TinyRobot officially launched their online shop and opened their retail shop today making it the new much awaited authorised Sony Playstation Outlet in East Malaysia. Their retail outlet is located at the ground floor of Riverson Mall (next to Gleneagles Hospital).
Opening of TinyRobot, the authorised Sony Playstation Outlet in East Malaysia
TinyRobot in Riverson Mall
Terry Wong, TinyRobot Managing Director along with VIP guest Dato Tony Wong Chen Nam officiated the grand opening of TinyRobot retail shop today with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the presence of the invited guests mostly from the local gaming community and media.
Goodies bag for membership registration
The demand for gaming products and accessories has grown for both retail outlets and on-line for the past few years both locally and internationally. We even have games developed by local talents for various platforms.
Display window of Tiny Robot
Refreshment during the opening
Realising this, Terry Wong sees the potential and set-up TinyRobot to offer customers both retail and online with the latest Sony Playstation games, console, gaming accessories and merchandise with competitive prices. TinyRobot also sells gaming products for Nintendo and PC.
Registered under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and using standard SSLtechnology to protect the privacy of their customers’ data, customers can be rest assured their online shopping experience at www.tinyrobotonline.com is smooth, secured and guaranteed.
Trying the latest and hottest games
Various payments mode will be available, such as online banking and credit/debit card. TinyRobot also partnered up with several reliable courier services with tracking system to ensure all the items will be delivered timely to their customers.
“It is not just about the games, TinyRobot wants the local gamers to have a platform where they can share and talk about their interest and maybe to share ideas among local game developers.” said Terry Wong, the man behind TinyRobot. “When you register as a member, you can earn points with every purchase which then can be accumulated and redeemed for your next purchase online or retail.
Group photo in the shop of Tiny Robot
Not only that, we also provide trade in services for gamers to trade in their old games for new ones. The trade in service is also a first in East Malaysia, a service that I believe many gamers in the local gaming community have been long waiting for.” added Terry.
We have mermaid in Sabah. It lives at Mantanani, the Mermaid Islands, where it swims gracefully in the water and grazes on the seagrass. Someone even captured its photo as shown below. Wait! That isn’t the glamorous mermaid which we saw in The Mermaid, a blockbuster movie by Stephen Chow!
Dugong, a gentle mammal living in tropical water is mistaken as Mermaid sometimes. Photo by Earth Race Conservation
Being a mermaid is fun
Actually mermaid is another name for our dugong (a.k.a. Sea Cow), this is probably a mistake by drunken sailor who was desperate for woman and thought he saw a mermaid having too much fast food.
Mermaid is romanticized as a symbol of beauty, sexy and love
Though mermaid meant trouble to fishermen and sailors in the legend, most people think mermaid is a mysterious and fascinating creature. In fact, mermaid might be the only half human animal that mesmerizes people, while most other half human creatures are simply terrifying.
Mermaiding is getting popular
Mermaiding was used to be solely for entertaining kids. Then some serious cosplayers believe that there is a Princess Ariel living inside everyone, so putting on a mermaid tail costume and acting like a mermaid will bring out our inner beauty and transform us into a confident, elegant, and “wild” being.
From left: Mermaid Phyllis, Mermaid Josephine and Mermaid Shureena
After first mermaid school was open in 2012, mermaiding is gradually becoming popular, and now it’s available in Sabah because of Angie Shureena, the first mermaid of Sabah.
Growing up in water village of Kampung Air, the first thing Angie Shureena did after school was jumping into the sea with her siblings. She loves everything about mermaid and always glued to its stories, movies and photos.
Mermaid Vietnah having fun swimming back and forth
As sea is her second home, I’m sure she would have dreamed of turning into a mermaid.
Mermaid Shureena, the trainer and the first mermaid of Sabah
Five months ago Angie was so excited to discover mermaid tail costumes for sale on the Internet, and this really ignited her passion to be a mermaid. However, a fancy mermaid tail can cost from hundred to thousand of dollars.
Mermaid Josephine thinks mermaiding can keep her figure in shape
You can contact Angie Shureena (left)(Tel: +60 16-3532438) for a Mermaid swimming class
Therefore, Angie decided to create the costume mermaid tail herself. Being a self-taught painter, pianist and baker, Angie is talented and a hands-on person who is good in DIY.
You can do Mermaiding as a profession, hobby or sport
She researched for ideas online and experiment with different fabric. After some trials and errors, she has successfully made 7 beautiful handmade mermaid tails in different style.
Family fun in Mermaid class
The materials of her choice is elastic and light fabric that floats. After cutting and stitching the material based on her design, Angie will paint it with waterproof colors and detailing it with shimmering scales. This requires weeks of effort, but the end product is a very realistic and high quality tail.
Mermaiding is the practice of wearing, and often swimming in, a mermaid suit.
