Sampling Kota Kinabalu’s Tomyum Seafood, Tuaran Mee and Sang Nyuk Mee and October Cafe Gaya

6 July 2022

After 2 days of chilling at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort, we moved to Le Meridien, located closer to the city centre. In fact, the hotel’s location is right next to the Kota Kinabalu waterfront.

Our plan for Day 3 is to sample the local Sabah cuisine. There are many “must-try” local food in my list that includes the Tuaran Mee, Sliced Pork Noodles (known locally as the Sang Nyuk Mian), Seafood Noodles, well known Yee Fung Laksa, Beef Soup Noodles (known locally as Ngau Chap) and Pork Bone Soup (Bak Kut Teh). However, we do not have the stomach capacity nor time to try them all.

After our early check-in at the Le Meridien hotel, we walked to the Seng Hing coffee shop located at a street just behind the hotel.

Seng Hing Coffee Shop was recommended by the locals for their Tuaran Mee and Tom Yum Noodles.

Kedai Kopi Seng Hing, as it is called locally, offers a variety of local food but is well known for its Seafood Tom Yum noodles and Tuaran Mee. And these were what we ordered for our lunch.  In addition, we tried a bowl of their Red Wine Bee Hoon Soup as well.

Tuaran Mee with good “wok hei”

Tom Yum Noodles with Tiger Prawns. It is one of the signature and must-try dishes in this restaurant.

Red Wine Bee Hoon Soup with Prawns.

Although we had sampled Mee Tuaran the day before using Grab food delivery service to our hotel, eating freshly cooked Tuaran Mee with its “wok hei” was so much better.  All of the dishes we ordered were delicious and the Tuaran Mee was what I enjoyed most.

It was slightly past 2 PM when we finished our lunch at Seng Hing. We went to look for the Kim Hing Lee Coffee Shop which is just round the corner from Seng Hing.

Kedai Kopi Kim Hing Lee is well known for its Sliced Pork Noodles (known locally as the Sang Nyuk Mian).

 

The shop closes at 2.30 PM and the shop was practically empty as we stood outside wondering if we were too late. The Chinese lady in the shop waved for us to go in and told us she could serve us the last order before closing.

We placed our orders for 2 bowls of their famous noodles and browse the history of the shop displayed on the wall. Like the earlier Seng Hing Coffee shop, the Kim Hing Lee coffee shop goes back a long time. 

Black and white photo of the coffee shops along the Jesselton Jetty in the old days.

The Sang Nyuk Mian is another icon food of Sabah. Sang Nyuk Mee literally means Raw Pork Noodle. However, this is a misnomer. The pork is not eaten raw. It actually means the dish is made from fresh raw meat. The thinly cut pork slices are fresh, smooth and tender. Melt in your mouth goodness!   

Sang Nyuk Mee is served in two styles - Noodle Soup or Dry style. We ordered the Dry style where the noodles (mee) are served in separate bowl and mixed in aromatic dark soy sauce and pork oil.  I found the taste of the noodles to be a bit similar to the Korean Jajangmyeon (noodle dish in a black bean sauce).

The Sang Nyuk is served in another bowl with light but tasty pork broth with pork slices, meatballs and internal organs (e.g. liver, intestines).

 

Although we were quite full from our meal at the previous coffee shop, the three of us managed to finish all the noodles and soup! It was that good.

We were suffering from “food coma” after two rounds of lunch at the two coffee shops. Next stop for us would be a cafe along Jalan Dewan for some caffeine/coffee. The four blocks of shop houses, also known as Australia Place, located along the street leading to Signal Hill has transformed from an old school printing hub into a cool hangout spot with many hipster cafes such as Nook Cafe, Biru Biru and Woo!

We chose to go to the October Cafe Gaya, based on the pictures of its interior we saw on the Internet.

Ordering our coffee at the October Cafe Gaya. Stairs leads to a loft.

 

The interior of the cafe is quite cosy and extrudes the warm woody feel.  There are wall murals done by visiting artists and other paraphernalia decorating the walls.

We ordered only drinks although the food is supposed to be good too.

A loft on the right side of the cafe adds seating spaces.

Although I find the wooden seats a little uncomfortable (some sofas with soft cushions would be good), this cafe is a nice place to chill and while away the hours till time to head back to the Le Meridien Hotel to watch the sunset.