Sankina Hotspring Park

Tawaurians can now rejoice at the newly opened ‘water park’ in this uneventful town of ours. The place might be tiny in comparison to other parks out there but hey, we take what we can get. Its location can be a ‘challenge’ on its own since it is quite hidden from plain sight and the management has not put up any clear signage leading up to the place (yet). All I can tell you is that it is located deep within Jalan Hotspring and within the same area as Tawau Hot Spring (yup, literally a hot spring within Hotspring… hehehe). If you guys are interested in checking out the place (I’m just telling you guys right now that although the pool might be vast, it was unfortunately only knee deep so it is more suitable towards families with small kids) you do need to pay RM35 per adult and RM25 per child upon entry. But that fare includes a RM10 food coupon which you can redeem at their restaurant nearby and they also waived the fee for senior citizens 60 years old and above.

Speaking of which, I admit that their eatery was what got me to put up this review in the first place. After lounging at the pool, it is always a good idea to drop by their restaurant not just to redeem said coupon but to genuinely try out their selection of food. And may I say that they do have plenty of choices to choose from. Since I was there with my whole family (which includes my sister and her children) we’d tried a bunch of stuff such as Curry Chicken Rice (my mom loved the non spicy curry), Sambal Prawn with Rice (my dad said that the prawns were fresh and reasonably spicy), Honey Lamb with Rice (my brother-in-law cleared the whole thing so…), Chicken Bolognese Spaghetti (the portion was huge) and last but not least the Hotpring Park Chicken Burger (my sister commented that it was lovely with pineapple slices inside). It’s good to note that they’re also open for dinner and private functions. And if you’re there just for the food, then you still need to pay RM20 for their entrance fee (including that RM10 worth of food coupon).

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

***Here are pictures in and around the restaurant (plus our lunch)...

... and the surrounding water park area

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Sushi Zanmai Suria Sabah (KK FoodieVenture #83)

My last foray into the KK gastronomic scene (at least for the time being) brought me to this well-known Japanese franchise at the lower ground floor of the Suria Sabah mall. I was a bit surprise when my ‘not-a-fan-of-neither-Japanese-nor-Korean-food’ partner suggested that we visit this particular joint as we were making our way around said mall. Since I have never tried this franchise before (yup, not even once) I welcomed my partner’s change of heart with open arms.

                      

It was only later that I found out why my partner was so interested in trying this particular place out. It seems that somebody had told him that a particular dessert called the Chocolate Monaka is to die for hence the sudden decision. We did ordered the ice-cream wafer like dessert and it was so creamy and delicious that we’d ordered another one soon afterwards. Our main dishes for the day includes some donburi meals (the Madara Don and Kakiage Don if I’m not mistaken) and both were scrumptious with its crispy shrimp & fish slices plus a well seasoned rice. We opted for the ‘small’ size but they were still pretty filling. We’d also had their tuna & tamago sushi and even though the tastes were good, the assembly needed a little work (as they were quite crumbly and hard to pick up). All I have to say is that I’m converting myself to the Sushi Zanmai cult from here onwards, as everything was just delish and superb in terms of taste and variety. But do take note that their preparation and serving time might be a little longer should you went there during their peak hours (like we did during lunch time). 

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Restoran Padang Sari Ratu Prima (KK FoodieVenture #82)

I was drawn to this eatery by a review that I’ve read elsewhere and for the fact that I just love padang food (as evident in my frequent visit to another similar restaurant within Jesselton Point). So I wasted no time in semi-dragging my partner to their place on the first floor of Oceanus Waterfront mall, on a hot afternoon no less. I was glad that the place provided air-conditioned seating, as well as an al fresco style seating that is facing the lovely ocean for their customers.

But as we made our way towards their display cases, I was a bit downhearted to see the limited selection of lauks available. The waitress on duty did her best to promote other items that were only available upon request but those items were only a handful as well. I did contemplated on going somewhere else to have our lunch but eventually decided to give them a try and ordered a couple of dishes. We tried out their Tempe Orek, Begedil (potato patties) and Ayam Goreng Special and had them with some 'sambal merah'. Taste wise, everything was actually above average and flavoursome but my disappointment in their lack of variety did affect my judgement a bit. My personal theory to the matter is that the management might have decided to reduce the amount of food available due to the lack of customers. Unfortunately this plan (if it is the case) might backfire on them since they will also loose any potential new customers in doing so. Ah well… theories are just theories right? I did check out their FB page and discovered that they did have another branch in Kolombong which looked more promising than the former.

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Nando's 1Borneo (KK FoodieVenture #81)

Initially I wanted to have lunch at another famous food franchise on the lower ground floor of 1Borneo Hypermall but my partner has this sudden urge to go into this place instead as we made our way in front of their eatery (note to self – avoid walking past a restaurant that may entice said partner should I wanted to go somewhere else). To be fair, I did owe him one from our previous visit to KK so in the end I relented and decided to give them a go as well.

Since this is our second time entering the franchise (the first was when we were at Imago KK mall about 2 years ago) we at least have an idea on what to expect so we quickly ordered ourselves their Quarter Chicken meal but with different choices of sides. Mine were the PERi-Wedges and coleslaw while my partner tried out their spicy rice and PERi-Chips. And this time around, we specifically told them our preferred marinate (I opted for the newly added Mango & Lime sauce while my overconfident partner tried their Mild sauce, to which he later came to regret). Personally I do like my tangy tasting, succulent chicken but I still prefer their closest rival’s food (to which coincidentally reside just a few stores away). My partner was also a fan of their chicken but he could not take the heat (even though he only tried out their mild level of spiciness). But I’m proud that he’d decided to soldiered on and finished his dish, accompanied by his bottomless soft drink. Well, I did tell him so…

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Restoran Anak Mamak (KK FoodieVenture #80)

While we were still staying at the Klagan Hotel, my partner found himself a bit hungry late one night and decided to drop by this 24 hours Indian restaurant for a quick tapau (because he was too lazy to walk any further). The restaurant is situated on the ground floor of Warisan Square shopping area, right beside our hotel. He ordered some Roti Canai and a Fried Chicken off of the display tray for his late night meal. Some things that he did comment on the roti canai were that it was strangely a bit powdery and insipidly taste (he theorized that maybe it was due to the repeated usage of the same oil). The fried chicken was unremarkable and just okay in terms of taste. But some customers seem to like them all the same so maybe my partner just got a bit unlucky that night. A little fun fact about the eatery – they also provide free breakfast for another boutique hotel nearby called the Celyn City Hotel.

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