Sandakan Food Journey, Day 1 - Sabah

-
We took a road trip to Sandakan two months ago and the journey from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan took approximately 8 1/2 hours with 4 intermediate stops. Direct self drive from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan without any intermediate stops will takes approximately 6 hours. The road condition was generally in good shape and the scenery going through the mountain was breathtaking. However, take note of potholes and winding road during mountain phase. Drive safely because it's a two lane road (one lane per direction) and take extra care when overtaking heavy vehicles. If you have any doubts it is best not to overtake. 

We started our journey from Kota Kinabalu around 9.30am. Our first stop of the day for brunch was at Pekan Tamparuli which took us approximately 1 hour to reach there. We ordered their famous Tamparuli noodles and dry stirred noodles or also known as "kon lo mee". Their Tamparuli noodles had a very strong eggy flavour in it which I don't really fancy. Whereas for the "kon lo mee", it was a bit salty on the first bite and the noodles texture were a bit hard for my liking. Apart from that, the staff were cold and unfriendly. Overall, food just so-so.



Restaurant Wun Chiap


Restaurant ambience


Free flow of chinese tea - RM 0.30 (hot) / RM 0.50 (cold)


Dry stirred noodles - RM 6.50


Tamparuli noodles - RM 6

Address:
Restaurant Wun Chiap
Lot 9, Jalan Berjaya,
Pekan Tamparuli,
89257 Tamparuli,
Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: +60 88-782 845


After brunch, we continued our drive. We stopped by the roadside to take away this smoked wild boar, also known as Sinalau Bakas by the Kadazan-Dusun people. On the way heading to Kundasang, you will see few stalls along the road. Just look for the sign "Sinalau Bakas". You can choose your choice of meat - lean / fat meat drizzled with either soy sauce, vinegar, lime or chili sauce. We waited at least 15 minutes for them to smoked the wild boar. Some local people sat there and enjoyed it with a bottle of beer. However, I don't really enjoyed it because the meat was tough, dry and comes with the taste of char-grilled meat but my partner loves it.



Sinalau Bakas


Sinalau Bakas


Wild boar meat


Smoked wild boar meat


Smoked wild boar meat using woods


Smoked wild boar meat drizzled with soy sauce and lime juice - RM 5


Our 3rd stop - Kundasang for toilet break! (Fyi, there's limited rest stop along the way) Nice cold weather with beautiful scenery. On the way to Sandakan, we stopped by Telupid and had KFC for our tea break. Finally we arrived Sandakan around 6pm and checked in to Four Points by Sheraton, Sandakan. Click here to read more.



Beautiful view of Mount KK


We had our dinner at Nam Chai Restaurant Bah Kut Teh, famous for its seafood bah kut teh. Friendly lady boss who recommended us to try their fish bah kut teh. She mentioned that not everyday you get to try this fish bah kut teh because it depends on the availability of the fish. You can choose to have spicy or non-spicy soup. She recommended us to try the black pepper fish bah kut teh and non-spicy prawns, fish slices and lean meat bah kut teh. 

I quite enjoyed their black pepper fish bah kut teh. Unlike most bah kut teh that has the strong herbal taste, their soup taste sweet with a strong pepper flavour. The spiciness came from the strong pepper flavour. Unique taste and most importantly the seafood are fresh. I just love the prawns. It's big, juicy, firm in texture and fresh. We were the last customer and the restaurant close at 8.20pm after we left. Many of the surrounding restaurants were closed and the area was dark and quiet when we left. 

Total bill - RM 26 (including 2 plates of rice, 1 glass of ice water, 1 glass of cold chinese tea, 1 bowl of black pepper fish bah kut teh and 1 bowl of non-spicy mixture of prawns, fish slices and lean meat bah kut teh)



Nam Chai Restaurant Bah Kut Teh


Red chili with soy sauce


Lean meat, fish slices and prawn bah kut teh


Black pepper fish bah kut teh


Plain rice


Address:
Nam Chai Restaurant Bah Kut Teh
Ground Floor, Block D,
Jalan Leila, Bandar Nam Tung,
90000, Sandakan, Sabah
Tel: +60 89-612 603

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guangzhou/Shenzhen - Day 4/Day 1 (Luohu Commercial City - Dongmen Pedestrian Street - Sun Plaza)

-
Image
We had planned to check out of the hotel at 12pm and board a train to Dongguan at 1pm to meet with one of Ben's potential supplier. However, the plan was cancelled as the supplier was unable to make it and Ben only notified us after we checked out of the hotel at 12pm. In the end, we did nothing for a half day in Guangzhou and missed the opportunity to see his supplier in Dongguan. Our initial plan was to meet with his supplier in Dongguan and then take the train to Shenzhen. Since the plan didn't work out, we purchased a last-minute ticket from  Guangzhou East Railway Station to Shenzhen Station (Price - RM 65.74 per person for first-class seat). We had our lunch together with Ben at  Chuangshan Restaurant, which is located opposite  Guangzhou East Railway Station . I had goose with roasted pork, while my partner had chicken with BBQ pork. Roasted pork is tasty and goose is flavourful but has rubbery skin. Ben's friend joined us for lunch as well. However, we have to lea...
Read more

The Pines Restaurant (Kinabalu Pine Resort) - Kundasang, Sabah

-
Image
Our stay in  Kinabalu Pine Resort  comes with breakfast for 2 adults. Breakfast start from 7am to 10am. They only serve ala-carte breakfast and you need to pre-book it at The Pines Restaurant latest by 9.30pm for your next day's breakfast. There's Malay, Chinese, Western or kids breakfast set. Apart from that, there's free flow of Tenom coffee, Sabah tea, mango and orange juice. You can order additional breakfast set at the price of RM 18 for Malay, Chinese or Western breakfast and RM 9 for kids breakfast. 1. Malay breakfast: a) Nasi lemak - coconut milk rice served with anchovies, hard boiled egg, beef rendang, peanuts and sambal b) Nasi goreng kampung - spicy fried rice served with sweet cabbage, sunny side up egg, anchovies, fried prawns, local crackers and local chilies 2. Chinese breakfast: a) Fried mee / mee hoon / kuay teow - fried noodles served with sunny side up egg and fried prawns b) Chicken / fish porridge c) Kon lou mee - soy sauce noodles s...
Read more

Hounon Ridge Farmstay & Camping - Kundasang, Sabah

-
Image
Hounon Ridge Farmstay is located at Kampung Himbaan Bundu Tuhan, 36 minutes drive from Kundasang town. The road heading to Bundu Tuhan is very steep and narrow. There's no street light and driving at night can be hazardous if you are not familiar with the road condition. Be particularly alert when driving and watch out for cows, chickens and stray dogs on the side of the road. There's 4 types of room available. If you are the adventurous type and not afraid of cold, you can even camp outside Hounon Ridge Farmstay. Room type: a) Standard quad room b) Standard double room without balcony c) Standard double room with balcony d) Dormitory - 10 person e) Camping We stayed in a standard double room without balcony. Our room was on the 1st floor overlooking Mount Kinabalu. Great view and you can slide the glass window to get some fresh air. However, be careful of the sliding glass window because there's no grill and children can fall out of the window. Basic room...
Read more