Restaurants in Malaysian Borneo – Sarawak
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Top Spot Food Court
The double entendre definitely holds true. This excellent rooftop plaza has acres of tables and a good variety of stalls. Order anything from abalone to banana prawns or numerous varieties of fish, and chase it down with a cold bottle of Tiger. To get here, climb the stairs leading from Jln Padungan to Tapanga restaurant, and keep heading upstairs from there.
reviewed
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Bla Bla Bla
Spiffier than a pimp’s outfit, Bla Bla Bla brings a splash of Hollywood to Kuching. The tasty fusion food is anything but ‘blah’, and patrons will adore the koi pond and golden Buddhas.
reviewed
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Junk
The coolest car-boot sale you’ll ever see, Junk is filled to the brim with…well…junk. But it’s all so very chic – when you walk in you’ll think, ‘Did Amelie explode in here?’ A favourite among Malaysian celebs, Bla Bla Bla’s sister restaurant offers superb sophisticated Western food with an Italian bias. A word to the wise: don’t set your watch by any of the wall clocks…
reviewed
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Café Café
Tucked down the street in the shadow of the towering pagoda, this local hotspot puts a modern spin on the traditional kedai kopi. Excellent local fare (and a smattering of designer coffee beverages) is served up amid bodacious decor and flickering candles.
reviewed
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a-ha Café
a-ha wouldn’t look at all out of place in any cosmopolitan European capital, and the emphasis is firmly on healthy eating, with organic produce, all-natural ingredients and no MSG or artificial additives, plus a special ‘healthy heart’ menu. Whether you treat yourself to Norwegian salmon, ostrich steak or deer kebabs, or just pop in for a fruit ’n’ vegetable smoothie, a-ha is a rare treat with virtually zero guilt factor. Wi-fi available.
reviewed
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New Capital Restaurant
If you feel like a splurge, this brilliant Chinese eatery is sure to satisfy, with excellent fresh fish, meat and vegetable dishes. We recommend the butter prawns and stir-fried midin washed down with a fresh fruit juice.
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Chinese Food Stalls
Start your day with a brilliant, old-school Kuching breakfast. Note that Chinese locals refer to this hawker centre as Lau Ya Keng in Hokkien.
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Life Café
This atmospheric little tea house/Chinese eatery offers a wide range of mostly Chinese dishes, including several good vegetarian choices.
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Summit Café
Not to be confused with the Summit Café across from the Apollo, this spot, specialising in traditional Kelabit cuisine, is a 10-minute walk southwest of Mega Hotel (in the ‘Waterfront Area’; look for a big sign saying ‘Tian Tian’). If Bario isn’t on your travel itinerary, then a meal here is a must. Try the colourful array of ‘jungle food’ – canko manis (forest ferns), minced tapioca, and wild boar – served on leaves instead of plates. It’s best to come for an early lunch, because once the food runs out they close!
reviewed
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Taman Selera Empurau
The best place to eat in the evening has to be the busy Taman Selera Empurau, which is near the centre of town, roughly behind Ing Hing Cold Storage. In contrast to the rest of Kapit’s dining scene, which is overwhelmingly Chinese, this market is almost exclusively Malay-Muslim. As such the emphasis is on satay and other halal dishes.
reviewed
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Little Lebanon
Borneo’s only Arabic restaurant sits in an elegant breezeway overlooking colourful Jln India. Belly dancing music wafts through the air as contented customers slurp some muddy Turkish coffee and dip their pita pillows into freshly mashed hummus. Swing by in the evenings for flavourful puffs on a sheesha pipe – there’s celery and cherry, but mint is the best.
reviewed
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Seaworld Seafood Centre
Not as good as the nearby Apollo Seafood Centre and with somewhat less efficient service, the Seaworld Seafood Centre still draws a crowd. Even if you have no intention of eating seafood, the massed tanks of live aquatic creatures here can make a visit to Seaworld Miri as educational as a visit to Seaworld Florida. If you've never tried frog, this is your chance.
reviewed
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Jea Corner
This tiny stall is literally the only place in Belaga still serving food after 6pm. It serves up a small variety of decent Malaysian rice-based dishes. The friendly proprietor, Albert, will probably find you before you find him. He has a wealth of information about the surrounding area and its people and culture – just don’t get him started on politics!
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Ban Kee Café
Run, don’t walk, to this brilliant indoor-outdoor Chinese seafood specialist. It doesn’t look like much, but the food is so good that you’ll consider staying in town for a second night just so you can eat here again. Try the butter prawns or the baby kailan (a Chinese vegetable similar to baby bak choi). The food is fresh as can be.
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Benson Seafood
Ignore the aircraft hangar ambiance and concentrate on the wonderful fresh Chinese seafood at this giant riverside eatery. The oyster omelettes are enough to make us want to hop the next plane back to Kuching and the midin (jungle fern) stir fried with belacan (shrimp paste) is a Sarawak classic.
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Apollo Seafood Centre
This deservedly popular Chinese seafood restaurant is a big hit with ex-pat visitors. Just about anything you order will be delicious, but we recommend the crabs and the fried midin with belacan. If you are a big spender, you could always go for some lobsters straight from the tank.
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Oriental Park
Many Kuching Chinese start their day with a bowl of mee sup (ramen-style egg noodles in soup). This friendly little place does a brilliant version of this dish, complete with savoury bits of pork in a wonderfully rich soup. You can order this as jooi mee in Hokkien.
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Cafeteria
The cafeteria sells cheap buffet noodle and rice meals. The adjoining shop sells a good variety of reasonably priced tinned and dried food, chocolate, biscuits, film and toiletries, although fresh bread, produce and vegetables are not always available.
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Living Room
Living Room completes Kuching’s trendy triumvirate of fusion eats. The menu mixes the top noshes at Junk and Bla Bla Bla and guests dine in breezy open-air salas. You will no doubt find yourself wondering where you are: is this Borneo, Bali or Barcelona?
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Victorious Cafe
Dine under the gaze of the Sibu Swan at this popular mostly Chinese kedai kopi (coffee shop). There’s a stall here that makes a smoky and wonderful plate of kway teow (rice noodles), which you can wash down with a nice iced lemon tea.
reviewed
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Khan’s Islamic Restaurant
This simple canteen is one of Miri’s best Indian eateries, whipping up tasty treats like mouth-wateringtandoori chicken and aloo gobi (Indian potato and cauliflower dish), as well as the usual roti canai. It’s opposite Mega Hotel.
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Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
This international coffee chain out at the mall allows you to recreate the experience of being in suburban America right in the middle of Borneo. The coffee is good here, as are the cakes, and wi-fi clinches the deal for computerised travellers.
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Green Hill Corner
Several stalls here crank out a variety of noodle and rice dishes, including a brilliant plate of kway teow goreng (fried rice noodles). The problem is that the chef who makes this dish only shows up when he damn well feels like it.
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Twin Happiness Cafe
We all take our happiness where we can find it, and the twin joys of good Chinese food and cheap prices make this particular pleasure zone worth seeking out. Besides, how can you not love a place that serves ‘drunken prawn’?
reviewed
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Restoran P.J. Corner
This friendly Malay place serves good fresh fruit juice, rotis, nasi campur and a nice plate of mee goreng. It's on the eastern end of Jln Abang Galau, roughly opposite the Regency Plaza Hotel.
reviewed
