Tag Archives: seafood

Seafood Noodles of Sabah

1) Mixed Fish Noodle (鱼杂)

Mixed Fish Noodle is the favourite seafood noodle of Sabah people, to enjoy different parts and serving styles of fish. For first timers, fresh or fried fillets, fish cake, fish chunks and fish ball are good start. Some foodies would go for the fishy parts such as fish head, fish skin and fish maw. For noodles, you can choose between the mee hoon (rice vermicelli) and yellow noodle (and kuey teow flat noodle). You may have your noodle served in broth or a separate bowl. For broth, you can pick the savoury and sour tomato soup, or the spicy and milky tom-yam soup (or hamcoi, salty vegetable in soup).

Mixed fish noodles in Tom-yam soup and tomato soup at Kedai Kopi How Kee (好记茶室)

I prefer vermicelli in soup because the thin noodle absorbs the rich seafood flavours well. By Malaysian standard, our tom-yam soup is not really hot. I had an American friend who insisted on trying tom-yam and his whole face turned red and sweaty, but he still liked it.

Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant Hilltop (发记鱼杂专卖店)

Location (View Map): Lot 8, Ground Floor (Hilltop), 1-0-1, Kolam Centre Phase 3, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Facebook: fattkeeseafoodrestaurant
Instagram: fattkee_hilltop88
Phone: +60 16-8104884
E-mail: fattkeelintas@gmail.com

Kedai Kopi How Kee (好记茶室)

Location (View Map): Lot 16, Jalan Bundusan, Beverly Hills Plaza, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Phone: +60 88-416858

Mixed fish noodle is one of the must-try food of Sabah. Don’t touch the noodle or she will bite you.

Notung Kusan Cafe

Location (View Map): Kepayan (second junction after RTM), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Phone: +60 13-8781918

Kuo Man Restaurant (国民茶室)

Location (View Map): 5, Jalan Tuaran, Sunny Garden, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Facebook (unofficial): Kuo-Man-Restaurant
Phone: +60 17-8111428

Kedai Kopi Wan Wan (旺旺茶室)

Location (View Map): Apartment Penampang Phase 1, Lot 24, HSK Industrial Centre, Jalan Bundusan, Kota Kinabalu
Facebook: Kedai Kopi Wan Wan 旺旺茶室
Phone: +60 88-716698
E-mail: wanwankopi@gmail.com

Mr. Fish Restaurant (鱼先生)

Location (View Map): Ground Floor Lot 13-0, Block C, Jalan Papar Baru, Kem Lok Kawi, Kota Kinabalu
Facebook: Mr.FishSabah
Phone: +60 16-8794300
E-mail: mrfishsabah@gmail.com

Kedai Kopi Tien Hwa (天华茶室)

Location (View Map): Jalan Milimewa Lama, Keningau, Sabah

2) Giant Grouper Noodle

Giant grouper is the king of grouper (known as Ikan Keratang in Malay, 龙趸 in Chinese). It can grow to a massive size of nearly 200 Kg, which spooks the scuba divers sometimes. Huge giant grouper is a highly sought-after seafood here. The flesh of giant grouper is firm and its head is packed with collagen. For gourmet seafood lovers, it’s the ultimate delicacy.

Giant grouper in a fish farm. The wild one can reach nearly 200 Kg in weight.

Sabah Keratang Sadong Jaya (沙巴龙趸专卖店)

Location (View Map): Block J, Sadong Jaya, 74, Lorong Karamunsing, Karamunsing, Kota Kinabalu
Facebook: SabahKeratangSadongJaya
Instagram: sabah.keratang
Phone: +60 14-3349986
E-mail: sabahkeratang@gmail.com

The fish head of giant grouper is rich in collagen

Kedai Makan Gembira (大家乐茶餐室)

Location (View Map): Lorong 4, Bandar Sri Perdana, Lahad Datu
Facebook: kedaimakangembira
Phone: +60 16-8314671

3) Crispy Noodle (海鲜香底米粉)

You won’t forget the mouthfeel of eating the fried crispy noodle mixed with juicy seafood gravy. The aromatic noodle sucks the rich seafood flavours and you can’t stop once you start. The big prawns and squid look so good, but the most important thing is they are fresh.

