We have posted an entry about Salut Seafood Restaurant on the old KK Food Reviews foodblog, but we thought we'd redo a new entry about this favourite restaurant of ours here in Kota Kinabalu!

To be exact, it's not exactly in Kota Kinabalu.. here's a description on how to get there by fellow blogger, BeautifulKK.com:

Travel along Jalan Sulaman highway, after some 20 to 30 minutes from Kota Kinabalu City, one is going to pass by Salut Seafood Restaurant. Since it is quite out of the way for us KK-lites, this seafood restaurant is like a hidden gem. The price of seafood here is much cheaper compared with the other big seafood restaurants in the city. Tourists can get here by taxi; no buses up to this place yet. (grammars and spelling edited)

We were here at Salut once again last night, to let our new Japanese tourist friend experience some affordable seafood in Kota Kinabalu.

Tip: Go there in the evening, around 5:00-5:30pm, to view a breathtaking sunset over the river! (when in good weather, of course!) Click here to see us with the beautiful sunset sky there!

Here are the food that we had last night:

Fresh prawns! What better way to taste its freshness than to just have it steamed? Our favourite dish at Salut! We ordered 2KGs of these!

After the fresh steamed prawns, this Sapak (cooked with ginger) is another of our favourite! My favourite, actually! The gravy is perfect when put over the rice!

We've already let our tourist friend try the local veggie, Sabah Veggie a couple of days back, so this time we ordered another local veggie, the Kangkong, cooked with Belacan (shrimp paste) and chilli.

And 1/2 Kilo of each of these 2 clams!

This veggie dish came out last, and after feasting one the other delicious food above, this last dish was just blah for us. We had also ordered for some sea-cucumber to be included in this dish to let our friend try, but apparently it wasn't included. What a disappointment. So advice to you all who wants to come here in the future: don't order so fancy veggie dishes! Haha..

All these, plus, 2 glasses of juice, 2 glasses of cold Chinese Tea, and 2 bowls of rice, the total bill comes up to RM123.10. Considering the portion and number of dishes we had, this is cheap! Even our tourist friend was shocked! Teehee..

*While the food here is cheap, we learned that alcoholic beverages are not quite. Please ask for price before ordering alcoholic beverage, to be on the safe side!*

When it comes to Soto, there are 2 places that we would usually go to here in Kota Kinabalu. One is at the coffeshop in front of All Saints Secondary School in Likas (it's been there ever since I was in All Saints, which is like, a decade ago!).

The other, is here, Kedai Kopi Happy 2, located at Asia City, facing (Peppermint, the Vietnamese restaurant).

This coffeeshop is very popular to especially those working nearby, and would usually be fully packed during lunch hour!

Soto Daging (Beef Noodle Soup) [price:RM4.00]

We think the price is quite cheap and reasonable, isn't it? It's quite fulfilling, too!

But if you don't feel like eating Soto for some reason, there are also a variety of Nasi Campur (Mixed Rice) dishes being sold at this coffeeshop as well!

** Oh my.. this blog was deserted for a LONG time, huh?

Our apologies everyone! It's not that we didn't do any food reviews lately; it's just that there's a problem with the notebook; seems like there's a tr*jan that's blocking us from uploading to our online photo sites, thus no photo uploads for a long time! It blocks our G"*gle, our GMa*l, and Bl*gger too! So troublesome! And we can't just send the notebook for a service because there are so many things to backup just in case, you know.. sucks. But luckily, we have found a temporary site to upload our photos online! :) **

Regarding our previous post about the Indian restaurant, here are what you can have the next time you're there!

You can see not long after you turn into Alamesra from the UMS traffic light

We like this cozy corner! UMS students (or whoever wants to have Indian food) and surf the net at the same time, you can do it here!

And now the delicious food!

The Nasi Briyani. You can have a choice of either chicken or mutton in your rice

Chicken Boxing

Putu Mayam. We don't know a lot of Indian restaurants that sells this, and the shape of their putu mayam is unique, don't you think?

And of course, the dish that you must order when you're here is the Curry Fish Head. This huge portion cost us only around RM25!

And what's so different with this dish compared to others in KK?

The curry spices used are all homemade! Not machine-made okay? So that's a plus in our book!

To those of you who have dined here already, how was your experience? Was it as good as ours? :)

My apologies for not regularly updating this blog. I've been so busy with my other freelance work that I hadn't had the time to do a proper review of the places we've dined at.

But as a sneak peak of a much awaited post:

Spices, a new Indian Restaurant located at Alamesra! Coming up real soon, I promise! :)

-Ad-

Isn't it nice to have some quality pots and pans in your kitchen, so that all the food can be cooked properly, and not burnt or stuck on the pans?

*Taken from the previous KK Food Reviews blog, but this restaurant is still our top choice for Thai Restaurant in Kota Kinabalu!*

Recently I have this craving for some Tom Yam Goong. I’ve tried a few Thai restaurants here in KK, but some of them aren’t what I expected. So WC brought me to Petagas to eat at Prapeni Thai.

The first time I’ve been to this eatery was a couple of years back, and it’s nice to see that the place looks better now.

