Old House Cafe

Formerly known as Rumah Lama Cafe (yup, now the literal English translation of its previous name), the place has seen a revamp of sorts (and possibly a new owner maybe?) and that warrants a second visit to the eatery. Located at Jalan Masjid (near to a couple of car washes and also a Michelin tyre store) it is more spacious and chill than before; with the choices of food has also been expanded  One of the contributing factors for the latter might be because they have now opened a few spots for outside food vendors to rent. And after going through their menu, me and my partner decided to try out some Grilled Chicken Burger and Nasi Goreng Seafood (if I’m not mistaken since I can’t seem to recall the exact names of said dishes). The former was from a western food stall and the chicken patty was tender enough but nothing to shout about. My partner said that his dish was actually quite tasteful despite the very plain look so I’m just going to take his word for it. Also, we’d managed to squeeze in some satays as well and it was flavourful but again, not that memorable I’m afraid.

** Current status – Still in operation (as of April 2019) 

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Warung D'Klate

Personally, I’m a huge fan of Nasi Kerabu so when we went passed the Ba Zhong commercial area and saw this establishment (they’re on the same row as Bank Rakyat) I wasted no time in dragging my partner to their place one afternoon. Sadly, it turns out to be a poor choice of timing for us since the eatery was literary packed with patrons for lunch. Even though the eatery provided pots (yup, actual big silver pots that we usually see during ‘kenduris’ and such) of delicious looking ‘lauk pauk’ to go with either white rice or the Nasi Kerabu blue rice, it was almost cleared out by the time we were there (which was only approaching noon mind you). But since we’re already there, we might as well take whatever that was available and tried out their Nasi Campur and Nasi Kerabu. Both of us agreed that the lauk were yummy; a reminiscent of traditional kampong cooking no doubt. I also spotted the Kuih Akok (a traditional Kelantanese pastry outsourced to Cakes & Co) near to the cashier counter and decided to take a packet home with me since I was always curious about their taste. It was sweeter than I’ve imagined but I do admit that it was very addictive as well. The taste is similar to that of a caramel cake so it definitely my type of snack.

** Current status – Their shop has been closed but they now operate via food delivery services (as of April 2024) 

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Fook Yuen Darvel Bay Plaza (LD FoodieVenture #1)

On our way back from KK, my partner decided that he needs a break from all those long distance driving and made a pit stop at Lahad Datu (LD). Mind you, it has been years since I last set foot in LD so I was surprise to see the overall development of the small district. What was more surprising (and hilarious to us) was that the first thing that we saw coming into the town area was the Fook Yuen (FY) food chain. I’ve heard rumours that the owner of the aforementioned eatery does not give out the rights to open their branch to just anyone so I’m assuming that this one might at least be opened by a family member. And since we were curious as to whether or not the place looks any different from the ones in KK, we decided to drop by this branch which was located on the ground floor of Darvel Bay Plaza (LD’s current premier shopping mall, as I’ve been told).

Needless to say, we could verify that it is an authentic FY branch and we were both very impressed with the variety of food available, particularly the prawns that my partner had. Taste-wise, everything is up to the usual FY standards (which was both good and satisfying). The only thing that I would like them to take note on was that they did not seem to be using the number-calling system (even though it was available) so we weren’t informed that our drinks were ready. It seems that the staff was ‘busy’ teasing and gossiping with each other to update the patrons of their orders, which is a habit that shouldn’t be taken lightly. 

**Sorry for the angle as this is best that I can do while simultaneously receiving dagger looks from other patrons 😅

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Nunpat Dessert Cafe (KK FoodieVenture #102)

Okay so one of the things that I’m just dying to try out but never got the chance to (or the right time for that matter) was the bingsu. The ‘ais batu campur’ of Korea has gained a loyal following especially from the younger generation (most of them K-Poppers no doubt) and this non-teenager (sobbing ever so silently…) was intrigued. So when me and my partner ended up in the Oceanus Waterfront mall (they’re located on the ground floor, right next to Starbucks) one drizzling evening, I decided to finally give the popular hipster cafe a go. Mind you, I have no idea that people usually shared a bingsu (because of its large portioning) so me and my partner received amusing looks from the cashier & on-lookers when we confidently ordered the Chocolate bingsu each. Not only that, we got way over our heads and continued to order a Chicken Bulgogi Sandwich and a Chicken BBQ Rice dish soon after that. Their food was okay at best but their bingsu definitely has a special place in my heart now since I loved the just-right sweetness and smoother texture of the shaved ice. Also, I like the cosy feeling of the cafe; definitely a good place to hang out with your friends. 

