Sabahhh!

I can say that the best times for me during our weekend vacation in Kota Kinabalu was our stay at The Pacific Sutera at The Sutera Harbour, which is the best accommodation I've ever had; our picnic in the lovely Pulau Sapi; our strolling around in the malls; and sampling all the culinary delights of the city.

Quick Tips:

Please make sure that before you head off to Kota Kinabalu, you're ready with Malaysian Ringgits in your wallet. Particularly if you will be arriving at the Terminal 2 of the KK airport, you won't find any money changer in the area—at least for the next few months. The terminal is still under construction and they have not placed a foreign exchange counter there yet.

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxi fare in KK is so simple as they have flat rates - 20RM going to or from the airport and 10RM going from any one point to another within the city proper.

D’Borneo Hotel is one of the best budget hotels I have stayed in in all my trips.

For only 129RM (got this rate by booking through their website), you can have the comfort of a nice, clean, and spacious bedroom. The bathroom has all the basics you need, including a hot and cold shower and towels and toiletries for two, among others. Their complimentary shampoo and soap even smells good.

Local coffee, Kopi-O, and Sabah Tea bags are also provided for free. However, do not expect a good breakfast. Better head off to the restaurants outside, which are plenty and a stone’s throw away, anyway.

And that is another great thing about this hotel. It is near to any mall and all the major commercial spots in the city.

I can say that the people running D’Borneo are in the right business. They know how to answer even the very particular needs of their guests.

When we had just arrived from our flight from the Philippines and did not yet have any Ringgit in our wallets, the front desk was kind enough to pay for our taxi fare (since D’Borneo does not offer foreign exchange) and just let us pay when we had our money changed to the local currency.

Also, they took time to show us on the map the restaurants and stores that we should go to.

This hotel is highly recommended for travellers who want inexpensive accommodation and still have quality service and clean facilities.

My husband and I arrived at The Pacific Sutera on a Saturday and the hotel lobby was quite bustling. Nevertheless, not a minute was wasted before we were escorted to our room --- the kind of treatment you expect of a five-star hotel.

We were also not disappointed when we got to our room. It was clean, spacious, and with the charming view of the golf course --- much to the regret of my husband who instantly said, "I wish I brought my golf set." While the resort has golf sets to lend their guests, the rental fees are not included in our budget for the weekend.

However, the whole resort offers other things you can enjoy. As a guest of The Pacific Sutera, you can use all the other facilities in The Sutera Harbour complex, including the olympic and the infinity pools of its Marina, Golf & Country Club. The Pacific Sutera also has a beach some steps down from the poolside. Do not expect a wide expanse of sand, though. Sutera's beach is only a few meters, but, if you just want a space where you can be close to the sea, it does serve the purpose.

If you want the real deal, you can go to the nearby islands from the resort's own jetty. My husband and I, in fact, went to Pulau Sapi and we only had to walk a few steps from Paciifc Sutera's pool. We didn't have to go out of the resort and wait for a boat ride at KK's central ferry terminal.

As in most hotels, breakfast is included in our accommodation package. We had our complimentary breakfast buffet at Café Boleh. The selection was substantial for us, but, for those who are more accustomed to Western dishes, please note that they serve more Asian concoctions than the former in this particular outlet. We didn't really ate much in the hotel, because we were looking forward to sampling the local food in KK's commercial areas.

But the unforgettable part of staying at The Pacific Sutera was the service that we got.

A number of times we asked the concierges about things to see and do during our brief stay. They were patient and knowledgeable in answering all our questions and really went beyond our expectations.

When we asked for the number of a Catholic church in the city to ask for the schedule of Sunday services, they already came up with schedules of all the nearby churches in KK. Also, one evening when we were going out for dinner, a concierge recommended a nice seafood restaurant before we got in the cab.

On top of all these, what my husband and I appreciate the most is their after-sales service. Before we left the hotel, we filled out the comment card in our room. Guess what? Two days after we checked out of The Pacific Sutera, we received a reply from its Resident Manager, Nico Hallier. It was not the usual automated response that you usually get from most establishments. He answered our questions and recognized our comments. We have left comments and suggestions in luxury hotels and restaurants before, and this is one of those rare times that we got a thorough reply. A wonderful experience, indeed.