According to the Little Mermaid fairy tale (not the version in Disney’s film), the Little Mermaid wanted to become human so badly that she gave up her beautiful voice and tail, in exchange for a pair of legs that gave her excruciating pain when she walked. Unfortunately, her beloved prince married someone else, so she died with broken heart and her body dissolved into sea foam.
Everyone can be a mermaid!
Mermaid Phyllis
Therefore, the lesson is – be yourself and never change yourself just to win the love of those who don’t appreciate your uniqueness. The funny truth is everyone wants to be a mermaid. If the Little Mermaid showed her special identity, her prince charming could be impressed, and they both would have lived happily ever after.
The mermaid suit is handmade by Angie
Wearing the mermaid suit
Ok, I was just trying to say it’s great to be a mermaid (at least you don’t need to shave your legs). Back to the Sabah mermaid, when Angie was swimming in her mermaid outfit at Babagon River, she received very positive response from the locals hence encouraging her to introduce this sport to more people.
Mermaid in swimming pool
Mermaiding is also referred to as artistic mermaiding, mermaidry, or artistic mermaid performance.
Her mermaid class focuses a lot on improving the swimming skill of her students. When your legs are wrapped inside the mermaid tail, you only can use dolphin kick to propel forward, which is a good workout for your hip, waist and thigh.
Swimming pool of Penampang Sports Complex
The Mermaid Swimming Class is conducted in swimming pool of Penampang Sports Complex about 8 Kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK). It is not crowded, so it’ll allow mermaid to have more swimming space to practice. Both adult and kids, male and female, can join the class. Costume mermaid tail is available for lending.
Beginner training with monofin
Mermaid is a born swimmer. Therefore, ability to swim gracefully is your first step to mimic a mermaid. When Angie trains you to become a mermaid, you will become an expert swimmer at the same time. Anyway, swimming is now more fun and never be the same again.
The class can perfect your breathing technique
Before dressing in a flamboyant mermaid costume, beginners will exercise dolphin kick with monofin first, to ensure they can handle mermaid suit later. Besides, participants will improve their underwater breathing and free-diving techniques, so they can dive longer in the water.
Making bubble rings
Dolphin kick is the fastest swimming style. Once you master dolphin kick like your second nature, you will swim as fast as a fish and fully enjoy the freedom. And this will change you. Angie said, “I start to see and feel the world like a fish. When I find pollution and trash in the sea, I’ll feel really sad.”
Mermaid Kiss
It’s not all about swimming. You will be taught how to do some cool tricks underwater such as blowing bubble rings and mermaid kiss.
Underwater somersault. You are really good if you can do more than 3.
If you are interested in Mermaid Swimming Class, please call Angie’s “Shell” Phone at +60 16-3532438 (Whatsapp available). She also can do mermaid show in special event such as birthday party.
Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
Stop singing “I believe I can fly” because you can do it. Forget about the noisy plane that put you in an enclosed space where you can’t even fully stretch your legs. Paragliding gives you the closest experience as a bird, as there is nothing between you and the sky and cloud, so you can enjoy the breeze and a sense of freedom.
Paraglider taking off from Kokol Hill
If you live or travel in Kota Kinabalu City (KK), the nearest place where you can try paragliding is Kokol Hill (Bukit Kokol) in Menggatal, about 40 minutes away by car from KK. It’s ok if you don’t have any paragliding gear, you can book a “pilot” to give you a tandem flight. More on this later.
Tandem paragliding at Kokol Hill
At a height of about 800 Meters and cooling temperature of 24C, Kokol Hill is fast becoming the favorite getaway place of KK people to escape the hot weather. Besides, Kokol Hill is one of the best spots to see sunset and panoramic view of KK.
Tandem paragliding
The following is a 3-min video for you to see why paragliding at Kokol Hill is super fun and exciting.
Paragliding Site of Kokol Hill
After hearing many positive comments about paragliding on Kokol Hill, I contacted Richard via his Facebook on Kokol Paragliding, to arrange for a tandem flight. Richard is a very experienced paragliding tandem pilot who has worked in Nepal and Korea for 4 years. After he checked the weather and wind conditions, we set the date for the flight.
Short nature trail to paragliding site
The take off base is not far away from the Celcom tower near Kokol Haven Resort. We parked our car near the tower and passed through a forest to the site. The forest can be misty during cool day.
Panoramic view of Kota Kinabalu City from Kokol Hill
After 5 minutes, I came to an open space on a ridge with breathtaking view of KK and surrounding hills. “Today’s weather is perfect! We got good wind too,” Richard said. Sometimes he needs to wait some time for the right wind.
It’s Richard in front carrying 20Kg of paragliding gear
The take off base is located at 822 Meters above sea level, so the air was cooling and refreshing.
