The arrival of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, is just around the corner and across the globe the Chinese community is gearing up for their annual new year celebrations.
In Kota Kinabalu and Sabah too, the buzz is spreading and the good people at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu invited SabahBah and others over to sample what Chef Tay and his team at The Chinese Restaurant has in store.
Chef Tay has prepared a generous menu of deliciousness with which to have a memorable family celebration.
Our taste safari kicked off with Yee Sang. Vital to any Chinese New Year celebrations, these long life noodles represents longevity and it is said the higher you toss the noodles, the more abundant your returns.
The dish arrives as separate ingredients and was quickly assembled in front of our eyes. Shredded vegetables, fruits, pickles, flour crisps and plum sauce are just a few of the ingredients, which make up this visually pleasing dish.
Chef Tay himself was at the table to add the final touches, before leading the group in the customary tossing of the Yee Sang.
The Yee Sang is available from 16 January onwards at The Chinese Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Kinabalu.
After the flurry of activity around the Yee Sang, we were treated to fatt choi (black moss) with veggies and chicken, Chef Tay’s signature XO Fortune prawns, Pacific clam with sea asparagus and, my personal favourite, the sweet, salmony taste of crispy friend honey salmon.
Also on the table was soft shell crab. “The soft-shell crab isn’t part of the Chinese New Year menu,” said our host, PR Manager Julia Chan, “but it’s the best in Kota Kinabalu, so a must try.”
The collection of Chinese New Year menus have been designed to incorporate the ingredients which, according to Chinese beliefs, symbolises wealth, health and prosperity.
2 set menus will help you make the most of your reunion dinner, but an ala-carte menu offers you additional choices of scallops. abolone, Pacific clams and silver cod.
From 21 – 25 January Hyatt Regency Kinabalu’s The Chinese Restaurant will cater to dim sum fans with an all-you-can-eat Prosperity Dim Sum promo, which is on offer from 9am – 2:30pm.
Other than food, the Hyatt Regency Kinabalu has plenty else going on during the Chinese New Year for those looking for some entertainment in Kota Kinabalu.
From 21 – 25 January Master Calligrapher Huang Poh Lo will entertain with demonstrations of ancient art.
During the 1st 2 days of Chinese New Year Choi San Yeh, the God of Fortune, will spread good wishes amongst hotel guests.
On the 2nd day of Chinese New Year, 24 January, the hotel’s parking lot will be the venue for a grand lion dance showcase.
Starting at 8:30am, the Sabah champion troupe of lion dancers will put on a show, which guarantees to thrill, entertain and have you gasping for breath at their seemingly impossible acrobatics, all staged on tiny platforms between 1m – 2m above the ground.
For additional information about Hyatt Regency Kinabalu’s Chinese New Year offerings, or to book your dinner, please contact the hotel in Kota Kinabalu on 088 22 1234.
Gong Xi Fatt Chai!
It’s easy to like El Centro, a new cafe and bar in Kota Kinabalu, where you can go have a bite to eat, indulge in delectable cocktails and have actual conversations with the people you’re with.
So Fresh it still smell of Wood
El Centro, opposite Wisma Merdeka on the block between Kinabalu Daya Hotel on the 1 side and Millemewa on the other, is a welcoming cafe and bar where the furniture are made of re-purposed drift wood, the decor is minimalist, and the emphasis is on people.
Possibly the first non smoking bar in Kota Kinabalu, there’s no smoking inside the restaurant, so if you have to puff, then off to the sidewalk for you.
But with the wide open storefront this is actually quite a social place to be, as you’re not cut-off from the restaurant or the vibe inside.
And now for something a little different
The food is unique amongst Kota Kinabalu’s restaurants. Katie, the owner, has been to interesting corners of the globe and have collected her favourite recipes from her travels, which she is now sharing at El Centro.
There’s tacos, salads and hummus, sandwiches, soups, various sides and desserts.
In her bag of tricks, Katie also has the skills of a bar tender. Bar tenders know cocktails, but Katie knows awesome cocktails.
In May, a delicious flood of tasty cocktails are coming to El Centro and Katie’s friends know what’s in store. Her Bloody Mary has a well established reputation, and already legend of her margarita is rising.
Sunday Brunch
The menu is still evolving to the tastes and feedback of customers, but a few mainstays are well worth having.
Anything with chips is a winner, because El Centro has the secret for the perfect french fry. From amongst the tacos, the Steak Taco is king, and the large Greek Grilled Chicken Foldover or Salad are the most value for money items on the menu.
On Sundays, you can wrap up the weekend with a tasty Sunday Brunch. Fresh, hot breakfast tacos to fill your stomach, and a spicy Bloody Mary to ease you off whatever hangover you might be having.
An easy end to the weekend, and a beautiful start to Sunday morning.
See you at El Centro!
SabahBah went to Bella Italia Pizzeria & Ristorante the other Monday to sample the all-you-can-eat Monday Pasta Madness promo. At RM30 it really is madness.
The Monday Pasta Madness deal is that you pay RM30 and you can order as much as you can eat from the special menu created for this promotion.
The catch is, you have to finish your plate before you can order the next dish. This is all good and well, but the drawback is that you have to wait a while for the next dish, which could take some time if the restaurant is busy.
Moving on, the Monday Pasta Madness menu is fairly concise with 3 choices each across 4 sections, which are Soups & Salads, Tomato Based Pastas, Dry Style Pastas and Cream Based Pastas.
