Last week I had lunch with my classmate, Alan and he suggested that we go to the Borneo Coffee Cafe. Since I had not been there before, I thought that I will try it out.
The cafe is located in an old but well-maintained bungalow off Jalan Tabuan in Kuching. The ground floor serves as a café, while the first floor is used as a lodge for passing tourists. I don't think the lodge will have much business as there are very few tourists in Kuching now.
Although it is lunch time, the place is not busy. And the decor of the cafe is very simple.
The ambience of this cafe is very relaxing. You can enjoy your meal or coffee here in a peacful and quiet just like when you are dining in your own home. In fact, I feel as if I am at home. This is the ideal place if you have to have a long or serious discussion with someone over a meal.
It will be nice if they place some books so that customers can read while waiting for their food to be served or to kill time while waiting for someone who’s late for meeting there. Alternatively, they can provide some board games for their customers.
Alan and I decided to take our lunch at the beautiful lush terrace. It was windy and so it was not too hot.
I had never tried this cafe before and I was actually surprised by the food menu available there. Initially I thought that this was another one of those hipster cafes but it turned out that they serve local food as well!
For our lunch, I ordered chicken rendang (or ayam rendang in Malay) while Alan opted for a chicken chop. For his drinks, Alan ordered a coconut shake and I just ordered plain water. I am fine with plain water as I want to cut down my calories.
The chicken rendang is a Malaysian classic where the chicken is cooked with aromatic spices in creamy coconut milk. The rendang gravy was thick and rich in flavor. It went really well with the rice!
According to Alan, the chicken chop was also very good and tender.
The coconut shake was cool and refreshing, ideal for our tropical climate
Our dishes were served within 10 minutes of ordering them. The food was delicious! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in Kuching, especially if you're looking for a quiet place to have a meal with your friends and family.
