Mecca of Bread Havens @ Sabah – A Back-to-Basics Endeavour
June 20, 2011 | 11,470 viewsDon’t miss the first chapter – Filipino Market, Grand Borneo Hotel, Imperial Boutec Hotel & Restoran Getaran Jiwa ….
Roti Kahwin – Literally translated to ‘Marriage Bread’; this is the classic combination of slices of bread sandwiching butter and kaya (egg + coconut jam), either toasted or without. A holy matrimony indeed; and this one at Fook Yuen far surpasses my expectation (or lack thereof)
Ask any tourist to Sabah on what not to be missed, and darn sure they would proclaim SEAFOOD! Lots and lots of seafood; coming in at cheap and not-so-cheap categories nowadays. Gone were the times when we used to feast on fresh seawater fishes couriered over by my uncle who worked in Labuan. The Seven Star Grouper, Tiger Grouper, Mouse Grouper (all direct translations from their Chinese names) and even fresh cod arrived in abundance; timely for the reunion dinner come Chinese New Year. Imagine the relatives had run out of idea on how to cook the fishes aside from steaming them; and we ended up having curry cod instead. 🙂
But wait, how come I was eating breads and buns instead, yet came back not regretting the decision one bit? Read on to find out why …..
Bread Haven #1 – Fook Yuen opens until late at night; a favourite haunt among the locals as this will be the traditional kopitiam challenging the omnipresent Old Town and such.
First stop? Fook Yuen Coffee Shop situated on Jalan Damai in Luyang of Kota Kinabalu. Sorry, I did not stumble upon this shop nor made a detour purposely to sample the breads and coffee/tea come supper time.
Thanks to a bunch of lovely foodies (ex-coursemates, actually) permanently residing in KK, the short rendezvous took precedence over the dastardly sleepy spell hitting on them on that Sunday night. Bear in mind that there IS a slight timezone distortion between peninsular and East Malaysia; but not acknowledged in the official Malaysia’s timezone. They actually call it a day much earlier than us here, thus having supper at our presumably ‘early’ 9.30pm was much of a chore for them.
Guo Tie, or Woh Thip, or Gyoza is a type of pan fried dumplings with fillings of minced pork and Chinese chives (ku chai). Very famous in Sabah supposedly. These ones at the coffee shop directly facing Fook Yuen were good too; being freshly prepared as can be seen from where we were seated.
The place was brimming with people. People from all walks of life (students, middle-aged crowd, old-timers) were leisurely sipping on their coffee and enjoying their breads. If you’re here and wonder aloud how different can toasted bread with kaya and butter can be?
Then you’d better eat the humble pie (like yours truly), and give in to temptation at Fook Yuen.
Because the loaves of bread were freshly baked in-house (saw them carting trays of them from the back of the kitchen, at 9pm!), with an impossibly soft and fluffy texture (read how Precious Pea described the pillowy soft bread as easily dented by a single touch!). Go for the un-toasted version; definitely better choice amongst the two.
Good Teh C Ping (iced milk tea with evaporated milk) was all I needed to cap the night off …. but I relented and ordered another glass of iced “kopi+teh kahwin” thereafter. Equally as good. And remember there is no CHAM like what we order here.
Since this coffee shop opens from morning until late night (about 1am), you have all the more reason to drop by at least ONCE. Remember this when planning your itinerary. They have another branch on Gaya Street; a slightly upmarket version of the more traditional setting. Brought to mind THIS same commercialized concept over in West Malaysia huh?
Bread Haven #2 – Thien Wong Restaurant @ Lido – A coffee shop that opens for lunch and good for the Char Siew rice, and crispy fritters and snacks.
Lean, caramelized barbecued pork slices drizzled liberately with the sweetish sauce for better effect. If you’re fond of the KL famous half fat-half lean (bun fei sau) cuts, then you’re in for some jaw works.
Second stop? Lunch on the very next day at Kedai Kopi dan Makan Thien Wong in Lido. Was a little late for lunch though, almost 2pm and all that was left were char siew (BBQ pork) and chicken. Supposedly this place is good for their roast ducks too, but maybe next round then.
Verdict? Very homemade style of Char Siew, being lean without any traces of fat, and roasted until the sides became crispy and slightly charred. But I still prefer the melt-in-mouth varieties over here in Klang Valley. To each his own, I guess?
Very delectable-looking stuff at this stall @ Thien Wong. From spring rolls to curry puffs, banana fritters to vegetable fritters. Nothing beats greasy, crispy snacks paired with a cup of milk tea or coffee in the late afternoon?
And the HUGE banana fritters (about RM0.80 each) did not disappoint. Crunchy batter coating very sweet bananas within; requiring more than a few mouthfuls to down the whole chunk. See how the gigantic size dwarfed the plate of rice?