Tom Yam Goong (seafood)

Here at Prapeni Thai, you can either order a big bowl of Tom Yam Goong (for more than 2 pax), or you can order a small bowl for just a single person (pic above). This Tom Yam Goong is served with a plate of rice. You can also have a choice for either spicy or non-spicy ones. But to me, I very much prefer the spicy version! But just be careful that you don’t accidentally bite the cili padi or you’ll end up crying like I did! So after some time, I removed the cili padi from the soup in order for me not to bite into them again! LOL!

But the verdict of this Tom Yam Goong: excellent!

Sup Tulang (oxtail soup) Tom Yam

You can also choose this sup tulang (oxtail soup), Tom Yam version if you want something different. It basically tastes like sup tulang + tom yam soup. It’s also very delicious! I’m going to order this again on my next visit there!

If I’m not mistaken, the price for each small bowl of tom yam goong and sup tulang soup is about RM6.50 each.

And finally, the location. The above is the exact location, but if you still do not know where it is, just find the furniture shop called Rustica, and go into the junction after it. It should lead you to a few rows of shoplots, and Prapeni Thai is located to the right hand side of these shop lots.

*Prapeni Thai also serve Malay dishes*

Everybody knows how popular the Menggatal Ngiu Chap is, and even tourists are willing to take a taxi up to Menggatal just to try this special dish.

But luckily, now you no longer have to drive up to Menggatal just to have the Ngiu Chap, as there is now a branch in Inanam/Kolombong area!

Where is it exactly? If you know Alliance Bank Kolombong/Inanam, then you would have no problem finding this coffeeshop called Kedai Kopi Sri Aroma. On the Alliance Bank block, you just go to the next block, and this coffeeshop is at the end of that block; you can't miss it. That's where the Menggatal Ngiu Chap stall is located!

Menggatal Ngiu Chap [Price: Medium: Rm7.00, Large: RM8.00, Special: RM9.00]

We actually found out about this a while back, but we only managed to find the time to post it today! Hehe..

Note: We were told that Menggatal Ngiu Chap also has another branch in Putatan! Anybody knows the exact location?

Those who works in Centrepoint all seem to know about this tiny eatery called Chef Gusteau's, found on basement floor. We heard that the chef's specialty here are the western food, so to those who have eaten here, is it true?

In fact, Wei Chuen always eats here as well, and the one burger that he always orders is the Gusteau's Homemade Fresh Stew Beef Burger [RM4.00 for normal, RM6.50 for set, which includes chips and a drink] Very interesting but quite delicious burger, I must say.

We also love their Orange Juice. Remember an orange powdered drink called Tang? It tasted just like that! Yummy!

Have you eaten here before? What have you tried, and what do you recommend?

So on my previous food article in Bandwidth Streetpress (June Issue online here), we reviewed Royal China Restaurant, located in D'Junction building.

What we like about eating Dim Sum here is that you can be assured that they're steamingly hot and fresh, as they aren't served on the usual Dim Sum cart; it came out right from the kitchen.

These 2 dishes are the Chef's signature dishes, and they are both must-tries! The sau-nyuk is very soft, tender and juicy, but is still crunchy on the skin part. Yum!

The Paikut Wong (pork ribs) is the same too: soft, tender and juicy. But what's most important is that it's not too sweet. I'm actually not a fan of this dish (because it's too sweet for my liking), but I have to admit, even I loved the Paikut Wong here at Royal China! No joke, people! It's that good!

And if you eat these both dishes with Royal China's special green sauce called the Thai Sauce, OMG it tastes even better! So make sure you order this sauce ya!

I also loved the Sweetened and Chilled Lemon Grass Jelly (pic on the right). If you're feeling extra full after finishing the main meals, you have to order this dessert because it somehow makes you feel.. how to explain it.. light again? It doesn't make you feel bloated as before, that's for sure! A must have as well!

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Royal China Restaurant (Kota Kinabalu)
D Junction Building, 2nd Floor, Jalan Lintas
Jalan Penampang, Kota Kinabalu
Opening hours: 8:30am - 2:30pm & 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Mon to Fri)
8:00am - 2:30pm & 6:30pm - 10:30pm (Sat, Sun & Public Holiday)
Reservation: (+60) 88- 703300
(Serve Pork)

We've always passed by this lil' Japanese Restaurant called Kaze Japanese House, located in Damai Point now and again, but never actually tried it before.. until recently.

Turns out the person who have recently taken over this little restaurant is a friend to one of the KK Food Reviews team, and so we thought we'd give it a try and check out their food.

Simple yet cozy interior of Kaze Japanese House

We were told that Kaze actually specialises more in Japanese home cooking, with the chef having been to Japan and actually learnt the proper way of cooking the Japanese home cooking.

Anyway, here's what we had:

Some sushi and salad

This Potato Nuggets (forgot the name in Japanese) is one of their popular dishes, and we could see (or rather taste) why; they ARE yummy!

I also recommend this dish to all you salmon lovers out there: the Salmon Teriyaki Don. Teriyaki sauce given was just nice; not too much, and not too little.

You might also want to try their Chicken Katsu Don, another of their popular signature dishes.

