Eating in Kuching - Dinner at Palm Garden Seafood

On the way to Damai Beach - a popular resort area in Kuching, there are several spots for seafood which are popular with the locals and visitors alike. The most well-known ones are at Buntal Village, a Malay Kampung which is just a short detour from the main road. The attraction here is you get to eat seafood at a kumpung environment right where the seafood are caught, with views of the sea. In truth, most of the seafood is now imported from elsewhere as the local catch is not sufficient to supply the restaurants.

Palm Garden Seafood used to be located along the main road near Buntal Village. It was one of the most popular restaurants. It had sinced moved down the road to Santubong Village, another Malay kampung in the area right at the foot of Mount Santubong which is a famous local landmark. This is actually a better location as the views are nicer.

The restaurant building is a large factory shade built over water, with the dining area facing out to sea. Sitting near the windows you get nice views of the sea and sunsets in the evening.

Views from the restaurant.

Mount Santubong looms over the village and restaurant.

We ordered the usual popular dishes. Started with the stirfried midin in garlic and rice wine. This was okay, but not the best.

The sweet corn soup was surprisingly tasty, with bits of fresh crab meat.

The buttered prawns was much better. Buttered prawns is a very popular dish in Kuching, and over the years different restaurants have reinvented the dish and came up with their own versions. This is the "original" version, cooked in butter and some milk powder. The caramelized bits of butter and milk solids taste really good !

The oyster omelette was a bit of a disappointment. It looked good, and was conveniently cut into wedges like a pizza. The crispy bits on the outside were okay, but towards the centre it got a bit too soggy and didn't do justice to the oysters.

The most unsuccessful dish was the deepfried squid. The batter was soggy and choked with oil, making it a torture to eat. 

This restaurant seemed to have gone downhill in the food department. It used to be really good. Maybe it was just and off day, or the main chef was on holiday ! I would still go back for the location.