** Sorry but this is the best angle that I can come out with on a rainy day

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Starbucks Coffee Imago (KK FoodieVenture #101)

I initially wanted to go somewhere else to get a fix of caffeine but eventually discovered that the place has closed down for good (which was a shame since I really wanted to try them out for the longest time... oh well...). So we ended up here since we’re too lazy to walk any further and because my partner was itching to get his all time favourite Chocolate Chip Crème frappuccino anyways (he can’t seem to get enough of them every time we’re in KK). I went for their Dark Mocha variety instead (which tastes more chocolate-y than coffee – yay!) and shared their Mississippi Chocolate Muffin between the two of us. This mega franchise is definitely high on every Tawaurians wish list so fingers crossed that they would eventually open a branch here.   

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Singgah Mata Asia City Food Stalls (KK FoodieVenture #100)

Since we were only in KK for 2 nights, we didn’t really have the time to do a lot of new food hunting. Plus my partner is a creature of habit hence the repeated visits to his favourite places (that I’ve reviewed in the past) and nothing else. Well, almost nothing anyways since we decided to have our dinner within the Asia City area by the time we check into our hotel. We have been here before but I’ve neglected to take any pictures so I try to make up for it this time around.

The long strip of vacant spaces in between buildings at Asia City (dubbed as the Singgah Mata passing) has been known to host some food stalls especially during the night. A cleaner place than say… the Filipino market, the most popular dish that is somewhat synonymous to the place is the Nasi Katok (a cousin of the Nasi Lalap). The Brunei originated rice dish is available on almost every stall within the area but unfortunately I do not have a picture of the latter as my partner and I were in the mood to eat something else that night (sorry folks!). We eventually ate Nasi Goreng Special from this one stall while ordering some grilled munchies and coconut water from other stalls nearby. We’ve also spotted some pretty good looking mangoes being sold but decided against buying them due to the above average pricing. But still, do come and explore the area by yourselves especially during the upcoming fasting month (where the area literary turns into a food mecca).  

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Outward Vacay: Hotel Deleeton

My partner had to go to Kota Kinabalu for a couple days for business purposes and had asked me whether I was interested in tagging along, to which I happily obliged (despite my ‘mountainous’ workload). Since it was a last minute planning (plus we’ll only be there for a short period of time) we decided to rough it up and choose a smaller boutique hotel instead. And I admit that I was the one responsible for recommending this place to my partner, since I remembered that my last visit was a pleasant one. But then again, that was 12 years ago (no joke) so I don’t really know what I was thinking.

I also don’t know whether I should be happy or not but the hotel looks exactly like it was all those years ago. I used to think that the place was pretty classy but now it just looks dated and err… ‘nostalgic’ I suppose. But my non-fussy partner was still pleased to see that our room was comfortable and has a view facing the Centre Point mall (where this hotel is located by the way, within the Asia City area). I did notice however that they’d at least change the bulky TV to a more modern one and had also replaced the aging wooden bathroom door. Location wise, it is at the centre of everything but parking can be quite a challenge since they do not have any designated parking (only public parkings with DBKK ‘must-have’ prepaid coupons – available at the Orange convenient store just around the corner). Also, do request for a room that does not have an air-conditioner blowing directly to your face or you’ll end up sneezing and getting a cold like we did.    

Overall…

Type – Superior Queen Room

Room – 4/5 (would be better if they can refurbished their rooms a bit more)

Price – 4/5 (very reasonable especially if you’re on a tight budget)

Service – 4/5 (it’s always a good thing to have an accommodating & polite staff)

Décor – 3/5 (again, very old-fashion looking)

Facilities – 3/5 (at least they do have a lift; albeit an old one)

Location – 5/5 (they’re literary right across the street to the main entrance of the Centre Point mall & next to this Toyota showroom) 

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