The Great Room @ Holiday Inn Express KK (KK FoodieVenture #261)

Our one night stay at the surprisingly satisfying Holiday Inn Express KK included a free breakfast at their lobby area (linked to their social media promoted cafe, the SignalHill Coffee) so it would be unwise for both of us to skip it. Plus I was kind of curious as to what their spread would be like and both of us were pretty happy with what we'd seen & sampled. There were ample selections of typical breakfast food such as nasi lemak, fried noodles, congee, waffles, breads, pastries, fruits on display, as well as a salad bar & soto station. All in all, me and hubby were very satisfied with what we'd eaten that morning. And it is also good to note that the food were actually pretty appetizing & tasty. It's just a shame that we don't exactly have time to try out their actual cafe. I mean, the brand literally promoted their chain of hotels as a 'coffee & breakfast' type of establishment so it's only fair for us to try them out next time right? 

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Outward Vacay: Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu

Before we move on to my other KK food discoveries, I would like to squeeze in this hotel review first since I just noticed that I haven't posted it out yet. Man, getting old is definitely a struggle for my brain 😮‍💨

This was actually during me and my hubby's visit around early Dec last year (hence the Xmas decor) when we decided to try out this hotel since we were in town for only a night. I usually avoided booking this hotel since it sits quite far from any malls (it is actually located just across the street to Hilton KK at Asia City) even though they're a well known brand. I wasn't expecting much checking into the hotel but I was left impressed in the end. Check in was fast, the room might not be big but still of acceptable sizing & cozy, free parking were available onsite and most importantly they actually had an ATM at their lobby (a rarity in KK). Plus their breakfast spread were actually pretty good (more on that later) and we loved their free flow of welcoming drinks at the lobby. I was definitely won over by them so kudos 👍 And to quote from their official website, "Holiday Inn Express is focused on frictionless travel for guests with offerings like complimentary hot breakfast, a relaxing room design, and quality bean-to-cup coffee available 24/7" so if you're looking for a swimming pool, this hotel might not be for you. It's tailored more for business & people who wants a chill & relaxing place to stay. 

Type - Standard Room

Room - 5/5 (can we just talk about the Dove bath products for a second?) 

Price - 4/5 (not bad actually, considering we also got breakfast out of it) 

Service - 4/5 (swift & polite) 

Decor - 4/5 (classy vibes & still considerably new) 

Facilities - 4/5 (again, a pool would be nice but not exactly a deal breaker) 

Location - 3/5 (major malls might be a bit far from said hotel but still walkable to such places; nearest is probably the Centre Point Shopping Mall) 

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Tea Co. Sutera Avenue (KK FoodieVenture #260)

After a satisfying lunch at the nearby Cabe Ijo, my stomach decided that it still has some room left for a nice, cool drink and so we made our way into this place (located at the front side of Sutera Avenue, on the same row as a Chagee branch & ASNB office). I never actually knew that they also have a selection of munchies to go along with their drinks so we'd ordered their Fried Sweet Potato Fries to go. It was really nice & the portion was also pretty big despite ordering their small sized. For drinks, I initially wanted their Cheesy Chocolate but since it wasn't available, I opted for their Peace Ice Tea instead. I was rather surprised to find the drink has quite a lot of mix fruit chunks in it but hey, I'm not complaining. It was definitely a refreshing drink & will be my fave for future visits. 

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Cabe Ijo (KK FoodieVenture #259)

Now that we have finished with the latest edition of Imago Shopping Mall food hunting, let us venture into other places such as the walkable Sutera Avenue (specifically at the backside of said building, nearest entry is to the side, right next to Harbour City, Jalan Pantai). It was actually due to the continuous rain while we were in KK (combined with my hubby's laziness to drive anywhere during said weather) that we eventually decided to just walked across the overhead bridge to the other side of the busy road for lunch one day. We were just walking around aimlessly when we spotted the restaurant with some serious amount of customers coming in & out. And yes, we even have to wait a bit for a table but you know what, it ended up being worth it. 

And we were half expecting all Indo food menu judging solely by their name, but they actually have other local dishes available as well. Take for example my hubby's Nasi Goreng Berapi Seafood which was delicious but spicy according to him. Portion was also pretty big for a solo eater. My Lalapan Ayam Bakar was also very good, what with some extra Popiah Goreng on the side and some Kek Lapis Sarawak for dessert. Overall we think we made a great find that day & will probably come back again in the future to sample some more food. 

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La Chica Mexican Grill Kitchen + Bar (KK FoodieVenture #258)

Okay I stand corrected.. THIS is actually my last entry to my Imago Shopping Mall foodie adventure (for now) as I just realized that I forgot one as I was scrolling through my pics. Me and husband dearest were somewhat doubtful of entering this eatery slash bar as it kinda looked a bit.. you know.. 'atas' for us mere mortals (located on the 1st floor of the outer shoplots of said mall). But their menu looked good & I always wanted to try out Mexican inspired food so gave them a try. We had their Pollo y Champinones (aka Chicken & Mushroom Quesadillas) and Hamburguesa de Pescado (aka Crispy Fish Burger) and you know what, we actually enjoyed their dishes. Both dishes were big in portioning & delicious. The ambience was also very nice & chill (what with the continuous Spanish music videos playing in the background) but as expected the staff indifference to us 'non-foreigner tourists' is not that surprising at all. 

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