Quick Bites #10 : Spicy Noodles with Fried Wantan

Located at Brighton Square, Life Cafe is renowned for its spicy noodles (RM 7.50). Add another RM1 and you can order Spicy Noodles with Fried Wantan! The fried wantan is delicious and really goes well with the noodles.

Spicy Noodles can be served in three ways : "small spicy", "medium spicy" and "large spicy". Extra noodles or extra spicy sauce can be added on for another RM 1.50 each.

Rating : 8/10
Price : RM 8.50

Honest Review : Gourmet Sausage Kuching

Gourmet sausage is quite a popular western dining restaurant in Brighton Square and as its name suggests, they are known for their sausages. We decided to pay this restaurant a visit and we ordered the Six Tiger Meal ( Rm 99.90) which comprises a serving of coleslaw, mashed potatoes, a burger, a bowl of spaghetti bolognaise , pork ribs, chicken fillets, pork sausages, satays , fries , 3 bowls of mushroom soup and 3 bowls of ice cream.

Coleslaw: 8/10

A favorite of everyone and we wished we could have more . Personally i would i rate it higher if there is lesser dressing as it is a tiny bit too sweet. 

Mashed Potatoes : 7.5/10

Another hit as we like the very natural and slightly chunky mashed potatoes unlike mass produced powdered ones avaliable in fast food chains. The amount again is too little for 6 people and i would lick the plate clean if they had the KFC style gravy. 

Mushroom Soup : Rating undeserved 

At first taste it was super bland and all you could taste was the shiitake mushroom after taste slightly bittersweet. After much addition of salt and pepper it was more palatable . However, i feel that this dish is poorly executed because it was beautifully presented. I hope Gourmet sausage would rethink their recipe. It needs cream, good chicken stock, butter,splash of white wine and sweated onions to lift the soup more.

Spaghetti Bolognaise: 8/10

I actually like the spaghetti bolognaise as it has a twist of pork sausages in them. I only wished there was more pasta as the sauce and meat kinda overwhelm the dish. It felt more like beef stew with pasta as the garnish. 

The Platter : Burger, Fries, Ribs, Sausages, Satays, Chicken Fillet

Rating: 7/10

There are some hits and misses for the last course . We think Gourmet Sausage has the best fries in Kuching as the seasoning on them are really nice. A great suggestion would to include options of shoestring size chips or wedges. Burger was also a favourite and so was the juicy sausages. I would definitely come here if i am craving for western sausages unlike our heavily processed sausages in the freezer. The meats on the other hand were on the dry size which is a shame as they are nicely flavoured. For example, the meat on the ribs were dry and flaky which is a sign that the  ribs have been overcooked. I hope it's not the same for our readers

Other highlights: 

1. The Tabasco sauce and mustard ran out and wasn't replenished on the counter. There should have been more condiments and sauces available for customers

2. A refill of ice water ended up being an additional order which is contrary to the "free flow of water" statement on the menu. Though it was an honest mistake, it is the principle that counts. 

3. Service from the waiter or waitresses were not attentive enough. For example, they did not clear the empty plates or dishes after the course quickly enough making it difficult for customers to eat as more dishes arrive. 

The experience at Gourmet sausage overall was great because of a clean cosy environment and mostly good food for the night. We did end on a sweet note , LITERALLY, because we had free ice cream and lollipops , a kind gesture from their restaurant to the customers. Prices are really affordable and we recommend this place to anyone who is looking for yummy sausages and western meals. It is not a huge restaurant but a good size for 10-20 people if you're thinking to go as a group.

Cheers! *Clanging of Root Beer glasses*

Visit them at :

1st floor, Sublot 10, L12161, Song Plaza, Jalan Tun Jugah, Jalan Song, 93350 Kuching, Malaysia

Off the Shelves : Royce Chocolate

Since the Chinese New Year and  Valentine's day is coming up, what better than to review yummy chocolates. Royce chocolates, a premier brand which can only unfortunately be ordered from KL or Japan 

Visit their page at http://www.e-royce.com/english/index.html

Rm 45 chocolatey goodness.

Yummy chocolate truffles and i highly recommend it. I rate it 9/10 as each truffles melt in your mouth. 

Bubble Talk : Chatime

Hitting the shores of Kuching just recently, Chatime, a worldwide brand for bubble tea has been raved over crazily by bubble tea fanatics. After a displeasing order previously, I've decided to give it another chance to review their Pearl Milk Tea. 

