kota kinabalu – Page 2 – w w w . x e .s . c x

Kota Kinabalu Part II: KK -> Poring Hot Springs -> Kundasang -> Kinabalu National Park -> KK

Continued from here

We stopped by Pine Resort at Kundasang, a countryside town located at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu. Pine Resort is located up a hill hence it’s a good place to check out the scenery. Many climbers stay in Kundasang before they embark on their journey to Mount Kinabalu. Perhaps the notable bit of Kundasang is the War Memorial, which was built to remember the 2,000 plus Australians and British prisoners who died during World War II.

After lunch, we stooped by the Kinabalu National Park. We drove to the entrance where everyone would enter to climb Mount Kinabalu.

What a name..

At that time, many people had just finished their climb to the peak of Mt Kinabalu. Most people looked extremely exhausted.

We took some pictures and walked some trails before heading home.

Best record so far – 2 hours 39 minutes to reach the peak of Mount Kinabalu!

“Snake Hill” Trail.

Took this picture while standing on a cliff. Can you see a waterfall?
We stopped by a coffee shop for a break. The shop is divided into two parts, one part being the convenient store and the other part being the coffee shop.

Place your cover charge to enter the toilet on the left box.

I spotted one pastry by the name “Biskut Pising” that they were selling. It’s made of banana and it’s green! I tried it. It tasted like crap. Too sweet and too dry.

An hour later, we reached KK City. A one day trip is indeed tiring. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend that one especially photographers drive out of KK City to experience the nature.

On a bridge – the river is almost covering the bridge!

Kota Kinabalu Part II: KK -> Poring Hot Springs -> Kundasang -> Kinabalu National Park -> KK

The journey to Poring Hot Spring is a long and tedious one. As I’ve said earlier, we had to go narrow and windy 2 lanes roads to get to these places.

We also had to go through

Bad visibility,

Slow lorries,

Accidents,

The road was probably built up on a mountain as most of the time we can see a ravine next to us. Further, throughout the journey, Mount Kinabalu is visible.

Poring Hot Spring, as the name suggest, is a hot spring located 3 hours away from KK. I read from somewhere that it was once a Japanese styled hot tubs during the Second World War.

I was looking forward to it as I’ve never been to a hot spring in Malaysia before. The one I visited in Japan was quite interesting and I presumed that it would be the same in Malaysia.

Throughout our journey, we passed by many local villages. The interesting bit is that almost each corner there is a church serving these villages. And all the signboards are identical – except for the name of the church.

Amitaa…aaa Haleluyaaahh

The other common sight is dogs – they are everywhere! Cats are pretty rare as they are eaten by dogs for breakfast.

We stopped by one place by the name Pekan Nabalu for a break. It’s a small town with stalls lined along the streets and even have a section for local handicrafts. We bought some pineapples and bananas. The pineapples look like hand grenades. Perhaps in the future, those who drop by, please purchase something from them to keep the villagers businesses alive.

Mt Kinabalu in the background!

Banana & “Salak”

Hand grenades

After an hour, we arrived at our first destination, Poring Hot Springs! I got off the car feeling excited – my first visit to a hot spring in Malaysia.

We crossed a river vide a suspension bridge. It was indeed a suspense before I step into the place.

But the place is like a bloody Disneyland! The place was filled with kids running around and many of the hot tubs were filled with kids. I bet they peed into the hot tub!

Fortunately, there are some private hot tubs for hire. Perfect place to do naug…I mean relax.

Other than hot springs, the other attraction of Poring is the Poring Canopy Walk. The walkway is around 40 metres off the ground and it’s identical to the one at Taman Negara Pahang. It turned my legs into jelly.

Perhaps the most acceptable hot springs tub is the tub for feet. My feet are dirty hence it doesn’t matter whether it gets dirtier or not. The temperature of the water is adjustable. All you need to do is to turn on the respective taps.

To be continued..

Kota Kinabalu Part II: Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen

Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen (Fook Yuen Coffeeshop) is located in a centralised hawker centre. Each shop has their own area and this can be seen from the colour of the chairs. Once you step into the centre, you’ll find yourself being tugged (verbally) by waitresses to sit on their area. Nevertheless, you can order food from other restaurants and have it on your table but you’ll find it being packed for takeaway.

After hearing so much about Fook Yuen’s roti kahwin, I finally I got to try this coffee shop. Roti Kahwin is a combination of two toasted bread with cold butter and kaya squeezed in between the toasted bread. It’s commonly available in KK and some parts of Malaysia. Some places plainly call it Roti Bakar (Toasted Bread).

However, I didn’t try their Roti Kahwin. Instead I had their normal bread with a thick slice of cold butter and also kaya squeezed in between. The bread is soft and perfectly moist. I must say it is extremely delicious until I wanted to have it everyday!! YUMMYY!! I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THAT I’VE TRIED!!

