Restoran Balikpapan Seafood

The good thing about Tawau is that you'll find quite a number of places selling Indonesian food, since geographically we are in close proximity to the tiny cities (or is it states?) of Indonesia, Nunukan and Tarakan. It's like, you can practically see them eating their lunches if you stand at the in-famous Traulsen Drive (more on that in a later post) because it's just a stone (or a boat) away from the shores of Tawau. And yes, I'm exaggerating about seeing the latter... ;-)

Speaking of lunches and Indonesian food, let us look at Restoran Balikpapan, which is situated on a commercial area at Jalan Budi (in between Jalan Kuhara, if you're coming from the main traffic lights at Jalan Sin Onn-Apas and Jalan St Patrick, if you're coming from the Fajar Complex). The establishment has been around for a number of years now and I have not been back to the place for sometime due to the place not being in my usual route. But thankfully the quality of the food is still consistent when me and my partner went to their place earlier this week. Now the menu consist of mainly Indonesian food (err, from Balikpapan I guess?) and several typical local food such as fried rice and fried mee. When we went there recently, they're out of they popular dish, the Ayam Bakar (which is definitely finger-licking-good) so we decided to take on the next best thing, their Ikan Baulu Bakar (grilled boneless fish with some seriously lovely gravy), Mee Goreng (which got better in taste - cause I had a pretty bad experience with it previously), Nasi Goreng Jawa (according to my partner, the dish was not as good as it was before) and Ayam Masak Lada Hitam (which is my new fave - I just couldn't get over their delicious black pepper gravy).

** Current status - Still in operation (as of June 2014)

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Tea Time Kubota Square

FINALLY I have some time for myself after diving into what seems to be an endless string of work. But hey, that's what us mortals are all put on this Earth to do right? Yeah.. I'm impressed by my own poetry 'skills' right now. Or maybe not! So just ignore my weird mood right now and let us move on to the real stuff.

Now we begin our tale of 'foodie-venture' today with the introduction of Tea Time Cafe (yup, I'm on a roll today.. or something.. must be something I ate during dinner). It's situated at the now somewhat popular hang-out area of Kubota Square at Jalan Sin Onn Tawau, right next to its rival Old Town White Coffee restaurant. It's almost always crowded with customers (I'm serious, there seems to be people hanging out at the cafe all the time) so it's a no brainer to try out this place right?

I managed to dragged my partner-in-crime to the place recently to see what's the deal with the place. The menus are mostly Western & Asian food, nothing new from any other modern establishments within the area. So naturally I assumed that the differences lies within the taste of their food. We decided on ordering their Nasi Goreng Kampung and Pineapple Fried Rice with a Peanut Butter Toast on the side. To be honest, their food were good and pretty satisfying but I will say that it did not left me with the feeling of wanting more, get it? Then again maybe I'm just being overly fussy since I've been to a number of similar eateries and can't help comparing the place to others. But their selling point might lie within their reasonable prices and the laid-back atmosphere of the cafe.

** Current status - Still in operation (as of December 2014)

Updated on 02/12/2014 - We had gone back to the place recently and there's an improvement in their dishes. We ordered their Nasi Lemak, Satay Chicken with Fried Rice and Ham & Cheese Sandwiches and all of them tasted above our expectations - a very good effort indeed

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TCC Wok & Grill

Honestly I have been passing through this place all through my life and not once have I've actually been here. It's one of those places where you always wonder about but it's not strong enough for you to actually go into the place. That is, until now of course! And it's all thanks to my dad for finally making it happen (apparently it's one of the places to entertain his clients). And yes, judging from the name it is an actual social, membership only club. But do not worry since the restaurant is open to those without said membership (myself being one of course). Heck my dad is not even one.

The Tawau City Club owned cafe is situated right at the opposite side of Marco Polo Hotel (trust me, you can't miss it) at Jalan Abaca, Tawau. The place definitely gives you the 'clubby' feel and it's a place for people to hang out and have a few drinks with friends. It's a very chilled out place so to speak. The place divides itself to two sections; indoors (more family friendly) and al fresco seating (preferred by young people and smokers).

