Juara Express

Food Hunting at Menggatal Plaza

A traveller said, “I won’t have the memory of a city, if I don’t remember how its food tastes like.” Smell is the sense most closely linked with memory, and it can trigger a memory. We tend to recall more happy things while we enjoy great food. Agree? That’s why our food quest is a lifelong journey. Thanks to EatBah.com, I found some great stuffs at Menggatal Plaza (see Location Map or Street View), about 20 minutes away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK).

Relax Cafe

My first impression of Relax Cafe is a home-like cozy place filled with nice aroma of coffee.

Relax Cafe
Relax Cafe

The most ideal picture of my life is reading a book and relaxing in a cafe. Besides coffee, I love the smell of books. Coffee and books are prominent elements in the trendy interior design of this little cafe, so yea, I like its identity.

Interior of Relax Cafe
Interior of Relax Cafe (Click to Enlarge)

This cafe makes smart use of spacing and soft lighting to create many “small worlds”. You can find a little personal corner that belongs to you and your friends. In city, most cafes want to stuff as many desks as possible in a small area, making us feel like sitting in an open public area.

Relax Cafe: Oreo Lover (MYR12)
Relax Cafe: Oreo Lover (MYR12)

Most other cafes sell mainly cakes and dessert. Relax Cafe has some stomach fillers. The following are some of the items (*Serve No Pork):
– Oreo Lover (MYR12)
– Hot Commando Latte (MYR10)
– Cappuccino (MYR8.50)
– Hot Relax Chocolate (MYR7.50)
– Relax Signature Cheesy Snacks (MYR12.90)
– Cheesy Chicken on Papan (MYR28)
(Prices as of Nov 2016)

Relax Cafe: Cappuccino (MYR8.50) and Hot Relax Chocolate (MYR7.50)
Relax Cafe: Cappuccino (MYR8.50) and Hot Relax Chocolate (MYR7.50)
Relax Cafe: relax signature cheesy snacks (MYR12.90)
Relax Cafe: relax signature cheesy snacks (MYR12.90) (avalanche of cheese!)
Relax Cafe: cheesy chicken on papan (MYR28)
Relax Cafe: Cheesy Chicken on Papan (MYR28)

When I was looking around, I saw a pretty girl smiling at me. I took a deep breath, walked to her, and said, “Sorry Miss, would you please move away? I need the power points behind you.” Ok, I’m just kidding. She is Kimberly Vung, the Miss Sabah Tourism 2016, in our food hunting group. I’m just trying to say that it’s very thoughtful this cafe has many power points, something that I always search high and low in other restaurants.

Tour package to Kota Kinabalu
Relax Cafe
Relax Cafe (note the power points behind her lol)

To find out more about Relax Cafe, check this out:
Tel: +60 19-8231127
E-mail: relaxcoffeecafe@gmail.com
Opening Hours: 11am – 11pm daily

Juara Express

What’s for lunch / dinner? For food, I’m very lazy to think what to eat, so Nasi Ayam (Chicken Rice) is my default choice.

Restoran Juara Xpress (Halal)
Restoran Juara Xpress (Halal)

Therefore, if the price of chicken rice rises, that’ll affect my income. In KK, most chicken rice costs MYR7 and more. In Menggatal Plaza, you still can find cheap chicken rice at Juara Express:
– Nasi Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken Rice) (MYR5.30)
– Ayam Kon Lou Mee (Noodle with Chicken) (MYR5.80)

Restoran Juara Xpress: Chicken Rice (Nasi Ayam Goreng (MYR5.30))
Restoran Juara Xpress: Chicken Rice (Nasi Ayam Goreng (MYR5.30)). Thank you Eilvane for holding the bite so we can take photos.

The quantity of the chicken is not bad, at least the meat is more than cucumber. You can have noodle there too.

Restoran Juara Xpress: Chicken Noodle (Ayam Kon Lou Mee (MYR5.80))
Restoran Juara Xpress: Chicken Noodle (Ayam Kon Lou Mee (MYR5.80))

There are 9 other Juara branches in Sabah:
Tel: +60 88-433653
Opening Hours: 10am – 9:30pm daily

Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁)

Our next stop is a Chinese restaurant called Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) next to Upperstar.

Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁)
Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) opens from 5pm to 11pm daily

We tried the following dishes:
– Pork Belly with Salted Fish 咸鱼花腩煲 MYR12 (S) MYR20 (M)
– Nam Lu Chicken Wing 南乳鸡翼 MYR10 (S) MYR20 (L)
– Fried Tom Yam Meehoon 炒冬炎米粉 MYR10
– Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) from Paul Ikan Panggang (separate stall in this restaurant) MYR4/100gram

Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Pork Belly with Salted Fish (咸鱼花腩煲) MYR12 (S) MYR20 (M)
Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Pork Belly with Salted Fish (咸鱼花腩煲) MYR12 (S) MYR20 (M)
Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Nam Lu Chicken Wing (南乳鸡翼) MYR10 (S) MYR20 (L)
Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Nam Lu Chicken Wing (南乳鸡翼) MYR10 (S) MYR20 (L)

I like their Pork Belly with Salted Fish and Nam Lu Chicken Wing, very appetizing.

Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Fried Tom Yam Meehoon (炒冬炎米粉) MYR10 (meat / seafood)
Phoenix Restaurant (名凰阁) : Fried Tom Yam Meehoon (炒冬炎米粉) MYR10 (meat / seafood)
Paul Ikan Panggang: Ikan Bakar (Grilled Stingray) MYR4/100gm
Paul Ikan Panggang: Ikan Bakar (Grilled Stingray) MYR4/100gm

More info of Phoenix Restaurant:
Facebook: PhoenixRestaurantkk
Tel: +60 13-9720333 (Eddie Law, 阿聰)
Opening Hours: 5pm to 11pm daily

Ikan Bakar Nicholas (Grilled Fish)

We tried Grilled Fish of Ikan Bakar Nicholas in Kedai Kopi Memang (美满).

Ikan Bakar Nicholas
Ikan Bakar Nicholas

The grilled fish we had was a flounder, which costs MYR14 (MYR3.50 per 100gram)

Ikan Bakar Nicholas: MYR14 (MYR3.50/100gm)
Ikan Bakar Nicholas: MYR14 (MYR3.50/100gm)

Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet

MYR30 for a steamboat buffet sounds too good to be true, but I find it at Menggatal Plaza. Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet serves no pork and the following is the rate:
– Adult MYR30
– Child MYR15
– Under 5 is Free Of Charge

Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet (Adult: MYR30, Child: MYR15)
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet (Adult: MYR30, Child: MYR15)
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet

Though the buffet isn’t expensive, the food is not cheapo. They have good variety of meat, seafood and vegetables, and soft drink and ice cream are included.

Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet
Ladleful BBQ Steamboat Buffet

Opening Hours: 6pm – 11pm daily
E-mail: yunhong111@hotmail.com
Tel: +60 16-5122111

About Manggatal (Menggatal) Town

The correct name of this town should be Manggatal (means itchy). During British colonial era, the river there was used like a highway. There were many types of Mango trees grew along the river bank. One of them is the Bulunuh tree. Unfortunately, this bulunuh tree gives off latex which can cause body allergic reaction if contacted. To counter the itch, you have to get an old shirt of the person and tie strips of the shirt around the tree. This shall stop the allergies ASAP.

Photos taken in Menggatal (Kota Kinabalu), Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