The other main but undiscovered attraction is Teh Madras. When I first heard about it, I thought it was some Indian spice tea. The last time I had a tea which sounded Indian i.e. Masala tea @ Mumbai tasted like curry. But the appearance of Madras Tea is pretty intriguing. It has three layers, the bottom, which is also the substantial part, is white (milk), the layer thereafter is brown (tea) and on top, foam. It’s like latte with tea. I tasted extremely well and not sweet at all! Unfortunately, it’s not widely available at Chinese restaurants.

Fried Dumplings (gyoza) is quite popular in KK. But the one at Damai is so-so.

Map

Damai Plaza PH
4 Jalan Damai
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu
Tel: 088-232.794
Opens 7 a.m. – 1.30 a.m
Closed on Mondays

Kota Kinabalu Part II: Overview

The last time I visited Kota Kinabalu (fondly known as KK) was February this year. At that time, most of the shops were closed due to Chinese New Year and we were busy with a SW’s wedding preparation. This time round, I was back with a mission – to visit the places that I didn’t manage to visit and to eat at places which were closed during the last visit.
KK’s latest edition would be the One Borneo. It’s a huge shopping centre with numerous hotels adjoined to it (as big as our local One Utama!). The shopping centre is almost identical to those we have in Kuala Lumpur as the brands they have are almost identical. However, the construction of the place is not fully completed. Some parts e.g the park are dusty.

Other than One Borneo, the notable places are the Menara Tun Mustapha, KK City Mosque. Tanjung Aru beach, Bukit Bendera and Gaya Street Sunday Market.
Menara Tun Mustapha is a 30 storey building located next to the beach. Take a lift to the 18th floor to visit @tmosphere, a revolving restaurant to have a panoramic view of KK. The food and drinks are quite pricey though.

@tmosphere

Not a very good place to take picture as the window reflects.
KK City Mosque is only accessible to Muslims. However, visitors can hang out at the compound to take pictures. KK City Mosque looks like a floating above water.

Tanjung Aru Beach on the other hand is just a few minutes drive from the city centre. The water is not in top condition but the sand is acceptable. One can dine at the beach side – at high end restaurants or hawker stalls.

The main attraction of Bukit Bendara is a look out point to enjoy the breathtaking view of KK. The hill is actually called Signal Hill but the signboard that leads me there says Bukit Bendera.

Sounds like..”Anda ko makan ayam..” (Do you eat chicken?)
Gaya Streey Sunday Market, as the name explains, is a market held every Sunday. It features local handicrafts, food, plants and even animals.
The highlight of the trip is probably the time when we had a trip down to Poring Hot Springs, Kundasang and Kinabalu National Park. We had to go narrow and windy 2 lanes roads to get to these places. The road was probably built up on a mountain as most of the time we can see a ravine next to us. Further, throughout the journey, Mount Kinabalu is visible.
Will blog about all these later!

Kota Kinabalu: Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap @ Taman Hilltop

[Note: Last KK trip post!]
Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap is located at Kolam Centre Phase 2, Taman Hilltop. The first thing that caught my attention was the name, “Ngiu Chap”. In most places, it’s spelled and pronounced as “Ngau Chap” which is in Cantonese.

This well known restaurant serves beef brisket noodles. When we arrived, the place was sardine packed. We were fortunate to find a seat inside the shop. Newspaper cutting and a picture of a local celebrity endorsing the Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap lies all over the walls.

I ordered a dried version of their beef brisket noodles. Those who doesn’t know what beef brisket noodles is, beef brisket noodles comes with beef internal organs such as stomach, intestines and not forgetting ligaments. YUMMY!

It took a while for our food to arrive – something you’ll expect from a popular restaurant.

As expected, a bowl of home made chilli lies on the table for patrons. The owners have claimed that their chilli is super spicy and even have a special counter with the words “SUPER HOT!” to sell their super hot chilli.

nomnomnomnomnom

After taking my first bite, I notice that their meat and internal organs were a little bit tough but their beef balls were quite tasty.

However, I find that there’s too much artificial flavouring in the soup. I know because I’m quite sensitive to artificial flavouring. My throat gets tighten up and my heart beat increases dramatically. Note to everyone, cut down on the soup.

Kota Kinabalu: Salut Zoo @ Salut Seafood Restaurant

Outside Salut Seafood Restaurant lays “Salut Zoo”. It’s not a proper zoo but it’s actually few cages with some common animals like snakes, monkeys and monitor lizards. I wonder if they were kept as umm…foood ?

Kota Kinabalu: Salut Seafood Restaurant @ Salut

Despite having a bad experience at Port View Seafood Village, we decided to give seafood another try. This time round, we had lunch at Salut Seafood Restaurant @ Salut – a place 18km away from Kota Kinabalu City. The drive to Salut is pretty scenic – one can see the kampong houses and squatters by the side of the road.

