Life In Borneo

Posted by Daniel on September 18th, 2009 in Culture & Traditions, Foods, Hot Spots

The Islamic month of Ramadhan is known by many as the time of fasting. It is the time when Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured for 30 days, from dawn until sunset. For food lovers, on the other hand, it is a month where they get to enjoy delicacies they normally won’t find on other days, as they are available only at Ramadhan Bazaars. For those who are staying around Kota Kinabalu City, you can find such a place at Lintasan Deasoka.

The Ramadhan Bazaars is a nation-wide food carnival that starts from the first day of Ramadhan until the eve before Aidil Fitri. Most Bazaars throughout the country sell mostly food and drinks for the breaking of fast, but certain places also sells essential items for the celebration of Aidil Fitri. However, it is the delicious food that attracts hordes of people to these Bazaars, some of which are not available anywhere else.

Hari Raya biscuits

In Lintasan Deasoka’s Ramadhan Bazaar in Kota Kinabalu, sellers open their stalls as early as 1:00PM, just in time for non-muslims to enjoy the delicacies the sellers have to offer. Most of the dishes they offer here are not easily found during normal days, which makes food-lovers attracted to these bazaars even more.

Lemang, one of the staple foods of Hari Raya

Putu Piring

Visitors will find a variety of mouth-watering delicacies, whether it is a traditional Malay dish like Nasi Dagang and Nasi Beriyani, to Chinese-influenced buns such as the Pau Melayu Inah. Those with sweet-tooth can indulge themselves with popular desserts like cendols and sugar-canes. Nevertheless, visitors will surely find something that would satisfy their taste buds.

Pau with filling like tausa, chicken or beef

Sweet ice cold Cendol

There was also a band consisted of disabled people, playing Hari Raya songs

There’s plenty more being offered at Lintasan Deasoka. If you wish to see more, head down there between the hours of 1:00PM and 5:00PM. Missing these savoury dishes and sweet pastries would mean that you probably have to wait for another year before you get to enjoy them again.

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Posted by Xander on December 9th, 2008 in Foods, Promotionals

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (sometimes shortened to simply “The Coffee Bean”) is a Los Angeles, California-based coffee chain, owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC. Since it was founded back in 1963 it has grown to be one of the largest coffee chains in the world.

With coffeehouse chains all across the globe and in a competitive bid with other companies, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has come up with promotional items throughout the year for each of its chains. With Christmas just around the corner the lifeinborneo.com crew was invited for a sampling of their latest items especially for this festive season.

This Christmas promotion is not the only promo by The Coffee Bean, in fact new products are introduced every 2 months within a year. Most items are usually introduced and it revolves a particular festive season or holiday, some are even reintroduced due to popular demand from their loyal patrons.

New products are brought in from the United States’ every bi-monthly and sampled by the franchisee’ to determine whether it is acceptable to the locals. As Asians usually having differing tastes than the Americans or Europeans it is understandable to do so as some products such as herbal teas might not be as acceptable to them as it is for us here in Asia.

These items that were sampled are some of the new products that came from United States for the month of December, being the month of Christmas carols and mistletoe; some favorites includes the thick and wholesome Double Chocolate Ice Blended and the sweet Peppermint Vanilla/Chocolate Ice Blended which you must try out if you happen to be in any Coffee Bean chains in Malaysia.

Given this opportunity we also sampled other items on the list such as the hot yet minty Peppermint Latte, though maybe due to its warm nature the mint taste seems to be attenuated slightly. As staying true to the spirit of Christmas, one item did pique the interest of all that attended the sampling that night which was the Marshmallow Double Hot Chocolate. Nothing like drinking thick chocolate with the melting chunks of marshmallows to keep you warm on these cold rainy nights in Kota Kinabalu.

Coffee bean caters to the middle-class/working community more due to their mid-priced range of products making it more affordable to the public. With such a repertoire of selections its’ a waste not to enjoy these wonderful drinks and foods whenever you have the chance. Though these items are available for December, with high demands from customers they might include it in their menus indefinitely.

Foods are always up to the franchisee and it is encouraged by the franchiser to sell quality food items and always up to the discretion of the franchisee of its chains. One of the favorites that night and definitely a favorite among their customers, the Chicken Lasagna which is to me very rare for a coffeehouse chain to have in its menu. And that is probably why they have it and it was simply appetizing for its generous portion of cheese and it’s rich taste, you can’t help but savior every bite you take.

For the health-conscious, Coffee Bean also caters to their needs and customers always have the option as to how they want their beverage served. Some prefers different type of milk in their drinks and one could always opt for soya milk or skim milk, if that double hot chocolate not chocolaty enough for you then you could even ask for a thicker portion of cocoa to be added. These are just some examples as to how they can always satisfy their customers, they certainly always do.

So for the festive season of Christmas, simply drop by at your nearest Coffee Bean and enjoy their new drinks and foods; all in good company of friends and family to make for a very relaxing evening.

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Posted by Xander on September 15th, 2008 in Destinations, Foods, Hot Spots

Ramadhan is a month when the muslim community practices fasting and every year in Sabah, it’s state capital would put up a month-long Food Bazaar in the heart of the city. Located in the Asia City area which is situated nearby prominent malls; is a haven for food lovers as the selections of mouth watering delicacies comes from all corners of Malaysia.

It was officiated earlier this month on September 1st by Y.B. Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Yahya Hussin. With the multitude of selections presented at the Food Bazaar it is no wonder why the area is packed with so many people even as early as 3 p.m. Upon droves of stalls you can see people from all walks of life coming to this place and some still in their office attire.

Refreshments and Drinks . . .

Some of the staple drinks for breaking fast are the sugar cane juice, lime juice and coconut drinks, though lately the juice stands in the bazaar has diversified its range of refreshments and now you can see an assortment of drinks equally satisfying such as the Carrot juice, Guava and Watermelon.

Pastries and Local Delicacies . . .

In Malaysia, with its multifarious ethnicity and religion it is not surprising to find some of the best and somewhat unique foods available for all travelers to try out. One such food would be the Roti-John. Imagine a hot dog bun and instead of your normal sausage you find yourself biting into scrambled-eggs cooked with minced beef/chicken and onions. It is an enigma on how its name was procured but you’ll find yourself coming back for more of it.

Some other local delicacies includes the onde-onde, kuih lengang, kuih terang-bulan and murtabak-jawa. But no household would be short of one of the more traditional and usually a necessity for breaking fast among the muslim community: Dates. Besides its application in processed foods namely confectionery product, dates are a staple delicacy within the month of Ramadhan; the fasting month.

Grills and Barbecues . . .

The smell of fresh sea foods and chicken wings could jostle your olfactory senses from afar. Though being a food bazaar with a blend of traditional and local delicacies, there are more than just fishes being cooked here. Some includes the the sting-ray, squids, cuttlefish and the well known satay. There are so many stalls to choose from, one should find time to browse through them to find what suits your taste buds.

The Ramadhan Food Bazaar starts its operating hours as early as 1.00 p.m to 6.30 p.m, though it is advisable to come early though due to the fact that most of the best-selling foods here would be finished as early as 5 p.m. But rest assured this bazaar will be on through the whole month of September, and you will find yourself coming back here for more.

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