Ice Bar is Sabah’s current notable nightlife, because honestly, have you seen their daily drinks specials? It’s insane!
To put that in perspective, consider that KK’liens ® also think the fridge is too far from the living room. In fact, if we could, we’d drive to the kitchen to get a beer and then circle the fridge until we found parking right in front of the door.
So when I tell you that Ice Bar is in fact only 7km from the city centre, a 15 minute drive after rush-hour traffic, you might realise just how not-far it is. Nevertheless, to entice those folk who do consider 7km is bit of a trek, Ice Bar has all these crazy daily promos going on.
There’s several promos every day, but below’s a few of my favourites. Keep in mind, I’m a beer drinker, but there’s cocktail promos for all you posers too.
Nobody goes out on Sundays because everyone’s repenting, but here’s a reason to skip church, you sinner! At Ice Bar you pay RM25 for your first mug of Becks, and then every refill after that is only RM1. This is from 6pm – 9pm. If you’re still standing after 9pm, you can get Happy Hour prices all night long on a bunch of drinks, including a mug of Hoegaarden or Leffe for just RM12 each.
Feeling floored by Monday? Go hang off the ceiling at Ice Bar, and wear something blue while you’re at it; just for that you get a free Blue Lagoon Cocktail (for wearing blue, not for hanging off the ceiling).
Tuesday is hands down my favourite. Guys pay RM75 and girls pay RM50, and then from 6pm – 11pm it’s an open bar buffet! What does that mean? It means you drink whatever you like (except signature cocktails and flaming drinks), as much as you like, just make sure you don’t drink more than you can keep down – you’ll have to mop up your own schlop. Just kidding! But what a waste, so know when to stop, ya?
Then on Wednesday it’s Ladies Night, and check this out, if 4 ladies show up together, Ice Bar will give them a bottle of Absolute on the house; free; gratis; for nothing! It’s true. What do guys get? Well, they get to pay for their drinks, but ogle the hotties that Ice Bar attracts.
One of the promos on Thursdays is the Chivas Lucky 7s offer. Every 7th bottle of Chivas sold will get 1 free. So if 6 other people in the bar buy a bottle of Chivas and you’re No.7, chi-ching, plus 1 free bottle for you.
And every other day of the week? Well, there’s always Happy Hour from 6pm – 9pm with discount Becks (1 glass = RM8, 1 jug = RM26, 1 tower = RM78), and Hoegaarden at RM12 per pint or RM22 for 2 pints.
Don’t forget the bottle promos, like the more bottles of Chivas you buy the cheaper it gets – how about 5 bottles for RM1,050? Cheap as chips!
The above are just some of Ice Bar’s promos, so get yourself on over to the Ice Bar main page and check out everything that’s on offer.
How do you like them apples? Think you’ll be saving a little drinking money for the petrol to fuel that mammoth 7km trek to 1Borneo? You bet ya!
Now I’m thirsty, what day is it?
Ice Bar 1Borneo is throwing a massive party with 2 nights in a row featuring dancers, 13 DJs from all over, 16 hours of thumping party music and 6,000 megawatts of bass power for KK’s biggest new year’s eve party.
The 2010 Countdown Fiesta is the traditional new year’s eve party taking place on 31 December 2009 and will say goodbye to 2009 in Sabah in grand fashion. The party starts at 7pm and will go on until the wee wee hours of the morning.
If you’re still standing, then the New Year Power Party on the 1st of January will keep you bopping to celebrate the arrival 2010. This party will start at 7pm on the 1st.
Check out the event’s main page for ticketing details, and don’t forget to drop by Ice Bar’s main page for a peak at their happy hour specials, daily promos and bottle promos which truly are sensational.
If you would like to win yourself 2 double sets of tickets for each of the New Year party events, then surf on over to the SabahBah.com Facebook Fan Page where we will be giving away 4 tickets for the 2 events every day until 30 December (excluding 26 & 27 Dec).
Just answer a few easy Ice Bar related questions and stand in line to win. Then dance away the night with Ice Bar’s Clash of the Titans New Year’s Eve Parties!
The last thing you’d expect when you’ve travelled so far to Sabah, one of Malaysia’s eastern states located on Borneo, is to experience the culture of the rainforest inside a shopping centre.
But that is exactly what’s possible at Kota Kinabalu’s newest shopping centre, 1Borneo. 1Borneo Rainforest is a culture and handicraft centre that was recently completed and is billed as a cultural voyage.
