Army Navy Burger + Burrito (KK FoodieVenture #163)

It's pretty hard to find a fast food eatery that specialises in American Mexican food anywhere so I was obviously intrigued by this particular franchise. As far as I can search on Google, the Filipino based franchise has only one outlet in Malaysia and it so happens that that one is located at the City Mall, Jalan Lintas (they're on the ground floor, open aired section of said mall; on the left side of the main entrance to be specific).

I was walking around the mall alone trying to find a quick lunch when I spotted them just opening their store. Since I have almost zero knowledge when it comes to Mexican food, I pretty much just try my luck at whatever I thought was interesting on the menu and finally decided upon their Vege Burrito (I have always heard about this food but never actually tried it so it was an obvious choice for me) plus some side helping of their Freedom Fried, Onion Rings and Libertea ice tea. They obviously kept to the 'army' theme so the names were not that surprising. But what was surprising however was the fact that both their fries and onion rings were made on site. I even saw the kitchen staff take the time to painstakingly peel and chop those onions by hand. So naturally the taste was different from any other fast food joint versions of said food. Also, the burrito was actually quite nice but pretty chilled on the inside (was it supposed to be like that? Cuz I really have no idea).

Oh and interestingly, there were these 2 local Youtubers/streamers (sorry, I have no clue who they are) making a video of sorts of the place when I was there so... err, I just thought that was worth mentioning 😅

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KK Chick Station T1 Bundusan (KK FoodieVenture #162)

Another month came rolling in and we're still in the MCO period. Oh well... At least I do have a bunch of KK throwback posts that I haven't put out yet so here comes another one (sorry if I'm boring you guys) 😅

My partner and I had actually noticed this place when we were dining at the restaurant right next to theirs on the ground floor of T1 Bundusan, Penampang and decided to try them out a day later. It does intrigues me to see a place that mainly features chicken as their dish and was wondering whether it was possible to have an all-chicken menu. And after through said menu, I can see that they did just that. Except for a couple of add on vegetables dishes, the other items were definitely 'chicken inspired'. We had their Salted Egg Chicken and Curry Sauce Chicken Chop as our mains (with a separate order for their fragrance rice) and both were commendable and saporous. We also had their Lettuce (in oyster sauce I believe) and while it wasn't the best there is, it was still pretty tasty. It's a good place to dine in with friends and family, especially if you're not a red meat person as they do have lots of stuff for you to try.

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Hello Stranger Cafe (KK FoodieVenture #161)

There was no specific reason why I choose to dine in this particular eatery during my most recent KK trip. I remembered just walking along the quiet The Walk Riverson area and their name got my attention ("why Hello to you to stranger😅") as I've entered the mall (they're located on the ground floor, not that far off from the main entrance & also accessible from the open-aired area within said mall). It was almost noon and since I woke up late that day, I was open to having a somewhat heavier brunch. Plus, my partner was not around yet at that time so I was hoping to find a cosy, quiet place to eat so the eatery most definitely fit the relaxing vibe that I was going for.

I've gone through their menu and was already expecting a mostly fusion dishes list (which they did) so I've chosen their Thai Tomyam Fried Rice as my meal. It came out very simple and with a scrumptious taste but nothing too special I'm afraid. And my initial request for Chamomile Tea had to be shot down due to the drink being out of stock (I think I was there a day after the New Year's so it was understandable) so I had their Earl Grey tea instead, which was nice to have in a mellow environment such as their's (I'm just loving the bookshelf decor by the way).

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Indo-Taste (KK FoodieVenture #160)

On several occasions (usually during 'strategic' timings of the day - if you know what I mean 😉) I would think back at the Indo-Taste food that I've once had before they decided to move to KK and found myself missing them. I mean, it's hard to find delicious and somewhat authentic Indonesian cuisine these days so because of that, I'd managed to locate their current eatery (which was within the T1 Bundusan commercial area in Penampang - don't worry, you'll spot them in no time since they're located on the ground floor and the area is not that big) and practically dragged my partner there for lunch, with the help of Mr. Waze.

What I do notice right off the bat when I entered their KK establishment was the pretty decor. It was nice to see that they're willing to fork out some dough for the decor due to stiffer competition in KK (because their previous Tawau restaurants were fairly simple looking). Plus, their food tasted exactly like I've remembered them, which was great. I've ordered their Nasi Racik Sate Ayam while my partner had their Nasi Ikan Bolu Bakar Bumbu Rica and both were delicious, although my partner said that his fish's sambal was spicier than he'd previously anticipated . What was more surprising was that their staff actually remembered me! Apparently the owner had uprooted not just the eatery to KK but their main staff as well so it was no surprise to see such familiar, friendly faces there. And honestly I'm touched that they do remember their former customers.

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My Native Sabah (KK FoodieVenture #159)

From the East Asian palate, we now move on to some local flavours. And by that I mean a real local flavour experience. I had a couple of Kadazan-Dusun friends who'd recommended me several eateries that provided authentic Kadazan dishes and only this time around that I was able to go to one. It was when my partner had arrived from Tawau a day before and we decided to be adventurous and try out this eatery, located at the ever lively Plaza 333 commercial area in Penampang. Although I was well aware that the place was on the 1st floor, me and my partner still took at least 15 minutes driving around the area and being hilariously confused as to where it was. As it turns out, we'd missed a lane and yes, that lane also happens to be where they are (if you're just coming into the area from the main road entrance, they are on the right side; on the second row from the front) 

We pretty much went into the place blind so we chose dishes that looks good on the menu and had gone for the Linopot Miagal Di Gulu Ikan Masin set and the Sambal Fried Ikan Tenggiri dishes respectively. My partner is someone who doesn't easily adapt to a new palate so he'd played it safe and chose what he thought was familiar to him (which was the latter). He does like the fish but as predicted, he found the Red Bario rice and condiments to be weird tasting. Me on the other hand is his exact opposite when it comes to food and ended up loving the food that I had. It's been a long time since I've had a salted fish and the dish just brings out the 'hunger' in you. Heck, I was so into my food that I even cleared out the condiments that my partner had left out. Although I do admit that the Tuhau, Bambangan and Hinava took some time getting use to (with the tastes) but I ended up liking them and it does compliment the main dish really well. Overall, a positive first time experience for me so I'm happy.

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