restoran best western

when in the mood for a good slab of meat or poultry, we like to head out to this place which is located on the ground floor of the hotel grand palace. this joint had a bit of a run in with their halal cert renewal, but am glad to say that they have sorted that out now, so we can head out there again without was-was. we very much like their steaks, whether the regular cut or their tournedos. the tournedos are especially really nice and succulent and tender when put into your mouth. they do actually give the steakhouses in kl a good run for their money, seriously. side dishes are good too, i am a sucker for mash, and they do this quite well here. the atmosphere is more towards fine dining, but they wont turn you away even if you turn up in a pair of shorts, just dont do the full ah pek look lah thats all with the pagoda t-shirt, though you never know and try it out yourself. back to the makan, they also do nice soups, whether mushroom, tomato or lobster bisque. salad is another area which is worth having a go with. it is sufficiently fresh and fairly well dressed and you can also decide to add chicken or fish to go with it. overall a worthwhile place to go whether it is with your family or for business.

restoran ala mak

this joint was recently opened couple months ago, and what a welcome sight it is. focusing mainly on johorean favourites (the owner is a johorean of course), it brings a new niche to this quite generic makan scene. when opened it offered only briyani gam, but now has expanded into mee bandung and mee rebus johor. the nasi briyani is light and fluffy as that is the malay interpretation of the northern indian dish. served with either beef, lamb or chicken it certainly is a very good shot at the real thing (as in nasi briyani batu pahat). you dont feel stuffed after having this briyani and so it lulls you into wanting to have more...
the mee bandung and mee rebus is also a must try as it doesnt cut any corners with the ingredients. have it with sirap bandung and youre ready to go. the place also does lots of different juices (incl pegaga), so you also get to enjoy the beverage with the makan.
located along the shop lots in piasau (opposite the shell station), with easy parking.

restoran bulatan

this is one of the places we sometime go for the basic goreng2, sup2 stuff. we happen to know the owner's spouse who works at the same place (half of this town works here), but thats not the reason why we come here. its a casual place, opens throughout the day and is quite consistent in terms of the quality of food served. most of the time its the basic nasi goreng, they do it without much fanfare and the taste is quite good, when you get that charred taste. also worth trying their hotplate, its good as well. there is a brader who does satay in the evenings, from 8 onwards, and usually is sold out by 10. price is reasonable and theres easy parking spots, except for the pasar malam nites on fridays and sats.
located along the row of shops facing the biggest roundabout (and now flyover) in miri, its quite accessible and is along the main thoroughfare of miri.

restoran selera melayu

as i am proud to say that i am from malaya, the availability of outlets that cater to the malaya's taste is something of a welcome sight to me. the fact is this: the taste buds in sarawak is a lot milder and if i may say blander than the heat and sheer flavours that the food that is normally taken by malayans. so when a colleague told me of this place, i had to give it a try. the first thing i was told about this place is the nasi lemak. and i mean nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf and newspaper. so i had to give it a shot. turns out the taste is pretty ok by the standards here (even compared to our office nasi lemak). so tick. the next thing that was a hit at this place is its masak ikan asam pedas. now if you are a fan of this stuff then this place is really worth a visit for this dish. the akak, who is from perak has got it down to a t. of course we need good, fresh fish, etc, but she has got the chili thing going with the asamness just right. make sure you're not wearing white and get some extra tissues handy coz its gonna make you sweat baby. i mean with gastronomic pleasure. you gotta go early, coz that dish goes pretty fast. we have been disappointed once, but only once. other dishes are worth a go, like the curry, masak lemak, but the signature dish is what i have described above. so what are you waiting for, get going!
located along the row of restaurants along the bulatan (known as saberkas, where the pasar malam is)

fratini's

the company allowances one gets when arriving at a new location lets you venture a bit further than your average roadside fare. so we decided to try out one of the more expensive restaurants that this 'city' has to offer. its of course easier to choose this one as just coming back from europe our memory of what is supposed to be authentic italian food is still fresh in our tastebuds, so we can compare lah. we've tried this joint a few times, and they are generally quite good. their pizzas are good the dough is light and tasty with reasonable choice of toppings. they also do good soups and salad starters. they have some interesting drinks, if i recall the four seasons mocktail is pretty refreshing. all in all its worth a try. they regularly do promos for takeaways to lure you to the place as well. they also have a little brother restaurant going by the name of piccolo fratini near the centrepoint kopitiam.

restoran muara

we have only tried one thing at this place, its famous nasi lalapan. it means eight rice, and there are supposed to be eight different things that go with the rice on the place. actually most of it are good healthy ulam (local veges), plus either meat, chicken or fish and a dollop of their very powderful sambal belacan. this place gets quite busy, as there are quite a few indons working here in the local construction and oil/gas industry who frequent this place. u gotta be ready for some sweaty head and nose after a dose of nasi lalapan, it really gets the pores opened up, but worth it! cant really say about the other items in the menu at this place, but if you are up for some serious tastebud explosions, then this is a must try. i like the meat version, its just right for the dish, as the meat are cut into rectangle slabs and cooked to a balanced crisp and tender texture. its located at the miri waterfront business area, opposite the yee ha hai seafood restaurant at the roundabout.

