Tawau/Semporna (IV) - Day 2 (Tawau Town)

Our second day in Tawau was all about food. We both love food hunting, and the best part of travelling for us is trying different types of food and searching for dishes that suit our palate. Unfortunately, neither of us slept well the night before at Blu Sentral Hotel, so we woke up feeling rather tired.

We headed out at 10.45am to Kedai Kopi Loong Chuan, a spot that's well known among locals for its yong tau fu. It's just a 7-minute drive (3.4km) from our hotel. However, we arrived a little too early, as it was only available from 11.30am. Instead of waiting, we decided to drive over to On On Cafe, which was just a short 3-minute drive (1.3km) away.

There, we shared a bowl of tomato mee hoon (vermicelli) soup with barramundi fish and added three prawn balls, as my partner had mistakenly thought the minimum order was three pieces. He also ordered his favourite teh C ping kosong. It was raining heavily while we ate, which made the cafe feel like a cozy place to enjoy the meal.

The teh C ping kosong had a bit too much milk and tasted rather light for me. The tomato soup, meanwhile, was mild and flat in flavour. The barramundi was fresh, though slightly soft in texture, while the prawn balls tasted like frozen ones. On the positive side, the bee hoon was cooked perfectly. The chili was extremely spicy and packed quite a kick. Overall, the dish was decent, but we felt it was rather expensive for the quality.

(Total bill - RM 28.50)

On On Cafe

Chili

Teh C ping kosong - RM 3.50

Tomato mee hoon (vermicelli) soup with barramundi fish - RM 16

Prawn balls - RM 3 each

Address:

On On Cafe

Hot Spring, TB14467, Bandar,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah

Opening hours: 6.30am to 1.30pm

We left at 11.20am, and it was still raining when we arrived at Kedai Kopi Loong Chuan around 11.35am. There was already a long queue. Most people were there for takeaway, but even for dine-in, you had to wait in line to place your order. While we were there, we bumped into my partner's friend, who had also come for takeaway. We ordered a glass of iced water and a soursop drink. The drink was quite light and tasted more like a sugary beverage than soursop.

My partner ordered a few types of yong tau fu, but overall, it didn't impress us. Besides that, the economy noodles were also average. Nothing really stood out, and we couldn't understand why it's so popular locally. On the bright side, it was quite cheap for the amount of yong tau fu we ordered. In fact, we couldn't even finish everything.

(Total bill - RM 26.30)

Kedai Kopi Loong Chuan

Restaurant ambience

Ice water and soursop drink

Economy noodles with curry sauce

Economy noodles

Assorted yong tau fu

Assorted yong tau fu

Address:

Kedai Kopi Loong Chuan

TB969, Taman Chuan Ann,

Jalan Sin Onn,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah

Opening hours: 6.30am to 3pm. Closed on Monday

We returned to the hotel briefly before heading out again at 1.05pm to Mess Kantin. The building was originally a private hillside villa known as Tiku White House, which has since been converted into a cafe. The environment was relaxed and inviting, making it a great spot to unwind. We ordered the pistachio bomb and iced water. The croffle was slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with small pieces of pistachio nuts, which gave a nice crunch with each bite. However, the ice cream lacked creaminess and tasted slightly watery.

(Total bill - RM 24)

Mess Kantin

Mess Kantin

Cafe ambience

Cafe ambience

Ice water - RM 1 each

Pistachio bomb - RM 22

Address:

Mess Kantin

2112, Jalan Sin Onn,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah

Opening hours: 10am to 6pm

We were supposed to return the car 24 hours later at the hotel, but the owner kindly allowed us to use it until late afternoon. We took the car for a wash and vacuum. However, the vacuuming wasn't done properly, so I had to ask them to do it again. Right after that, we decided to grab a snack from Indo Cafe before returning to the hotel. We first went to the shop on Jalan Bantu, but it had permanently closed. In the end, we went to the other branch at Unijaya Commercial Center.

We ordered 6 pieces of pisang goreng cheese and an avocado sago. The bananas were unripe, so the fritters weren't very enjoyable, even though they were crispy. However, the combination of cheese with a dusting of cinnamon was nice. The avocado sago was slightly sweet, mixed with frozen sago in an orange colour. It was good to see that the prices hadn't increased since our last visit in 2022.

Indo Cafe II

Avocado sago (small) - RM 6

Pisang goreng cheese - RM 7

Address:

Indo Cafe II

Unijaya Commercial Center,

KM 5, Jalan Sungai Tanjong,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah, Malaysia

Opening hours: 9.30am to 8pm

Finally, the car rental company came to collect the car at 5.30pm. We walked to Kam Ling Seafood, which is about a 6-minute walk (450m) from Blu Sentral Hotel, for dinner. It was Valentine's Day, and the restaurant was fully booked. Luckily, they still had a table for us, although it was a large table that could fit up to 12 people. Even though the restaurant was packed, the service was good and the staff were very friendly. This was our third time dining here.

On our first trip, we enjoyed their mantis prawns, but not anymore. During our second visit, they had too much yolky roe, and the texture was a bit soft with a strong seafood taste. On that trip, we enjoyed the tiger prawns, so this time we ordered the same tiger prawns with superior soy sauce. Besides that, we also ordered a steamed fish and Ceylon spinach with garlic.

The tiger prawns were good. It was fresh, and the sauce was tasty. The fish was fresh as well, although the sauce was not particularly outstanding. One good thing was that it was served on a warmer with a candle underneath, which kept the dish hot even after we finished eating. The Ceylon spinach tasted rather slimy and would be better suited for a cold-style dish instead. The rice was hard and slightly undercooked. Overall, the tiger prawns were the best dish of the meal.

(Total bill - RM 245.70 including 10% service charge and 6% SST)

Kam Ling Seafood

Garlic and chili

Coconut pandan - RM 8 and filtered water - RM 1

Ceylon spinach garlic (small) - RM 15

Steamed live red snapper (0.56kg) - RM 72.80 (RM 130/kg)

Superior soy sauce live tiger prawns (0.45kg) 6pcs - RM 112.50 (RM 250/kg)

Rice - RM 2.50

Address:

Kam Ling Seafood Restaurant

TB 316 Kubota Square,

Jalan Kubota,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah, Malaysia

Tel: +6019 - 883 2511

Opening hours: 12pm to 2.30pm / 4.30pm to 10pm; Friday - 1.30pm to 10pm

Papa Dessert is just a few lots away from our hotel. After dinner, as we walked back, we stopped by the shop and ordered a mini mango cheese tart, a mini grape cheese tart, and mango Bugo Lalufa. It's a chilled milk-based fruit dessert with a soft jelly-like texture. I wanted to try the avocado version, but it was out of stock. We placed our order and paid at the counter before dining and were able to use a 5% discount coupon displayed at our hotel's reception.

I really enjoyed the cheese tart. The crusts were crispy and firm, but the mango was quite sour. We had asked the staff beforehand, and they said it would be sweet. However, it turned out more sour than expected. The grape cheese tart was just okay. The Bugo Lalufa wasn't very sweet, but overall, I preferred the longan Bugo Lalufa we had previously at the Kota Kinabalu branch.

(Total bill - RM 22.40)

Papa Dessert

Mango cheese tart (mini) - RM 2.80 and grape cheese tart (mini) - RM 2.80

Bugo Lalufa mango - RM 18

Address:

Papa Dessert

No. 92, Ground Floor,

Lot T1, Block T,

Kubota Sentral,

91000 Tawau,

Sabah