I highly recommend The Pacific Sutera if you're looking for a luxury vacation hotel in KK. More than the range of outdoor facilities, their excellent service helped us have a really relaxing weekend. The relationship they built with us as customers was excellently managed.

When we come back to KK, we would love to stay at The Pacific Sutera again.

So what is a live seafood restaurant? No, you don't eat them while still crawling or wriggling. They are just shown to you very much alive and fresh in the aquarium before they are cooked for you. And Portview does this well and at a reasonable price.

Chinese lanterns and decor adorn the high ceiling of this restaurant. It is quite a big place with plenty of tables. Has an air-conditioned room and an area with sides opened for the sea breeze to come in.

Staff are just ok. Attendants will help you choose the seafood you want from the aquarium and will estimate how many kilos of a particular seafood will be good enough for your group. Just one waitstaff irked us a bit when we dined here. He was rude in replying every time we asked for something that we needed. Apart from that, all the others were happily attending to dining guests.

We ate the deep-fried soft shell crabs and steamed medium-sized prawns. The crabs are my favorite! Really tasty and cooked just right—shell is crispy enough for you to bite into and the meat is tender.

Half a kilo of the soft shell crabs and the same weight of prawns, plus two cups of rice and drinks, will cost you only about 92RM.

Portview is easy to locate as it is across from Le Meridien Hotel, Warisma Square, and other restaurants and bars in the heart of Kota Kinabalu city proper.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone visiting Kota Kinabalu.

As in any other live seafood restaurant, you pick your choice of seafood that is still squirming in the aquarium and tell the waitstaff how you want them to be cooked. The seafood are ordered per 100 grams.

We got prawns and crabs here. The prawns were steamed and they tasted good, but they did a better job with the crabs. We had them fry the crabs in oil and garlic, and they were superb. One hundred grams of prawns cost 12RM and the crabs, 4RM per 100g. All in all, we spent around 90RM for two people.

In spite of all the seafood in the area and the spilled water near the aquarium stacks, the place still looks relatively clean and surprisingly does not have any flies lingering around.

Travellers should try this place for the experience of dining in a spacious, al fresco food court with live seafood all around them.

After eating all the curry and other Malay food in the city, we were craving other dishes for a late lunch. We ended up in this restaurant, which specializes in grilled meats and other Western delights. It is owned by an Australian couple (hence, the name of the resto), who do the barbecuing themselves.

Ordered their grilled beef sausage plate and an order of fish and chips. The beef sausages were great and were served with caramelized onions and gravy. We also got to pick all the fresh veggies we wanted for a green salad, which comes for free whenever you order a grilled item. However, they don't have any real salad dressing, but a light mayo. But it was OK nevertheless. The fish and chips also tasted good, but there were more chips than fish. All in all, we had a good lunch. Satisfied, even though the serving was a bit smaller than we expected.

The cost was 25RM for the beef sausages and 15RM for the fish and chips.

I suggest dining al fresco on the benches by the seaside, not just for the ambience, but also so you won’t smell like the barbecue you will be savoring.

If you will be going shopping for some local souvenirs in Kota Kinabalu, go around first before paying for anything. Merchandise prices vary from shop to shop.

One shop that I think you should skip though is Rafflesia at Wisma Merdeka, mainly because the goods that they sell can be seen in other shops (actually, even in the shop right beside it) and the others sell them cheaper. We bought an embroidered cap and a couple of packs of Sabah tea leaves in this store only to find out that the other souvenir stores in the inner area of Wisma Merdeka were selling the same stuff for at least 20 to 30% cheaper. Even the souvenir shops inside at The Pacific Sutera have cheaper prices than Rafflesia.

One shop you should visit is Kadaiku, which is accredited by Sabah Tourism. Located in between D'Borneo Hotel and the Sabah Tourism information center, the store offers high-quality shirts, sarongs, and home decor at very reasonable prices. Even the local food that you want to bring home to your family and friends costs less here.

Must buys at Kadaiku are their T-shirts, which I think are exclusively made for them. Can't find them anywhere else. They have the best shirt designs and material and they can’t be seen in other stores. They also cost less (24.50-25.50RM) than other KK souvenir shirts (30-40RM). The Sabah handmade chocolates are sold at only 16RM here, while most stores sell them from 18-19RM.