Empire Seafood Restaurant (傅贵林门海鲜餐厅)

Location (View Map): Block CC,Lot 174,Lorong Avenue 5,Bandar Utama., Sandakan, Malaysia
Facebook: empireseafoodrestaurant
Phone: +60 89-278359

Left: crispy seafood noodle, Right: seafood noodle with lihing (local wine)

4) Other Seafood Noodles

The following are more seafood noodles of Sabah for your tastebuds to explore.

a) Fish Paste Noodle

The noodle itself is made of fish paste. 100% fish noodle baby.

Kedai Kopi Makan Kong Teck (康德小食馆)

Location (View Map): Jalan Airport, Sandakan, Malaysia
Facebook: 康德小食馆－Restaurant Kong Teck
Phone: +60 16-8197396

Tom-yam soup (left) and dry (right) styles of fish paste noodles

b) Tomyam Seafood Noodle

You love big prawns served in spicy and creamy broth? I thank God every time I have this.

Seng Hing Restaurant (成兴茶餐室)

Location (View Map): Block G, Lot 10, Lorong Sinsuran 2, Sinsuran Kompleks, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Facebook: Seng-Hing-restaurant
Phone: +60 19-8105255, +60 88-211594

Spicy tom-yam seafood noodle soup. The Sabah-style tom-yam soup is milky while the real Thailand tom-yam is clear soup.

Gaya Fish Noodle (加雅鱼面馆)

Location (View Map): Lot 129, Ground Floor Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu
Facebook: Gaya Fish Noodle 加雅鱼面馆

c) Spring Noodle (弹弓面)

Spring noodle is a Chinese-style yellow noodle that is named for its dense and chewy texture. This noodle from Sandakan goes well with seafood broth.

Spring noodle of Sandakan with seafood broth

Kampung Pukat Fishboat Street Sandakan (渔船街)

Location (View Map): Lorong 5, Kampung Pukat, Tanah Merah, Jalan Leila, Bandar Nam Tung, Sandakan
Phone: +60 89-616510

Note: Though most, if not all the Chinese shops listed here don’t serve pork, they are not certified as Halal. Some Muslims feel ok to dine there, while some don’t, so decide at your own discretion.

Sandakan is a famous place for seafood feast. Left: a shop that sells seafood noodle. Right: Fishboat Street Sandakan (渔船街) at Kampung Pukat of Sandakan

Some of the shops accept online orders by Foodpanda or Grab Food, so you can avoid the long queue and have these seafood noodles delivered to your doorstep. Just a heads up, the seafood noodles by reputable shops are very likely sold out in the morning.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Keropok Amplang, the seafood cracker of Borneo

Nam Chai Seafood Bak Kut Teh (南財肉骨茶) of Sabah

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Bak Kut Teh is a delicious Chinese soup of Malaysia. Normally pork is used as the main ingredient to be simmered in a broth of spices and herbs, like the one introduced in my earlier blog. When someone told me about the Seafood Bak Kut Teh in Sandakan, I thought it was a crazy idea, “Seafood is fishy. Isn’t it ‘incompatible’ with the smell of herb?” For me, it sounds like someone trying to fry cucumber with chocolate.

I was wrong. Seafood Bak Kut Teh rocks! Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶 in Chinese) is officially recognised as one of the Malaysia heritage food in 2024 so now you have more reasons to try it.

I’m talking about Nam Chai Bak Kut Teh (Chinese Name: 南財肉骨茶), a Chinese restaurant over 2 decades old in Sandakan city. Its Bak Kut Teh is so good that it’s full during meal time.

I came early so I got a seat. Later more diners come and they have to stand around to wait for their turn. In fact, their loyal customers don’t mind to wait at all.

Pic: the food menu and (old) price list
Though their specialty is Seafood Bak Kut Teh, they also sell very good traditional (pork) Bak Kut Teh. You can order rice, noodle and vegetables (cabbage, spinach and mustard greens) to go with your Bak Kut Teh too.

Every morning the owner buy the fresh pork and seafood at market, to ensure the best quality of his food. When you order, they will ask you if you want the soup more spicy. If you say yes, your soup will have stronger pepper flavor.

We order two rabbitfish (Chinese Name: 泥鯭), one bowl of sliced fish (grouper fish) and one prawn. The soup is darker than the traditional Bak Kut Teh and with aroma of pepper.

The rabbitfish of Sandakan is the best in Sabah. Its white meat is sweet and tender. The rabbitfish of other places doesn’t taste as good and I don’t know why. They use pepper, scallions and ginger to remove the fishy smell, and this also enhances the sweetness and freshness of the fish.

