he is very friendly and polite. We signed a form and paid a refundable deposit of MYR200 plus the remaining balance of MYR195.50. We then walked out to the pick up area labelled 'Gate 1' to wait for our car to arrive.
After going through immigration, we searched for our car rental desk at the arrival hall. Epta Car Rental Sdn Bhd is located almost to the end of the arrival hall. Charlie attended to us and he is very friendly and polite. We signed a form and paid a refundable deposit of MYR200 plus the remaining balance of MYR195.50. We then walked out to the pick up area labelled 'Gate 1' to wait for our car to arrive.
This was my first time renting a car and I was quite nervous at the thought of driving in a city that I've never been to. I have planned out an itinerary which includes places to eat and visit, and I've saved all those locations in my Waze application. I even bought a car phone holder to be fixed onto the windscreen.
Our first stop was to check in at our hotel. But after several attempts of circling the area for a parking spot, we gave up and decided to head for lunch first. We drove to Lau Ya Keng Food Court. It was a pain in the ass to search for parking spots as well cause it's a weekend lunch time. We finally decided to just park at the road side which was not meant to be a parking area.
We had to wait a while for a table to be available. We then ordered Sarawak Laksa (MYR 7), 10 Pork Satays (MYR 8), Kolo Mee (MYR 5) and Koay Chap (MYR 6).
The koay chap was the most raved about food item in this food court, and it tastes similar like the ones I had back home in Penang. Every dish is alright. They taste good, but not super great.
Lau Ya Keng Food Court
10am - 11pm
Closed on Sundays
19 Lebuh Carpenter, 93000 Kuching
Lau Ya Keng Food Court
10am - 11pm
Closed on Sundays
19 Lebuh Carpenter, 93000 Kuching
After that, we walked down the street towards Black Bean Coffee and Tea Company. They are known for their Sarawak Liberica coffee beans. We tried their Iced Latte for MYR6.50. We're no coffee connoisseurs, but this is some good stuff right here. It's not diluted like how some other places made theirs to be, so it's really very satisfying.
We were so full that I can't even bear to think of the word 'food'. We walked back to where we came from, and I caught a glimpse of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building a.k.a Dewan Dadangan Negeri Sarawak. This building was featured on Google whenever I searched on Kuching. So we made a little detour towards the waterfront for a better view.
We drove back to the hotel and was lucky to get a parking spot. The hotel does not have their own parking spaces. So the hotel guests will have to park their cars by the streets.
We booked Padungan Hotel at SGD22.50 per night for 2 persons, which is a great deal in my opinion. However, they do charge Tourist Tax of MYR10 per night per room for non-Malaysians.
It's a budget hotel-ish kinda accomodation, but it's clean enough for me.
We booked Padungan Hotel at SGD22.50 per night for 2 persons, which is a great deal in my opinion. However, they do charge Tourist Tax of MYR10 per night per room for non-Malaysians.
It's a budget hotel-ish kinda accomodation, but it's clean enough for me.
The hotel provides water bottles, bath towels, floor mat, toilet rolls, plastic cups and soap bars, but they do not provide toothbrushes. So we had to buy them at the grocery store downstairs. We bought shampoo and bath gel as well cause the soap bars are just not working for us. Oh, the hotel offers free Wi-Fi as well, which works really great. I could stream YouTube videos very smoothly.
After a short nap, we headed out for dinner. We had 2 places planned for dinner. First stop: 333 Charcoal Char Koay Teow. We had some difficulties locating the stall, but luckily we found it right before we were about to give up. It's situated in Yu Yu Yuan Cafe 友友圆茶室.
After a short nap, we headed out for dinner. We had 2 places planned for dinner. First stop: 333 Charcoal Char Koay Teow. We had some difficulties locating the stall, but luckily we found it right before we were about to give up. It's situated in Yu Yu Yuan Cafe 友友圆茶室.
I really like the Char Siew Rice. I take a special liking towards rice bowls like this. It just feels very homey and comforting. The salted egg char koay teow has close to 0 salted egg taste/texture on it. My boyfriend doesn't like these two dishes at all.
333 Char Koay Teow
6pm - 10pm
Closed on Sundays
432 Jalan Chawan, Taman Supreme, 93300 Kuching
333 Char Koay Teow
6pm - 10pm
Closed on Sundays
432 Jalan Chawan, Taman Supreme, 93300 Kuching
Next up, Seafood. We drove to Top Spot Seafood Court which is located at the top of a multi-story car park. The parking fee was MYR2 per entry for weekends. We settled for Ling Loong Seafood and ordered Belacan Midin, Deep Fried Squid and Ikan Bakar- Stingray. It costs MYR50+, I forgot to write down the total cost of our meal. We also ordered Watermelon Juice for MYR5 each.
Midin is a jungle fern that is only available in Sarawak, so it's must try. The deep fried squid was a disappointment. The batter is tasteless, so it depends heavily on the sweet chilli sauce for it to be edible. Ikan Bakar could never go wrong, it's as tasty as any ikan bakars in the world.
We ended our night with bulged stomachs. It was certainly satisfying stuffing ourselves in this manner once in a while.
Top Spot Food Court
5pm - 10.30pm
Off Jalan Padungan, 93100 Kuching
We ended our night with bulged stomachs. It was certainly satisfying stuffing ourselves in this manner once in a while.
