Tawau Station

This is going to be a quick (and not to mention short) entry since I’m actually in a hurry to go somewhere (but still here I am procrastinating; with my mom ‘membebel’ at the back). Me and my partner were passing by this newly opened Malay restaurant within the Fajar Complex area (formerly the spot of Cafe 3 Puteri Fajar) when we happen to saw their interesting looking pre-cooked dishes for lunch. And since we were hungry anyways, we opted to try them out and both the taste (of their Nasi Campur) and pricing were not disappointing. Nothing too extraordinary but delicious and worth a try nevertheless.

** Current status – Has been closed (as of April 2021) 

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Retro Coffee Co

Firstly I would like to apologize for the rather blur-ish main photo for this entry, as it was pouring rain during my exit from the eatery. I’m just clearing that one out just in case you guys thought that I was trying to be artsy or something (which I can assure you that I’m not). I promise that I will try to update the front view picture during my next visit.

I was mainly at the somewhat secluded and tiny cafe (they’re right at the corner of a single row of shops, at the entrance to Taman Setia at Jalan Chong Thien Vun) for their beverages but was a bit surprised to find that the place also served delectable looking food and other munchies (courtesy of an adjoining kitchen called Sweet In). But since me and my partner had already taken our breakfast, we opted for something ‘lighter’ such as their pre-packed Nasi Lemak and Fried Mee Hoon (well… at least it was light to us). And may I say that the Nasi Lemak that I had was superb in terms of taste. I just loved the yummy coconut induced rice as it was both rich and fragrant. Also the Chocolate Milk Cup that I had (sans the cream on top to maximize the quantity of said drink) was very smooth and delicious as well, much like the Chrysanthemum Tea that my partner had. I’ll most definitely be repeating my visit in the future; if only we can find a parking spot as the area has very limited parking space especially during the day.  

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

*Sorry guys... this is the pic that I've taken outside of the cafe...

... versus what it was suppose to look like (credit goes to Ken Wong) 

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Four Seasons Restaurant @ Fajar Club

I was craving for some dim sum when I coincidentally stumbled upon an ad for the Four Seasons Chinese restaurant, located on the 2^nd floor of the Fajar Club. The serve no pork restaurant is open to the general public for dining and such so I’ve managed to convince both my partner and mom to accompanied me to said place (and it was on me of course so… my wallet is 😭😭 ).

The banquet style restaurant (yes, they do provide a huge area for any occasion) mainly offers Chinese cuisine. We sheepishly took our seats (as we felt that we were somewhat underdressed for the place) but the waiters and waitresses were actually very friendly and approachable so that eases our hearts a bit. Obviously I’d ordered a couple of their Cantonese dim sum selection such as the Siu Mai, Steamed Fish Balls, Vegetarian Dumplings, Mini Egg Tarts and Osmanthus Honey Cakes (the latter was downright my favourite) together with some Vegetarian Fried Mee Hoon while my mom and partner were more interested in their lunch sets (as we were there around brunch time anyway); the Special Fried Noodles with Chinese Style Chicken Chop and Assorted Mushrooms with Chicken Rice respectively. Do be warned though that the kitchen staff might take some time to get your orders ready especially during peak hours (such as lunch and dinner times). The lunch sets that I’ve mentioned above took more than half an hour to arrived so if you’re in a hurry, this is definitely not that place for you.

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

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Boost Juice Bar

As a non-milk tea enthusiast (and there seems to be a minority of us left here in good old Tawau) I was a bit excited to try out this fruitier (and not to mention healthier) option when they finally opened a branch here in the Kubota Sentral commercial area. And yes, I’ve passed by several of their kiosks whenever I was in KK but had never actually taken them on yet. So when I was within the area for other business recently, I decided check them out. Needless to say, I took my sweet time going through their extensive menu (and shout out to the cashier for being very patient with my seemingly endless questions) and finally decided upon their Red Royale and Berry Crush drink for my mom. While I did take a sip at the latter and it tasted pretty good and refreshing, the same cannot be said about the former. Although it might be blended with some of my favourite ingredients (such as apples, bananas and coconut water, just to name a few), the overall taste feels weird on my tongue and it was sourer than I thought it would be. But I did went back more recently and give their King William Chocolate a go (since it is the only choice of drink that has chocolate in them) and it tasted much better than the aforementioned. The blend of chocolate and banana did initially felt weird to me (again) but the overall taste did improved after several sips.  

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

*FYI, on the left is the Berry Crush drink while the other is my Red Royale. Sorry for not taking any pics of the insides of said drinks (totally didn't think of that until after I've finished said drink)...

... and the more recent King William Chocolate drink

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Xiongfeng Restaurant

Since I can’t really read Chinese (I blame my parents for that) and Google directly translated their name as ‘Xiongfeng Air-Conditioned Restaurant’, I’m just going to go with the flow so I do apologize beforehand should I got their name wrong. But one thing’s for sure is that they’re located within the Unijaya commercial area, directly facing the S&P Coffee café. FYI, the place was once a Japanese eatery so some of the original decor remains intact and can still be seen within the premise. 

Me and my mom had first discovered the place mainly because they were the only one that had stayed opened during a long public holiday (and we were coincidentally shopping for some stuff in a nearby supermarket) as well as my mom’s fondness for Chinese cuisine. So we’ve tried their Thai Style Fried Noodles and Mix-Vegetable Rice on our maiden visit and was impressed enough with their cooking to stopped by their eatery again fairly recently. This time, we’ve ordered their Home Style Fried Rice and Nyonya Slice Fish Rice, together with their Stir Fried Broccoli Mushrooms dish. All dishes were delicious and served piping hot so we were thoroughly satisfied with their food and overall service.  Also, the restaurant is a non-halal establishment so do take note of that. 

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

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