Look how big are the prawns. I use a spoon as a scale.

I really can’t describe how satisfied I am with a mouthful of big fresh prawns.

The sliced fish of grouper. Taste yummy too.

Pic: Close-up of the sliced fish

The address of this restaurant is No.1 Block D, Bandar Nam Tong, Sandakan (see Location Map). They open from 9:15am to 1:45pm and 5pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Sunday (close on every Monday). Their phone number is +60 11-65612603.

Probably you had tried grilled and steamed seafood. But Seafood Bak Kut Teh will be a pleasant surprise to you, when your tongue learns another way to appreciate seafood. And you will come back for more again for this taste.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Nom Nom Nom at Mr. Fish Restaurant (鱼记海鲜小吃店)

1） Sandakan Fish Cake

To me, ordinary fish cake is so bland that I even think it’s a waste of space to put one into my steamboat buffet. Other seafood restaurant may offer better fish cake made of “tofu” fish, but the best one is the triangle-shaped Sandakan Fish Cake of Mr. Fish Restaurant. According to Eric, this high quality fish cake was mostly exported to Hong Kong in the past, so very few locals tried it.

Sandakan Fish Cake is triangle shape and has strong seafood flavor

The flavour of Sandakan Fish Cake is strong, almost like our favourite salty fish. The price is RM2.50 for three. It’s so tasty that I finished two really fast, then I regretted and ate the third one slowly.

Menu Board of Mr. Fish Restaurant. Some translation for your info: Ayam = Chicken, RM = Ringgit Malaysia (price in Malaysian currency), Watan Ho = Flat Rice Noodles in Egg Gravy, Tuaran Mee = Noodle of Tuaran town, Mee Goreng = Fried Noodle, Nasi Goreng = Fried Rice, Asam Pedas Kepala = Sour and Spicy Fish Head, Sup = Soup, Mihun = Rice vermicelli / noodle, Nasi = Rice, Kon Lon = Yellow noodle served dry, Biasa = Normal, Udang = Prawn, Kerapu = Grouper, Merah = Red Snapper, Ikan = Fish

2) Tom Yam Seafood Noodle

Tom Yam Seafood Noodle is a heavenly combination of seafood and spicy food if you love both. The soup is rich in seafood flavour, a bit to sweet side and not too hot. You can choose to have prawns, fish slices, or Sandakan fish cake in the soup.

Tom Yam noodle soup with Sandakan fish cake and prawns

For those who can’t take spicy food, you may try Tuaran Mee (Tuaran Fried Noodle), Watan Ho (flat noodle with gravy), Kon Lau (Dry noodle) with seafood. The prices range from RM10 to 18.

3) Stewed Fish Head (焖鱼头)

The real seafood lovers always go for fish head. In fact, I notice most customers at Mr. Fish Restaurant have Stewed Fish Head on their desks. I ordered one and to my suprise, it’s springy and meaty, probably due to the dense collagen. Stewed Fish Head (of grouper or snapper) is sold for RM25 to 30.

Another popular choice is Asam Pedas Fish Head, if you prefer sour and spicy fish head with aromatic curry flavour.

Stewed fish head is rich with natural collagen

4) Bottled Ice Coffee

I don’t know what’s wrong with the weather lately, it is so warm every day. A chilling iced coffee is just perfect. Do you know that iced coffee taste better overnight? FYI, only RM2.50 per bottle, Cheers!

5) Fried Fish Eggs

Fish eggs are not always available and the quantity is small. Don’t miss it when you are lucky. Fried Fish Eggs are sold for RM5 (small), RM10 (medium) and RM15 (large) per plate. It goes well with beer.

Fried fish eggs is only available occasionally with small quantity

Location and Contact of Mr. Fish Restaurant

Mr. Fish Restaurant is located in Lok Kawi, about 17 KM away from KK. I know you KK folks. Distance is not an issue when comes to delicious food.