Take off base of Paragliding on Kokol Hill
Usually paragliding here is started around 11am when the sun heat up the land and creates upward thermal current and wind, the forces that lift the paraglider.
You can see Kota Kinabalu City and its nearby islands in clear day
You are good to go if your body weight is less than 120 Kg (264 lbs), the limit of tandem paraglider.
Tandem Flight
Before the flight, Richard demo some simple steps on what to do during take off, flight and landing. Guess what? To make this paragliding a bit special and crazy, both of us were wearing office attire. It’s so funny LOL.
Paragliding in office attire
We put on our harness and get ready to take off. Richard observed the wind direction and cycle, to time the take off.
Ready to take off
After a while, he pointed at the trees far ahead and said, “See the rustling foliage over there? The wind is coming this way. Let’s get ready.”
“Making the wall” to catch the wind
Then he shouted, “RUN!” Though the runway in front is a steep slope, I have to be brave and sprint without any hesitation, like what he told me to. After 4 or 5 steps, I was already kicking in the air. I was flying!
Office guys go paragliding
The ride is surprisingly steady, like a boat sailing smoothly on the calm sea. First we cruised at an average speed of 40 Kilometer/Hour along the ridge of Kokol Hill, which is part of Crocker Range Park, the largest terrestrial park of Sabah. We can see Mt. Kinabalu if we are lucky.
Lush forest of Kokol Hill
The vast greenery of lush forest relaxed my mind, and I didn’t feel scared at all. At some points, we were so close to the trees that I could hear the call of cicada.
Flying high on Kokol Hill
Richard took a ride on an upward thermal current, so we soared high up to 1,000 Meters, until the birds and hill were under our feet.
Stunning view from the sky
During the flight, all passengers will naturally open their arms like bird spreading its wing. It must be feel like dreaming.
Flying on top of Kokol Hill
Now I can fly
Next we turned to west and headed to Menggatal town. In clear day, you can see Labuan island at the left and Kuala Abai (Kota Belud) at the right, that’s more than half of Sabah’s west coastline.
View of Kota Kinabalu City
In normal life, the space around us is so confined, and we are like living in a “2D” world. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to see and feel how big our world is from the sky.
My paragliding was getting near the end when we approached Menggatal town. As we were descending, everything seemed to move faster. We flied over villages, plantations, houses, and finally landed safely on the field next to Menggatal Community Hall (Dewan Masyarakat Menggatal).
Flying on top of Menggatal town
This 6-KM journey took about 20 minutes, but it felt like an hour. FYI, paraglider can fly over 300 KM under the most ideal condition.
The Fees
The fee of tandem flight is RM250 for Malaysian and RM350 (?US$87) for non-Malaysian. Add RM50 (?US$12.50) if you want photos and video. They can pick you up at Menggatal town. If you want them to fetch you at hotel or other locations, the transport fee is RM100 (?US$25).
Group photo before paragliding
They also do sunset flight for RM500 (?US$125) (after 5pm, only if conditions allow). You also can bring your friend to fly together next to you (a great idea for coming Valentine’s Day?).
Booking
For safety, you must hire only certified tandem pilots. The following is a list of professional paragliders whom you can trust.
Stop dreaming and imaging about flying. Try it at least once.
Girls sometimes ask, “Great Look and Nice Personality, which one is more important huh?” I would answer, “it’s the best to have both. (LOL)” When comes to food in Sabah, it’s funny that many restaurants share the same view, “Hey, taste is more important lah. The food will turn into **** after all. Why bother about its look?”
Mercato New Menu at Avangio Hotel
How many times we have the opportunity to appreciate the food and say, “Wow, the dish is so beautiful! I want to enjoy admiring at it for a moment instead of swallowing it right away.” That’s why we have been seeing so many delicious local food that looks terrible (or even disgusting) on Instagram. To foodies, it’s an imperfect dining experience when only the taste of food leaves a lasting impression but not its presentation.
Every French dish is photogenic
Therefore, my eyes and tastebuds were delighted by the brand new a la carte menu consisting of French influenced dishes at Avangio Hotel, which is managed by Accor from France. French are amazing people, they turn everything they wear, eat and live into art and fashion. Mercato’s new menu is created under the collabration with French Culinary Director of Pullman Surabaya’s Thierry Schuller, who is well-known for his passion for artistic and creative expressions through exquisite food presentation and cuisine.
Cautious! Food photos attack below:
Appetizers
The chef makes use of some local elements and fresh materials for their cuisine in Mercato’s new menu.
Sun dried tomato and basil cake
I like the milky taste of basil cake. The quantity is for you to destroy it in seconds, just right to tease your tastebuds.
Sun dried tomato and basil cake
Nicoise Salad
Nicoise Salad with charred slices of tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and olives, dressed with vinaigrette. I don’t mind eating more of it as a main course, really.