And once again, how could we have missed the famous buns @ Thien Wong? Go for the “Charn Bao” aka Char Siew Bao baked to a golden brown exterior, or a piece of slightly greasy yet aromatic and fluffy Polo Bao (butter + sugar bun)
Very good, almost melt in mouth texture reminded me of Mexico bun though, more than the conventional Polo Bao with a criss-cross topping.
Laid-back Scene @ LIDO – Work? What work? (Trivia : Guess WHO has played Chinese Chess here before?)
Bread Haven #3 – Jeong Hin Coffee Shop @ Inanam : Hands down the most retro of the lot; we went all out in search of the popular butter buns (Nai Yao Bao) here.
The bottom tray were all that was left that evening. Thank goodness we arrived on time. Albeit the intimidating traffic congestion around the vicinity.
Looks like nothing much, but one bite into the soft, warm buns fresh from the oven, with a creamy filling of melted butter and sugar …. and like someone I know said; “You could be in heaven” (RM1.40 each)
Jeong Hin‘s bustling with a hive of activities even though it was barely after work, and we were well past lunch hour. Tea time plays a very prominent role in KK, Sabah …. seemingly.
The lady boss was a witty one; first confirming whether the photos were going to go online or not. I answered yes, and she immediately came back with suggestion for us to try their equally famous ‘kopi-o’. Haha …. and there I was, preparing for the most hostile/acerbic retaliation.
Kedai Kopi Jeong Hin @ Inanam – Don’t ask me for the specific directions, but if you know where is Inanam, then you’re good.
Cool City serves a variety of juices, blended fruity drinks, and the equivalent to the bubble tea here. We had these at Warisan Square.
# Fook Yuen Coffee Shop – Roti Kahwin, Teh C Ping, Pan-fried Dumplings
Damai Plaza PH4,
Jalan Damai,
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
# Kedai Kopi Dan Makanan Thien Wong – Char Siew Rice, Banana Fritters, Char Siew Bun, Polo Bun
At corner of Lorong Rampai, Lido, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Next to OKS Curry House.
# Jeong Hin Coffee Shop – Custard Bun, Kopi-O
Lot 8, Ground Floor,
Block E, Lorong Inanam,
Inanam New Township Ph.2,
Kota Kinabalu.
Tel: 088-423 337
“And that concludes the very short 2.5 days we spent in Kota Kinabaly of Sabah. Do remember that this was NOT a holiday, hence the lack of details, photos, maps or coordinates. Will be anticipating a follow up holiday sometime soon.”

Such a feast for the tummy and the eyes!
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Wow, looks like you tunnelled through all the kopitiams in KK! Those Jeong Hin buns look awesome!
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J2Kfm Reply:
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:08 am
Yeah, and then some. Was actually aiming for more of the street foods locals eat, but not enough time lah ….
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ooo I love breads! tho I am not big on rice.. bread is irresistable! That roti khawin is a marraige made in heaven, i agree! :p
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huge-a$$ banana fritters.. haha.. nice shots, but wrong time for me to look at food blogs.. hungry already 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
June 22nd, 2011 at 9:08 am
Haha … nothing wrong with that ma …..
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Ya, I only know Sabah famous for its seafood because my last trip there is all about prawns, prawns & prawns until the last meal nobody 1 2 touch the prawns =.=”
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Motormouth should visit Sandakan and dedicate a page on the infamous seafood and spicy black pepper bak-kut-teh we heard so much about it. Maybe there are many other delicious food to write about from this east coast town once called “Little Hong Kong.”
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J2Kfm Reply:
June 22nd, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Sandakan ah? Ok ok … I’ll see where to head to on my next trip to Sabah. But then again, the many smaller towns of Sabah are not as easily accessible huh?
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the roti at Fook Yuen now sucks becasue they now use cheap stinky Planta-like margarine instead of butter. Tried it at the Gaya st. branch next Oldtown, so sucks! So sad!
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 28th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
FOok Yuen at the original place use butter still. Old school, block of butter. Maybe you can request for those at the branches?
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Jeong hin coconut buns are the best and only ones in the world
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This Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen, is charging higher than any kedai kopi in KK town. They started from fresh and now earning good income but with POOR serving attitute. All their workers are KMM…..no pass and no permit to work. The boss of Fook Yuen, declare lower income to Inland Revenue Board and pay less tax to IRB. If you order ice-tea, Ice-coffee, anything to do with ice, they will serve you half the cup of the tea/coffee….half cup of normal hot drinks and then pack FULL cup of ice, that is how they earn money but you need to pay extra 50 cents. Also, if you order toast bread, the bread is not fresh bread but overnight bread. Do you believe it? let go and try, you will know. The shop in KK town, ground floor of wisma jubilee, those unsold foods, will keep in fridge and heat up or re-cook the next morning, that how they earn money
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