Mr. Fish Restaurant (鱼记海鲜小吃店) is located in Lok Kawi

GPS Location: 5.837593562860821, 116.04375318067473 (see Location Map)
Opening Hours: 8:00am – 8:45pm daily
Phone & Whatsapp: +60 16-8794300
Facebook: Mr.FishSabah
E-mail: mrfishsabah@gmail.com
Address: Ground Floor Lot 13-0, Block C, Jalan Papar Baru, Kem Lok Kawi, 89600 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

The setting of Mr. Fish Restaurant is a typical open-air kopitiam (coffee shop)

Though they don’t serve pork, the restaurant is not certified as halal, so use your discretion in food consumption.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu City, Sabah, Malaysia

10 Best Souvenirs to Buy in Sabah

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After making your friends envious with your Sabah vacation photos in social media, let’s buy them some souvenirs, so they can get a share of your happiness. In this article is a list of recommended items to impress them, all fulfill three criteria of a good souvenir:

Exotic and unique local products
Easy to pack and not overly big or fragile
Good quality and look decent

Icons of Sabah: Orangutan, Sompoton, and Mount Kinabalu

To make the souvenir special and personal, give some thoughts into what the receiver loves, don’t just buy random things in the airport in last minute. It’s a plus if the souvenir shows iconic elements of Sabah such as orangutan, long-nosed monkey, hornbill, pitcher plant, wakid (basket), Mount Kinabalu, sompoton (music instrument), rafflesia flower and native motif.

1. Sabah Tea

10 out of 10 Sabahans will recommend you to buy Sabah Tea. Sabah Tea is harvested from the only organic tea plantation of Borneo. It’s a household brand. You can get a small pack for only a few bucks, or buy those with beautiful gift packs. Sabah Tea also has a few flavors such as Pandan (my favorite!). If you are a real tea lover, go for tea leaves rather than tea bags. Now you can order these from Sabah Tea online shop.

Sabah Tea in different packing and flavors

2. Tenom Coffee

Tenom Coffee is also another best choice. You can’t go wrong with Tenom Coffee. Just imagine the nice aroma that reminds your friends about you. Tenom is a highland town in Sabah interior and famous for its fruits. Some Tenom Coffee are sold in funky and colourful packs. Besides standard coffee, you may consider white coffee or the ones with special ingredients such as durian and Tongkat Ali (a herb that improves vitality).

Tenom Coffee is a popular buy among tourists

3. Lihing Wine

Drinking is an important part of Sabah culture. Lihing is Sabah’s signature wine that we can’t live without. This golden distilled rice wine tastes sweet and can be used in cooking too. My mom uses it to make delicious drunken chicken. Most lining is homemade, but tourists can find some sold commercially in nice bottles, some even have fruit flavors like mango and rambutan. As Lihing is a liquor, do check with your airline and customs for regulations if you want to bring some home.

4. Snacks

How about some delightful and interesting treats for your friends? Once you start, you just can’t stop. You can find many types of Sabah snacks, and you should stuff the following yummy snacks into your bags:

Crispy Peanuts: peanuts fried with mix of flour, garlic, salt, and sugar.
Kuih Cincin: a sweet and tasty cookie. Go well with tea break.
Amplang: crunchy and savoury cracker that looks like marshmallow. Available in fish, prawn and squid flavors.
Sabah Chocolate: comes with pretty boxes and different flavors

Crispy peanuts, kuih cincin, Amplang cracker and Sabah chocolate

If your return flight takes less than 8 hours, you can buy some fruit popsicle (ice-cream potong) at the airport, the shop will seal it tightly in a styrofoam box so it can last until you reach home.

5. Stingless Bee Honey

Ok you want to be healthy, stingless bee honey is for you then. Stingless Bee (locally known as Kelulut) is a small honeybee that lives in warm climate, and they produce sourish sweet honey that claims to have better medical properties. This honey is more expensive than normal honey. A small bottle can cost RM35 or more.

6. Handicraft & Artworks

The most distinct souvenirs are handicrafts from indigenous people of Sabah. They are mainly made of materials from bamboo, rattan, palm, coconut, pandan leaves, etc. Some people are creative to weave these into diary items such as baskets, tissue box, wallet, and handbag. Each ethnic group has different patterns and style. For example, Bajau people love to use bold colors and Rungus is skilled in weaving beads. Personally I like to store some items into a bright-coloured Serdang box to make a gift.

Variety of handicraft created by Dusun, Bajau, Rungus and Murut people of Sabah

For those who appreciate advanced craftsmanship and collectible items, you may check out the Lepa-Lepa boat figure, Dastar or Tinohian (richly embroidered / weaved traditional cloth), Bajau machete (parang), and Sompoton. If you want the finest painting or folk art by local talents, you may visit Sabah Art Gallery or Laman Seni near Wisma Budaya.