We were greeted with a narrow untarred road with ponds on each side. Each lane could probably fit 1 car. I was told that the ponds were used to rear prawns.

I think if a drunken fellow drives through the road in the middle of the night, he’ll probably end up in the pond and gets eaten by prawns. pw4an!!

Salut Seafood Restaurant faces Salut Bay and the surroundings are almost untouched.

The restaurant is actually a ‘floating’ restaurant – one can see the sea if one peeks through the holes on the floor. There are couple of huge shells placed on the front entrance. I wonder if they are real.

To choose our meals, we had to choose our victims from the aquarium.

Choose from here.. seafoood…

Vegetables…

Ewwww Eel…

No…not edible.

We ordered prawns, clams, crabs and vegetable.

The seats

Our first dish was the prawns – cooked plainly. I’ve never liked cooked seafood fresh from the aquarium. The minute I tore off the prawn’s head, blood started oozing out. I euwed in silence..

But after taking the first bite, I went…wooww.. it tasted sweeet!! And soon, one lead to another.

The clams, buttered crab and Sabah vegetable followed. The buttered crab was extremely delicious. The shell was soft and easily removed.
After chomping down the prawns, crabs, clams and vegetables, I felt so full until my stomach felt like exploding.

We were provided with lime to wash our hands. There are some used limes on the sink as well. Euw.

And the total damage is….RM150!! Prawns, crabs, clams and vegetables for 4 persons! Value like hai!! In Port View Seafood Village, it was RM70 for fish and vegetable only!!

We left the place with a satisfied tummy!

Kota Kinabalu: Tuaran Mee @ Kedai Kopi Tai Meng, Damai

Kedai Kopi Tai Meng

Before my trip to Kota Kinabalu, my friend recommended me one dish by the name Tuaran Mee.

Tuaran is a town in Sabah and this dish originates from this town. Due to its popularity, the sale of such dish has expanded to Kota Kinabalu. Kedai Kopi Tai Meng is actually our second choice as our first choice is not open due to the Chinese New Year break.

Tuaran mee consist of, among others, noodles, roasted pork and vegetables. It’s fried and tastes quite egg-ish. – quite tasty too! To complement this dish, one should add the stall’s self-made condiment i.e. their spicy sauce. If it’s too spicy, you may add some soy sauce to dilute the spicy taste.

While eating, we saw this cat with multi coloured eyes.

This cat kept clinging on my friend’s jeans. After my friend kicked the cat away, the cat went to another table and started clinging on a lady’s jeans. LOL

Kota Kinabalu: Dott’s Egg Tarts

One of the things I don’t see in Kuala Lumpur is small retails selling egg tarts solely. I’ve almost been a big fan of egg tarts and I would order egg tarts whenever I go for dimsum.

Took this when it was closed 😛

While walking around Warisan Square, I bought a piece of egg tart from a small shop by the name Dotts Egg Tarts. Each egg tart costs RM1.10 – quite expensive for KK standard. However, it’s well worth it. Although it’s not freshly out from the oven, the egg custard was still warm and soft. The egg custard was sweet and extremely delicious. I wanted another one when I finished the first one!!!

Soon I realised that Dotts Egg Tart is a chain selling egg tarts. In fact, there are many other shops that sell only egg tarts! This is something that I would recommend Klang Valley entrepreneurs to venture in.

Kota Kinabalu: Port View Seafood Village

Our first dinner was at Port View Seafood Village, a well known restaurant for tourists. It’s located along the beach in Kota Kinabalu City. We were told that the food there is good but a little bit pricey.
After sitting down, a lady came to serve us. We wanted to eat fish..
Me: What fish do you have?

Lady: “Lou pan” and “Chat sing Pan”..

I know that “chat sing pan” (literally means “seven stars fish”) is quite expensive. However, at that time, I forgot the Chinese names of the cheaper fishes. Hence…

Me: How much is “lou pan”? For 2 person..

Lady: oh, around RM200
Me: O_O ok..how about “chat sing pan”??
Lady: About RM15 per 100 gram.
Me: Aahh..ok.. 1 steamed “chat sing pan” please.

We ordered a dish of vegetables to complement our fish. It took a long time for the fish to come.

The fish came and we ate. The fish was fresh from the aquarium. I didn’t know until I was told later but nevertheless it was good. It’s best to eat fresh fish steamed as from there, one can taste the freshness of it.

But when the bill came…RM90 for “chat sing pan”!!! What the fish!!?!? RM90 FOR FRESHNESS??? I GIVE FRESH FART RM90 CAN??? THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE FISH I’VE EVAAAA EATTEEEENNNN$@$!!1111