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This “UK Fun Fair” thing wasn’t part of our itinerary. However, on our first night at Kota Kinabalu when we were supposed to retire early, we found ourselves looking for something to do and this perya (fair) was sitting right across the street from our hotel, so we decided to have a look. And look was about all that we did, what with the safety concerns and the huge crowd the place has drawn.

Apparently, UK Fun Fair is a mobile fair that comes to different towns. Before I knew that, I had the stupid experience of asking a random man about the attraction in question. “What’s this place, sir?” I asked him, to which he replied, “It’s a fair.” Right, right. So I followed up with, “So what’s special about this fair?” and he snapped, “It’s from the UK.” Right, right. I felt like the biggest idiot ever right then and there.

Entrance to the entire fair costs RM 2 per person, with an additional RM 2 price tag for every ride you wish to try. To be fair, some of the rides seem downright scary, especially when the seats creak loudly while you fly in different directions. I’m guessing that’s the kind of thrill you pay for here. Other game booths are also available, none of which interested me. The Winnie the Pooh booth was cute as hell, though, but I think it’d be somewhat frightening to get stuck in there when it’s dark.

“What’s this place, sir?” I asked him, to which he replied, “It’s a fair.” Right, right. So I followed up with, “So what’s special about this fair?” and he snapped, “It’s from the UK.” Right, right. I felt like the biggest idiot ever right then and there.

I don’t even know if the fair is still where we found it because it’s mobile. At any rate, I’m writing about it to record the stupid exchange I had with that random bystander near the Winnie the Pooh booth. I will never forget about you now, thank you very much.

(Also, this was written to remind me of the Jakel Silk House which towered over the UK Fun Fair – we had a good laugh about what they might be selling or manufacturing in there.)

UK Fun Fair
Jalan Sulaman, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Being the only “Our Pick” recommendation from my outdated copy of Lonely Planet Southeast Asia, we looked forward to dining out at Nishiki Japanese Restaurant on our second night at Kota Kinabalu. More than looking forward to the food, however, we wanted to set a new benchmark for dining in Sabah after below average experiences elsewhere in the couple of days that preceded our Nishiki visit.

“Sigurado ka ba diyan sa Nishiki? (Are you sure about Nishiki?)” I vaguely remember Tin asking hours earlier. I also remember saying something like, “It’s the one sure restaurant I have on our itinerary.” Thus, the high expectations we had of that place. We asked our cab to come pick us up around nine in the evening, just in time for us to order food and finish it before within an hour.

I wanted a little bit of everything, and I thought a set meal would be the most affordable way to get what I want, so I ordered Teishoku C (RM 45). It includes Yaki Zakana (fish grilled on a griddle), assorted tempura, sashimi, Oshinkoh (assorted Japanese pickles), plain rice, miso soup, and fruits all in small portions. Of particular interest to me were the grilled fish, miso soup, and tempura.

There were three things I noted from our experience at Nishiki. Firstly, the food was delicious, as expected, at least for me. I actually think the positive reviews I’ve read with regards to the taste of Nishiki’s teishoku were deserved. Secondly and unfortunately, the prices quoted on the Lonely Planet edition I had were very outdated. It stated that a set meal would have costed a person around RM 16, but mine was at about thrice that much; it was my fault, though, for not knowing the updated costs.

It’s the one sure restaurant I have on our itinerary.

Lastly and most unfortunate of all, our food came in about an hour after ordering it. That’s plainly unacceptable, no matter how delicious the food may have been. Tin completely lost her appetite, while Gelo and I were probably too hungry to argue then. She had just went out of the restaurant to say sorry to the cab driver for the delay as our food wasn’t ready yet, and was about to complain big time to the restaurant’s manager when in defense, the restaurant sent an elderly waitress to sincerely apologize on the crew’s behalf. We simply didn’t have the heart to give nasty remarks to her, so we just left the restaurant without tipping for the service.

Bottomline: good food, terrible service. And that’s probably all I’ll ever have to say about Nishiki.

Nishiki Japanese Restaurant
59 Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia