A Novice Guide to What to Eat in Miri, Sarawak

If you are travelling to Miri to explore Niah National Park or to check out the Curtin University campus, you might wonder about your meal options. Perhaps you are simply heading over to catch a connecting flight to the Mulu Caves or are visiting for business. Whatever your reason, you can cast your worries aside, even if you, like us, are novice visitors. There is plenty to eat in this coastal city in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak

Getting There: Two-Hour Scoot Flight

Miri sits in northern Sarawak, just across the border from Brunei. For Bruneians, Miri is what Johor Bahru is to Singaporeans.

Getting to Miri from Singapore is straightforward. Budget carrier Scoot operates direct flights from Changi Airport, and the journey takes just about two hours.

However, you should keep the airline’s strict policies about food in mind. Passengers are not allowed to consume their own food and drinks on the plane. Scoot sells food on board during the flight. But because the journey is short, the options are quite limited. The snack cart principally carries light bites like cookies and instant cup noodles.

If you want a more substantial meal, remember to order online before you fly. Pre-booking opens up a much wider range of choices, including the comforting braised chicken with rice that we had on our flight. The presentation was as basic as it gets, but the food was quite appetising.

Where to Stay: Convenience in the City Centre

Miri has plenty of good hotel options. There are waterfront options such as the Pullman Miri Waterfront or the Miri Marriott Resort & Spa. In the city centre there is Mercure Miri, which opened in 2023.

For our trip, we stayed at the Imperial Hotel Miri, which sits right in the city centre. The hotel features a modern extension called the Imperial Permaisuri Wing. Our New Wing Superior King Room was only S$150 for 2 nights

This wing connects directly to the Permaisuri Imperial City Mall. The setup makes it very convenient for shopping and dining.

Breakfast in the Hotel

For an add-on of 20 ringgit (or about S$6) per person per day, we could enjoy the buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Breakfast was served at the Permaisuri Coffee House, which offered a fairly typical hotel buffet spread. There were stations for bread and pastries, as well as cereal and fruits. There was also an egg station, alongside local dishes such as porridge, noodles (including Sarawak laksa and kolo mee), and nasi lemak.

Permaisuri Imperial City Mall

Inside the clean, modern mall, you will find a familiar and comfortable environment. Well-known brands like Starbucks and Kenny Rogers Roasters occupy prominent spots.

Alongside these familiar names, the mall houses many interesting restaurants. They serve everything from local Sarawakian specialties to regional Malaysian and international cuisines.

Street Food at Wireless Walk

If you want to try street food, you will want to head out to Wireless Walk. Directly opposite the Imperial Hotel, the food strip comes alive in the evening.

The entire street pavement transforms into a bustling night market, or pasar malam. It is a place to hunt for cheap, delicious street food. The rows of brightly lit stalls offer a bit of everything. You will find local snacks right next to vendors selling Western comfort food.

From Retro Icons to Trendy Cafes

Miri’s food scene is diverse, bridging old-school charm and modern trends. A good example of this is the iconic Ming Cafe.

This classic establishment sports a retro, eclectic look. It draws a huge, lively crowd of locals and tourists every single night. The massive menu spans from Western grills and pizzas to local zi char stir-fry dishes.

Miri has its fair share of contemporary, swish-looking cafes and casual diners. These trendy spaces serve specialty coffee, desserts, and a varierty of international and fusion dishes.

Miri also has many standalone restaurants similar to what you would find in most Asian cities. There are restaurants serving Chinese dim sum, Korean BBQ, Vietnamese pho and more.

You can still easily find very traditional, old-school zhichar restaurants and coffee shops.

If you want to take a break from street food, the city offers some upscale options. You can head to The Nest Grill & Lounge for a dinner featuring premium steaks and modern European cooking. Alternatively, you can enjoy a refined international buffet at Zest, located inside the Marriott Resort.

Inside the Container City Food Court

For a concentrated dose of great food options, head to the food court in Container City. You can find it at Lot 2225, Jalan North Yu Seng.

The food court sits opposite one of the sections of Wireless Walk. It uses refurbished shipping containers stacked across two levels to create a very cool, hip dining space.

The venue houses a wide variety of independent stalls. It offers a great mix of local Sarawakian, Indonesian, and Western street food. The entire space is pork-free and alcohol-free, making it highly accessible for everyone.

We naturally had to try the local kolo noodles and satay.

There were many varieties of kolo noofles. We opted for the Mee Kolok Minced Beef Dry (RM7). The blanched and then tossed egg noodles were springy. The minced beef topping had a savoury, slightly caramelised flavour. The dish was simple but had a pleasant mix of textures and subtle flavours. It was enjoyable.

The satay (RM11.50 for five sticks of chicken and five sticks of beef) was exactly what we hoped for. It was well-grilled over charcoal and delicious. However, the accompanying peanut sauce was quite different from the version we were used to in Singapore. The gravy here was thinner and not spicy. Despite the milder profile, it was still very pleasing.

A Food Destination

Miri offers a wide and impressive range of food options, featuring popular street food and traditional local recipes. Dishes to try in Miri include Sarawak laksa, kolo mee, fried kueh teow, roti canai, satay and nasi lemak. Other local specialities to sample include ayam pansuh, umai and Foochow red wine mee. Download the Sarawak Tourism Board Food Brochure (below) for more information on what to eat in Miri.

There is plenty to eat in this coastal city in East Malaysia, and it easily caters to every budget. Miri might just be a worthwhile destination for a purely culinary holiday.