From left to right: Traditional Machete / Dagger, Lepa-Lepa sailboat figure, and some artworks by Fara in Laman Seni (Wisma Budaya)

7. Apparel and Accessories

T-shirt with Sabah graphics is available everywhere, but after travelling hundreds of miles to Sabah, you want something more than a I♥Sabah T-Shirt right. Sabah batik is what smart tourists buy. Sabah batik is usually dyed and painted with native motif or other cultural drawing. Shawls, scarf, sash, tapestries, fabric, and table runner with colourful Sabah theme are tourists’ favorites too. A visit to KadaiKu and Chanteek Borneo won’t disappoint you.

Don’t forget hand-weaven beadworks and accessories too (e.g. string necklace, bracelet, earring, handbag, wallet), which can add some exotic touch to your fashion. Many West Malaysians also like to buy the freshwater pearls of Sabah, as the price isn’t high. If you want precious jewelries with Sabah elements, you can visit CherleC.

Traditional beadwork and Sabah pearls (at KadaiKu)

8. Toys

Got kids? Get them a cute plush toy of orangutan or proboscis monkey, the most charismatic wildlife of Borneo, even adults love it. Another alternative is lovely dolls dressed in traditional costumes.

Toys of Sabah (Disclaimer: Pixie Lott and Hong Kong artistes received Sabah plush toys as gift, they are not promoting it.)

9. Dried or Salted Seafood

I leave this item near the end because non-Asians are not so fond of dried seafood. However, for tourists from East Asia, these are great buy at a bargain price. Sabah is blessed with seafood, so you can find tons of high quality dried or salted fishes, sea cucumber, scallops, shrimps, squid, seaweed, ikan bilis (anchovy fish) and fish maw here.

Most dried seafood stalls are just next to fish market, to name a few, KK Central Market, Sandakan Central Market and Tawau Tanjung Market. The hawkers can help you to pack these smelly goods properly into a box, to keep them from stinking your luggage. Believe me, for Malaysian moms, salted fish of Sabah is one of the best souvenirs. The more smelly, the better.

10. Knickknacks and Others

Here are more suggested items for your shopping list: keychains, fridge magnet, drink coaster, stationery (e.g. bookmark, paper weight, notepad, pen, postcard), mini pottery, Bak Kut Teh spices, and fruit candy. They are inexpensive and ok to give to friends and colleagues who are not close.

More ideas for you. Don’t go home empty-handed

What would you buy in Sabah? Please share your shopping list in the comment section below. ?

Where to Buy

Most shopping malls in Sabah have souvenir shops. Our supermarkets also sell some of these food and snacks. Most souvenir shops are small with limited range of souvenirs. To find everything you really want, you would need to visit two or more places. Below are a few great places to shop.

1. KK Handicraft Market

Located in Kota Kinabalu city centre and adjacent to KK Central Market, KK Handicraft Market is an ideal starting point to buy cheap souvenirs such as keychain and fridge magnet. They are also famous for pearl jewelries. In addition, dried seafood market is just next door, making this place a convenient shopping spot of tourists.

Souvenir stalls and dried seafood at KK Handicraft Market

2. KadaiKu

Kadaiku (means “My Shop”) is a midsize souvenir shop less than 100 Metres away from KK Handicraft Market. Personally I think it is the best souvenir shop because they sell 100% (almost) authentic Sabah products and have the most complete and diverse collection of Sabah merchandises for tourists. Their prices are relatively higher but reasonable.

Besides enjoying the air-conditioning, it’s like taking a Sabah cultural tours inside. The knowledgeable shopkeepers can tell you the origin and features of each product. One thing I really appreciate is they can package and wrap your order nicely. Just pick a few items and let them make a classy gift hamper for you.

3. Gaya Street Sunday Market

Gaya Street Sunday Market is a well-known tourist attractions that is open weekly (every Sunday morning, 7am to 12pm) in the oldest street of Kota Kinabalu City. Basically it is an open-air market that sells almost anything to locals as well as tourists, from durian seedling, sarong, snacks, fruits and vegetables, local herb, knickknacks, pet, flowers, cloth, antique and myriads of everyday items. Do bargain, or you would pay for full “tourist price”.

