“It is truly the highlight of the calendar for Kuching in which we come together irrespective of race, religion, young or old… to celebrate your city, my city, our city, to enjoy the foods and each other, to laugh together, to make money together, to put on weight together!”
– Sarawak Deputy Premier, Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian
I WANTED to go to the Kuching Festival Food Fair during my days off earlier this week. But the traffic jam around the vicinity of Dewan Masyarakat MBKS, the site of the food fair, was really terrible last Wednesday evening.
If we had decided to visit the fair, my nephew, Ah Kiong, would have park his car very far away and we would have to walk a fair distance to the venue. But Ah Kiong did not want me to walk that far.
So in the end, he and his wife, Terisa, decided to skip the trip and treat me instead to dinner at a popular Chinese pork stall in Padungan instead.
That’s the advantage of living in Kuching, a UNESCO-designated Creative City of Gastronomy. There’s good food everywhere if you know where to find them.
Not only at the Kuching Festival Food Fair.
Among the dishes Ah Kiong ordered at the Chinese pork stall were Lor Bak Kah/Braised Pork Knuckle (rich, gelatinous pork leg or trotters slow cooked in a dark soya sauce) and Mui Choy Kau Yuk (steamed pork belly layered with savoury, salted preserved mustard greens). We also had fish soup featuring fresh fish slices, minced meat and bouncy fish balls simmered in a rich, sweet pork bone broth enhanced with ginger, salted vegetables and pepper.
Ah Kiong, Terisa, Angel (Ah Kiong’s daughter) and I sat along the quiet five-foot way in front of the shop. We chatted happily and laughed as we enjoyed the authentic Chinese dishes that Ah Kiong and his wife ordered.
I learnt from Ah Kiong that the cook was a man from China and the soya sauce he used was specially ordered from China.
My friends, I was not sad that I did not go to the Kuching Festival Food Fair. I am not a foodie and I don’t eat much. I also dislike big crowds.
This year’s Kuching Food Festival, which runs from July 22 to August 16, features around 330 food and drink stalls (plus 90 indoor trade show booths). It offers a massive mix of local Sarawakian favourites and international street food snacks.
Do you know that Kuching Festival Food Fair 2026 recorded 72,596 visitors on its opening night (July 22, 2026), which coincided with Sarawak Day?
The next morning, most of the stall holders must have rushed to the banks with big smiles to deposit their daily cash earnings after a very profitable day of sales.
The types of food on sale at the Kuching Festival Food Fair include local Sarawak delights like ‘kolo mee’, Sarawak laksa, ‘chicken pansuh’ as well as Asian street food including Sushi, oyster omelets, Thai marinated seafood, takoyaki, hotteok pancakes and Taiwanese sausages in various flavours.
Also available are popular snacks and trendy eats like grilled squids, satay, potato swirls, mochi, soufflés and fresh oysters..
Do you know who are excited about the Kuching Festival Food Fair? Millennials (or members of the Generation Y), like my niece, Ah Hong and daughter-in-law, Amelia.
Ah Hong, who’s working in Singapore, flew back just for the food fair. She visited it on the first and second day it opened.
“I tried the sushi taco, shiopan, matcha beancurd/quail and matcha ice cream. This year, I was not sure what was new because I did not visit it last year,” she told me.
“It was very crowded and hard to find parking space.”
Nevertheless, she enjoyed the visit. She said she had tasted the food she bought before – in Japan.
“I just wanted to find out whether they would be nicer here,” she told me.
Meanwhile, Amelia visited the Kuching Festival Food Fair one Saturday after work.
“Since my office is located just opposite the venue of the fair, I decided to join the crowd to see what was interesting,” she told me.
“Are there anything interesting this year?” I asked her.
“Durian Cheese Naan. My sister bought it when she brought her kids to the fair and then shared it with us,” she replied.
“What did you buy?”
“Fried Sio Bee. Black pepper pork sausage. It was soft, firm and juicy.”
“Was the place crowded?”
“It was 5 pm and still not overly crowded. I parked in front of my office.”
My friends, if you have not visited the food fair, you have until August 16 to do so.
If you like authentic, traditional family recipes, visit the Bumiputera Corner and Chinese Home Cook Delicacy Corner.
You can also check out the special Dayak rice wine area or watch the nightly cultural shows, music and traditional dances.
Just remember to go to the venue early so that you can find a parking space and do not have to walk very far. Wishing you lots of fun.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at adelinel888@gmail.com.
