Kuching offers absolutely top-notch eating. (We knew that from last year, but honestly, it's not the only reason we want to live here.)

Since returning, we've been back to a number of old favourites.

The laksa and the porridge from Ming Hong Kee are as wonderful as ever. (Breakfasts have already assumed a pattern: laksa Monday and porridge Wednesday.)

Lima Tujoh also continues to be a favourite (and they have the sweetest cats).


Lepau's menu is extensive enough to merit several visits, and this time we opted for an indigenous vegetable called jelaut (cooked in belacan); tempoyak chicken; petai fried rice; and "tree bark tea", which had a pandan-like aroma. I thought this was a pretty fabulous combo of flavours, and the ambiance there is always nice.


Black Bean was a favourite from last time, but back then we didn't know that it is notable for using the comparatively rare Liberica coffee beans. (And a fine cup of Liberica can also be obtained from JohnsPie in the foyer of Swinburne University.)


I've already mentioned the interesting cakes at Indah. Also on Upper China Street is Pinggai. The star of the menu for us was the sticky rice cooked in a pitcher plant. This is known as pulut teramuok, and is apparently a Bidayuh delicacy.



Kim Joo on Carpenter Street was a great find. The "special" (and you can request the version "without organs") is a really great bowl of pork noodles.

Close to our hotel are the Zhun San Yen Vegetarian, which offers an amazing array of vegetable dishes, priced by weight (they're all good, but especially don't miss the pumpkin), and the Bombay Riverside, which serves some of the best roti I've had anywhere (fresh and crispy, and accompanied by your choice of curry).


On the fruit front, we very much took to pulasan (which are apparently from an entirely different family to rambutan, and are not hairy, but are otherwise very similar in design and taste).

And out at Saradise, not far from the airport, there's a great little enclave, where you can get excellent Italian (Al Dente), good coffee and cake (The Coffee Code), and judging by the bustle in the food court, lots, lots more.