Spread over a generous 14,000 square feet inside the hyper mall, 1Borneo Rainforest aims to capture and exhibit culture from Sabah and South East Asia.
The exterior of 1Borneo Rainforest is easy to find amongst the glamourous shops that surrounds it as faux jungle pours onto the shopping centre walkway inviting curious onlookers for a peak. The melody of the tulintangan entices you to enter the cave-like entrance to be welcomed by a Rungus warrior.
To enter 1Borneo Rainforest, cross a replica of one of Sabah’s icon landmarks; a hanging bridge. Surrounded by jungle sounds and a river below, enter into Sabah culture in a few steps.
First beyond the bridge is the Heritage Galleria. This exhibition of traditional costumes, artifacts and musical instruments of various ethnic groups, also details the wedding setups of different ethnic groups, showcasing different groups on a rotational basis.
Beyond the Heritage Galleria a kampung awaits, alive with locals going about life in village. Feeding chickens, sweeping the floor, playing gasing and dehusking paddy stalks.
Moving along the traditional performance arena awaits. Here various tribal performances by indigenous people depict traditional rituals from thanksgiving to post-harvest celebrations and the warriors’ dance. Visitors are given a chance to be part of the action.
Having worked up a appetite during the culture dance action, sample some of Sabah’s local culinary delights. Try hinava, often called Sabah Sushi as it’s raw (but pickled) fish. Spicy beef rendang is a savoury local dish and company the taste sensation with lihing, the popular local sweet rice wine. For those who want to take the secrets of Sabahan cuisine back home with them, a cooking demonstrations gives insight into how to prepare three local dishes.
The last stop on the way out is one of Sabah’s architectural icons, the Longhouse. Witness skillful artisans demonstrate the fine crafts of Asia such as batik painting, basket weaving and jewelry making.
And at last an opportunity to collect some local gems is offered on the exit through the 1Borneo Forest curios shop, which is packed with trinkets and treasures.
1Borneo Forest is open from 10am till 10pm daily. For special group pricing contact Cornelia Tahing on +60 88 484 955.
By Car or Taxi
Yes, all roads lead to 1 Borneo, but the quickest way when you find yourself in the city centre is to head along Jalan Pantai, direction Likas.
The moment you hit the fringes of the city and the start of Likas Bay, you’ll see the first 1Borneo signboard telling you that 1Borneo is only 7kms away.
Following this road will take you past landmarks such as the Sabah Trade Building, the Floating Mosque, the Tun Mustapha Building (large cylindrical building that houses Atmosphere Restaurant & Bar), University Malaysia Sabah. Depending on traffic, you will reach the largest lifestyle hyper mall in East Malaysia, 1 Borneo, about 20 – 30 minutes later.
The easiest way to park will be the off-ramp just before the property. But while they’re working on this, it’s best to go all the way to the other end of the property and up the ramp to the 2nd and 3rd floor.
There you will find ample parking, which is easy to navigate and will put you at an entrance in the heart of the mall.
A taxi, and this is unverified, should cost in the region of RM 10 – RM 15 from the city centre. With a maximum capacity of 4 people, this is a fast and inexpensive option.
Of course, driving yourself does have it’s drawbacks, even more so on the days that 1 Borneo will be crawling with people (read weekends and holidays).
1Borneo Shuttle Bus
To entice shoppers to 1Borneo, a free shuttlebus runs a set schedule on a fixed route between major points in Kota Kinabalu and 1Borneo.
Hotel guests of Promenade Hotel, Sutera Harbour Resort and Shang-ri La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa will be delighted to learn that these 3 hotels are pick-up points for shuttles going to 1Borneo, ensuring that visitors to KK can easily reach this new development.
The 1 Borneo Shuttle Buses depart regularly from the designated points. The schedule seems to be adapted every so often, so best be sure to double check any schedule that you plan to rely on.
The 1Borneo Bus Schedule to the right seems to be a fairly recent one (Sep 08), so should be accurate, for this month at least.
The 1 Borneo Shuttle Buses are air-conditioned and, for the time being, complimentary.
Very Alternative Transport
Helicopter
If driving by road in bus, car or taxi is just not your style, then 1 Borneo as an option for you.
A helipad, located on the near end of the 1 Borneo property as you approach from Kota Kinabalu, accommodates the 1 Borneo helicopter for the decerning shopper or busy hotel guest wanting to avoid traffic alltogether.