A quick bit of math and you’ll notice you have a choice of 12 dishes in total.
In the time we were there, between 2 people, we managed to have a soup, a garden salad, and 3 pasta dishes.
The soup was Minestrone, which came out nice and hot and was quite tasty. We also had the Garden Salad, which was crisp and fresh, although the dressing was a tad too tangy for our palates.
A must-have pasta dish for SabahBah is always going to be the Aglio e Olio, which is a fairly basic pasta dish with lots of olive oil, garlic and chili. Bella Italia’s version didn’t disappoint, although they were careful with the chili, perhaps because a large portion of their clientele is westerners, who don’t always appreciate chili as much.
The 2nd pasta dish was the Marina; a pasta with mixed seafood & chili. Again the chili was light and the tomato was prominent, but overall not bad.
The final pasta dish, by which time we were already filling up, was chosen from the cream-based section. For the sake of a balanced review, you see? We chose the Salmone, a rich dish with homemade smoked Salmon and parsley. If you’re a fan of smoked Salmon, you’ll love this dish, but beware, it’s quite heavy, so perhaps not on a nearly-full stomach.
Between the laid back pace of us eating, and having to wait in between courses for the next, we actually filled up good, and positively struggled to finish the last dish.
Bella Italia’s Monday Pasta Madness is value for money and compliments their regular menu, which is well worth checking out.
Climb as much as you like is an attractive offer, especially when it only costs RM12. But SabahBah.com discovers that at the Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre as much as you like might be more than as much as you can.
Face The Challenge
Then I read about Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre’s ‘climbing as much as you like‘ offer. So I made plans and imagined the entire day spent just climbing up and down the various grades of wall. Possible, I thought, because I do running-type sports 3 times a week and I’m fairly fit.
Turns out though, wall climbing is not about running, in fact, it’s not even about cardio. Nope, wall climbing is about strength. Strength in your upper body, strength in your arms, and strength in your legs. I might be able to run, but apparently I’m not that strong.
Preparation is the Key
After getting a pair of hard, gum-soled shoes that fit my big feet from the Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre guys, I was up on a medium grade part of the wall strutting my stuff. It all went well too, until I got up to about 4m, 1m short of the top of the wall. My fingers started cramping.
Now there’s not a lot of muscle in fingers, so it didn’t hurt that much, but it cramped so hard I couldn’t release my grip from the wall. There I was, stuck; legs and arms in precarious positions, tiring quickly.
After a few failed attempts I eventually managed to pry my cramped fingers from the hold, but in the process also lost my balance and, hanging by the right hand, which was still cramped shut around the wall, proceeded to lose my footing.
Like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2 I hang there, back to the wall, gasps coming from below where other climbers had been watching. Tom, unlike me, didn’t have a safety rope that would prevent him falling to the ground below though, so I knew I was safe.
I managed to swing myself around, regain my footing and pry my hand loose. But I was exhausted and couldn’t make it to the top. My belayer gently lowered me to the ground where I recovered.
Although I felt very energetic, my legs and arms felt weak and I realised my climbing session won’t be as long as I hand intended. Although I managed to shake the cramps from my fingers, I only managed 2 more climbs up easier parts of the wall.
Easy? It is and isn’t
“3 or 4 climbs are about standard”, said my belayer. “When you do it often then you can do more”, he continued, “but it takes some practice.”
Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre hasn’t been open that long, but they’ve already gained a loyal following of climbers who are at the wall quite frequently. At RM10 per session during the week and RM12 over the weekends, it’s a very affordable sport.
You can rent all the equipment you need at the the centre itself, although basic essentials are just shoes and a harness. Ropes, chalk and even a climbing buddy / belayer, are provided and the walls cater to beginners and more experienced climbers.
For more information, visit our Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre page.
It’s been a while since a new restaurant in Kota Kinabalu has received so much attention from the food loving public, but the new Sailors’ Café is making a name for itself for good reasons.
Set the Mood
Many restaurants in Kota Kinabalu are food focused, which is why often restaurants are shoved into the stark-white squares where service is dim in comparison to the bright neon lighting.
So it was then that the first thing to strike us about the Sailors Café was the restaurant’s décor.
From the quality tiles on the floor, to the textured detailing on the walls and the kitchen counter, right up to the wooden beams against the ceiling and the soft golden lighting highlighting detailed pictures and other collectables on the walls; the mood was set for a feast.
Quick Service with a Smile
The second thing to impress us about the Sailors’ Café was the service and staff.
At once friendly and attentive, we took it for granted when we were the 2nd of 2 tables in the restaurant.
However, when the service was maintained 20 minutes later as the restaurant filled up, we noticed, and were suitably impressed, that the staff didn’t waiver.
Now Feed Me!
Of course the ambience and service is just half the battle won and the final test is the food itself.
Sailors’ Café’s menu is somewhat flexible, the Chef told us, as you sometimes have to improvise with what’s available at the market on any given morning.
However, the menu always features fresh western inspired dishes, which are varied enough to cater to most palates.
The food is served quickly and in relatively quick succession, which means that the entire table will be eating together in a short span of time.
Upon SabahBah.com’s visit we had enough people at our table to sample 11 dishes and overall the food is not just good looking (well presented, interesting garnish), but it’s also very reasonably priced and surprisingly good sized portions.
The Sailors’ Café gets a big thumbs-up. And not just from us, so perhaps it’s better to phone ahead to make sure they’re not booked out.
For more info, check out SabahBah’s Sailors’ Café listing.
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