Restoran Sri Melaka @ Kota Kinabalu

Dinner..the following day… Options were : Kampung Air Seafood Centre or Restoran Sri Melaka, we left the decision to the Muslim colleagues and after scrutinizing both the areas- the decision was to dine at Restoran Sri Melaka

All the tables  at the ground floor were occupied and the waitress led us to the second floor. We took up the last two empty tables..business seemed to be good. One of our colleagues recognized a VIP at the next table which started a whispering –and –signaling session around the tables, ah..a former chief minister. The VIP must have sense the commotion as he turned around to nod and smile at us..

Back to food…

Some of us decide to go for cendol and ABC instead of ordering drinks..so it was sweets/dessert before the meal lah..I had the ABC- this was so so …the shaved ice was a bit too ‘rough’- it would have been more enjoyable if the ice were finer.

Asam fish (RM25) – the fish came with pieces of ladies fingers and brinjal. The fish was fresh and the kuah/ gravy was sourish without being overly spicy- this was enjoyed by all and throughout the meal, many were still continuing to drench their rice with the asam gravy.

Steamed fish ( kerapu, RM48) – plainly steamed in soy sauce. The fish was fresh and the plain cooking brought out the sweetness of the fish

Beef rendang (RM18) – the beef chunks were permeated with the rich flavour of santan and the spices. Some pieces were tougher than the rest but overall it was good. Yummm

Kangkong Belacan (RM20) – this was slightly salty for our taste and some of the kangkong stems were rather ‘elderly’ , which were a bit tough on the elderly jaw..

While we were tucking into our meal, Mr VIP and his group had finished theirs and were ready to leave the table, Mr VIP graciously shook a few hands and smiled at the rest of us. A colleague posed a question ‘ When is general election ?’, he nodded knowingly and replied ..‘Either this year or next year’ and left us with a wise smile on his face..

Continuing with food….

Butter prawns  (RM30) – taste wise- was ok  although I find the prawns to be a bit dry maybe a result of being overcooked ?

Sweet pea sprout ( tou meow) with garlic (RM25) , nothing outstanding

Steamed prawns (RM30) – the prawns were submerged in egg white and steamed and the results-Oh la la..i would rate this as the best dish of the night. The best part was not the prawns – but the egg white. The sweetness and juice of the prawns flavoured the egg white, ahh..so sweet..so prawny ..I likeyyyy…

Overall, an ok meal and the best thing was the very reasonable price !

Location : NO 9, JALAN LAIMAN DIKI, KAMPUNG AIR,
88000 KOTA KINABALU, SABAH,
MALAYSIA.

TEL : 088-224777, 088-213028

Business Hours: 10.00am – 9.30pm

Kampung Nelayan Restaurant @ Kota Kinabalu

For dinner, we had a choice, to have a meal at a posh resort which involved a boat ride and Chinese food or have seafood. The boat ride didn’t seemed to big an attraction and the majority chose to have seafood over Chinese food, so…. that was how we ended up at Kampung Nelayan. I guess if we had an inkling that Kampung Nelayan was so touristy- we might have change our mind….Kampung Nelayan was touristy, Evidence No.1 : there were many tour buses at the parking bay, Evidence No. 2 – the cultural performance.

We had steamed clams (sah pak, @ RM40/kg)  – these were steamed with ginger and spring onions, the size of the clams were moderate and the meat was soft and not rubbery. I rather liked these..

Baked oysters -  the sizes  were a bit small and the meat was a bit  thin ..bummer…Oh..i had a peek at the bill at the end of the meal and found that these cost the same as the clams above i.e RM40/kg)

Steamed fish – the grouper was of a generous size..which result in the meat being a bit tough..haiya…small also complain, big also complain.. everything also want to complain….how can like that one ? ( the grouper was @ RM150/kg)

The cultural performance titled 1Malaysia Cultural And Variety Show was not too bad , the most interesting was the blow pipe demonstration and the kadazan dances, Chinese dances were included too and we had a bit of a discussion over the rather funny looking head gears of the dancers- which looked more like a lantern than a head piece…

Fried chicken and salad – the vegetable salad was mainly cucumber and tomato, the fried chicken was not bad- the meat was tender and tasty

Lobster in sauce – the identification of the lobsters were not well defined as it arrived in chopped and scrambled pieces – as I only got to sample a piece close to the ‘leg’  i thought  they belonged to those of  flower crabs..kinda like the blind men and the elephant  ( e-mail me if you hadn’t heard about this) my apologies to the lobster..( the lobster was @RM320/kg )

Brinjal and four angle bean– the brinjal and the bean were fried with tauchuo ( soy bean paste) and this was delicious. The womenfolks  at our table declared this the best dish of the night ..if my boss heard about this, he might not want/need to order the lobster.or any seafood…shhhh. In the bill, this dish was named as Bibi Baba or maybe I should say there was one item on the bill named – Bibi Baba which was unaccounted for , and  Brinhal and four angle bean was not on the bill, thus my conclusion. I did a search on the net and can’t find a dish called Bibi Baba..anyone can help out ?Stir fried choy sum – this was like what might have come out of my kitchen la..nothing to shout about

Fried noodles- by this time, I was already too full and did not sample the noodles. The feedback from my fellow diners – so so only ..