Hinava
Hinava is made of minced fish marinated with lime, a famous traditional “seafood salad” of Sabah. The sour taste with mild spiciness sure will stimulate your appetize.
Hinava
The locals normally don’t decorate Hinava like this. Never expect Hinava can look so classy, well done chef.
Main Course
After some mouth-watering and refreshing appetizers, here are the main courses for a happy stomach.
Salmon Quiche
The colors and pie shape of Salmon Quiche are so tempting, the cheese mixture and salmon are rich in flavor. Instead of Cheddar Cheese, they use local cheese (more salty) from Desa Dairy Farm and it works well.
Salmon Quiche
Ultimate Burger
Our fast food market is dominated by mediocre burgers, probably that’s why they introduce Ultimate Burger to remind us what is the taste of the finest beef burger.
Ultimate Burger with egg, beef patty and local cheese
Fish and Chips with 3 condiments
Spaghetti Bolognese
The chef says their Spaghetti Bolognese is one of the best in our city. It’s very good but personally I’m not a spaghetti person. I’ll let others to judge this. Tell me what you think ok.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Dessert
Sweet food makes us think more of happy things. To some, it’s almost as important as the main course.
Sago Gula Melaka
The translucent Sago Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar Sago) is so beautiful! The mango pellets topping and sweet sauce at the bottom add different variety of sweetness. You will enjoy the granular and smooth pearl sago rolling on your tongue.
Sago Gula Melaka
Mango Panna Cotta
Mango Panna Cotta, sweetened cream with hint of mango, a refreshing dessert for tropical place.
Mango Panna Cotta
Crème Brulee infused with Kaffie Leaf
Crème Brulee, the caramel top and creamy custard blend well. It’s a bit too sweet to my liking though.
Crème Brulee
Say the secret word “Mercato New Menu” and you will get 10% off
The cuisine looks pretty cla$$y but it won’t cost as much as fine dining. The good news is – you can get 10% off if you say the magic word “Mercato New Menu” (in Nov 2015 Only). This new menu is available at lunch and dinner times every day, in Mercato all-day dining restaurant, which is open daily from 6:30am to 11pm. The menu also includes many Asian favourites such as Nasi Goreng Kampung (Village-style Fried Rice), Penang Char Kway Teow (Penang Fried Noodle) and Nasi Kunung Sabah (Sabah Yellow Rice).
All-day-dining Mercato Restaurant
What? You want to have it Free? Luckily Free Lunch does exist. I have a set lunch voucher for 2 persons. If you have been taking your spouse / date to Mamak stalls and think s/he deserves something special, you can subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll pick one winner. Good luck! 🙂
About Avangio
Great things must be shared. Avangio Hotel Kota Kinabalu is a 103-room 4-star hotel in Kolombong started about 6 months ago. Even if you stay in Kota Kinabalu City, I strongly advise you to check out its stylish and vibrant interior design, I would say it’s one of the most splendid hotels in Sabah and will recommend to my friends and relatives who visit Sabah.
Lobby Lounge of Avangio Hotel
Featuring an all-day-dining restaurant, lounge & bar, pub and pool bar, equipped with 3 meeting rooms, business centre and a ballroom, the hotel is a prime destination for both business and leisure.
Poolside bar of Avangio Hotel
Avangio Hotel is managed by Accor from France, which is the world’s leading hotel operator running chains of 3,700 hotels in 92 countries.
Swimming Pool and Splash Pool Bar
Its recreational facilities include a fitness centre, outdoor swimming and wading pool atop a spa and wellness cetnre. Free high speed WiFi is available in all rooms and public areas.
Do you know what 4pm means to Malaysians? It’s afternoon tea time when you would see many people enjoying coffee in Kopitiam (Coffee Shop) and waiting for the fresh buns, tarts and pastries hot from the oven. Bread is an important part of our Kopitiam culture. The range of breads we have for tea break is so diverse that it would astound British, who introduced the high-tea culture to us.
Variety of breads by Bake Code
There are more and more foreign breads being introduced to Sabah in recent years, probably it’s a trend and demand created by large number of Malaysian students return from overseas. I’m one of those who misses the breads we had overseas and wants to “find back” such tastes in Sabah.
New type of kopitiam
In the past, whenever I saw new bakery shops opened, I would try out their breads. They are not bad, but most of them are mass produced and taste quite similar, except the topping and outer layer. Besides, I don’t like mayonnaise, which has been overused in local bakery.
The bread corner in ZenQ Lintas Square
Now I may have found my holy grail at Bake Code Bakery & Cafe, which has almost 90 types of breads but each tastes so distinctly different from one another. 70% of them are European breads (mainly French and Danish), and all breads are baked daily.
Interior of Bake Code in ZenQ Lintas Square
Currently Bake Code Bakery & Cafe has two outlets in Kota Kinabalu City (KK), one at ZenQ Lintas Square (see Location Map) and another one in City Mall (see Location Map). They plan to open four more outlets in future.