fajaria

back to lutong again to share a little of this favourite haunt for the office folks for lunch. it has a wide range of lauk to choose from for the nasi campur and is not bad. one thing i figured is that miri is quite a fan of this dish called 'chicken mayonnaise'. its basically deep fried breaded chicken pieces and with a layer of mayo laced over it. nevertheless their nasi campur is worth a try. nasi ayam is also another favourite there and they do the roasted version. their waitresses have gotten used to me now for the standard tapau package of a goreng dish, be it rice, kuey teow or meehoon but without seafood or egg. must say i havent been there for a while so maybe its due. one thing about ordering food here in sarawak is that most things are served with a clear hot soup. like all things alien initially, one gets used to it, and it seems like i would demand for my hot soup now to accompany my makan. this place has a sister shop called cafenika in miri town, so menu is quite similar. fajaria is in lutong town opposite the shell station.

cafe bavaria

this is a popular one for oue family. our daughter loves their potatoes and we lurve their southern german offerings which are actually quite authentic. the owner is a german herself, married to a local dude and been here for a while. she usually chills out smoking at the restaurant when its not busy, but does the cooking herself. there is a good range on the menu to try out, with their schnitzels as the main choice, but also other things like the foot long hotdog, mash potatoes and farmers lunch. the potatoes of the day are made by parboiling them and then cooked with onions, its addictive! tucked at a corner in one of the blocks in the waterfront (after the row of maybank etc), it seems to be getting busier as time goes by. also worth trying their yummy bananarama drink. desserts are unfortunately a bit of a let down, a nice strudel would be nice, but you cant have them all i suppose.

ipoh kopitiam

my first visit to this place was when i met up with my uncle syed zul having confused him for my boss in a series of hilarious sms ping pong. this place has a simple, well, kopitiam atmosphere (and air con'd too) and serves up traditional fares like kaya toast and half boiled eggs on bread. pretty good, and the ipoh white coffee is also good. the place uses chicken from a halal source and openly declares their menu is pork free. for me thats good enough not to turn down the opportunity. other things on the menu that i plan to try out are nasi lemak, and their goreng stuff. good place to widen your options and they have wi-fi in keeping up with the times. its located at the new block of shop lots on the way to miri marriott (same row as the 'smaller' fratini's).

mee kolok pak wan

back to lutong again as we try out one of the popular joint in this part of town (cant bring myself to call this place a city somehow). they serve up a popular dish called mee kolok, its a simple breakfast made up of curly noodles with a beef broth and some 'erbs thrown in. its delicious, not too heavy and reasonable too (though people are complaining of increases in costs of living reflected by the increase in price of this stuff). pak wan is a chinese who converted to islam as i understand it, so he has the knowledge of the recipe for this dish. his place also serves up other goreng stuff, notables are his 'nasi goreng belacan semua (or all)'. its an interesting one which is worth a try. located opposite the shell station (near the car wash).

mee jawa hole # 9

we heard about this place even before we arrived here. our friends told us about the great mee jawa and fried chicken that they serve for breakfast. the name giveaway as to its location, tucked away next to the hole # 9 tee box at kgm (kelab golf miri). do come early as they are sold out by late morning. patience would come in handy too, so come along with your mates or have some papers handy to read. i quite enjoy dropping by after an early 9 hole round. the secret to the mee jawa (or any mee jawa) is the kuah, here you can ask for the tulang (i.e the meat on the bone - supposed to be juicier) or just the meat on its own. the fried chicken is made fresh, piping hot as it arrives on the table. down it with some nescafe tarik, and you are ready for the rest of the day ahead. apart from that, they also do mee/kuey teow goreng which also taste good.

restoran norhikmah

this is the place i would go to get my fix of roti telur for breakfast. am a big fan of this stuff, and this place serves up the closest thing there is to the popular mamak fare more commonly found in 'malaya' as the locals would say. tucked in the main part of lutong town (opposite the shell station), the proprietors of this place do look convincingly like indian muslims who should know a thing or two about making a nice kuah dahl with sambal to go with the roti telur. ask for roti telur bawang and extra garing for greater effect. goes down well with a nice teh or nescafe tarik, you pick. it also serves up a decent bit of nasi lemak with all the bits on the side, like sambal, egg(s), chicken, timun etc. etc. its open pretty much for all the main meals of the day. a satay stand opens up in the evening and it is also very good, though the kuah kacang can be a bit too oily (some would say thats why it tastes good). we had it at a friends place the other nite, and it was delish. anyway, have a go and try it for yourself.

prologue

food heaven is definitely not the first words that come to mind when trying to match with miri. having said that it does however offer some points of refuge for those who are in the search of good (and halal) makan spots, regardless of other facets like ambience, price, location and even ease of parking. i hope this site provides a small service to the people of this place we currently call home. have fun searching, if you know of good makan, then put your comments in and i will give it a go and maybe even write about it!