Breakfast at Kudos Modern European Dining (Kudos Cooked Breakfast & French Toast) - Kota Kinabalu [East Malaysia]

After that unforgettable dinner at Kudos Modern European Dining, conveniently located on the ground floor of Jesselton Hotel, i knew for sure i had to have breakfast there on the last morning of my trip! 

And i did; all fresh and alert from a morning shower and my taste buds could not wait to be surprised once again by what was in store for them in the fine dining restaurant. 

Kudos Cooked Breakfast

Not knowing what was recommended could be a bane and i figured the best would likely command the highest price! So here's the Kudos Cooked Breakfast; frankly thought the presentation would be much more impressive since it cost me RM 35!

Came with four slices of half cut bread that weren't as enjoyable as the ones i had from Bread Yard in Singapore. To put it simply, lightly toasted white bread just didn't quite fascinate! 

The above accessories helped a bit and i should be thankful only two slices were white bread. The other two slices appeared to be the sweeter tasting Brioche.

Tomato was grilled perfectly with a softness so delicate; it was an enjoyment just to have it slip down the throat. Bacon wasn't the savoury type often found in breakfast; rather, it was rather similar to a less sweet bak kwa with a softer texture! 

That piece of homemade meat loaf (mistakenly thought to be luncheon meat) was in essence a mince meat patty with a peppery exquisiteness to it. Alex claimed that the baked beans were good (had to have his input here since i don't take baked beans)! 

Given the higher pricing attached to the Kudos Cooked Breakfast, you would be offered coffee / tea and a glass of orange juice. 

French Toast

I absolutely must order French Toast whenever i see it on the menu! Pity they were as normal as they could be; two slices of egg battered bread with a sprinkle of unexciting cinnamon sugar. Likely authentically French toast though. 

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Location

69, Gaya Street,

88800 Kota Kinabalu,

Sabah

Map 

As above

Breakfast Operation

From 7.30 am to 11.00 am

Menu

As above

Price

Kudos Cooked Breakfast - RM 35

French Toast - RM 15

[Inclusive of GST]

Additional Information

For my review on the dinner the night before at Kudos, click here.

Atkinson Clock Tower @ Kota Kinabalu [Sabah]

Some of you might recall the photograph above that was taken in day four of my Kota Kinabalu (KK) trip. Well, i am going to touch on the 15-meter tall clock tower today! 

To get nearer to the tower, you have to take the steps by the side. By the way, this Atkinson Clock Tower was so freaking near to Jesselton Hotel, where we stayed at.

A beacon of historical heritage even though it was built at a relatively young 1905, this is in fact the oldest standing structure in KK! According to records, the whole KK was destroyed during world war two with only two structures that remain till this date. 

Constructed as memorial for Mr Francis George Atkinson (first district officer of KK, then known as Jesselton) who unfortunately died at the age of 28 years old, it might have been of reference back in the days when buildings were not as tall and land reclamation has yet to push the coastline further out. 

Illuminated at night, it used to be a navigation landmark for ships but this was discontinued in the 1950s. The clock remained functional, albeit after undergoing quite a number of repairs.

A weather clock (or weather vane) stood on top of the tower; notice that instead of north, south, east, west, the letters were instead U, S, T and B. North, South, East and West are translated to Utara, Selatan, Timur and Barat in Malay, respectively! 

In modern KK and in the digital age, the clock tower has lost its relevance in the practical sense and i didn't even bump into anyone there; it could be just a touch and go for most tour packages.

I can bet with you - people likely would visit the area because of the carpark right behind the clock, especially on Sundays when the Gaya Street weekend market takes place right across the road. 

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Location

As above

To read more, check out the information board above.

For the itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here. 

Jovyn is FOUR!

We have endured the terrible twos, braved through the monsters threes and finally, the youngest kid in our close knitted family, Jovyn, is on her way to the fearsome fours! 

And it's fitting to have a cake for us to celebrate our achievements her birthday! As you can see, my family totally loves the yummy cakes from Pâtisserie Glacé!

With improving dexterity, the little brat insisted on sticking the celebratory message and the candles herself. Her assertiveness can be quite a frustration sometimes. 

At the very least, we were already glad she was willing to share with her poor brother, who was often her main punch bag whenever things didn't go her way. 

Counting the candles to ensure she has her mathematics and her age correct! 

Singing the birthday song; yes, in four different versions (English, Malay, Mandarin and Christian) as always. I am glad my sister gave birth to Jovyn to add to her brood; it's really fun and heartwarming to see both kids playing together and protecting each other. 

Until it came to the candle blowing part when Jerald blew the candles too; incurring the wrath of Jovyn who immediately used her fist to hit the brother! Tsk tsk!