Overall –I would say it was an average meal ..

The total bill plus beers and juices , and double everything you see above (as we had 2 tables) plus service charge and tax , came to RM2825)

 

Kampung Nelayan Restaurant http://www.kampungnelayan.com/

Taman Tun Fuad,

Bukit Padang, Kota Kinabalu

Sabah

Tel 088 231003 / 231005

Equatorial Restaurant @ Kota Kinabalu

A first for me in KK, riding in a Disco taxi, the interior of the taxi ( Inova) was decked in crystals and mini chandeliers , and whenever the driver stepped on the breaks, the interior will lit up like a 70s disco hall ( not that I would know how a 70s disco hall looks like). Think something along the line of the taxi in the tv program cash cab. Try out these disco taxi  if you have the chance – the charges seemed to be the same for a similar sized un-diamond crusted  taxi. ( the driver told us that it cost him RM7000 for the decorations)

A contact told us about a famous Chinese restaurant somewhere in Tanjung Aru, but after going around in circles and many many phone calls between the taxi driver and the contact , the contact abandoned the idea and guide the driver to another location- that was how we ended up at Equatorial Restaurant. Mr Boss did the ordering so I hulur tangan and apologize first la, if there are any errors in the name of the dish or for any inaccuracies ..must include disclaimer one also mah

First up, four seasons, this was attacked joyously by all of us..

 Stir fried scallops with nuts- I find the scallops not that meaty so lacking the chewable texture when one chew on it. Taste wise- not bad

 Signature Tofu – umm..this was so-so lah, I would prefer it if the tofu had a firmer texture

 Steamed chicken -  this was said to be ‘kampung’ chicken and there were a lot of discussion and comments around the table that :  kampong chicken can’t be so fat/oily,  why the skin so yellow-ish ? I must say that the skin was thick and full of fat which would not be a characteristic associated with free range chicken..but anyway… There was one thing that resembled kampong chicken though- the meat, it was a bit tougher than the ayam- daging. And I think the flavour was more  ayam-ish compared to the regular ayam daging.

 For vegetable , Mr Boss had initially wanted Sabah vegetable, but the Captain told us that they didn’t have any good ones that night, so  we had spinach  in soup instead – this is what we usually call as spinach in superior broth ( siong thong yuen choy) ? the soup was not bad and the spinach were tender.

 Prawns- the body were coated in creamy sauce ( something mayo-ish) and the head was deep fried. The prawns were crunchy fresh and the sauce worked well with the prawns.

 Crocodile meat with ginger and onion- this was the first time I tasted crocodile meat, the texture was a cross between beef and chicken, which was rather nice really and the meat was delicious with the spring onions and ginger. I overheard Boss ordering this, so I was aware of what meat this was supposed to be, but some others weren’t so kaypor, so we had a bit of a quiz around the table, the hints include : it has four legs and a thick skin; it had sharp teeth ; it can make a nice and expensive handbag, it might eat you before you eat it. While writing this piece, I checked on the web for crocodile meat in Sabah and came across this article in Borneo Post that restaurants can serve wildlife meat if they have been issued a permit to do so, please click here to read more . In my search, I also found that there is a crocodile farm in Tuaran Sabah , you can read about it here : http://tuarancrocodilefarm.com/index.html

We had the Golden Pork knuckles but the team attacked the dish so ferociously that I didn’t have time to take a picture before the ravenous feeding..so sorry, no pictures of oink knuckles, taste wise not bad although the meat at the outer section of the knuckles were a bit dry and one had to dig deeper to get the succulent and juicy meat.

 Pomfret cooked in two ways- steamed and deep fried. The fish was a fair size and with the steamed style I find the meat a bit tough and a bit too fishy, I prefer the deep fried version which took away the fishiness flavour and the toughness of the meat.The bill plus beers and rice, came to a bit less than RM900. Overall an ok meal.

We were also provided with free dessert – coconut pudding – this was quite nice too ( sorry, also no pictures)

 

Location

Block C Lot 6,7,8 Ground Floor, Tanjung Aru Plaza, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Tel: 088-313399