Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Eating in Kuching - Dinner at the Orchid Garden Coffeehouse

A I mentioned in my previous post, the Orchid Garden Coffeehouse at Kuching Holiday Inn (now Grand Margherita) used to be an institution in Kuching. It was so popular, the place would be packed even to the late hours at night. People would be drinking coffee, enjoy some grilled steak or nasi lemak, and Hungarian Goulash - one of the coffeehouse's specialties. When other hotels came up, Orchid Garden continued to hold its own until recent years when it just couldn't compete with the spanking new and better establishments in town. Still, it has its loyal followers.

The coffeehouse has undergone a complete makeover recently. Now it has a large open kitchen in the middle, with several other cooking stations on the front and back. The seating area is divided into 2 sections, one next to the river terrace and the other just after the entrance.


The central open kitchen. One of the main flaws of the design is that the kitchen is separated from the diners with clear glass. Although this helps to reduce the fumes from the cooking stations, it makes it unfriendly - and diners have to sneak in from the side to order some of the items. A better exhaust system would have made the glass unnecessary.


The food.

The new concept has made Orchid Garden more current, and the menu has also been given a refreshment. Unfortunately the quality of the food is a bit uneven. The salads were good. The sushi was just OK. Cooked items were not very good, and desserts were very limited. There are better buffets in Kuching, but when you have grown tired of all the other places then this serves as a pleasant alternative.

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