RESTAURANT REVIEW

RESTAURANT REVIEW MEDOVIK : A TASTE OF ITS OWN

When I got the call to review this eatery nestled on the 8th floor of Bay 21, I was immediately intrigued. Having never tasted Eastern European cuisine before, this was an experience I didn’t want to miss out on.

Medovik Coffee House is owned and run by In House Chef, Yelena Martono, and her husband, Jerome, assisted by their incredibly witty and bubbly daughters, Stephanie and Michelle as well as their team who have all become a part of their closeknit family. An Azerbaijan native, Yelena is of Indonesian and Russian descent. 13 years ago, she left her home country with her husband and 3 children to move to South East Asia, namely to Indonesia, Brunei and finally Malaysia where they now call Kota Kinabalu home.

Her passion and love for cooking and baking stemmed from here family and resulted in her leaving a job in an oil and gas company to open her very own restaurant to introduce and share food from her region to the local community at an affordable price point.

Flipping through the pages of their menu, it was truly unfamiliar territory for me. Before sitting down with Yelena, dish after dish was brought out of the kitchen, creating quite the delectable spread. What a treat!

Yelena has such a warm and pleasant disposition, you can’t help but feel right at home with her. When she talked about the food and team, her words exuded passion, love and family. When

by Adelina Adna Images | Aznan Johary & Breeze

asked how they took on the MCO, she shared that their customers could still order from them directly through their online platform.

Then we started off the food adventure with the Vareniki, a savoury dumpling served with sour cream. This potato-filled dumpling is what I akin to as a cross between bergedil and curry puffs. I could go through these like it was a main course meal!

Next, we had the Shuba Salad. The presentation of the salad is completely unique. I had never seen a salad served in the form of a gourmet dessert before. Biting into the salad, the earthiness of the beetroot truly shines through complemented by the smoked salmon, potatos, carrots and egg. I’m not a big fan of salads but I think I’ve found my favourite one in this.

The Zakuska Pelmeni really hits the spot for me and most of our entourage of the day. The pelmeni is a form of fried Russian dumplings filled with morsels of meat served with diced tomatoes, homemade pickled chillies, and drizzled with cheese sauce and sour cream.

We also had a cabbage, beetroot soup with sour cream known as Borscht. Served hot, this is something that I would dive into on a cold rainy day. As you can see, sour cream is a very popular ingredient in Eastern European cuisine.

The Azerbaijan Plov is not your typical chicken and rice dish. The chicken is stewed with dried apricots, raisins and prune, served with buttered rice. It has a mildly sweet flavour from the fruits that would definitely be a winner with fans of honey chicken dishes.

The Beef Stroganoff is served with rice and a crisp fresh salad. The dish’s origins can be traced back to 1800s Russia where it was invented by a French chef who worked for Count Pavel

Aleksandrovich Stroganov, a Russian Statesman of noble descent. The dish was ultimately named after him. If you love a savoury beef meal, this is a definite must try.

As for drinks, I had such a treat tasting their Caramel Pear Smoothie. The vanilla based smoothie was smooth and delicious! The caramel adds a rich sweetness and the pear gave it that burst of fresh flavour. There are a good variety to of drinks to choose from too, from hot beverages like tea and coffee to cold drinks like ice blended and non-alcoholic fizz, mojitos and granitas!

Now who can forget dessert? A spread like this is not complete without cake, and Medovik truly did not disappoint. Although we were not able to try their namesake cake, Medovik, a traditional Russian honey layer cake, we had the pleasure of trying the Mimosa Cake, which instantly became my birthday wishlist cake. The Mimosa Cake is a beautiful marry of so many cake elements that I love. The cake consists of butter cake and carrot cake layers, salted caramel walnuts and smooth semi-sweet buttercream. Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Their chocolate cake is incredibly decadent and tasty. You know only the best ingredients were sourced and used in the cake and all the other dishes we tried.

caramel pear smoothie

raf coffee

beef stroganoff

shuba salad

THE azerbaijan plov

the mimosa cake

THE ZAKUSKA PELMENI borscht

vareniki

If you’re curious about Eastern European cuisine, dining at Medovik will satiate that curiosity and feel like dining in a Russian, or in this case, Azerbaijan home.

ADDRESS | Medovik Coffee House, Level 8, Bay 21, Off Jalan istiadat, Kampung Likas, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Business hours | 9 AM to 8 PM (Daily) Website | cream-caramel-cafe.myshopify.com Facebook/Instagram | @medovikcoffeehse

SERVES NO PORK OR LARD