Bake Code in ZenQ Lintas Square
Bake Code is a franchise under La Kaffa, which is a very successful firm with chain stores in over 20 countries.
Bake Code has a variety types of bread which consist of the soft French bread, Taiwanese bread, French bread, Danish bread, etc.
Bake Code Bakery & Cafe has become another favourite gathering place for young people. The cafe is air-conditioned and Wifi is provided. We can sit there comfortably to enjoy our afternoon tea in aroma of fresh breads instead of second-handed smoke from peskey smokers next to our table.
To nom or not to nom. Not a hard decision
Girls love the breads because they are low fat and low sugar (based on European standards). From Left: Charlotte, Chloe and Meitzeu.
Soft French breads and French breads are the signature breads for Bake Code. Their most notable breads are The Crown, Chinese Goji Berry Roll, Rum Raisin Ring, Sailor’s Special, Double Cheese Ring, Roll’ n Cheese, Chinese Longan Roll and Cranberry Flaxseed bread.
Soft French Bread, one of the signature breads of Bake Code
Cranberry Cheese Bread, one of the best selling breads. Look at the generous amount of cheese!
If you are unsure which ones to go for, you can start with their top 5 best selling breads, namely, Mr. Chocolate Bean, The Crown, Garlic Cheese, Cheese Triangle and Cranberry Flaxseed.
Mr. Chocolate Bean, probably your Mr. Right too
Personally, I love their Earl Grey Bread, Cheese Triangle (sold out fast!) and Cranberry Cheese Bread. There are many other breads that I haven’t tried though. They are still adding more choices.
Majority of breads sold at Bake Code are European breads infused with different ingredients including cream cheese, tuna, dried fruits
The main reason I love their breads is because Bake Code lets the taste of bread itself play the leading role, other ingredients are just in place to enhance its taste and fragrance. The flavoring is so rich and deeply absorbed into every part of the breads. While eating, you won’t get the feeling that the baker is stingy in putting more cheese, butter or filling. It’s the type of quality homemade breads that mothers prepare for their children.
Tuna Cream Cheese, incorporated with tuna, onion, garlic, herbs, and soft cream cheese, the taste is unexpectedly explosive.
I also buy some of their breads back home as breakfast next day, to assure that I’ll wake up with a smile. Don’t you think that having a delicious breakfast is a great way to start your day?
The Crown, one of the local favorite
The following are more info of Bake Code Bakery & Cafe: Facebook page:MyBakeCode Opening Hours: ZenQ Lintas Square (11am – 11pm), City Mall (10am – 10pm)
ZenQ Lintas Square
Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
Not all fried chicken taste the same. Working in travel industry for some years, I’ve been hearing many tourists, especially those from Australia and China, say that fried chicken of Sabah tastes better. I think Freshness is the key. Though people of modern cities are so used to frozen food, such thing is a big turn-off to Sabahans and our taste-buds can tell it in first bite.
Yummy Fried Chicken of Sabah
Everyone loves Fried Chicken
However, only one or two international food chains hold the fame of making the best fried chicken in Malaysia, but now they will face a new contender, Borenos, a Sabah homegrown Fried Chicken Restaurant, which uses daily-delivered farm-fresh chickens (No overnight freezing!).
The golden and crunchy Fried Chicken of Borenos
I have tried their meals twice, and I highly recommend their Signature Spring Chickens & Potato Platter. You might notice that their chicken is smaller because Borenos uses spring chicken, which is younger but with more juicy and tender meat, for the best taste.
Set meal of Borenos Fried Chicken
The chicken is fried to have a crispy and golden brown coat that locks the juice. What I like the most is – it’s less oily and won’t give my stomach a “greasy feeling” after meal.
Meals by Borenos Fried Chicken
They also have a good variety of set meals and other dishes such as Mashed Potatoes, Rice, French Fries, Fish & Chips, Potato Platters, Coleslaw, Wedges and Soup-of-the-day (kids meal set is available).
Potato platter
Their dangerously delicious Potato Platter makes me eating non-stop like a paper shredder that never feels full. It’s highly addictive when eaten with Nacho Cheese. You have been warned.
Borenos Fried Chicken the fast food by Sabahans
Borenos Fried Chicken is a Halal Certified Outlet
The food of Borenos is certified as Halal. They also use only Non-GMO ingredients (GMO food is genetically modified food that may carry some potential health risks). We are what we eat, so we have to be highly selective with food that enters our body. The restaurant is really clean too. I can see their effort trying to keep a high standard in food quality, safety and cleanliness.