Gaya Street Sunday Market in Kota Kinabalu City

4. Local Market

You can find tamu (weekly open-air native market) in most towns of Sabah countryside, the famous tamu are in Kota Belud (Sunday) and Donggongon (Friday) towns. For hundreds of years, farmers, fishermen, hunters and vendors from different villages gather in tamu every week to sell (or barter trade) their products. This tradition is carried on until today with more modern items (e.g. electronics, gardening tools, gadget) for sale.

Hunting for good deals in native market is fun

Due to different culture and lifestyle, every tamu is unique, the goods, the people, and the smell. Tamu is also a fun place to sample local snacks, buy some fresh fruits and souvenirs and practice your haggling skill.

Some Advice…

Souvenirs is a global business. Why? Say, some souvenirs you buy in Thailand may be also available in the souvenir shops of Bali, Maldives and even your hometown! It will be quite awkward if your friends tell you that your “Sabah souvenirs” are sold in local shop too. Many souvenirs shops across the world seem to source the similar items from Indonesia, China or 3rd world wholesalers with custom-made label (e.g. adding the word “Sabah”).

These are **NOT Sabah Products**. They look like alien objects to Sabahans. I saw dreamcatcher from America, and African drum.

Unfortunately, many Sabah souvenir shops sell such items. Anyway, if this is matter to you, you can always confirm with the sellers. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy non-Sabah products. If you like it very much and you don’t mind about its origin, of course it is perfectly ok to buy.

What you really shouldn’t buy are the items that contain partly or wholly seashells, corals and protected flora / fauna (e.g. shark fin, pitcher plant, giant clam, turtle eggs, endemic orchid, pangolin). Though they might be sold openly here, it’s illegal to bring them out of Sabah. Not only that, you would indirectly hinder our conservation efforts for endangered animals and plant of Borneo.

Happy Shopping! Please share this list with your friends and relatives who will visit Sabah (and tell them what you want haha).

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Welcome Sea Food Restaurant (Kota Kinabalu)

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Welcome Sea Food Restaurant (Chinese name: 大茄来海鲜餐厅) is currently the hottest seafood restaurant in Kota Kinabalu city (KK). The secret of their success is simple: delicious seafood at reasonable price. I had my dinner with 5 adults and 2 children in this restaurant a few days ago. We ate so much until we almost puked, but each of us pay less than RM38 (≈USD11.30), which is normally over RM45 in other restaurants.

The restaurant started with about 20 10-seat tables. Now their business is so good that they expand their place, almost from start to end of a block, with over 50 tables. FYI, their restaurant in KK is the branch of their “headquarter” (first restaurant) in Beverly Industrial Park, Bundusan, Penampang.

The BEST seafood is FRESH seafood. They have many fish tanks for swimming and live fishes, lobsters, babylonia, prawns, comb shell, etc. You can just point here and there to pick your favorite seafood, and they will be served in 10 minutes.

Their address is: Lot G13-18, Ground Floor, Asia City Complex, Phase 2A, Jalan Asia City, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Below is the location map of the restaurant:

View My Sabah Map in a larger map

Below are the dishes we tried (quantity for 6 adults & 2 children). All of them taste really good.

Sour plum chicken: RM24 (≈USD7.30)
The chicken meat is mainly sweet with a bit of sour. Not bad.

Sparerib: RM30 (≈USD9)
Tasty pork in sweet sauce.

Sabah Vegetable: RM20 (≈USD6)
Your Sabah friends will recommend you to try this unique vegetables of Sabah (though it is introduced to Sarawak already). The vegetable looks like a shrub and we eat its young shots and stems, which are sweet and crunchy. A must try.

Steamed red snapper: RM60 (≈USD18)
To enjoy the best taste of fresh seafood, steaming it is the wisest way. Only fools fry the fresh fish.

Boiled shrimp: 1 Kilogram (KG) for RM60 (≈USD18)
You don’t want to care about high cholesterol once you start eating it, LOL.

Fish maw soup (costs RM16 ≈ USD5).

We finished all the dishes and the plates were so clean, haha. We also ordered white rice and a pot of Chinese tea. Everything (plus 6% government tax) costs RM223.20 (≈USD68). We are happy about the food and price. This restaurant is always full during dinner time. You must come before 6:30pm to get a seat in their air-conditioned room. If you are late, you have to sit outside, which is quite warm, but most people don’t mind.