Now food wise it's an interesting thing. I think I had a somewhat high expectations when I went to the club. It's a pretty well-known club around Tawau so I expect the food to be on par with its reputation. So we went and ordered ourselves some Nasi Goreng Special, Nasi Goreng Daging (I'm pretty sure it's called differently but it's essentially those types of fried rices), Mixed Vegetables and Deep Fried Chicken Drumsticks. When the food first arrive at our table, I was pretty excited to see the appealing forms of said food. But then when it comes to taste, I'm a bit disappointed for some reason. It's definitely not bad, but nothing great either. Very so-so.

** Current status - Still in operation (as of May 2014)

(Updated on 04/04/2018 - Me and my parents had stop by recently to check out their latest offerings, which includes their Sliced Fish Curry, Singapore Fried Mee Hoon, Tuaran Mee and some Fried Cassava - all were above average in terms of tastes)

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Backyard Vacay: De Choice Hotel

After almost 4 months worth of work-without-play, I finally manage to dragged myself from my much loved workload (sarcasm *sigh*) and got around to again indulged in my favourite pastime. So this time around I'm at De Choice Hotel, within the ever popular Fajar Complex in Tawau. Now don't be surprise to see a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of government like functions and seminars being held at the hotel. From what I've heard, it's the numero uno place for them as they gave out cheaper rates for such events. And from my personal experience, that usually means that the hotel might not be up-to-par in some areas (aka overused bedrooms etc). And yes, true to my expectation, the Superior Room that I've stayed in told me just that.

But lets start from the beginning, shall we? Check-in was uneventful. And yes, there's this seminar going on for some government sector when I was there so the lobby it's a bit crowded. The place isn't actually that big, it's kinda in the mid-range in terms of size. Lobby decor was also a bit dated and simple. Like I've said, nothing special to mention here. The hotel also had a functioning restaurant next to the lobby so room service is also available. There are ample parking space around the hotel compound (but then again, it might be 'tricky' to find one whenever there's a seminar going on, as evident when I was there). So all in all, it might not be perfect, but I'll take it as you actually get what you'd paid for and I can relaxed for the weekend.

Now onto their room. Although it might not be as new or as spotless as some of the places I've been, it still feels kinda cosy and since I'm not one of those extremely fussy people, I let some of the 'minor details' slide my attention (spots on the carpet, peeling wall paint etc). And you know what, it's also kinda spacious as well for a single bedding room, so I'm happy about that. The furniture including the bed looked aged a bit but it is still in fully working order. It had all the basic neccesities you'll expect in a mid-range hotel (minus a fridge thought, cause that would made my day even more). My personal favourite was their 'Chinese-tea-pot' inspired electric kettle. Such a cute thing!

My final verdict?

Type - Standard Double Room
Room - 3/5 (will benefit from some upgrades here and there but overall still okay)
Price - 4/5 (like I've said before, you get what you'd paid for)
Service - 3/5 (maybe in need of some more employees? The place looks out-of-staff or something)
Decor - 3/5 (dated but still comfortable)
Facilities - 3/5 (think your usual mid-range hotel facilities)
Location - 4/5 (it's still within the Fajar Complex so you only need to walk around a bit to find everything)

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Indon Style Cafe

It's been quite a busy month for me but since I finally got some time to spare right now, I might as well write a new entry to this blog right? So here I present to you Indon Style Cafe. Situated at the ever popular hang out spot in Tawau as of late, that is the Perdana Jaya commercial area (right next to Dimension Auto Accessories shop), this is yet another cafe dedicated in giving Tawaurians Indonesian based food. And despite the differences in their names, this is actually another branch of the very well-known Indo Cafe chains in Tawau. 

And since this is the chain to Indo Cafe, don't be surprise if you see that the menu is almost identical to their other branches (well, it is a chain is it not?). So when me and my parents were there, we decided to ordered their in-famous Pisang Goreng Cheese (Fried Fritters with Cheese). Others might follow their suit but Indo Cafe can held their head up high as they should be credited as the place that practically introduced the comfort food (including the Mango Sago as well) to all Tawaurians. Other than that, we also had their Nasi Ayam Penyet (good but I've had better), Nasi Ikan Penyet (also tasty, but seriously there's something weird about their sambal - it's more like a kuah then a sambal) and last but not least mom's favorite Mixed Vegetable Rice (mom said that it's acceptable).

** Current status - Still in operation (as of April 2014)

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