Idealite has recently opened up two outlets in kuching. One in the bustling shopping center of Viva City and the other in the suburbs of Rock Road. Having had a wonderful experience dining at the outlet in Viva, I decided to bring my dad to the one at Rock Road. My old man has very high standards for good food mind you. If he says it's good then you will have to 'die die also must try'. If he says it's not so good then it'll probably be mediocre. So here's our review on the food we ordered:

1. The best-selling bak kut teh
6/10 stars. Taste wise it was good. The broth was thick and rich in flavor and the ingredients were provided in generous amounts, from the toufu, wolf berries, cabbages, soft boiled egg and needle mushrooms. But the problem with this otherwise aromatic dish was that the ingredients though generous did not absorb the flavor of the soup/broth. It was as if they were just dumped into the soup for a few minutes prior to being served.

2. The white fungus and pear soup
A well known delicacy meant to promote beautiful looking skin. And boy was this dessert good! It was subtly sweet (sweetness which I think naturally came from the pear) and the white fungus was soft and chewy. Perfect for consumption on a hot day.

3. Bibimbap
5/10. Perhaps I am a meat lover so without the marinated beef this dish somehow seemed incomplete. Plus the cucumbers and carrots were not very finely cut. A bit too rough for my liking. Also, I think they could have improved on their hot sauce as it didn't taste very authentic. I couldn't feel a Song Joon Ki in it haha.

While it might not be the best place to dine at, I appreciate their concept of cooking healthy food so no harm in giving this place a try. It's not the best but it's definitely not too bad.

Nandos recently opened an outlet in Kuching, Sarawak. Yay for Sarawakians! We are greatly deprived of good food from the west ( cue to sarcastic grin)

Anyways, when the outlet first opened, the queue was very very long as people old and young queued up to dine in Nandos to taste their savory and spicy grilled chicken.Fast forward to 3 months later, the queue and craze has died down so my family and I decided it was finally time to give it a try ( FYI we hate queueing up)

So we ordered their promo dish at RM 39.42 per pax (pre GST) which included the following :

1. Quarter chicken with 2 sides
For the quarter chicken we had it with lemon and herbs (the mildest of the hierarchy of spiciness) and aromatic rice and potato wedges. The chicken was good, tender and juicy. As should be expected from a Nandos outlet. I liked how the lemony taste was infused in the chicken thigh and even though it was grilled to a slightly brownish charcoal color, the meat still retained it's moisture and fresh and zesty taste. The rice was ok, similar to what Kenny Rogers offers with the typical corn, green peas and carrot bits. The wedges were light and crunchy..nothing to shout about though.

2. Orange juice
The good thing about this was that the juice was refillable. The bad thing was that its not the freshly squeezed orange juice. Still it tasted nice.

3. PERI soup
My husband liked it but it was top spicy for me. Taste wise it was great, thick and creamy but being a Mexican food outlet they of course had to put chili flakes in the soup which made the soup more and more spicy with each mouthful.

4. Strawberry cheese brownie
Those with a sweet tooth will definitely like this. The top is filled with a thick layer of cream cheese layers with lines of strawberry jam. The bottom is a very dense and sweet brownie with a generous amount of chopped nuts. Very sweet and savory this dish is.

All in all, it is worth giving the promotional package a try. Not the best food outlet but definitely ranks as one of the better ones in town.

The Maker has made headlines in Miri, noticeably for their relaxing ambience and delicious cakes.

Recently I bought two cakes...one was the chocolate indulgence and the other a simple New York cheese cake.

Chocolate Indulgence
This cake was rich and moist with a very thick and bittersweet chocolate cream. It had a hint of alcohol in it and when swallowed, the cake left a very warm feeling in my throat and stomach. Some might find it slightly too rich but the richness was just right imo.

New York Cheese Cake
The cheese cake on the other hand was just normal. It wasn't bad but not too memorable. Taste was nice and sweet and creamy but maybe there are too many cheese cakes around for comparison, so much so that this one failed to stand out.

Overall, the chocolate indulgence is a must try while the new York cheese cake is not a must. Do visit the shop though as they have many inspirational quotes from the Bible and impressive interior design.

Ting Noodle House has been opened for many years....when i first visited the place, the first thing that caught my eye was the chef. Boy was he eye catching, he had very very curly hair. Perhaps that is why he specializes in noodles?

But anyways, on the wall of this little coffee shop hands many cooking certificates and newspaper clippings on its food so it's definitely worth a review.

1. Dry Minced Pork Noodle
What i liked about this dish was that the noodles felt and tasted like it was personally made within the kitchen. Not the typical commercial noodles you buy from grocery stores. Also, there was a lot of fried crispy shalots, spring onions, minced pork and sesame oil to give it a very silky smooth yet heavy and tasty aftertaste. as an added bonus, there were heaps of crunchy bean sprouts, a half of a boiled egg that had been cooked in dark brown sauce (gave a light and salty stase to the egg which i liked) as well as a very juicy toufu. The noodle was however a wee bit too oily for me.

2. Wanton Soup
My dad had this dish and being a wontan fan for many many years, he can distinguish good wontan soup from lousy ones. And for this particular dish, he gave it a thumbs up. Which means alot as my dad is very very critical of food. The soup was flavorful and not too salty and the filling was rich with spices and full of meat. The skin fo the wontan was probably also made in the kitchen which is why it was slightly thicker than the wontans you would get elsewhere.

3. Hot Barley
If you look at the attached photos, you can actually see steam slowly rising up from the cup. It was hot and steaming and freshly cooked. Very refreshing after an oily bowl of noodles.

Munch...that's a very catchy name for a coffee shop. At Munch, you literally get to munch on Asian and Western food. In that particular day, my dad, uncle and I visited the shop and ordered Chinese/Taiwanese food. 

Chicken Mee Sua
Dad loved it. He said the soup was rich in flavor (the wine was thick) and the chicken thigh was soft and tender. The mee sua was boiled to just the right texture (it can be a little tricky with mee sua, some people tend to overcook the mee sua making it very mushy and gooey but at Munch, this was not the case. The texture was just nice and right)

The handmade noodle with minced meat & handmade noodle with wontan 
Unfortunately I didn't quite like the noodle. My uncle who ordered a similar dish had the same comment. The noodle dish was a wee bit too salty for our liking. And the noodle felt alot like a mee jawa wannabe. The minced meat and wontan were the only saving grace. I wouldn't recommend this dish for those who do not like salty food.

Bubur Chacha 
Ahhhhh....the all Malaysian favourite....the great baba nyonya dish. This dish gets my approval. It was served chilled with a generous amount of yam and sweet potatoes with extremely thick coconut cream....mmm...mmm. Not too sweet and very refreshing and filling. Definitely a must try. 

Munch also serves a variety of finger food like bagels, croissants, sandwiches which I have yet to try. But friends who have tried them all said that they tasted great so I guess I'll be coming back again to see how good their sandwiches are.