All posts tagged: Kota Kinabalu

Eating Borneo #8 – New Years at Mañana

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New Year celebrations have always been epic for us. Many businesses are closed during this time in New Zealand so we holiday like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a time when we leave the city and flock to beaches all over the country to get absolutely trashed with their friends. There’s good food and good times to be had and the celebrations often last a week. I saw in last New Years with The Koala, my friend A, my sister Joey, her boyfriend D and the guests and staff at Mañana Borneo. Mañana is a small resort on a private beach about an hour north of Kota Kinabalu in the Sabah north of Borneo Island. It’s not on a separate island but this beach is only accessable by boat. No cars. No shops. No power during the day. Just a private, sheltered beach, snorkeling, swimming, books, hammocks, monsoon every afternoon (mandatory downtime). It was heaven. We stayed in 3 private villas with our own outdoor bathrooms. The menu here was limited but that was fine, it meant …

Eating Borneo #3 – Chicken Rice

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In Malaysia, Chicken Rice is super popular and can be found in many little eateries including fast food places. I had Chicken Rice in Brunei, Chicken Rice at a KK cafe and when I saw that KFC in KK had a version of Chicken Rice, I couldn’t resist. I never said I was a gourmet. I’m a foodie if you consider a foodie to be food obsessed. I crave KFC every now and then and The Koala never denies my cravings. When I’m eating fast food chain in a foreign country, I always order the most exotic local choices. This really was just a piece of chicken and a portion of chicken flavoured rice. No broth or dipping sauces in sight. Rice was ok. Nothing to wave a tambourine at. The Koala’s more complete meal in the background with a scoop each of coleslaw and mash potatoes. Quite a different recipes to the versions we are used to in NZ.

Eating Borneo #2 – Seafood Feasts, Kota Kinabalu

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No visit to Kota Kinabalu is complete without visiting it’s famous seafood foodcourt Seri Selera Kampung Air. The touts working outside are fierce and getting your business is their number one priority. Maybe you want to have a look around first. Maybe you are happy with eating at whoever grabs you first. Here in the north of Borneo, sea creatures of many shapes and sizes wait in glass tanks. Maybe they cross their fins and claws as you walk past, hoping to get picked last. Most creatures have a price on their tank. The ones you should be wary of are the creatures without price tags. Most places advertise by the 100gm. 20RM might sound cheap, but a small 500gm lobster is going to set you back 100RM / $45NZ / $33US. Our mantis prawns. One orange/black and the other white/black. Tiger and zebra! The mantis prawn are kept separate in plastic bottles so they cannot fight each other. The tiger and the zebra came to about 1 kg. Slipper lobster or Moreton Bay Bug. …

Eating Borneo #1 – Rainforest Cafe, Kota Kinabalu

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The second stop on our trip was Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian part of Borneo. Malaysia is pretty cheap in terms of food and booze, though not the cheapest on our trip. So cheap in fact, that when we saw the price of the dishes, we stupidly assumed the portions were tiny. So we ordered 2 dishes each. 3 people. 6 meals. http://www.rainforestlodgekk.com/rainforest_cafe2.cfm Here, at Rainforest Cafe we stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t see straight. Unfortunately, all the food was good. We couldn’t sacrifice any dishes and with no fridge in our room, we didn’t chance taking a few boxes of food home. We were rendered completely useless after this feast. Lesson to self, order a meal. If you are still hungry, have a snack later. Asia is full of snacks. There is no need to eat yourself senseless. A couple of weeks later, our second visit was much more dignified. Rainforest Cafe offer a range of lunch sets for 6.90RM / $3.10NZ / $2.30US. Your choice of main comes with a drink and a …