biG appetite
El Centro El Centro has seen a lot of good times in its ten years of operations (some might even say it’s been responsible for quite a few!) and it is raring to go once again in its brand new location in Lorong Dewan. Perfect for live music, dancing and quiz nights, the new El Centro is oozing with boatloads of effortless charm in an old shop block on one of Kota Kinabalu’s historic streets. With original features such as “kedai kopi” tile floors, and a big, beautiful bar shiny with an elegant granite countertop and a bespoke inlaid wooden design, the whole spot exudes an alluring old-meets-new feel. But giving you more than just charming aesthetics to feed off on, El Centro also wows with their new tapas menu (think blistered chilies, flatbreads and a generous range of traditional Spanish food) which runs 4pm-7pm daily at 5RM per plate. A love for what they do translates into the love put into their food and only increasingly good things have been said about what comes out of their kitchen. If you’re looking for something with a bit more weight, their Mexican and Western fusion menu is absolutely super, starring winning dishes like mac & cheese, eggplant parmesan and of course, their famed tacos and burritos—and all, might we add, for really good value. “With good food on one side and a good vibe on the other, where they meet in the middle... that’s El Centro”, they say and with a motto like “Eat. Drink. Enjoy”, there’s no room to go wrong here.
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18, Lorong Dewan, Pusat Bandar Kota Kinabalu, 88000 Kota Kinabalu Tel: 6014-862 3877 IG: @centro_el
eat , drink S a b a h
Nook Café
Invoking everything you could ever want in your go-to breakfast place is Nook Café at Lorong Dewan. Revolving around a breakfast, brunch and lunch concept accompanied by good specialty coffee, the café embodies a cosy casual and friendly vibe with charming rattan furniture, lots of greenery and a clean, minimalistic environment. If you’re not tucking into their signature Nook’s Breakfast, then you absolutely must have a bite of their wholesome sandwiches made with their amazing sourdough loaves—especially their bestselling grilled cheese sandwich, a golden cheese encrusted affair with hearty onion marmalade filling. Aside from demonstrating the enviable merits of having an in-house bakery with their never-ending supply of European-style country loaves and delectable sweet treats, Nook’s bakery also churns out soft sourdough loaves and brioches that customers can pre-order to buy. And if you need any more convincing, their specials will bowl you over
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with unique dishes such as Teh Tarik Tres Leches, Masala Sticky Toffee Pudding and Tuhau Coconut Tart. “We try our best to cater to the different taste preferences of our patrons by developing food and desserts using distinct ingredients unique to each local culture, while also trying our best to source produce from local farmers and growers,” Nook says. Two thumbs up emojis! Can’t get enough of Nook? Us neither! So it comes as good news that Nook has just opened their latest branch, People by Nook, a shared space with Mountain Coffee Roasters, toting a casual-restaurant concept where they delve into lunch and dinner menus and engage with local artisans and social enterprises for collaboration. Same same but different (menus), as they say!
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19, Lorong Dewan, Pusat Bandar, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Open daily: 8am-6pm IG: @look.for.nook Tel: 6012-8663900