4 thoughts on “Food Hunting at Menggatal Plaza

  1. Incase anyone wants to know who made the top THES top 200 for 2005, see below. US Universities unless noted

    1. Havard University
    2. Massachusetts Institute of Tech
    3. Cambridge University(UK)
    4. Oxford University(UK)
    5. Stanford University
    6. University Of California, Berkeley
    7. Yale University
    8. California Institute Of Tech
    9. Princeton University
    10. Ecole Polytechnique(France)
    11. Duke University
    11. London School Of Economics(UK)
    13. Imperial College London(UK)
    14. Cornell University
    15. Beijing University(China)
    16. Tokyo University(Japan)
    17. University Of California, San Francisco
    17. University Of Chicago
    19. Melbourne University(Aust)
    20. Columbia University
    21. ETH Zurich(Switzerland)
    22. National University Of Singapore(Singapore)
    23. Australian National University(Aust)
    24. Ecole Normale Superiure, Paris(France)
    24. McGill University(Canada)
    26. University of Texas at Austin
    27. John Hopkins University
    28. University College London(UK)
    29. University Of Toronto(Canada)
    30. Edinburg University(UK)
    31. Kyoto University(Japan)
    32. Pennsylvania University
    33. Monash University(Aust)
    34. Ecole Polytech Federale de Lausanne(Switzerland)
    35. Machester University & UMIST(UK)
    36. University of Michigan
    37. University Of California,LA
    38. University Of British Columbia(Canada)
    38. Sydney University(Aust)
    40. University Of New South Wales(Aust)
    41. Hong Kong University(Hong Kong)
    42. University Of California, San Diego
    43. Hong Kong University Sci & Tech(Hong Kong)
    44. Carnegie Mellon University
    45. Heidelberg University(Germany)
    46. Northwestern University
    47. Queensland University(Aust)
    48. Nanyang Technological University(Singapore)
    49. Bristol University(UK)
    50. Indian Institutes of Tech(India)
    51. Chinese University Of Hong Kong(Hong Kong)
    52. Auckland University(NZ)
    53. Delft University Of Tech(Netherlands)
    54. Boston University
    55. Munich University(Germany)
    56. New York University
    57. Eramus University Rottherdam(Netherlands)
    58. Washington University, St Louis
    58. Amsterdam University(Netherlands)
    58. University of Illinois
    61. Purdue University
    62. Helsinki University(Finland)
    62. Tsing Hua University(China)
    64. Pennsylvania State University
    65. Vienna University(Austria)
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    67. Macquarie University(Aust)
    68. Massachusetts University
    69. IEP Sciences Po, Paris(France)
    70. Eindhoven University of Tech(Netherlands)
    71. Brown University
    72. Fudan University(China)
    73. King’s College London(UK)
    73. Rochester University
    73. University Wisconsin-Madison
    76. Brussels Free University(Belgium)
    77. Hebrew University of Jerusalem(Israel)
    77. Warwick University(UK)
    79. Lomonosov Moscow State University(Russia)
    80. University Of Western Australia(Aust)
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    82. RMIT University(Aust)
    83. Durham University(UK)
    84. Indian Institutes of Management(India)
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    87. University Of Tech,Sydney(Aust)
    88. Geneva University(Austria)
    88. Washington University
    88. Pierre and Marie Curie University(France)
    88. catholic University of Leuven(Belgium)
    92. Ecole Normale Superieure, Lyon(France)
    93. China University of Sci & Tech(China)
    93. Seoul National University(South Korea)
    95. Catholic University of Leuven(Belgium)
    95. National Autonomous Univ Of Mexico(Mexico)
    97. Nottingham University(UK)
    98. La Trobe University(Aust)
    99. Tokyo Institute Of Tech(Japan)
    100. Sussex University(UK)
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    102. Curtin University of Technology(Aust)
    103. Leeds University(UK)
    103. School of Oriental and African Studies(UK)
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    105. Osaka University(Japan)
    108. Wageningen University(Netherlands)
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    109. Case Western Reserve University
    111. Trinity College, Dublin(Ireland)
    112. Humboldt University Berlin(Germany)
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    124. University Of Southern California
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    125. Texas A&M University
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    127. University Of Newcastle(Aust)
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    138. Leiden University(Netherlands)
    138. Aarhus University(Denmark)
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    141. Emory University
    142. Frankfurt University(Germany)
    143. Korea Adv Inst of Sci and Tech(South Korea)
    143. Sheffield University(UK)
    143. Birmingham University(UK)
    143. North Carolina University
    147. Hiroshima University(Japan)
    147. Georgia Institute of Tech
    149. University of Alberta(Canada)
    150. Nanjing University(China)
    150. St Gallen University(Switzerland)
    150. Rice University
    150. University of Minnesota
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    154. Technical University of Denmark(Denmark)
    157. Technical University Berlin(Germany)
    157. Hokkaida University(Japan)
    157. Maastricht University(Netherlands)
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    159. University of Waterloo(Canada)
    159. University of California, Santa Barbara
    163. Colorado University
    164. Tufts University
    165. Innsbruck University(Austria)
    166. Tasmania University(Aust)
    166. Chalmers University of Tech(Sweden)
    168. Newcastle Upon Tyne University(UK)
    169. Shanghai Jiao Tong University(China)
    169. Novosibirsk State University(Russia)
    169. Malaya University(Malaysia)
    172. Free University Berlin(Germany)
    172. Kobe University(Japan)
    172. Aachen RWTH(Germany)
    175. State Univ Of New York, Stony Brook
    175. Alabama University
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    178. City University of Hong Kong(Hong Kong)
    179. Notre Dame University
    180. Toulouse 1(France)
    180. Lund University(Sweden)
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    183. Madrid Autonomous University(Spain)
    184. Korea University(South Korea)
    184. McMaster University(Canada)
    186. Free University Of Amsterdam(Netherlands)
    186. Otago University(NZ)
    188. Tel Aviv University(Israel)
    188. Massey University(NZ)
    190. Gothenburn University(Sweden)
    191. Unisersity of Western Ontario(Canada)
    192. Jawaharlal Nehru University(India)
    193. Pittsburgh University
    194. Helsinki University of Tech(Finland)
    194. Technion – Israel Inst of Tech(Israel)
    196. Sao Paulo University(Brazil)
    196. Royal Inst of Tech(Sweden)
    198. Showa University(Japan)
    199. University of Florence(Italy)
    199. George Washington University
    199. Wake Forest University

  2. Helo, Mr Murphy. What is the best way to contact you because when i try to email you, it keep saying this – ‘Technical details of permanent failure’. Thank you

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