Has molecular gastronomy arrived in KK?

It's official: molecular gastronomy has arrived in Kota Kinabalu! Or so it has been claimed.

Here’s how it went:

The KK Food Fest 2012 was officially kicked off yesterday so the family and I trooped down to Suria Sabah to have a look-see.

Out of the 30 participating restaurants, it looked like only about 20 set up stalls for promotion. Only one or two had free samples as the rest either only had brochures or a selection of food for sale which strikes me as a silly thing to do.

I mean, this is Malaysia; free food attracts a hell lot of people!

One of the stalls with free samples was the English Tea House; it was fun to see my mother panic when I ate a spoonful of 'dirt' offered by the chef from a 'potted plant'. It was nothing more than finely chopped black olives with seasonings and some green onions planted in a flower pot but I do so enjoy new things in comparison to my more traditional mother.

We had the option to try out English Tea House once last year but in the end demurred as nobody was really in the mood for authentic fish & chips as written on the chalkboard but as I chatted with the chef, I found out that they were moving location from Jesselton Point (good luck finding parking) to Perdana Park (which is much closer to where I work and I do despair trying to find a good dinner place).

Anyways, according to the KK Food Fest pamphlet I picked up, English Tea House has molecular gastronomy on its menu (though it did not specified what exactly) as well as a menu for authentic fish & chips, sheppard's pie and a evening tea menu. Its website was rather dismal though as it appears to have been last updated in 2011.

I'm going to have to pay a visit to the restaurant sometime in the future after hearing and watching all the hype about molecular gastronomy. Carrot foam, anyone?

Meanwhile, there's the fringe events for the festival to think about as I pointed out the Whisky tasting event at a Korean BBQ restaurant that's close to home and pretty good.

Bread & Mores at Grace Point 30 December 2011

I sat at my work desk and as is my routine, flipped through the newspaper. Lo and behold, an article promoting a brand new bakery slash sandwich shop at Grace Point which is 5 minutes' drive from work? It's actually from Pacific Sutera? (Hello, former rival!)

Come dinner time, I drove out since my brain was screaming SANDWICHES at this point and my stomach was ready to join the Arab Spring.
The outlet took over the former Wagamama booth, it was cute and cosy with 4 staff and a large selection of gourmet breads, a selection of cakes and some Linzer and Butter cookies for the Christmas season. They also offered a selection of hot and iced drinks and sandwiches only come in either baguette or croissant with four choices. That should have been my first sign.

My second sign is remembering the fact that this was Sutera Harbour! The price for one sandwich (either breads) was RM28 BEFORE the 6% tax....OUCH! But nevermind, I thought, I've spent more trying out other meals and I'll never know if I don't give it a go. I opted for a croissant smoked salmon sandwich and a hot Sabah tea; I would have loved to try their bread but since there is a loaf of baguette languishing at home yet uneaten...

Much to my disappointment, the staff warmed up the croissant to the point where my smoked salmon came out white, the lettuce wilted, and my tongue burnt. Having worked F&B for a while, I gathered that they probably stuck it in the microwave for a whole minute instead of just 30 seconds. My poor overheated sandwich (it probably didn't matter that they only nuked the croissant, the sheer boiling heat cooked the whole lot!) ended up a soggy mess with its filling qualifying for the term 'dead'. This is a Western sandwich! A warm croissant not steaming hot! The smoked salmon, lettuce, onion, tomato, capers, and cucumbers are not supposed to be soggy, wilted, cooked!!! URGH!

Someone failed somewhere in the training of the staffs. This was an utter waste of RM30++ but my stomach has stopped threatening a revolution.

I'll be back for one more visit to try out their bread and see if it can match up with the German Bakery in Damai.

1 star for their sandwiches.

14 Dec 2010: Kobe Sizzler's

I went out tonight with the parents to try out Kobe Sizzler's at Warisan Square where the old Raintree cafe used to be.

It's supposed to be a franchise from India and it branched out to the Middle East before stopping by here.

So we ordered the Mixed Kebab Sizzler with black pepper sauce, Chicken Sizzler with black pepper sauce, Batata Wara (fried potato balls; Jaslyn, this is for you and your mom's that we use to beg and steal off you in primary school), Chicken Pakora (minced [diced? It felt like small diced pieces] chicken pieces fried, the size of an American dollar coin), Puris (deep fried wheat bread), and Channa Masala (chickpea curry).

Chicken Sizzler slathered in soy and black pepper sauce with a piece of cabbage trying to escape...

Mixed Kebab Sizzler also slathered in sauce...and Dad temporarily distracted by a text message while his stomach demands to be filled...

By the way, the sizzler? Really do sizzle. Notice the white mats under the sizzler? It's paper because it's cheaper to throw away then wash numerous amounts of table mats; as my sauce spatter smudged elbows can attest to from contact with the table.

But seriously, the sizzlers aren't terribly fantastic. It's good, a hearty meal but not fantastic.

I do highly recommend the Small Bites menu, though. The Channa Masala curry? DAMN GOOD CURRY!

From top left going clockwise: Damn good Channa Masala curry, Batata Wara (sadly, only 3 pieces with it's cool parsley sauce) and Puris. Chicken Pakora not included since I was starving and so was Mom who had started gobbling up food before I could get a shot in. XD

Overall, we found the sizzler alright (the kebabs were delicious but the chicken...meh...) but it's the food we ordered off the Small Bites Indian menu that rocks! Wonderful tasting curries, lovely hot fried breads, wonderful fried potato balls (JASLYN! I MISS YOUR MOM'S COOKING!)

Conclusion? Skip the sizzlers, order off the Indian menu...the next time we stop by, it's going to be curry and breads all the way. And maybe that shiroo dessert.

Quick Intro

I'm just a local girl from Kota Kinabalu who loves food and I thought it's finally times to list down all my favourite eating spots in lil ole KK!