Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 082-258329; 5 Jln Green Hill; d RM55-60, tr RM80; )
Hidden away in a
commercial building, John's is a neat but rather unexciting spot to grab some Zs. Has 13
simple, practical rooms of medium size with spring mattresses - and without musty
odours. The cheaper doubles look out onto the hallway.
Mandarin Hotel $
( 082-418269; Lorong Green Hill 3; d/tr from RM55/75; )
This old-time
Chinese hotel is head and shoulders above half-a-dozen similarly priced joints nearby. The
20 decent, no-frills rooms come with windows (no mustiness!), snow-white walls, 1960s
Linoleum desks, 1970s-style window-unit air-con and a time-warp vibe.
HOTEL
Abell Hotel $$
( 082-239449;
www.abellhotel.com
; 22 Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman; s/d from RM111/
175; )
Opened in 2011, this nonsmoking hotel helps solve Kuching's shortage of
good tourist-class hotels. The 80 rooms are stylish but not luxurious; the cheapest look out
on an ersatz airwell. The name - like that of the street outside - is pronounced like the
word 'able'.
HOTEL
Eating
Kuching is the best place in Malaysian Borneo to work your way through the entire range
of Sarawak-style cooking. At hawker centres, you can pick and choose from a variety of
Chinese and Malay stalls, each specialising in a particular culinary tradition or dish. Jln
Padungan, home to some of the city's best noodle houses, is undergoing something of a
restaurant, cafe and bar boom.
If you'd like to start a good-natured argument, ask a group of locals where Kuching's
best Sarawak laksa (a deliciously spicy, tangy noodle soup) is served.
DAYAK
Dyak $$$
( 082-234068; Jln Mendu & Jln Simpang Tiga; mains RM18-30; noon-11pm, last
order 9.30pm)
Kuching's most important culinary event of the last few years was the
opening of this elegant restaurant, the first to treat Dayak home cooking as true cuisine.
The chef, classically trained in the Western tradition, takes traditional recipes, many of
