Annie Kolo Mee 一碗麵 — Restaurant in Sarawak

This place has seriously poor service. I ordered first, yet they chose to serve the family of 5 who ordered after me just because they are regular local customers. And even then, when the food finally came, it was the wrong order.

When I asked what “handmade noodle” meant, the staff who took my order couldn’t answer and didn’t even try to find out. She was only interested in flirting with the men around her rather than doing her job properly. When the wrong order was served, she avoided us entirely and wouldn’t even make eye contact because she knew she made a mistake.

Instead of fixing it, the other lady told me to “add red sauce”. Well I didn’t disagree because I had to leave for a flight, no time to wait for another bowl after they skipped my turn and served the family of 5 first.

The noodles themselves were also disappointing, lacking oil fragrance and overall flavour. The place has air-conditioning but it’s still hot and stuffy inside, which made the experience even more unpleasant.

Unprofessional and not worth returning.

Update: I spoke to the owner, but there was no real resolution. The apologies did not feel sincere. The owner insists that their system is to serve whoever enters the restaurant first, even if that table takes much longer to place their order - meaning someone who orders immediately will be served later. Apparently, it is acceptable for earlier customers to take their time because they will still be served first regardless.

I was also not offered a replacement bowl, despite the mistake being on their side. There was a language barrier which affected order accuracy - for eg, the staff literally could NOT understand the word “red”, and I had to translate it to “merah” to make my order clear. The amusing part is that owner tried to twist the situation to suggest that we ordered wrongly, even though I had repeated both words in English and Malay, red and merah kolomee several times to make her understand.

I maintain that this is extremely poor customer service, but if this is their SOP, then in their view they are not wrong. That alone says everything.

The CCTV clearly showed that the staff did not clarify anything and chose to serve another table of men only, completely avoiding ours so you call it whatever you wish to. No amount of apology can change the situation when there is no genuine remorse. The way it was framed made it seem as though I was at fault for the misunderstanding.

Additionally, getting upset over a blurred photo showing only the side of a face, when the intention was simply to identify which staff member handled the service, was unnecessary. It was never about shaming anyone, but about highlighting the situation.

This was by far my worst dining experience in my entire three days in Kuching. There is no point in discussing anything further with an owner who refuses to acknowledge fault and offers insincere apologies. The best decision is to go elsewhere - Kuching has plenty of options. There is no reason to stress ourselves with such unnecessary poor service.

Thank you for ending my trip...

Is this one of the best kolo mee in Kuching? I read on social media and was convinced to come here to try. Arrived on a weekday afternoon and the shop was very quiet. Had a look at the menu and they were selling a lot other stuff other than kolo mee. Since this shop specializes in kolo mee, I had to give it a try. Didn't know what to order so asked the staff to recommend. Wanted to go along with the most original combination for the signature style so he recommended me the red sauce with curly noodles. Thought I would need something else so I ordered the wanton soup. Wanted a Borneo honey drink and it was unavailable so I got the kedongdong drink. Didn't take long for the food to be served. First came the drink which came in a tall big glass. Very value for money and a very healthy drink to try. Next came the kolo mee. I never really tried kolo mee before so I won't be able to tell if its the best but I have to say it's good. The sauce is nice and the noodles were springy. The combination was good and loved the minced meat as well. Definitely a nice hearty bowl of noodles. Then came the wanton soup. Was quite surprised that the portion was so big. The number of wantons shocked me, seemed to be more than the soup. I did a count and there were about 12 wantons in the soup! The portions here are pretty big so they are actually quite good for sharing. Prices are very reasonable and value for money. Worth a visit to try the kolo mee....

The Unexpected Bowl of Nostalgia I had never been to this place before. I only found it through Google reviews—nothing extraordinary, just a casual search. But something about it made me want to give it a try. So I did.

When I stepped inside, the silence hit me first. The place was empty. My stomach twisted a little. Had I made a mistake? Maybe it was too early. Maybe breakfast here wasn’t a thing. But since I was already here, I decided to stay.

I scanned the menu and ordered kolo mee. The waitress, barely looking up, asked, “You want red?”

Red? That caught me off guard. “Which one is the most famous?” I asked.

She finally looked at me and said, “Red.”

I nodded. “Okay, red.”

A few minutes later, the bowl arrived. One bite—and I was somewhere else entirely. The noodles had the perfect bounce, the texture almost playful. The taste? A flawless dance of sweet, salty, sour… and something else. Something warm. Something familiar.

It tasted like childhood. Like the quiet mornings when my grandma would make a simple meal that somehow felt like a feast. The kind of taste that wrapped around you, reminding you that you were safe, that you were loved.

I closed my eyes, letting it sink in.

Whoever cooked this had put more than just ingredients into the bowl. There was heart in this.

And for that, I was...