Friday, September 20, 2013

Unique food @ Kota Kinabalu

my favourite Fu Zhou Noodle
handmade egg noodle with minced pork, roast pork, some good shallots oil and finely chopped spring onions. It looked so simple and bland, not spectacular at all....but the noodle was springy with really yummy flavours!!!!

u can choose various toppings, but minced pork and roast pork combo is my usual favourite. The pork here in Sabah is different because the pigs reared here are on organic feeds, instead of pellets + antibiotics + chemical-ish stuffs. To me, Australia has the smelliest pork and chicken, thanks to all the antibiotics they were on.

the other common drinks in Sabah is their lemon tea. They drink them a lot and it's available at all chinese coffee shop.

This famous Foo Zhou Noodle is located at:
Jalan Maktab Gaya off Jalan Kolam,
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu.

Since the pork in Sabah is so good, the other must have is Pork Noodle of coz
Monkey only ordered the soup minus the noodle....can't load so much of carbs. The sliced pork here are really silky smooth bcoz they were "treated" with flour. They cooked it just right to retain its velvety texture. While the pork broth was really packed with oohmmmss, topped with shallot oil and pork lard as much as u want them.

the 2 saucer plates consisted of the famous sabah chili sauce and pork lards :))))) Sabah's chili sauce are really unique for its pungent white vinegar that its our tongue b4 the spiciness blew u off to the moon. If u are not into spicy sauces, just beware.

There are a few branches but we went to the original one
Kim Hing Lee *since 1982*
it is located at a row of low rise shop lots right behind Le Meridien Hotel, Kota Kinabalu.


"Tuaran" Noodle, named after a town. This noodle looked so bland huh? Believe you me it was really awesome. Made from only EGG YOLKS and flour this noodle is super supreme eggie to the max!!!!

Usually fried over high heat in a short period of time to create that crunchy crust at the bottom. So u'll get crunchy, bitey, al-dente noodle with that springy twang-twang texture. YUMMSSSS. Usually local vegetables sawi, meat or seafood are added. More eggs are added towards the end. The secret of it is a dash of "lihing" a locally made rice wine by the Kadazan-Dusun ppl here. It gives it a nice rum-sweetness to the noodle at the end.


Nope, it's not sawi.....this was a locally grown "Sayur manis"
the locals called it Sabah Choi as in Sabah Vegetables. Hahahahahaha

Really sweet and high in Vitamin K. Usually fried with eggs. Its stems were crunchy like asparagus and extremely sweet and delicate. It is not like the usual sayur manis that u can find in Peninsular Malaysia - the one usually served in Paan Mee. This one is bigger, Leafier *is there such word?*, fatter, juicer and sweeter.


The most refreshing drink here - Kit Chai Pink
literally translated to Iced Kalamansi. We do get it here in Peninsular Malaysia but in Sabah, it's like a staple drink...u see ppl drink it everywhere. Basically it's an iced cold chilled freshly squeezed kalamansi juice with salted plum.

oh yummsss.....really refreshing esp on hot sunny day. I drank a different variety at a Country Club in Sabah...they added 100 Plus into it...Weird. I still prefer it the original way.

In the island of Borneo, with such fertile land, beautiful mountains of the Crocker Range, exotic animals like the Orang Utan and Proboscis Monkey, weird flowers like the huge 1metre in diametre Rafflesia, beautiful islands, this place has got a lot to offer other than its unique food.

Oh not to mention the Kadazans, Muruts, Dusuns, Bajaus....I have yet to find time to visit their "Tamu". It is a market where natives gather to sell their much pride local produce. Really do need a tourist guide to take me to places like this.

Found this interesting site/blog *click here* which recorded a few exotic types of vegetables found in Sabah. I've eaten a few others which wasn't listed in the blog, weird looking shrubs from the jungle. Whenever I asked a local for its name, they'll give me its name in their native language which made it even more confusing.

Sorry me no speak Dusun nor Kadazans. I can't event differentiate them. Only know that Bajaus are good horse riders. Remember Mat Salleh the Bajau Freedom Fighter? hahaha he's not a caucasian, just that his actual name was Datu Muhammad Salleh.

And the word "Mat Salleh" used by locals to describe a caucasian actually came from "Mad Sailors" When the Brits arrived here in their ships, usually drunk, they ran in madness when they saw the local tribes, thinking they were cannibals....bahahahahaha. Oh yes, we were that uncivilised then, prollie wearing only banana leaves carrying a spear with tattoos all over the body :P

Weird but true. Go google :))))

7 comments:

js said...

Sad to see how history can be re-written. In the history book of my times, mat Salleh was a pirate. He was pursued by the British bcos of his misdeeds and piracy and made his last stand(and was killed) in Tambunan.

CHER-RY said...

Mr. JS: histories are written by man who survived. The dead may not necessary be the bad guy alwiz :P

Eric said...

Hi Monkey!
Sorry this is posted in the wrong place. I would like your opinion on this question:
Where do you think serves the best afternoon tea in KL?

CHER-RY said...

Hello Eric :)))

Thanks for dropping a note here. Frankly, I have no idea which is the best afternoon tea coz hardly have tea here :P But through friends recommendation you can try:

1) Orchid Conservatory at Majestic KL
2) Mandarin Oriental
3) Ritz Carlton
4) TWG tea at Pavilion KL

Eric said...

Thanks! We went to MO, it was great!

Chasing Food Dreams said...

wah.. I believe you leh.. those noodles looks good! especially with all those yummy pork... KK is still on my list to visit leh...

CHER-RY said...

Hi Eric,
great :) I am so happy to know you had a good afternoon tea there. Now it's my turn to try it myself...hahahahaha

Hello Food Dreams:
How was your video shoot coming along? Yes so many places to go and so little time kan? :)