Borenos Fried Chicken in Grand Opening Day
Borenos Fried Chicken at Asia City Complex
The name “Borenos” is derived from the words “Borneo” and “S” from “Sabah”. Not only it’s the first ever local fast food restaurant in Sabah, most of its ingredients are sourced from the best local produce and farm-fresh chickens. Borenos just started in Mar this year, but it has won many rave reviews among local foodies.
Air Bandung (Drink with rose cordial syrup)
Besides soda and other hot and cold drinks, they also have some local favorites like Air Bandung and Milo Dinosaur.
Coleslaw of Borenos
Some say their coleslaw is one of the best in city and a must-try too. The cabbage is fresh and crunchy. I like it. I’m not a salad person, so I’ll let you to judge. The following are some set meals of Borenos. You may visit their website for the complete list.
Some set meals of Borenos. Please visit their website for updated list.
Currently Borenos Fried Chicken has one outlet at Asia City Complex (a.k.a. Star City North) and two branches (in Alamesra and Papar).
Family dines at Borenos Fried Chicken
The following is the info & contact of Borenos Restaurant in Kota Kinabalu City: Address: G23, Star City North Complex, Jalan Asia City, 88000, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (opposite Cititel Hotel) GPS Coordinates: 5°58’31.4″N 116°04’24.0″E (see Location Map) Opening Hours: 9:00AM – 12:00AM daily Tel: +60 12-8092009 E-mail:info@borenos.com Website:www.borenos.com (Food delivery available at borenosdelivery.com) Facebook:fb.com/borenos Instagram:borenosfriedchicken
The only way to find out if a food is yummy is to try it out. It’s made for Sabahans, so take great pride in eating it. 😀
Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
Tourists to Kota Kinabalu City (KK) always ask, out of the five islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP), which one is recommended. My answer is – if you expect a famous and exciting tourist destination, go for Sapi or Manukan. But if you only want a quiet beach to laze around and unwind, Mamutik Island (Pulau Mamutik) is a small island with big space.
Pic: Mamutik Island, looks like a crocodile head isn’t it?
People who want to avoid the crowd will love Mamutik Island, as it is less touristy than Sapi and Manukan, the islands where they would see more people than fishes, and human noise is louder than splashing waves. Being the smallest island of TARP, Mamutik is like an unsophisticated child who doesn’t try to impress you, it may not have charming personality but you feel more open up and relax.
Mamutik is rated by some tourists as an average island because of three reasons. First, the sea there is quite rough and water turns murky sometimes. Second, the strong waves wash many coral fragments to the shore. Stepping on this jagged surface can be a discomfort to sensitive feet. Last, the density and variety of corals isn’t great. All of the above are true.
Pic: school of anchovy fishes (ikan bilis) at the jetty
However, Mamutik still has one of the most beautiful beaches near KK and its photo is good enough to be used as postcard. Though lack of WOW factor, Mamutik isn’t lack of happy customers who appreciate the ambience of tranquillity and privacy offered by this less-crowded island.
The following is a HD video that gives you an overview of Mamutik:
The Beaches
Mamutik Island has long stretch of white sandy beach about 200 Meters in length. The sea can be choppy occassionally and the water is getting deep after 10 Meters from shore, so be careful if you don’t know how to swim.
Pic: note the darker area of the sea, it’s the color of deeper water
Every visitor can get a big share of space, swim freely and won’t collide with others (but watch out for jellyfish). Without many eyes around, tourists here behave relatively more relax.
However, the visitors seem to congregate in one or two places. Probably they feel safer to stay near to one another, or these places are near to toilet. Anyway, there are some sections that has few or no tourist, so feel free to pick a zone as your “private beach”.
Move further away from people, you can find many good photography spots with clean background, as if you are on a remote island. Most coral fragments are concentrated in the water. The beach is still mainly fine sandy beach that is nice to walk on.
Pic: You can count the number of tourists here by fingers. If we are willing to pay more for bigger hotel room, the ample personal space in Mamutik is a great value, isn’t it?
If you go to the east side of Mamutik, there is a more secluded area very well-shaded by tall casuarina trees. The beach chairs are reserved for the hotel guests from Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort. The place is quite cooling and suitable for chilling out after a swim under hot sun. You may walk or snorkel at the beach there but please keep your voice down. The staff would ask noisy outsiders to leave.
The sea waves at east side is even stronger because it is where open ocean current passing by the island. I call it a “Coral Beach” because the beach here is covered by bigger pieces of coral fragments. I even found giant clam shell once. Probably that’s how Mamutik got its name which means “shell collection”. (Note: collecting shell and anything is forbidden in this protected marine park)
Walking on the coral fragments with barefoot isn’t too bad. Just take it as a reflexology walking therapy lol. My feet have thick skin so it doesn’t hurt at all. You can wear slipper if it’s a problem.
The coral beach is quite well-kept to near pristine state since it’s a semi-private area. Turtles know it. On 26 Dec 2009, a hawksbill turtle landed on this beach to lay its eggs. It’s a good sign that turtles are coming back. We still face a lot of challenges to conserve them due to increasing plastic garbage in our sea.
