Top 2 Corner (Sandakan FoodieVenture #1)

Like I've said before, I've stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel when I was in Sandakan for a few days and several of my posts after this will be dedicated to my so-called foodie adventure there. And yes, I'll try my hardest to keep it as simple as I can (or not).

I remember that it was already quite late when I finally arrived at the hotel from Tawau so I just decided to get something to bite nearby. And because I'm staying at a hotel that's attached to a mall, so I figure why not try something there right? There's bound to be food in a mall. Imagine my surprise when that's not to be! Apart from a McDonald's, there's nothing else around that resembles a place to eat. But I was pretty determined. I mean, surely there must be a food court somewhere that I do not know of? So I went to the info counter and after vaguely pointing me upwards, I decided to just ride the escalators to the top, to see whether I'll get lucky. And on the 4th floor, I did get lucky. Well, sort of anyway.

There's definitely a food court on the 4th floor at the Sandakan Harbour Mall, only that it was so deserted that I was speechless when I first discovered it. From what I've found out, the place has been opened since 2013 so I was surprised to see only one food stall available (not including the main drinks counter & sweets and cookies counter nearby). Geez, the rent must be ridiculously high for it to be that deserted huh? But anyways, I did try out the solo stall since there's no other options and I'm just ready to go to bed after I got a bite at something. So there I was ordering from the stall called Top 2 Corner, not thinking about anything else up until when I take a seat right in front of the stall to wait for my order and had a good look at the stall. There's a picture of a guy in a Masterchef Malaysia apron smiling on top of the stall and I was like 'heyyy... that guy looks suspiciously familiar...' and after a few minutes (yes, a few minutes) it suddenly occurred to me the meaning behind the stall's name. Top 2 Corner really means Top 2 in Masterchef Malaysia Season 1 so the stall is actually owned by Wahidan (the 1st runner up from Kinabatangan). I was a fan but before I got all excited, I was told by the cashier that he was not around for the day. Oh well, better luck next time...

The menu was actually pretty interesting as well. True to his preferred style of cooking, the menu are mainly Malay and Thai food, with a selection of Western menu and local kuihs also for sale. I decided to try out their Nasi Goreng Aroma while my dear partner (whom I've managed to dragged along with me) ordered the Nasi Pes Special. Yes, very unique names and the tastes was pretty good as well. Although I was made to understand that Wahidan's somewhat 'disciples' are the ones doing the cooking while he was away, it was still pretty delicious and with just the right amount of spices inside the dishes.