To those of you who are working nearby, you can give them a call and request for a delivery service to your office.

Also take note, they are closed every Sunday, but if you would like to hold a small private function there, you can discuss this with them and make arrangements.

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Kaze Japanese House
Lot 17, Block B, Ground Floor, Damai Point (next to Yoyo Cafe)
Opening hours: 10:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 9:30pm (Mon-Sat)
Tel: 088-244050, or look for Mei at 016-812 7612
(Serve No Pork)
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As some of you may have already know, I am now a columnist for a local magazine/streetpress called Bandwidth Streetpress, for their food section called APPETiTE. I not only contribute the words, but also the photos as well.

This is my article (and photos) for May '09 issue of Bandwidth Streetpress. This month, I was asked to review The Roof Restaurant! (This is my second month of publishing an article in Bandwidth, btw)

I thought I'd post the published photos here on KK Food Reviews every month as well, so you readers can check out the pics in a bigger size.

So here you go!

Interior of The Roof Restaurant

Starters: The Tuna Salad

Starters: Mushroom soup

Main Course: Roasted Chicken with mix veggies on the side

Main Course/Promo of the Moment: Chicken Biryani

Dessert: Chocolate Moist Cake

The chef and some of his food masterpiece

Go and grab a copy of Bandwidth Streetpress today for your reading pleasure. It's free!

I'm not sure whether you readers know about this, but to those of you who don't, Olde Station has opened another branch, this time located in Damai Point, where South Rock used to be.

So to those of you who love to have drinks with friends or family, you might want to have it here instead!

Last week, the KK Food Reviews team got called to do a food review over at Raja Wang Cafe, located in New World Commercial Centre in Donggongon. So of course we said 'sure!'.



We were told that a lot of patrons not only go and have their meals there, but Raja Wang Cafe is also a regular place to chill and drink, especially among the older crowds.

We got to try their 2 main signature dishes, which is the Grilled Stingray [RM3 per 100g]. We quite like that the stingray wasn't grilled until burnt and dry, and their 'sambal' sauce is quite tasty and spicy.

**You can also order the Grilled Squid [RM3.50 per 100g] here**

And this one is a sure must-have: Chu Chap, or Pork Innards [Medium=RM5, Large=RM10]. The above was large portion, and when divided to a few people, you will need to order MORE than 1 plate of this dish! Seriously! It's that yummy!

You can also come here and try their breakfast menu, like the Chu Chap Kon Lo Mee!

Personally, we'll surely be there again. Heck, if Donggongon was just a mere 10-minute radius drive away, we'd be there all the time just for the Chu Chap! Hehe.. To those of you who have tried their other dishes, care to share on your experience dining here as well?

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Raja Wang Cafe
New World Commercial Centre
Donggongon Penampang
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While walking around Api-Api Centre, the KK Food Reviews crew stumbled upon Man Tian Xia Kopitiam. It's located towards the end of the Api-Api Centre block, beside the MAA Building.

Now what makes this different as compared to other Bak Kut Teh eateries is that it has an Al-Fresco concept, which is located between the front and the back of the Api-Api Centre.

You don't have to worry so much about the hot weather, as throughout the time we were there, it was actually breezy, thanks to the chillers installed and fans around the place.

We also found out that this Kopitiam is still fairly new, and has only been opened for about a month.

"Man Tian Xia Kopitiam is the first of its kind concept self-service Food Stall" - as stated on their menu.

What is so special about their Bak Kut Teh?

Well, for starters, it's served in the nighttime only on Mondays to Saturdays, but it they also serve it in the daytime on Sundays (yes, unusual for Sabahans). To those of you who have been to West Malaysia (especially in Klang Valley) would know their culture of eating Bak Kut Teh in the mornings there. Now you can give this culture a try as well here at this Kopitiam!

Secondly, their Bak Kut Teh is on the sweet side; not from the sugar though, but from the herbs used in the soup. A contrast from the usual salty Bak Kut Teh we have here in KK, huh?

It took us quite a while to get used to the taste at first, but as we had more and more of the food, it was actually quite tasty! The bowl of Mixed Bak Kut Teh [price: RM7] above is reasonably priced, don't you think?

We also met the Kopitiam owner who recommended us their other dishes, like the Roast Duck, Roast Pork and BBQ Pork. This is one of the most-ordered meals during lunchtime, priced at around RM5.00 to RM6.50.

But the KK Food crew thinks THIS dish below is truly a must-have when you come here:

The Braised "Fa Nam" Pork with Salted Fish [RM6.00]. The taste of the pork really blended well with the salted fish, and it was very tender. It is very, very delicious!

You can also have it as a Set Meal like this for only RM12.00, (which I highly recommend) that includes the Double Boiled Soup and also Vegetables.

So to those of you who loves Bak Kut Teh, or pork in general, this Kopitiam is a definite must-try.

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Man Tian Xia Kopitiam
Block 5, Api-Api Centre
Operation Hours: 11.30am - 2.30pm (Mon - Sat)
8.00am - 2.30pm (Sun & Public Holidays)
6.00pm - 10.00pm (Daily except Sun & Public Holidays)
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