FYI, if you explore further to the edge of the beach at west side, you will come to a rocky beach with nice view. The rocks in the water is slippery so be cautious when you walk on them.
Mamutik Island is located in the center of TARP, so you can see four other islands clearly from there. In the past, all five islands were part of the mainland. After Ice-Age ended, they were disconnected from mainland about 1 million years ago.
A City Island
Mamutik Island is the second nearest island to KK, so you can have a good view of our city only 3 KM away. Though travellers were away from the city, some can’t take city totally out of their mind.
On Mamutik, I always see people sitting and staring at the sea and city for a long time, or look at the planes flying in and out of KK International Airport. I wonder what’s in their mind. Were they thinking about their relationship, work, future or nothing? Whatever, Mamutik is a good place for daydreaming.
Oh by the way, since Mamutik is nearer to city, your phone may have good access to 3G network (Celcom seems to have the best coverage here).
Snorkelling
Besides sunbathing and swimming at Mamutik, snorkelling is an enjoyable way to see the underwater world. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed with the experience. Compared to other islands, the variety of corals here isn’t so good (but not bad).
The best location to go snorkelling is the sea in front of the coral beach (another best spot is near rocky beach at the west side). The visibility is ok (about 5 Meters). That area is dominated by brain and boulder corals. They are quite abundant and big in size, often in yellow or brown color. Some have tubeworms (or Xmas Tree Worm) live in them. The most beautiful coral is the purple color Porites coral (see photo above). Not many soft corals are found though.
It’s cool that I found plenty of fishes even in shallow water. I even saw a lonely barracuda. The variety of fishes is good, but I can’t tell their species other than “Nemo” (clownfish), parrot fish and damselfish. A reef fish expert is able to spot 63 fish species in 45 minutes of snorkelling at Mamutik.
Be careful when you snorkel in the sea near the jetty area, there are many sea urchins among the corals. In case you get stung by sea urchin, just keep calm and look for the lifeguards at the beach.
Snorkelling set (snorkel, mask, fin, life jacket) are available for rent on the island, so are beach mat, tube ring, camping tent, volleyball and football. You may check out the price list (as of May 2015).
Facilities
Mamutik definitely has the facilities to fulfil tourists’ two most basic needs, i.e. call of nature (toilet) and food. Changing rooms, picnic shelters, tables and benches are free for public use too. The following is a layout map of the facilities on Mamutik:
Cafe
There is a canteen named Koktas Cafe that sells basic meals and drink. You can get food such as chicken rice, sandwich and fried noodle there. You would spend over RM10 (≈US$3) per meal as everything is priced higher on island. Better bring your own food. You may look at its menu and price list JFYI (prices as of May 2015).
Pic: Koktas Cafe
Pic: there are many lunch buffet stalls on the island. May serve good food but won’t be cheap.
Shop
Next to Koktas Cafe is a grocery and souvenir shop, where you can buy T-shirt, beach wear, slipper, hat, towel, snacks (cookies, potato chips, chocolate bars, nuts, etc.), instant noodle, insect repellent, bottled drinking water, soft drink, ice cream, etc. Beer and cigarette are available. It’s also where you rent snorkelling gear.
Accommodation
There is no hotel, resthouse and accommodation on Mamutik Island now, but a new hostel would be ready by 2017. Camping is allowed under the permission of the park warden. Camping tent is available for rent at RM30 per night (≈US$9). The park requires the camper to pay a small Camping Fee of RM5 (≈US$1.50) for adult and RM2 (≈US$0.60) for child (below 18). Please noted you need to pay additional RM50 (≈US$15) to boat operator for return trip next day. The bonus of camping here is – campers will have a wonderful night view of KK city light and sunrise view of Mt. Kinabalu (if weather is good).
Pic: public toilet with shower heads outside. The toilet on Mamutik is not well-maintained, with some broken door locks and toilet flush, a bit dirty sometimes.
Borneo Divers Dive Academy
Built by Borneo Divers, a PADI 5-star Dive Centre and Instructor Development Centre (IDC), Borneo Divers Dive Academy has started operating on 18 May 2016.
Borneo Divers Dive Academy & Leisure Center
Their main role is to provide beginner and advanced scuba diving courses in this centre completed with swimming pool, dive station (with full range of dive equipment) and classrooms.
Swimming pool for guests and scuba diving courses
If you want to experience scuba diving without a diver license, you can sign up for their Discovery Scuba Diving, which costs about RM300 (≈US$90) per person and includes two dives (guided by dive instructor).
