Just a short promo..

I know there isn't that much time left for this, but if you would like to go for a Christmas buffet over the weekend this December, then perhaps you can check out the All You Can Eat Christmas Brunch at Bella Italia!

(photos provided by Bella Italia Kota Kinabalu)

Su Ra Sang actually translates to King's Table in the Korean language, and this restaurant located on the 1st floor of the D Junction building has been operating since August 2010.

What you will see as soon as you walk into the restaurant entrance door

At the time we were there, the place was very quiet, but don't let this fool you; Su Ra Sang actually offers a variety of dishes that will leave you browsing into the menu for quite sometime, just wondering what to order!

All the dishes that I had to review that night! But it's no fun just looking them from afar, right? So let's get to each dish!

First up, the Korean dishes:

The Seafood Japchae (잡채), made from glass noodle and seafood.

Japchae comprises of the 2 hanja words: 잡 (jap, literally means mixed and stirred) and 채 (chae, literally means vegetables), so 잡채 (Japchae) literally means a mixture of vegetable! More info on Japchae can be found here.

I quite like this dish as the glass noodle is very fragrant, and even though it's quite bland (as with most of Korean dishes, if you don't know that already), if you eat it with the seafood and the 5 Banchan (Korean Side Dishes), you will not notice the bland taste as much. This dish also for some reason screams "Healthy" to me, so to those of you who wants to order something light and healthy, then you could perhaps order this!

The 5 Banchan (반찬, or side dishes) comes with whatever Korean dish you order by the way, regardless of the price!

This is the ever popular Jja jang myun (or Jja jang myeon, or 짜장면  in Hangul, the Korean alphabet). If you watch a lot of Korean dramas or movies, this dish would be eaten all the time! More info on what Jja jang myeon is, click here.

You should give this dish a try whenever you go to a Korean restaurant!

This is the Maewoon Galbi Jjim, or Spicy Beef Rib Stew. 

If you haven't known already, Koreans also love their spicy dishes, like the side dish kimchi, and their variety of noodles (which are mentioned below). So to add on to another spicy dish is this Spicy Beef Rib Stew.

I find that the meat is perfectly tender, but gosh, this dish sure is SPICY! (Yes, I am one who can't stand spicy food!)

This is the Yuk Gae Jang Myun (육개장면, noodle with shredded beef and vegetables in a spicy broth. This dish is believed to be good for the health and is popular due to its hot and spicy taste.

Again, it is a bit too spicy for my liking, but that's just because I don't eat spicy food. The broth is quite delicious actually, but at that time, all I could taste was the spiciness.

This is a common Korean dessert called Hwachae (화채), which is basically a fruit punch that consists of pears, watermelons, black peppercorns, honey (or sugar) and water.

Just when you think that this is just a normal fruit punch with fruits inside, the peppercorns shocks you with its peppery taste! Something different but quite nice, I must admit! A must try for dessert!

For the Korean dishes, I find the prices quite reasonable, especially the Myun, or noodle dishes, starting at just RM10 and above.

Also if you're a Soju lover, then you will be happy to know that Su Ra Sang offers 30% discount on this drink every Saturday!

Since I have quite a lot of photos to post for the Japanese dishes in Su Ra Sang, I shall post them in another post. Will link it here soon!

Post is now up! Click here to check out Su Ra Sang Korean Restaurant, Part 2!

** This eatery serve no pork **

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Su Ra Sang Korean Restaurant
D Junction, 1st Floor
Jalan Penampang, 88300 Kota Kinabalu
Operating Hours: 11.00am - 2.30pm, 5.30pm - 10.00pm (open daily)
Tel: +60 88 703 103
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(entrance)

We have always wanted to dine at Gunter's Gasthaus everytime we drive by Jalan Tuaran, and yes, we finally got to do so recently.

(what you see as soon as you come in.. beautiful place, isn't it?)

As it was quite late (almost 10pm) we didn't know whether they were still open or closed for the night, but we just tried our luck anyway, and were so happy that it was still open! Phew!

(more outdoor seating)

We chose a seat that's slightly darker and further away from the main entrance, and we chose to sit near the kitchen entrance instead (so that the waiter don't have to walk very far to send our food! Haha!)

(feels like you're dining in a very nice garden! Beautiful environment at night!)

(you can also opt for indoor seating, which is even closer to the kitchen! Hehe..)

(I love their English chinaware! They're very nice!)

As it was quite late, and we already had dinner, we just ordered one order which was this:

Jumbo Octoberfest Sausage! (Price: RM29.90)

It was SO good that we ordered another one as soon as we finished it!

See?? Yup, it's THAT good!

I also noticed that they have a Buffet Breakfast (eat as much as you can! Always a thumbs up in our book!) at only RM6 nett. 

We HAVE to give that a try one day.. soon, we hope!

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Gunter's Gasthaus German Restaurant
Mile 2, Jalan Tuaran, Likas, Kota Kinabalu
(opposite Kian Kok Secondary School)
Tel: 088-217249
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I realised that I've already blogged about this in my personal blog, but I feel it's more suited in this blog, since it's a food post :)

Last week, my colleagues and I were invited to a company function: Sungkai at Hyatt KK!

