Kuching - Chinatown

Padungan Road is normally considered as the Chinatown of Kuching, due to the concentration of Chinese Traders here. In the old days, this must have been like a departmental store for the people. There are shops here selling everything from food, household provisions, house ware and medicine to bicycles, motorbikes, and even wheelchairs. You can get everything you need just by walking down one street. Very convenient.

Like many old parts of Kuching, new trendy outlets like cafes and restaurants are making their way into Padungan. Some of the places to check out are Bing Café, Tom’s and Exza. Bing Cafe is a very nicely decorated café serving Illy coffee and cakes. Tom’s is a Western restaurant famous for it’s steaks and nice cakes. Exza is another Western café for steaks and fish & chips. There are also some pubs down at the Western end of Padungan road – Soho and Ipanema are next to each other and very popular with the night crowd.