Rock Road Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Sarawak

February 2020 - We were having a farewell dinner at this iconic seafood restaurant that has a rich history among the people of Kuching. I haven't been back since 1985 and it was a nostalgic moment for me. Anyway, when you first walk in to this restaurant, the first area is the fresh and live seafood (plus vegetables, poultry, lamb and beef. They don't sell pork) area where you choose and discuss what you want, what kind of taste, and how it is cooked with the staff. You then proceed to the upper level where the dining area is located.

There are multiple private rooms but of course, you need to pay a premium to use the facility. I've ordered 4 medium sized dishes for 4 people and the dinner starts with an appetiser; fermented cabbage slices. These were chilli crabs (weighing about 1.1 kg) stir fried blood clams with ginger, mixed vegetables and steamed tiger prawns. The blood clams are slightly smaller [than usual] and therefore, not easy to eat.

The first dish came out within 10 minutes followed by the second dish within 5 minutes of the first dish. All these dishes were flavourful and enjoyable to eat. They will provide each patron with a pair of gloves and crab cracker (a specialised food utensil) for eating chilli crabs.

Overall, what can I say, those dishes were delicious 😋.slightly pricey but well worth it.

This is a licensed eatery and you can order the drinks 🍻🍺. Plenty of non-alcoholic drinks such as soft drinks and fruit juices.

There is no outdoor eating area and smoking 🚬 is [definitely] not permitted anywhere inside or within 3m to the eatery (new regulations from. Malaysia 🇲🇾 government).

Onsite and street parking 🅿.

They accept cash and credit card payments only for those who want to know.

Would I go back? Yes ☺ Food:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. I'm loving it 😋. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5.  Welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. The decor is slightly dated. Cleanliness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Reasonably clean at the dining area as well as the toilets 🚻. Price: ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5....

I recently visited Rock Road Stone Seafood Restaurant on a Saturday afternoon with a group of five people. The restaurant is a two-story establishment, with the ground floor housing the payment counter and a captivating live seafood aquarium. The dining area is situated on the second floor, offering ample space and a typical restaurant ambiance with air conditioning, warm yellow lighting, and round tables dressed in tablecloths.

Our menu choices included stir-fried midin (a famous Sarawakian vegetable), Teow Chew pan-fried oysters, stir-fried mani leaf, the signature Hainanese special prawn, and bamboo shell with cheese. Surprisingly, my favorite dish turned out to be the stir-fried mani leaf, while the seafood, although OK, had smaller prawn sizes and didn't quite meet our expectations. The waiting time for our dishes was around 20 minutes, even though there were only two tables of customers, including us.

In terms of service, while the staff was efficient, their friendliness left something to be desired.

In summary, Rock Road Stone Seafood Restaurant proved to be a decent dining place for our group of five. I would recommend having the stir-fried mani leaf on your table, while the seafood was not to my taste. However, it is worth trying other seafood dishes, as you might find one that suits...

ABOUT THE EMPURAUS -

Wanted to treat our long time family friends to a good river fish empurau in this air-conditioned nice restaurant but rejected by our dear friend as he hd been fishing empuraus and having so much of it during his younger days fishing at Kuala Tahan, Taman Negara in 1972s with a license.

He told us how the upstream empuraus tasted so much better. Never crossed our mind when he revealed that empuraus are actually best eaten grilled not steamed. All it needed is a bit of salt and a sprinkle of lime once done. It was so oily in nature that a stack of its bone and scales will lit up like a bonfire once lighted up.

In its habitat, this fish feeds on fruits/seeds from the Engkaban trees, Neram, jambu air, and Keraya/Seraya(not sure)

We were told that during the seasonal droppings of Keraya/Seraya fruit, one may consume the empuraus fish during this time but not the eggs in its belly. Consuming it will make one hallucinating. Very Interesting!

Seafood noodle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 Prawn with buns ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5 Stir-fry fern with garlic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5 but the garoupa is not fresh.

Attentive Serves. Place is well lit. Elderly may find it difficult to walk on slightly narrow staircase....