Top Spot Food Court
5pm - 10.30pm
Off Jalan Padungan, 93100 Kuching
20 May 2018 - Sunday
We woke up early so we could get breakfast. We drove to Chong Choon Cafe which was very near to our hotel. As a matter of fact, we could actually just walked over.
We ordered egg toast, 3 layer tea, Kolo Mee and Poh Lam Sarawak Laksa.
We ordered egg toast, 3 layer tea, Kolo Mee and Poh Lam Sarawak Laksa.
To be completely honest, the 3 layer tea was pretty shit. It's a disgrace to all layer teas. I forgot to take a picture of the Kolo Mee, but my boyfriend loved it. This Kolo Mee was the best out of all the other ones that we have tried in Kuching. The Sarawak Laksa tastes like the one we have the previous day at Lau Ya Keng Food Court, so there's nothing to shout about. The toast is quite decent.
After breakfast, we had nothing to do, so we decided to go for a massage. I found this place online, and it was flooded with all sorts of positive comments. Mirage. Mirage is a standalone building after the Top Court Seafood building and the Hills Shopping Mall.
After breakfast, we had nothing to do, so we decided to go for a massage. I found this place online, and it was flooded with all sorts of positive comments. Mirage. Mirage is a standalone building after the Top Court Seafood building and the Hills Shopping Mall.
We chose the 90 minutes Borneo Full Body Massage which costs MYR120 per person. The receptionists and masseurs are very polite and friendly. The massage session was awesome. My masseur always makes sure I'm comfortable with the strength that she's going for, and not for once I felt uneasy or pain that I've always experienced in other spas/massage centers. The entire 90 minutes was very soothing and relaxing, except for the last 20-30 minutes where I was held hostage by my small bladder.
Definitely recommend this spa center to anyone who is keen for a relaxing massage in Kuching.
Definitely recommend this spa center to anyone who is keen for a relaxing massage in Kuching.
After the spa, we went to The Spring Shopping Mall to look around. But we left after 30 minutes of wandering around cause there's not much to see. We ended up going back to the hotel to rest.
I've been itching to get a hair cut for awhile now. So I did some research on the hair salons in Kuching to see if I could get a nice hair cut since we don't have anything planned till dinner. I decided to go to Thousand Ten 1010. It's a hair salon in The Hills Shopping Mall. It has good reviews so I went for it.
I opted for a shoulder length hair with a thin, wispy fringe 空气刘海. Cut + wash + blow costs only MYR38. That's a good deal for me.
I've been itching to get a hair cut for awhile now. So I did some research on the hair salons in Kuching to see if I could get a nice hair cut since we don't have anything planned till dinner. I decided to go to Thousand Ten 1010. It's a hair salon in The Hills Shopping Mall. It has good reviews so I went for it.
I opted for a shoulder length hair with a thin, wispy fringe 空气刘海. Cut + wash + blow costs only MYR38. That's a good deal for me.
My boyfriend went for another massage session while waiting for me. He chose a massage parlor opposite the Hills Shopping Mall and he didn't like the massage at all. He said it was painful and did not enjoy it at all.
We headed off for dinner after that. We stopped by Sunny Hill Ice Cream to try their soft serve. And boy, that fat lady at the counter is just plain rude. I really don't like to label people, especially with their physical appearance. But that lady, that fat lady is a rude, impolite, rolling-eyes-at-you nasty bitch.
You all are telling me that this ice cream shop donates all their profit to Church. Well that lady does not fit into any churches I'm telling ya. Yes that's the one, the one in red at the center of the picture below.
We headed off for dinner after that. We stopped by Sunny Hill Ice Cream to try their soft serve. And boy, that fat lady at the counter is just plain rude. I really don't like to label people, especially with their physical appearance. But that lady, that fat lady is a rude, impolite, rolling-eyes-at-you nasty bitch.
You all are telling me that this ice cream shop donates all their profit to Church. Well that lady does not fit into any churches I'm telling ya. Yes that's the one, the one in red at the center of the picture below.
Well at least the shape of the soft serve is decent looking. The taste is alright, I didn't finish the ice cream though. Left it lying on the food tray of our dinner table.
After getting the ice cream, we drove to Hui Sing Hawker which was recommended by my boyfriend's colleague. We ordered Tomato Mee, Fried Koay Teow, Pork Satay and a local dessert called White Lady. |
I don't know what's the rave is all about for the Tomato Mee, I'm not sure if I got it from the wrong stall or an unpopular one, but the Tomato Mee that we had was close to inedible. I really don't like it. It's like slighty diluted ketchup being heated up and poured over a plate of noodles. It's really unflattering.
The char koay teow, satay and the dessert were so-so.
We went back to the hotel after dinner.
The char koay teow, satay and the dessert were so-so.
We went back to the hotel after dinner.
21 May 2018 - Monday
We checked out of the hotel early morning cause our flight is at 9.45am. We stopped by the petrol station for a refuel as we have to return the car with at least 4 bars of petrol in the tank. We stopped the car at the same spot that we picked it up from, and my boyfriend went in to the arrival hall to alert them.
They checked the petrol level and the car condition before returning my MYR200 deposit.
And so that ends our trip in Kuching.
Overall, the people are not so friendly. At least the people that I met are not so friendly. Will I come back to Kuching? Probably not for leisure.
Sylvs
xoxo
They checked the petrol level and the car condition before returning my MYR200 deposit.
And so that ends our trip in Kuching.
Overall, the people are not so friendly. At least the people that I met are not so friendly. Will I come back to Kuching? Probably not for leisure.
Sylvs
xoxo