Wild durian and Kolok/Kolo mee of Miri; A trip to Sarawak’s jungle Pt. II

My first encounter with the Miri wild durian

I got my first taste of wild durian and Mee ‘Kolok’ or simply Mee ‘Kolo’  in Miri. Both of these foods are familiar to me yet uniquely different. I am beginning to love this town even more now. A Sarawak jungle food and local delicacy all  in one evening. Awesome!

I have tried my fair of wild durian in Peninsula Malaysia. I have tried durian kampong, durian cengkih and a host of other versions of durians that claims to be ‘wild’. But perhaps none comes close to this particular yellowish durian from Sarawak.

A pile of these wild durians are sold at RM20

Now, this durian is small by all means. Not only is the fruit itself is small but the flesh and seed inside are small as well. The fruit is not as aromatic as one would expect but the flesh definitely taste awesome.

The fruit is no bigger than my palm

The yummy wild durians from Sarawak

Like the fruit, the flesh is intensely yellowish.

I shared the fruit with Pak Abu and JC. Paid RM8 for a fruit and I think I can safely say that we all enjoyed the fruit.

The wild durian seeds are small

Now the Kolok Mee and Peninsula’s Kuan Lo Mee or Wanton Mee is quite similar. Just that there is no black soya sauce and the noodles seems…flatter & tastes a bit more ‘eggy’. My bowl of Kolok Mee came with a bowl of soup and some slices of pork. All in all, very nice and for less than RM3 per bowl, who can complain?

The Kolok/Kolo Mee of Miri

So…what else is good in Miri town. Many! Perhaps a bit too many. The toilet bowl became my closest companion a couple of times. Thank God for them Smectas and Charcoal pills. Two must have concoctions when trying new food in a new place. I suspect that perhaps the street food are the main culprit, nevertheless their calling is just too much for me to resist. At the end of my first two days in Miri, I felt that I have piled on enough local food to start my jungle trip the following day.

Click to read Part I


Continue reading other parts of this adventure below:

• First time in Miri Town, Sarawak
• Wild durian & Kolok mee at Miri.
• 5 hours on a 4WD into interior off Miri.
• Unique local houses in Sarawak interior.
• Smoked wild boar…nice!
• Loooong hike to look for an elusive waterfall.
• Sarawak river boats and a raging river.
• Jungle vines and rattan used in the jungles of Sarawak.
• Umbut or heart of palm tasting, first experience.
• Harvesting of the umbut by the Penan.
• Malat & Penat; the Penan’s blades.
• Kitchen in a traditional house.
• Video on jungle kitchen & feather stick making.

Click here to read about another rainforest adventure in Semban, Sarawak.