Gathering Grill & Chill

I’m always on a look out for new and trendy places to eat in town, particularly since a couple of new commercial areas had suddenly sprung up last year. And although Kubota Square aren’t exactly one of those places, they did however developed a somewhat Phase 2 of their area to accommodate more shops. So it does not escape my attention that there’s a new up scale looking eatery in the process of opening earlier this year, within said new area.

I admit that I had my eyes on them ever since my latest ‘backyard vacation’ at the also new-in-town hotel next door called Rooms Tawau (they're also right in front of the locally popular Tea Time café – and I suspected that both eateries were ran and owned by the same people). It was lucky for us to arrived earlier in the evening since the place was quickly packed with customers an hour or so after that. And mind you, it is not even the weekend yet! Their menu is currently in the ‘ongoing’ stages, with a mix of both the western and local cuisines plus a slew of delectable looking desserts on the side. As I was not that hungry during our introductory visit, I only ordered their hot mocha. Although it was fine (more towards the bitter side) but I had tasted better offerings elsewhere. My partner however was quite the opposite so he’d ordered the Sambal Terung (Spicy Eggplant) Rice set, to which he’d commented that the overall dish was savoury and palatable but not outstanding. But I was impressed enough with their food during our premier visit that I’ve also brought my mom there a few days later and we had their Gathering Nasi Ayam Penyet (portion was quite big and my mom did enjoy eating it) and Spaghetti Bolognese Beef Meatballs (again, the portion was notable but it tasted a bit bland) as well as a Chocolate Hazelnut Cake as a dessert. I think that they’d outsourced their cakes from Sweet Secret Bakery nearby since I’d (accidentally) noticed their boxes at the bottom of the display case.

** Current status – Still in operation (as of May 2017)

Updated on 31/05/2017 - We dropped by recently (well, actually that might be our third or fourth time there already) and got to try out their Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce, Nasi Goreng Sambal with Fish Fillet & Nutella Cheesecake. The fried rice dish was a little dry for my liking & I tasted more of the cheese rather than their supposedly Nutella flavourings from their cake.