Trip to Sabah 2012 - Pearls and Durian

If you were reading from the previous blog post, you would know that I had just finished a scrumptious seafood dinner and what better way to feel better than to have some shopping done. Sabah is famous for its pearls and all over Kota Kinabalu, one will be able to find shops and stalls that sell this treasure of the sea. Before this, I was really a newbie in looking and buying pearls (well I never bought pearls in my life before) but after a few days of haggling and buying some myself, I consider myself a semi novice now I guess! Hahah. Read on for what to expect if you are considering getting some pearls in Sabah.

Many shops selling pearls abound especially at the Pusat Kraftangan or handicraft market.

There is all kinds of pearl products available here

Durian King of Fruits and various fruits

I just realize that I still had a bunch of pictures of lots of fruits which I took when I was at my wife's aunt fruit shop. Well, I guess the main fruit that I would like to highlight is of course Malaysia's very own King of Fruits the Durian! I guess almost everyone in Malaysia would know what fruit Durian is but to foreigners, the only impression is that its a thorny smelly fruit which they would happily avoid. 

Thus I was pretty surprised to know that people from Hong Kong and China, and not to forget Singapore actually love this fruit so much that they are willing to have it flown over to have it fresh. I remembered an article where the God of Gambler in Macao got his private jet to Malaysia to fly some 80 Durians back to his home to share with his buddies! I'm not going to imagine how much that cost (but I guess since he is the God of Gamblers, he doesn't really care about money)

I was fortunate enough to be able to savor one of the most highly sought after varieties of Durian nowadays which is called the Mau Sang Wong, or Fox King! This variety was supposedly reserved for the royalties of Perak till someone managed to get a sapling growing and now it is much more widely grown.

The flesh is thick and creamy smooth and the aroma is equally intoxicating. Its really hard to describe Durian's taste as it ranges from sweet to bitter with sometimes a tinge of coffee after taste. But if you ever come across this variety, yeah you might not like it, but to Durian lovers, this will forever be the King of Fruits. Do note however that Durian is very rich in sugar and those with Diabetes are advise not to take Durian for your own sake. 

Nice star patterns!

Just look at the color and thickness

Breakfast at Gopeng!

On Christmas of 2011, my family and I were at Gopeng and thus we managed to have breakfast at the local market foodcourt. Among the famous items here were the noodles "Lai Fun" and also the chicken porridge. We had the noodles as the chicken porridge seller was not exactly the friendly kind and its really tough to even order a bowl from him.

Back to this place, its located at N4.475765,E101.167906 for GPS coordinates and there is ample parking thus this should not be a problem. As we woke up late, we reach there about 10.30am for breakfast...lol. Anyway, this is a covered foodcourt and there is also ample tables. But we chose to sit outside under the tree, much cooler and relaxing than inside. So keep reading ya and if you happen to drop by Gopeng, you can try this place out. Since this is my first post on my blog for 2012, Happy New Year all foodies and fans!

The outside of the foodcourt! Colorful umbrellas