Pic: scuba divers on Mamutik Island
Besides, this Center also has the following facilities (some are open for public):
Water sports center
Souvenir shop
In-door and outdoor restaurants
Changing rooms, lockers and shower facilities
Marine Research Lab
Beach Bar
Hostel which can accommodate 80 people (available by end of 2016)
Brochure of Borneo Divers Dive Academy
Pic: old cemetery belongs to the past residents of Mamutik, before the island is gazetted as national park in 1979. The burial ground is inside a fenced area. Just to let you know so you won’t unknowingly camp on a grave.
Jungle Trekking
At the north of Mamutik is a forested ridge. If you have 20 minutes to spare, you may walk its 385-Meter jungle trail. There are a lot of mosquitoes so insect repellent is a must.
However, this regenerated secondary forest is too small to support rich diversity of flora and fauna, so there is nothing much to see.
The only highlight is Philippines Megapod, a red face chicken-like bird that lays its eggs in mounds of sand at the edge of beach. I spotted 3 of them in my last visit. They were busy digging the soil about 5 Meters away from me behind the bush.
How to get there
Mamutik Island (see Location Map) is open from 8:00am to 5pm to public every day. You can hire a boat (for about RM30≈US$9) at one of the boat terminals in KK. The boat transfer is available every hour and the ride to Mamutik takes about 10 minutes.
Entrance Fee to Island
Besides paying for return boat transport (about RM30≈US$8, terminal fee included), you need to buy ticket (known as Conservation Fee) from the park to enter the island. The table below is the ticket rates. Please note if you are on an island-hopping trip, you only need to buy this ticket once, and you can reuse the same ticket to enter other islands of TARP on the same day.
Nationality
Adult
Below 18
Below 6
60 & above
Malaysian
RM8
RM5
Free
Free
Non-Malaysian
RM25
RM20
RM20
RM20
*Rates updated in July 2021. The entry is free for visitor with disability.
Travel back in time and delve into the stories and legends surrounding Sabah’s caves through AGOP (means Caves) this year’s Sabah Fest presentation. The musical performance AGOP will be held from the 1st to 3rd of May at the Auditorium of Kompleks JKKN Sabah at 8:00pm.
The following photos were taken during the final rehearsal.
This three-day event will also highlight Sabah’s rich cultural heritage through a handicraft and traditional food showcase from 4pm to 10pm at the venue’s grounds.
The focus of this year’s Sabah Fest is a celebration of another important icon of ancient Sabah which thrives today as a living tradition and that is none other than Sabah’s mysterious caves. Widely known as AGOP by many communities on the east coast, ‘AGOP’ translates to the word ‘cave’ in the Orang Sungai, Dusun Begak and Dusun Subpan dialect.
Pic: the legend of golden deer of Madai Cave
Pic: arrival of Chinese fleet to Sabah. Great performance by KK High School
The celebration of Agop this year takes us on an expedition mostly to the east coast of Sabah to sample the charms of the communities Ida’an, Orang Sungai, Dusun Begak and Dusun Subpan- who identify with the ancient cave culture and related on-going traditions and practices.
Pic: Dusun Melangkap from Kota Belud
The musical theatre also highlights the role of Admiral Cheng Ho of the Ming Dynasty who came across the highly valued birds’ nests and presented them as a gift to the Emperor.
Other rarely seen groups such as the Tidong of Tawau, Dusun Sandayoh of Paitan and Dusun Melangkap of Kota Belud have been invited to perform and display their culture and musical traditions at this year’s Sabah Fest.
Pic: romance triangle. Who will win her heart?
This year’s production is made possible with the involvement of some 350 people, including 140 performers from 7 ethnic groups who hail from 5 districts around Sabah.
From Lahad Datu are the Dusun Subpan from Kampung Segama, Dusun Begak from Tungku and Ida’an from Kampung Sepagaya.
Pic: Ida’an from Lahad Datu
Also represented are the Orang Sungai from Sandakan, Tidung from Tawau, Dusun Sandayoh from Paitan and Dusun Melangkap from Kota Belud; each showcasing their cultural identity through song and dance.
Sabah Fest is made grander with a 100-strong welcoming troupe playing the tagunggak and Murut gong as guests arrive. Also performing are 80 dancers from around Kota Kinabalu private and non-governmental organizations, schools and universities, namely Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), KK High School, SK Stella Maris Tanjung Aru and SM Maktab Sabah.
Pic: Sabah Fest 2015 uncovers the local rituals, legend and belief about caves
Don’t miss this annual premier event, showcasing Sabah’s vibrant cultural heritage, history and tradition in the form of thrilling theatrical performances, dance and music. Find out more at www.sabahfest.com.
Tickets for the stage performance are available at RM50 per show. Show starts at 8:00pm. Tickets are available for sale at the ticket counter of auditorium. For more information on the event, please contact Francesca Lydia, Event Executive, Sri Pelancongan Sabah at +60 88-232121, email info@sabahtourism.com.