Rm 6.90 for a Large size Pearl Milk Tea. 

Just like Easy Drink Easy Go, Chatime equally has the same problem of not having adequate amount of menus. It would be easier if they use the advertisement boards and display more prices as it will help speed up the ordering process. The great thing is that their menus are more readable and clear. 

Chatime workers hard at work. 

Waiting time: 5 minutes without queue

Testing their customer service again, i ordered non-sugar Pearl Milk Tea and yet again, he failed to hear it can kept on repeating normal sugar. I had to repeat non-sugar till he got it . I would suggest using the numerical system of 100, 70, 50, 30, 0% instead of normal, non, less, more which is so subjective. 

Palm sized comparison of the Pearl Milk tea

Rate: 7/10 

Tasting their milk tea , the flavour of the tea leaves is more evident than Easy Drink Easy go but by a very small margin. The pearls are much nicer as it is more "QQ" or chewy however sometimes inconsistent. 

In a nutshell, it's a battle of quality over quantity. Rm 5.90 Easy Drink Easy Go which is huge or Rm6.90 for a smaller but better tasting tea and pearls? Rm1 can make a difference :)

Visit this store at the 3rd floor of The Spring near the MBO cinemas. 

Bubble Talk: Easy drink, Easy Go

We have a new segment entitled bubble talk where wewill review drinks on the go, mostly bubble teas.

So we decided to taste test Easy Drink, Easy Go which is located at The Spring basement level . First glance, it's hard to decide a drink to choose and their prices because of the limited amount of menus (only 2 that day) which i think is the major cause of the queue.

 

Rm 5.90 Signature bubble milk tea

Overall rating : 6.5/10

Milk tea : Taste okay but a bit too milky in my opinion. One can taste the distinct creamer taste

Tapioca pearls : Slightly too soft but good pearls nonetheless

To make a fair judgement of each bubble tea shop we decided to taste the basic of basics, their signature bubble milk tea. No flavourings, no frills.  Contrary to popular belief, the bubble in bubble milk tea are not the tapioca pearls but rather the milky froth from shaking the tea in the shaker or machine. Thus there was confusion when i was ordering my drink .

The great thing about this shop is large size for Rm 5.90 which is good considering it is more expensive than normal bubble tea shops out there. The other popular *coughchatimecough* size isn't as big as this. I was very impressed with super sturdy cups which is great for those who are driving or on the go where most give flimsy plastic or paper cups. I believe it wouldn't even give a dent if you drop it from waist height.

I'm also impressed that there are sugar levels to choose from and they do pay attention towards it as compared to Dingtea or Chatime who still GAVE me sugar in my drinks. That deserve a rant for another day. As i can't have sugar in my drinks, i kow-tow to Easy Drink, Easy Go for this. By the way you can opt for brown sugar or gula melaka which is kinda interesting to hear.

Conclusively, if you are thirsty, need a large drink and craving for milk tea which won't empty your wallet, do  give Easy Drink, Easy Go a try.

p/s: Googling them online reveals that this isn't a Taiwanese franchise but rather a franchise selling Taiwanese style bubble milk tea. It should be a Malaysian based company.

Quick Bites #9: Lunch at Little Borneo

Little Borneo is located at Jalan Song around the Brighton Square area. This Malay food(definitely Halal) outlet is close to Mars Cybercafe and Causeway Bay Restaurant. It is well known for its nasi goreng ayam penyet dish (which in my opinion beats the ayam penyet at Rumah Hijau, but that's for another time) and nasi lemak.

Nasi Goreng Ayam Penyet

RM 7.50

Rating: 8/10

*The sambal sauce is AWESOME!!!*

Mee Mamak

RM 5.00 (?)

Rating: 6/10

One can also try the bakso when visiting Little Borneo. This reputable food outlet definitely serves delicious dishes at affordable prices :)

Vid Feed: Popular Kuching Food

From Sio bee to Mee Jawa to 3 Layered Tea to shaved ice drinks , the myriad of affordable and tasty food is a testament of Kuching's lifestyle. The video below will show anyone new towards the Kuching cuisine a glimpse of our food haven.

P/s: Vid is in mandarin



So what's your favourite Kuching food?

Let us know in the comment and do check out our poll at the sidebar. Thank you !

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