Mustapa Maju: First Malaysian Meal in Kota Kinabalu
As it was time to head back to my accommodation, I started feeling a bit hungry. It was around 2 or 3 PM. Strangely, when I'm going to school or work regularly, I get hungry even if I eat three square meals a day. But when I'm traveling, I don't feel that hungry even if I only eat one or two meals. Today, all I had was a piece of toast in the morning, and I'm only just now getting hungry.
There were a lot of delicious-looking places on Gaya Street where the Sunday Market was held, but it was way too crowded. Seeing so many Chinese tourists, it seems the restaurants that got famous among them are mostly concentrated on Gaya Street. I didn't want to wait in line just to eat alone, so I walked a bit further and found a place that looked like it catered to locals but had a reasonable number of people. The restaurant's name was "Mustapa Maju."
I walked in and awkwardly looked around by myself until I made eye contact with a man who looked like the owner, and I raised my hand. At a glance, he didn't look Malaysian, but rather Indian or Pakistani. Since I saw a sign saying they sell Islamic food when I came in, I figured he must be Pakistani. I wanted to try some rice first, so I ordered Nasi Goreng (fried rice) just like it said in my travel guidebook, which honestly isn't even as helpful as a blog. He asked me to choose between chicken and beef, so I went with chicken, which never betrays you. Then he asked what I wanted to drink, so I ordered a mango juice.
Seeing two Western women already eating inside and the owner calmly understanding my English without panicking, I realized this place must get a lot of foreign tourists. Honestly, all of Kota Kinabalu feels like Itaewon (a diverse expat neighborhood in Seoul). After ordering, I sat quietly and noticed that the people who looked like locals were all going up to a buffet and scooping food onto their plates. It seems the signature of this place is that buffet, but since I had no idea what anything was, I decided to just sit blankly until my order came out.
After about 10 minutes, the chicken Nasi Goreng and mango juice came out. First off, the chicken Nasi Goreng wasn't as good as I expected. The rice grains were a bit loose and flying around, though not too badly. But it kept feeling dry. It seemed salty, but when I actually swallowed, it tasted a bit bland. If I poured the black sauce on it, it was too salty, and the red sauce made it too spicy. It got pretty decent when I mixed in just a tiny dab of the red sauce and poured in a little bit of the soybean paste soup. It's a fantastic meal for the price, but setting the price aside, I don't think I'd come back just to eat it again.
The mango juice was really good. I feel like if I poured some mango juice into the Nasi Goreng, it would turn into a pretty awesome tropical fried rice, but I only thought of that after I finished eating, so I couldn't actually try it. Still, these two items combined cost about 3,000 KRW, so you really can't beat the price. Because it was so overwhelmingly cheap, I was even more curious about that buffet.
And what left a deeper impression than the price was the kindness of the owner and staff. Even though I only ordered a measly 3,000 KRW meal and kept asking what this and that was, they explained everything to me so seriously and gently. That kindness alone is worth more than 3,000 KRW. It's not a place that suited my taste buds enough to actively recommend it. I'm just writing this like a diary entry since it's a place I ate at during my trip. But still, if you're passing by, trying the buffet might be a good choice. Whether it suits your taste or not, it's a place where spending your money will put you in a good mood.
Expenses (Calculated conservatively by multiplying by 300 KRW to get the Korean Won equivalent)
- Swimming trunks RM 79.9
- Wet wipes and other necessities RM 19.46
- Two sunscreens RM 64.75
- Imir RM 4
- Three pieces of clothing RM 85
- Cigarettes RM 18.1
- Water RM 2
- Beach mat RM 18
- Water RM 1.2
- Lunch RM 10.3
- Room rate until August 30th RM 153
- Imago -> Tanjung Aru Grab fare RM 10
- Tanjung Aru -> Imago RM 10
- Sprite, snacks RM 4.7
- Dinner Mi Goreng RM 8
Daily expenses: RM 488.41
Total trip expenses: 2,875,000 KRW + RM 598.41