TO THE WORLD I MAY BE ONE: A quaint little place that is MK Classico

There is this new place in town - not sure how new but one that I have recently discovered (thanks to a friend of mine) and it is the most peculiar place yet (in every way that is good, of course). Rustic, classic and nostalgic are adjectives that I would choose to describe this place, with brick and mortar walls, heavy, wooden framed sliding doors at the main entrance and big swinging doors on at the side entrance, menu items written on chalkboards overhanging the cashier.

Let's not forget to mention the décor - wooden stools with steel frame legs, a huge slab of wood as a tabletop, another glass tabletop supported with an array of twisted and twining wood, the vintage artwork printed on pieces of metal sheets, the cemented sink - MK Classico Caffe is a class on its own.

Before diving into the menu, let's highlight the venue. MK Classico Caffe is located on Jalan Tabuan. Kuchinglites would probably NOT know where that particular road is because we don't go by road names, we go by landmarks. Drive up to Ting & Ting Supermarket, pass Borneo Hotel, pass the road that leads up to Pullman (Jalan Mathies) and you should be able to see the large MK Classico logo on the side of the building to your left. Other prominent landmarks is Pete's Western, Ming Corner, Lok Lok and Ruai bar a little up the road just off the roundabout. I'd like to show you a map, but MK Classico is yet to be listed on Google Maps.

*update: MK Classico Caffe is now on Google Maps! Get your driving direction by following the link in the map.

On to the menu!

They do have wonderful range of food - from local titbits to western courses, from Cajun burgers to sloppy joe an some pies and pastries in the middle. Between the three of us the other night, we couldn't possibly order everything on the menu so we settled on these instead.

1. Striploin Steak.

Yeah I honestly don't know what that was so I looked it up. The strip steak is a cut of beef steaks from the short loin. It consists of a muscle that does little work, making the meat particularly tender though not as tender as the nearby rib eye or tenderloin. Fat content of the strip is somewhere between the two cuts. Unlike the tenderloin, the short loin is a sizeable muscle, allowing it to be cut into the larger portions. There you go, you learn something new everyday.

Portion-wise, I was hoping for it to be a bigger - but that's just me being Asian (LOL). It's actually just a nice portion, and I am glad it was served in a traditional manner - with a piece of garlic bread, vege and mashed potato. The steak itself, served with a generous amount of black pepper sauce was good. The meat juicy and tender, and quite enjoyable.

2. Cajun Chicken Burger

Cajun is a member of any of the largely self-contained communities in the bayou areas of southern Louisiana formed by descendants of French Canadians, speaking an archaic form of French. When it comes to food, anything that is 'Cajun' is usually spicy - and by spicy it refers to cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano, basil etc. A good Cajun spice is based on the first three (owh look who's the new masterchef now! LOL)

By all means, the Cajun chicken burget at MK Classico Caffe is great! The sesame bun was soft, chicken was tender, vege was crispy with just a nice amount of mayonnaise. However, it did felt like it could've been more - I was waiting for the 'kick' - but as it turns out, it was another very well executed chicken burger.

3. Chicken Schnitzels

This is a dish I am well acquainted with. the word schnitzel, is German, literally translated as slice. A chicken schnitzel, therefore is a slice of chicken (I'd be more than happy to have a couple more on my plate though >.<). The style of cooking a schnitzel is to coat it with a generous amount of breadcrumb before frying.

So, when it arrived, instead of a schitzel (or two) I got chicken julienne. Strips of chicken coated in breadcrumbs and fried. I immediately told my waitress that I ordered chicken schnitzels, not chicken nuggets, and she answered that that was their version of schnitzel. To be fair, I may have missed the small print on the menu on how it was served, but as far as taste goes, it was awesome.

Think of it this way - if you read novels (LotR, Harry Potter, Narnia etc.) you'll know that there are a wide variety of covers to choose from. The story is the same, but the covers are different. This is as if I wanted a hard cover but got paperback instead. I enjoyed it just the same.

We also ordered some drinks to go with the food (cuz we don't wanna risk choking ourselves). My friends went traditional and ordered tea. Me? Haha! Chocolate lovers are gonna love this! MK Classico Cafe is the only place I know so far in Kuching that serves NUTELLA MILKSHAKE! OMG I almost died and went to heaven at first sip! (ok, a tad dramatic but whatever!) It was seriously that good, and you can take that to the bank! It was soooooo good I'm not even gonna share the photo with you (actually it was gone by the time I remembered to take photos of it.. sowweeehhh! )

I've visited MK Classico Caffe a few time since, and was never let down by the food and the service. Do note that it is almost always a full house, so be prepared to stand in line if it turns out that way. A tip is to check their Facebook Page to see if they're open for business, and when you're there, don't forget to check in on Facebook, take lots of photos, tag their Instagram and tweet with #MKClassicoCaffe‬!

Here are some photo's for you to enjoy!