Sarikei Kolo Mee

One of the stalls that we had been passing by a fair bit but hadn’t really got to trying out is Sarikei Kolo Mee — got to know about the existence of the stall whilst passing by the Geylang Bahru neighbourhood on one occasion. Sarikei Kolo Mee is actually one of the stalls operating within the coffeeshop situated at Blk 63 Kallang Bahru; other notable stalls operating within the same coffeeshop would include names such as Rooster Bowl Wanton Noodles, Bugis Fish Head Steamboat and an outlet of Mun Kee Pig Organ Soup 文記豬什湯大王. Occupying a stall space that is almost twice the size of a typically-sized coffeeshop stall, Sarikei Kolo Mee is an establishment that strives to serve up a taste of home — its namesake does suggest that they do serve up Malaysian-style fare; this is considering how Sarikei is the capital of Sarawak. Whilst most Sarawakian establishments in Singapore tend to place their focus in serving up Sarawak Kolo Mee and Sarawak Laksa, Sarikei Kolo Mee is one of the rare few that solely focuses on Kolo Mee — the menu features a variety of Kolo Mee dishes, as well as a number of side dishes that one can order to share across the table. Interestingly, Sarikei also does offer patrons with the flexibility of ordering the Kolo Mee and their choice of side dishes in the form of a Set as well; this enables patrons to try out a variety of dishes that they have to offer.

It is needless to say that we would be going for the Sarikei Kolo Mee a go during our visit here; after all, this is the dish that bears the same namesake as the stall anyway. Sarikei Kolo Mee does allow patrons to have the flexibility of opting between three different types of noodles for their noodle offerings — the choices would include the Kolo Mee, Kampua Mee, as well as the Mee Pok. Also a choice for the patrons would be whether they wish to have the “white” or the “black” version of the noodles; the former would see the noodles being tossed in lard, while the latter would see the noodles being tossed with dark sauce instead. For our order, we went with the Kolo Mee with an additional portion of noodles, whilst opting for the “white” version. Sarikei Kolo Mee does not describe the elements that come with their dishes, though it can be observed from our order that the Sarikei Kolo Mee that it comes with the usual suspects — Char Siew, Minced Pork, leafy greens and spring onions. Giving the noodles a bit of a toss, we liked how the noodles were springy and came all flavourful with every strand of the noodles having adequately coated with lard; very slurpy and delightful to have in its own. There are times where we find the minced meat in Kolo Mee dishes to have come a little too tangy from the vinegar during the cooking process; the minced meat here was however pretty enjoyable — provides a meaty bite without being too tangy nor did it reek of any undesirable porky stench either. What we found to be really surprising about the whole bowl was actually in the Char Siew that accompanied the dish; whilst most stalls serving up Kolo Mee tend to serve Char Siew prepared using the generic red dye, Sarikei Kolo Mee actually went the way of serving up the Char Siew that one would typically find at stalls serving up Malaysian-style roast meats — Char Siew that comes with a glistening and sticky, dark honey glaze. Even the cut of pork used for the Char Siew here is worth mentioning; melt-in-the-mouth without being particularly fatty / gelatinous.

Another dish that we really enjoyed during our visit to Sarikei Kolo Mee was the Stir-Fried Money Cai with Eggs. Dishes that uses Sayur Manis as a core ingredient are hard to find, and the mention of Money Cai as the primary ingredient of the dish in a Sarawakian setting does remind us a little bit of the Money Cai Longevity Noodle that Tracy’s Sarawak Kitchen serves up (though we still have yet to try it). Some mentions that the texture of the vegetable when stir-fried does seem to resemble that of spinach, but what really got us going for more was that combination of umami notes and sweetness almost akin to seaweed that made it so intriguing — this is not forgetting the nibs of egg that further adds on to the texture and the flavours of the dish. Apart from the Stir-Fried Money Cai with Eggs, we also went for the Hakka Fried Pork. Like the Stir-Fried Money Cai with Eggs, it was a little bit of a pity that the item is prepared ahead of time and wasn’t warmed up prior to being plated — that being said, we still found the Hakka Fried Pork to be crisps on the exterior; the umami notes or the marination using fermented beancurd being especially evident. They do serve their Hakka Fried Pork with a variety of cuts of pork so there are some parts where things are little meatier with a bit of bite, while the fattier parts are actually a good balance of textures without feeling particularly gelatinous. It is also noted that the Hakka Fried Pork did not feel greasy, and was a dish that we enjoyed overall apart from it being served at room temperature.

Whilst we do seem to see an uptick of Sarawakian-themed establishments having set up shop all across the island in the past couple of years, we did feel like Sarikei Kolo Mee does seem to be somewhat of a hidden gem amongst the other places of similar nature that we had visited thus far — not only do they seem to look into the details of the various elements in the dishes that they serve, but they do also serve up a decent number of sides that are typically not offered at stalls which are focused on serving up Kolo Mee. The prices of its offerings are also pretty reasonable for an establishment operating within a coffeeshop; their noodles are being priced between $5.50 and $6, while the sets are priced between $9 to $9.50. Needless to say, Sarikei Kolo Mee is an establishment that is likely to be appreciated by the folks residing around it, whilst also being an establishment that those looking for a taste of Sarawakian fare should definitely check out!