Simple Sandwich & Coffee

With the motto ‘Skip the diet, just eat healthy’, this newbie café caught my attention like no other since they’re situated at the heart of the Fajar Complex area (no doubt a prime location in front of the Body Shop store). They pretty much stick out like a sore thumb since the area does not usually houses hipster cafes such as this one. So while waiting for my mom to finish some business in town recently (and with an hour or so to kill), I’ve decided to stopped by the barely 2 months old establishment.

It always amuses me to see people giving me funny looks whenever I entered an eatery and decided to dine in alone (and that happens quite a lot). They will almost always ask me whether or not I wanted to tapau (take away) the food which I guess is understandable. But this is not about me now isn’t it? This café focuses more on breakfast and tea time snacks (as they’re open as early as 7.00am up until 4.00pm only) so I’ve decided on their Ultimate Ham & Cheese sandwich (it’s like eating a condense pizza – which is something that I loved), the Black Sesame cake (I admit that the cake got me curious and it tasted pretty nice and moist, similar to that of a vanilla cake) and wash everything off with a cup of hot chocolate (loving the not-too-rich taste). They do have plans on expanding their menu to include heavier meals such as lunch boxes and all things ‘chop’ in the future but for now, they’re sticking with what they know best.

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

(Updated on 18/01/2018 - Stopped by for lunch recently and discovered that they're now offering delectable lunch menus such as the Chicken Aglio Olio Spaghetti & Honey Lemon drink that I had. The food tasted nice but the portion might be on the small side)

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Apas Food Court

Me and my partner do enjoy eating out at food stalls from time to time since it is usually where you can get good food at below average prices. Plus you can get a variety of food at the same place. We’d recently discovered this relatively new area as we’re cruising along Mile 2, Apas Road (they’re right next to the Kampung Saddani signboard) one particular boring night. Bear in mind though that the place does not have any designated parkings so you just have to park your car by the roadside (which has limited spaces as it is). 

The fully awning place (as oppose to the usual open air food stalls) surprisingly could fit around 10 to 12 stalls within its premise. Personally I think that it’s a good thing since you do not have to worry about rainy days. But on the down side, the heat from being in a closed off area might get to you as well. In terms of food, we’d decided to order from this stall called Selamat Goreng-Goreng and ordered their Nasi Goreng Tabur Saddani (yup, I’m a sucker for shock value sounding names) while my partner had their Nasi Goreng Paprik. The former turns out to be something like a Mee Goreng Basah but with fried rice instead of noodles (and it tasted okay but very ‘tongue-burning’). The latter’s beef was nicely cooked according to my partner but the rice was just your average fried rice. Right in front of the stall was another stall owned by the same people from our stall but that one sell grilled chicken wings instead. We did give them a try as well and it was just okay, barely passable even.  

** Current status – Has been closed (as of July 2018)

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Selera Pantai Timur

I just realized recently that I’d skipped reviewing this place a few times and totally forgotten about them until I did a run through of my materials recently. Which is kind of surprising on my part since this place is actually quite good in terms of their foods.

The restaurant is located at the Prima Jaya industrial area, on the same row as the Grand Cafe. What is most appealing about this place was that it was opened by a Kelantanese couple and all the cooking was done by the husband himself. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with their breakfast cum lunch time menu primarily being the DIY (or pick-them-out-yourself?) Nasi Kerabu and Nasi Dagang so you can literally take as many side dishes for your meal as possible (which was what me and my partner had done when we were there). The Nasi Kerabu that I chose was undoubtedly delicious and satisfying. They also provide some local kuihs for lunch as I’d tried out their Seri Muka (it was tasty but very soggy). I can’t comment much on their dinner menu as I haven’t got the chance to try them out personally but a colleague of mine did mention that he just loved their Nasi Lemak Sambal Kerang that he’d even tapau back some home with him on the same night. Other pantai timur staples that are also available for dinner includes Maggi Ketam and Laksam.  

** Current status – Has been closed (as of April 2024)

*The picture above was taken from my colleague's FB page, with permission of course (this is the Nasi Lemak Sambal Kerang)

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D'cyma Corner

It seems that my mother and I had made a habit of stopping by the Gaya Commercial Centre every so often, especially whenever we’re not in the mood to drive to somewhere even farther to buy things such as Giant Hypermarket. And thankfully, the ever changing food scenery within the area has been alive and kicking with new eateries such as this one. We’d seen several change-up of food establishment throughout the years so hopefully this one will stay for a while.

The Malay owned eatery provides typical local made-to-order dishes, as well as some lauk pauk for lunch. We’d actually dropped by during lunch time but I was not in the mood to try them so I’ve decided to order their Nasi Goreng Lalap Ayam (yes… I’d also notice that for some unknown reason even to me, I usually will end up ordering said dish as my go-to meal) and it’s quite tasty although nothing notable. My mom decided to try their lunch dishes aka Nasi Campur (as seen below) and she said that it’s just so-so. My inner greediness got the best of me yet again, as I’d decided to order a roti canai as well and I must say that the roti is non-greasy and quite crunchy. I just wished that the curry that came with it was as delicious as the latter (it was your average, unappealing curry I’m afraid). But we’ll most probably be back again in the future since the place can be considered (well, at least to me of course) as one of the top choices to eat within the area.

** Current status – Has been closed (as of June 2020)

(Updated on 28/02/2018 - Me and my partner dropped by again recently and had their Nasi Goreng Kampung (for him - to which he said that it was tasty) and Fried Mee Hoon, which was a little undercooked and had given me a somewhat severe diarrhea afterwards. In retrospect, it was partially my fault as well since I'd chosen to eat the dish even though I'd noticed it halfway through. Lesson learnt!)

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U & Me Cafe

For those of you in the know (or you might have just realized it by yourselves), this increasingly popular hangout place is actually related to that of Siang Siang Noodles & Coffee House. They’re most probably opened by the same owners since their food and beverages were similar to one another. Heck, they even promoted each other’s joint on their respective cafés so obviously that’s also some sort of a sign right? This happening place is strategically located at the corner lot of the Bintang Kubota commercial area, at Jalan Chong Thien Vun (in front of the Tawau Hospital Sin Onn branch).

As I’ve mentioned above, food choices seems to be similar to those available from their Fajar Complex ‘sisterly branch’ but with a few new editions added into the mix. I’d decided to try out one of their promotional meal set (at that time) the Tom Yam Sliced Fish with Fried Rice (plus a lemonade drink) and the sourly taste of said dish just tickles my taste buds. My partner ate their Nasi Goreng Pedas which made him sweat (and literally 'cry') like nobody’s business, plus some Chicken in Thai Sauce. We also shared their Mango Swiss Roll. The cake was okay at best and leaning more towards the sweet side of things. It is also good to note that their pricing was also slightly higher than their Fajar counterpart (maybe due to the rent?). I’m still considering whether or not it is worth it to pay RM5.30 for a glass of regular ice lemon tea though. Can that be considered as profiteering?

** Current status – Has been closed (as of August 2017)

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