The Sungkai Buffet price isn't cheap; it's RM82++, or around RM95nett per person! 

BUT... trust me, the food selection will blow you away! There are so many to choose from!

Some of the dessert choices; there are more, it's crazy!

This is my Round 1 (of 6), teehee!

My colleagues' first round, muahaha!

You know how most people stop eating only after 2 rounds? As for me, I went up to 6 rounds, and STILL didn't get to try all the food!! Crazy!

But I just LOVE the cheese naan, together with the lamb masala!! It was sooooooooo gooooood!!

So to those of you who haven't tried any of the Sungkai Buffets yet, perhaps you can give the one at Hyatt a try huh?

Taken from The Star article today (9 June 2010), we believe that this concerns us Sabahans as well, who just love to eat seafood:

Malaysians urged to change choice of seafood to prevent depletion

PETALING JAYA: Skip the pomfret, grouper, coral trout, bream (kerisi) and tiger prawn. Go for the grey mullet (belanak), Spanish mackerel (tenggiri) and scad (cencaru) instead.

Green groups are urging Malaysians to change their choices in seafood in order to arrest further depletion of certain fish species.

To help them make the right decisions is the palm-sized Malaysia Sustainable Seafood Guide, jointly launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) yesterday.

Of the 50 most popular Malaysian seafood species, the guide recommends only 17. Malaysians should be wary of consuming 13 species while 20 should be avoided altogether (Download the guide at www.saveourseafood.my).

The guide, part of the Save Our Seafood campaign to mark World Oceans Day, was based on a 21-month study by fisheries experts who reviewed 383 fishery assessments covering 85 species.

Malaysians are the second largest seafood consumers (45.4kg per capita) in this part of the world, after the Japanese (64.8kg per capita). This eating preference is depleting the seas of fish.
“Most of the coastal fishing areas around peninsular Malaysia have been over-fished since the 1980s, as seen by low catch rates, reduction in high-value fish and increase in landings of ‘trash’ (low-value) fish,” said P. Gangaram, manager of WWF peninsular Malaysia seas programme.
He said demersal fish (sea bottom dwellers) stocks in some parts of the country had plunged by 90% over the past 30 years.

WWF executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius S.K. Sharma said: “At present, we are taking some of our fish stocks out of the oceans faster than they can be replenished,” he said.
The campaign has received the support of popular Malaysian chef Datuk Redzuawan Ismail or Chef Wan.

“We hope seafood lovers in Malaysia will re-evaluate and eventually change their consumption patterns,” he said.

 

Wei Chuen didn't make any advance plans for our Valentine's Day this year, and in fact, he told me that since it coincides with the Chinese New Year as well, we would only be celebrating the latter.

But on that day itself, he told me to get ready for a late lunch, and brought me to a surprise location, which turned out to be Bella Italia in Jesselton Hotel!

There was nobody there when we arrived; understandable since lunch hour is over. But that is actually a good thing; the chefs can concentrate solely on our food, and we can eat our meal in peace, instead of being surrounded by other patrons!

Wei Chuen ordered a 3-course meal, which costs RM55. It consists of:

Starter: Blue Marlin & Yellowfin Tuna (Carpaccio topped with lemon zest, mix peppercorn, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil)

This is an excellent choice for a starter; the sourness of the lemon zest and juice really brings out the hunger in you! Haha.. But I think we'd prefer our tuna to be at room temperature instead of cold the next time we order.

Main Course: Medaglioni di Manzo (Beef grilled tenderloin medallion served with a soft green peppercorn, market vegetables & potatoes of the day)

Wei Chuen asked for his meat to be medium rare, and it was done just nice, too; tender and juicy. Overall, he said it was very good.

And for Dessert: Fantasia Di Maria, of course!! You have to have this chocolate gooey pudding whenever you come to Bella Italia! If you're not a chocolate lover, you will become one after you try this! Trust me! ;)

As for my meal, I ordered my all-time favourite dish whenever I come to Jesselton Hotel:

Hainanese Steamed Chicken Rice! [Price: RM21) (Tip: Order drumstick everytime; it's a better choice!)

My dad used to bring the family to eat here back in the days, and all 6 of us would order this Chicken Rice. And ordering it this time didn't disappoint me still; the rice was as fragrant as I remembered it, and the chicken tender and juicy. MUST.HAVE.THIS.AGAIN.SOON...

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Bella Italia @ Jesselton Hotel
69, Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu
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Fancy having a Japanese bento for lunch, delivered to your office?

You can now, with D Cube Catering!

Uniquely set up to offer delivery of japanese lunch bento at an affordable price, which you cannot find at most places.
Offers also Japanese skewer at Damai, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

You can also check them out at their own blog HERE, or their Facebook page HERE!

** * Delivery limited to KK, Damai, Penampang, Kolombong and Lintas Areas only for the moment