Salero Padang

Since me and my hubby were big fans of nasi padang, we were quite excited when we heard that such eatery is opening at the Perdana Jaya commercial area at Jalan Chong Thien Vun (formerly where Mini Bean is and next to Han's Bakery). 

But then we discovered that the eatery might have a different concept than what we were used to when you say 'padang dishes'. Instead of multiple pre-cooked West Sumatra dishes prepared beforehand for the customers to pick out, they had a menu with fixed set items such as the Set Ayam and Set Udang that we had. It screams more like a 'penyet' dish rather than nasi padang. Both food were quite ok tasting but we did feel a bit disappointed as it wasn't what we'd expected. I also ordered their Ayam Pop ala carte since I was curious. Unfortunately I discovered that it wasn't my cup of tea (a bit weird tasting for me).

** Current status - Has been closed (as of August 2026)

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Pecok Tawau

I've seen similar looking dishes while visiting several food festivals and must admit that their variety of sambal does attract my attention. The only thing that hinders me from actually trying them out before was my current health (that prevents me from eating spicy dishes often). But since my hubby assures me that there are less spicy sambal available, we finally decided to try out this eatery located at Jalan Belian, right in front of the former Empire building & yellow DIY building.

So basically a 'pecok' dish is when you pick out your main ingredient (such as chicken, fish or squid) with its accompanied sambal (which includes sambal ijo, sambal tomato, sambal merah, sambal mangga & sambal madu 3). I decided to play safe and ordered their Pecok Bakar while my hubby tried their Pecok Penyet Ijo. Thankfully mine wasn't that spicy and it was succulent but not that noteworthy. My hubby also commented the same thing with his dish plus a slight oversalting taste. Drink choices were also limited & mostly pre-prepared so if you wanted to try other dishes then you might want to go somewhere else. But if you're a fan of the ayam penyet or ayam geprek (which seems to be everywhere nowadays) types of dishes then you should try them out. 

** Current status - Still in business (as of July 2026)

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Oriental Kopi Suria Sabah (KK FoodieVenture #268)

With the unprecedented long public holidays recently (whole 5 days here in Sabah mind you including the weekend) it was only 'logical' (ehem) that me and my hubby unwind ourselves in good old KK. And legit question though; does Brunei have similar holidays with us as I often noticed them descending upon KK whenever we had school holidays? 

Anyways we were in the mood to wait-in-line for the much hyped Oriental Kopi outlet on the 1st floor of Suria Sabah mall since the crowd seems to be manageable when we walked by. It took us probably 20 minutes or so to be seated so it wasn't that bad when we were there. But I do noticed that the waiting time for larger crowd (more than 4 person) tends to be longer since it is easier to seat 1-4 person according to the size of their tables. 

The menu items were pretty extensive as well which made both of us a bit 'rambang mata' (I only managed to snap just a few pages of the actual menu below). We got greedy and ordered their staple 6+1 Oriental Egg Tarts. And yes, we did had to 'tapau' it back with us since we didn't expect it to be thick & err.. high (?) in terms of sizing. But we actually liked the (very) crumbling texture & (very) soft egg feelings. And I have to say that I'm in loved with their Peanut Toast as the generous (watery) peanut butter spread was just chef's kiss. We also had their Malay Fried Rice and Kampung Meehoon with Fried Chicken Meat and both were commendable as portioning were rather big as well. 

So would I come back and braved the waiting line again for them in the future? Maybe.. If I had a craving for the Peanut Toast. Their drinks were also okay but nothing outstanding I'm afraid.

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HeyLuck

Due to my very hectic schedule these days (as I also just realized that I didn't put out any posts last month 🤦‍♀️) I found myself visiting the Kubota Sentral area less and less and was surprised to find a couple of new places sprouting upon my absence. One such places is this western restaurant located on the same row as Tealive and Boost Juice, within the aforementioned  commercial area at Jalan Chong Thien Vun. Me and hubby decided to go for their Grill Chicken Chop with Blackpepper Sauce, Fish & Chips and some Onion Rings. For a new establishment, the food were not bad at all. And I also had to mentioned the drinks that we had which was the Lychee Luscious & Milo Haven, as they were both pretty yummy as well. It's good to know that their drinks were as tasty as their food, as most places tend to neglect that aspect of the service. 

** Current status - Still in business (as of May 2026) 

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Aishiteru

We have done errands at the Gaya Commercial Centre (that single row of shops at Jalan Guru, near SMK Tawau) multiple times before but had only recently decided to try this place out, out of curiosity. And I must say that me and my hubby were not disappointed. Their menu consists of both your typical local & western cuisine (with plenty of shaved ice selections) and we have tried out their Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice as well as their Chicken Chop Aglio Olio. Both were pretty juicy and tasty. I also had their Chocolate Cheese drink and it was nice. Not really outstanding or anything but still very good. The ambience was also pretty chill & comfortable so it's suitable as a hangout place for both family and friends. 

** Current status - Still in business (as of May 2026) 

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