Taiwanese Castella Tawau

My fondness for cakes and pastries (particularly the chocolate variety) has brought me to this place quite a few times. I first noticed this specialty shop when I was walking around the Gaya Street in KK (where they had a branch there) and was just ecstatic when I found out that they’re also opening one here in Tawau. By the way, they’re located at Kuhara commercial centre at Jalan Budi, right in front of Restoran Balikpapan Seafood.

Selling only castella cakes, this Japanese originated sponge cake is definitely irresistible. So far we have tried the original and chocolate flavours and both were just airy and moist. My personal favourite was obviously the latter, since it has this yummy filling that compliments the chocolate chip filled cake really well. I kid you not when I say that I could finished an entire piece of cake (which was huge for a single person mind you) in one day. Other than the above, they also have the cheese and the limited edition chicken floss flavours. Do look out for any promos and discounts on their official FB page and it’s also good to note that they usually will run out of the cheese, chocolate and chicken floss flavours by noon so grab them as fast as you can. Their regular pricing are as follows –  RM16 for the original, RM21 for the cheese and RM23 for chocolate. Not too sure about their chicken floss though.

** Current status – Has moved to Taman Dataran Saujana (as of July 2022) 

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Mahligai Cafe

It was easy for anyone to pass by this cafe and didn’t even know that they’d existed (as I initially did). For one, the owners had divided their shop lot into 2 sections; one being the former while the other a women’s fashion boutique. And with other bigger eateries within their proximity (they’re in the Fajar Complex, on the row of shops right next to MB Hotel) and not-so-clear signage, it was literally dwarf by them all. It was my dad who’d recommended the place since it was supposedly his go-to eatery whenever he’d finished his businesses nearby.  

It was the day after a public holiday that my dad brought us there and sure enough, their menu was on the ‘limited side’ for the day. Hence, all three of us ended up ordering almost identical dishes (which were the Mee Goreng Ayam & Mee Goreng Mamak) since only noodles were available during said time. The fried noodles were greasy but acceptable in terms of taste. The Mee Goreng Mamak that I had was spicier than normal so do be warned non-spicy food lovers. Despite the not-so-stellar first visit, me and my partner decided to drop by a few days later and tried their Mee Hoon Goreng Ayam as well as their Nasi Goreng Payau and unfortunately both were mediocre at best.

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

*Just to clarify, this is the Mee Goreng Mamak...

... and this is the Mee Goreng Ayam

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Sage Cafe + Kitchen

After swearing off its sisterly cafe for their ‘from-good-to-bad’ service, I was very wary in stepping into this place. But since I can’t seem to resist eye-catching, modern looking cafes, I finally decided to give them the benefit of a doubt. Occupying 2 shop lots within the Kubota Sentral commercial area (they’re right next to #Ekae Leisure Dining); the obviously spacious place gave out this relaxed vibe that I like. Well, at least we’re off to a good start right?

The service this time around was good, what with the greetings and swift approached by the waitresses. Well, maybe a tad too swift since the waitress that attended us tried to rushed our orders up (by cutting our orders a few times with ‘that’s all?’ when we intended to order some more). But I was impressed with the reasonable time that our orders arrived at our table. There were 4 of us there so we’d ordered their Teppan Chicken Rice (my mom said that it was sweet and the chicken were tender), Nasi Lemak Chicken Curry (my dad thought that it was a bit spicy but still to his liking), Nasi Lemak Ayam Percik (my partner can’t seem to get enough of the evenly marinated chicken although he did say that it would be better if they can loosen up the bamboo stick that they’d used as a skewer of sorts) and lastly their Crumbed Chicken Chop (felt a bit dry and greasy but it has a crunchy texture). I also had their Chocolate Ice Cream Waffle and although it might be unremarkable, it is still a pretty good dessert nevertheless.      

** Current status – Still in operation (as of July 2018) 

(Updated on 10/07/2018 - Looks like I spoke too soon. Barely a week after the above, we'd came back & suffice to say that we've encountered a problem with their service (yet again). Needless to say, something needs to be improve here since their food was very good, as evident in the food that we had this time around which were the Dory Fish & Chips, Smoked Chicken Aglio Olio Spaghetti, Chocolate Indulgence Cake & Beauty Blast Tea Pot)

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Restoran Maju Ria

A typical Indian restaurant quite close to my residence (which is within the Taman Semarak commercial area) I have been popping in and out of this eatery several times now (due to their close proximity, not their quality I’m afraid). But since there seemed to be lots of new competition going on in the immediate area, it was only recently that the place had suddenly sprang up into me and my partner’s minds again. My partner had their Nasi Campur (nothing noteworthy, just your average Indian ‘lauks’) while I opted for their Nasi Briyani Ayam. The latter was mediocre in taste and I felt as if it was missing ‘something’; only to discover much later when I was back home (and was going through the pictures) that they did not provide any ‘kuah kari’ as they should. I guess my hunger won the battle that day as I’d managed to completely ignore that dry taste buds of mine.

** Current status – Still in operation (as of July 2018) 

*Oh and we'd tried some grilled chicken wings from the stall in front of the restaurant

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Kopi Shake Food Garage

Nope, this entry doesn’t have anything to do with my previous post, as it was just a coincidence that they shared the ‘garage’ name (and I have no idea why they put ‘garage’ either since both places doesn’t resembles anything ‘garage-y’). Hidden from immediate view, they’re actually located within the Fajar Complex, in the same row as a florist shop called Strawberry Florist so you do need to walk a bit further inward to find them.

Started out as an ice coffee brand that sold a variety of beverages (particularly when multi-flavoured ice coffees were still trending a few years back), the owner has managed to expand their business into the food industry (similar to that of the Signature by The Licious Beverage's cafe) and has now open a café that offers an array of local dishes. We’d tried out their Nasi Goreng Kampung, Nasi Goreng Ayam Penyet and Chicken Tomyam soup and all seems to be fairly decent in terms of taste. There’s also this burger stall beside said café that sell curry burger (yup, you’ve read it right) and we’d tasted their namesake Chicken Curry Burger (yummy but you do need to inform the seller of your spice tolerance as he will put in extra sambal by default) and their ordinary Beef Burger (to which my partner said that it was okay tasting despite being slightly undercooked). 

** Current status – Still in operation (as of July 2018) 

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