Everytime I came across someone who had been to Sabah, their only comment about Sabah was the seafood – fresh and cheap.  As a Sabahan myself, I think Sabah has more than the seafood to offer. Well, here are my list of local cuisines that you must try the next time you visit Sabah:

1) BBQ chicken wings. You can get this at any night or morning market (tamu) in Sabah. It’s not difficult to find one. Just follow the smell. Yes, you can smell it from as far as 100m away. That’s how good they are. And don’t forget to eat them with the locally blended chili sauce. Yummy!

2) Banana fritters. I recommend you to go to a tamu for this one. Look for fan shape and golden colour banana fritters. The local people are very generous with the size – sometimes, you can get banana fritters as big as your palm.

3) Rojak mee. This is very similar to the indian rojak mee but with a strong javanese influence and minus the crackers and tofu. It is usually served with a bowl of soup. You can get this at any food court in shopping complexes in KK. But for the best one, head to Tuaran. There is a corner bajau kopitiam near the bank. It’s simply superb!

4) Soto. It’s basically vermicelli soup served with beef and lime. The best one that I had tried was in Tamparuli. I don’t know whether the shop is still there or not. It’s actually one of the food stalls at the tamu area which is run by a sino-kadazan. It’s a must-try.

5) Grilled fish. Believe it or not, the best grilled fish I ever tried in Sabah was in Ranau which is 60km away from the coastline! Go to the night market. Look for grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves. The size of the fish will surprise you but one thing for sure it will be enough for your dinner.

I mentioned about tamu. The best place to experience a tamu and the nearest from KK is either Tuaran or Tamparuli. Tuaran tamu is on Sunday morning and Tamparuli is on Wednesday morning.

Do drop me a line or two if you have anymore to add to the list.

Cheers!