Managed to avert the aggression eventually but as you can see, she hinted her murderous streak in the above picture when she cut the cake. Haha, kidding lah, the above was just one of many shots i took of that moment. Jovyn had a good laugh over it though. 

Anyway, happy 4th birthday, Jovyn! 

Day Six of my Borneo (Sabah) Expedition - Visit to Mari Mari Cultural Village and then Relax All the Way!

<< Day Five

Day five was intended for relaxation and we signed up for only a half day tour (less than four hours in fact) with nothing much in mind for the rest of the day! Before we started the day, let me enjoyed a cup of nicely brewed nanyang coffee!

Fong Ip Cafe did seem to be closed with the half-open metal shutter but it was quite obvious the place was filled with customers and the shutter was there to block out the sunlight. 

Interior - nostalgic-ish kind of cafe decked out in round tables and chairs. Given the lack of air-conditioning, i would have classified this as a coffeshop rather than a cafe.

Tsk tsk - child labour; which i totally agree so long the kid is my child / relative. Always beneficial to train the young on hard work and the real world lest they become too pampered!

I didn't enjoy the toasted bread which tasted as good as the ones i can made myself at home and the half boiled eggs were too raw for my liking. 

Menu as appended above - besides the uninspiring makan, i was more displeased with the prices which were comparable to Singapore! Thought the standard of living was lower in East Malaysia? Either that or we Singaporeans are complaining too much about the perceived higher standard of living!

On the way to Mari Mari Cultural Village for our half day tour! Aside from Alex and myself, there was only this quiet Japanese man who didn't quite understand our English! 

I took quite a number of photographs as usual since i could not sleep as easily as Alex on cars / buses. Bet i have mentioned before that for a Muslim majority country, Sabah has quite a sizable number of Catholic churches; their signature signage can be seen quite often on the roads.

Going into the countryside with not many cars. Actually thinking back, it can be quite a scary thought with just the three of us in the van! 

Within thirty minutes, we arrived at Mari Mari Cultural Village. To read more on the fun time we had at the purpose built village with abodes from five ethnic tribes in Sabah (Dusun, Lundayeh, Bajau, Murut and Rungus), click here. 

Left at around 1pm and along the journey back to Jesselton Hotel, i chanced upon a place where i would have loved to explore back in Singapore! Want to guess what it is?

A Chinese cemetery!

Just a passing landmark as i desperately wanted to get back to the hotel to take a bath! Take from the back of the car, a clear picture of the Crocker Range mountain range, i think. 

Kota Kinabalu City Mosque - second main mosque in KK and was officially opened in 2000 at a cost of RM 34 million. 

Jesselton Hotel which provided us a comfortable stay throughout the six nights we were in KK! For a full review (and more photos), check out the link here. 

Looking like many other coffeeshops in the area, i would have given this a miss if not the few persons who were lining up in front of a stall after the official lunch break. 

Selling fried deep fried bananas and fried mung beans, i recalled someone did mention about a particular place with good and cheap goreng pisang and i guess this must be it! 

Six pieces for RM 1 - they sure were easy on the wallet even though in actual dimensions, i thought three pieces would make up about one small banana. Having said that, two fried bananas for less than S$0.50 were still damn worth it!

They were fresh from the boiling oil, crispy and comparing with Muslim style goreng pisangs, these were delicious and had a heartier yet flavourful bite. Alex wasn't in the mood for fried stuff that day and i cleaned up everything myself!

Pricing for fried mung beans.

The long yellow overhead bridge that could not be missed if you are in Kota Kinabalu. 

I have always walked underneath the bridge and this time (damn the heat), we were going to be walking on it to our next destination! 

Vendors on the bridge! Do stop by for a closer look as you could get your hands on some pretty nice souvenirs which might be easily overlooked elsewhere; read Gaya Street weekend market and KK Handicraft Centre.

Logo for the Holiday Hotel does appear suspiciously similar to Genting Hotel! 

Other end of the yellow bridge would stop at KK Central Market (亚庇中央市场, Pasar Besar). The photographs i have loaded for Central Market and Handicraft Centre were actually taken on day four and day six of my trip. 

Walked into the lesser trodden area where there were more locals than foreigners although this could not be compared to the outskirts. 

Just like in Singapore, tourists should never loiter in the downtown; they should venture to the suburban townships like Yishun, Tampines, Jurong etc.

Long time ago, the key highlight when visiting Johor Bahru was dining at Secret Recipe for its cheesecake and lamb shank! 

We didn't have a full meal but i still managed to grab a slice of their signature banana chocolate cake before catching a movie, Home, at Suria Sabah! Nice show, by the way. 

Last dinner in KK was at Kudos; the restaurant that was rated very highly on TripAdvisor! The meal was unforgettable and i could still vividly remember that absolutely marvellous tasting lamb cutlets! For my review, click here. 

>> Last Day

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For the summarised itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.