Although helipads in Kota Kinabalu are few in numbers, you will be able to transfer conveniently from either the Kota Kinabalu International Airport or Sutera Harbour Resort, straight to 1 Borneo is one easy flight from helipads located there.
Hovercraft
Another first for East Malaysia and certainly something very unique in the world, is 1Borneo’s ambition to provide hovercraft transfer from the city centre and the airport.
A 30-odd seater hovercraft is on order, reportedly sourced from Australia, and will shortly be plying the route between the KKIA, KK city centre and 1 Borneo.
In the meantime, the river behind the complex is being widened to accommodate this mode of transport. No word on the cost of this particular transfer has been picked up as yet.
So whether you choose road, air, water or a combition of any, you have plenty of choices of how to get to 1 Borneo.
In search of experiencing the new cinemas for the first time, Sabahbah stumbled across the official launching of Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) in 1 Borneo.
With every visit the largest hyper mall in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and East Malaysia is looking more and more like one. Tonight 1 Borneo was actually busy with a host of people, locals and tourists alike.
GSC, as you may know by now, is located on the 2nd floor of 1 Borneo and it’s safe to say that it’s one of the major attractions at the moment. There are some other shops, which are completed and open, but none draw in the crowds like Golden Screen Cinemas do.
Although GSC in 1 Borneo has been trading since about 30 May, tonight was the official launch. A small, formal ceremony attended by GSC Chairman, General Tan Sri Dato Mohd Ghazali Seth, announced the fact and a short tour of the facilities declared it to be officially open.
The Sabahbah Test Panel sampled Superhero Movie. Although the movie itself was nothing to write about, it was a pleasure to experience it from new, comfortable seats in an international standard movie hall.
Let’s run you through the GSC 1 Borneo experience.
Ticket Collection
Our pre-booked tickets were quickly secured from the ticket box office, which are staffed with a generous number of staff. This means that even when it gets busy the queues should move along quickly, and with 8 screens you know it will get busy.
The skinny on movie prices at GSC 1 Borneo: Our movie tonight was RM8, as are all shows Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday after 6pm. Before 6pm they’re RM7 and before 12pm RM6, great for school holidays.
On Saturdays (this includes after midnight Friday night), Sundays, Public Holidays and the eve of a public holiday after 6pm, the shows are RM9.
On Wednesdays, all shows are RM6.
Students, Senior Citizens and handicapped movie goers pay RM6 for all shows before 6pm, except for weekends and public holidays. Children pay RM5 for all U-rated movies.
Confectionery
What’s a movie without popcorn? Just not the same.
GSC 1 Borneo offers the usual line-up of confectionary including the ever popular caramalised pop-corn, from very hi-tech pop-corn makers might we add, and a selection of F&N softdrinks, including ice lemon tea.
The pop-corn was fresh and crunchy and was neither too sweet nor too plain. The Sabahbah Test Panel Sprite tasted like it might have had just a bit more soda water in it than what the formula require. But we’re pedantic.
Cinemas
GSC in 1 Borneo brings 1,500 additional seats across 8 screens to KK’s movie circuit.
Cinema 1 is the biggest with 330 seats (plus 2 for wheelchair spaces), Cinema 2 has 274 (plus 2 for wheelchairs), Cinema 3 has 196 seats, Cinema 4 has 210 seats, Cinema 5 has 160 seats, and Cinemas 6 to 8 have 110 seats each.
All cinemas have stadium seating, which means no tall heads will spoil your show, ever. The seats flip up and the backs are high, providing ample support. They are also molded and at a fixed angle.
The mould of the seat-backs are very comfortable, although the angle might tire the body during one of those two or three hour epic movies. Will report back after we sit through one of those two to three hour epic movies.
The lighting in the cinema hall is appropriately subdued and faded out when the trailers started. The quality of the screen is superb and the sound is impecably balanced and at the perfect volume.
Something to commend GSC at 1 Borneo on is the temperature of the movie hall. It was perfect. The tendency in the down-town cinemas (they’re all guilty), is to chill the movie hall to a point where patrons start to shiver. No such issues at GSC 1 Borneo.
After the movie, patrons exit through the front and are channeled through a series of tunnels which exits to the back of the box office. You walk right into the bowling alley, or you will, once it’s finished.
The movie experience at GSC 1 Borneo was virtually flawless and it’s certain that the bar for movie night has been sufficiently raised.
Watch out for upcoming promotions and specials, although the experience in itself will see you returning again and again to Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) in 1 Borneo.