The restaurant opens every day from 2:30pm to 12am. Below is their contact info if you want to know more:
Tel: +60 88-447866
Reservation (Mobile Phone): 016-8478181 (Ms. Ching or ???)
Website: www.wsr.com.my
Facebook: WelcomeSeafoodRestaurant
E-mail: info@wsr.com.my

Below are another two dishes we ordered in other day.

Kale (??), RM16 (≈ USD5) per dish

Claypot Seafood. Though delicious while served hot, it costs RM40 (≈ USD12), quite expensive consider the quantity is small.

The abalone looks so fresh. Next time I want to try it, yummy..

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Lobster Nasi Lemak, First in Malaysia

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(Update (Jan 2021): Tavern restaurant is closed).
Malaysians love Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice), which is our unofficial national dish, and I wonder why 1Malaysia campaign doesn’t use Nasi Lemak in their logo design, as this is the food that can unite every races. Well, probably it isn’t a good idea to have a patriotic logo that makes people drool lol.

The rice of Nasi Lemak is normally cooked with coconut milk and pandan leaves that give it a pleasing aroma and creamy flavour. Standard nasi lemak is served with sambal (chili-based sauce) and various garnishes such as crispy ikan bilis (fried anchovy fishes), roasted peanuts, fresh cucumber slices and boiled egg.

Nasi lemak can be served in a variety of ways. For example, you can add fried chicken, cuttlefish, or rendang daging (beef) to the rice for a more fulfilling meal. You may have eaten hundreds of nasi lemak, but have you ever tried it once with lobster?

With me were MeiTzeu, a famous blogger and her husband Alex

For those who have curious tastebuds, Tavern Kitchen & Bar, one of the best restaurants in Kota Kinabalu City, is creative to make this exclusive menu for you.

Similar to traditional nasi lemak, Lobster Nasi Lemak consists of coconut infused steamed rice, pandan leaf and traditional ingredient to enhance the rice flavour, accompanied with tomato & cucumber slices, crispy anchovy, toasted peanuts, acar (mixed pickled), boiled egg & sambal (hot & spicy, pre-cooked). On top of these, it is also served with a 400gm lobster oven baked with chef marination ingredient, preferred sauce (3 topping choices: buttermilk, satay sauce and spicy sambal) top with cheese.

The cuisine is placed on banana leaf and mini bamboo sieve, giving it a nice touch. Nasi Lemak is always sold as an economic food in roadside stalls and hawker food centres, so I applaud the bold idea of Tavern Kitchen & Bar to push it to higher level.

Lobster Nasi Lemak tastes wonderful. The lobster meat is tender and well-marinated, and blend well with the taste of nasi lemak. Rice is the soul of Nasi Lemak and is well taken care of by Tavern. The savoury coconut milk-infused rice has fluffy texture and not oily.

Limited Time Offer: Tavern Kitchen & Bar offers promotional price of RM49++ for Lobster Nasi Lemak from October to December 2017 (Normal Price is RM79), and it’s limited to only 30 plates daily. FYI, even a normal nasi lemak is sold for over RM45 in Vancouver (Canada). For Lobster Nasi Lemak like this, it could cost 10 times more overseas.

Virgin Mojito

The recommended drink to go with Lobster Nasi Lemak is Virgin Mojito (lime juice with brown sugar and fresh mint, topped with club soda, RM15.90 per glass), a sour drink to remove the oily feel in your mouth.

To enjoy three kinds of seafood flavours, you can order two other side dishes:

Tiger Prawn (RM49++): grilled tiger prawn 500gm, marinated with garlic, tuhau (local wild ginger) and top with cheese
Giant Squid (RM38++): grilled large squid weight 450 gm with chef special marination, served with sambal and acar

Tavern Kitchen & Bar was located in Imago Shopping Mall, just next to Nike shop, on the same row as Starbucks in ground floor.

Address: Lot G-93, Aramaiti Street Walk, Imago Shopping Mall, KK Times Square Phase 2, Jalan Coastal, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
GPS Location: 5.971437, 116.066320 (see Location Map)
Opening hours: Closed
Twitter: @tavernkk

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Food Hunting at Menggatal Plaza

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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

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 (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)

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: relax signature cheesy snacks (MYR12.90) (avalanche of cheese!)

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.

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)

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)). 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))

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) 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) : 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)

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

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

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

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

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