Teck Guan Cocoa Museum — Attraction in Borneo

Just ok lah. The pre-booking system is ridiculous. They loose clients and make people angry as they come to visit but are turned away. After general introduction, the visit was in 3 times, first they showed 2 films, that present there company and the origin of cacao. I would say those videos felt like low grade production, something made in the 90s, but with good information, could be more complete though. I like tbeh emphasize the fact that cacao is not bad for health l, but it is the SUGAR that is added which is bad. The second step is a presentation of the factory and the process of making chocolate from an industrial perpectives. I have visited small chocolate producer in the past, I can say it does not have to feel that much industrial, it really looks like a process to optmize production quantity and not chocolate quality. It felt disconnected from the love of chocolate. The last step of the visit was the tasting, well there was many little produce to taste, unfortunately all with added sugar, and not just a little, like a ton of sugar. It is very in contradiction with the mivie they just showed us and the fact that sugar was the culprit of unhealthy chocolate!!! Incredible! Plus the fact of adding sugar like this, it just impedes the possibility of just tasting the real taste of the cacao. So I really can't say if it is a good or bad cacao cause I was not able to feel its taste. The worst is that their was a group of 4 tourist after me, and they just turned them away because of their 'prebooking' system. Even though they come from far away and they are ready to pay, and everything is ready to make them visit! I feel it is a terrible way to manage a museum that shows publically their opening hours. And also because it is the only attraction in Tawau, they should feel the responsibility to treat visitors in...

Three friends and me did the tour, we got picked up by our driver at 10am in the morning. He brought his son to the whole trip so we had to squeeze 4 people in the back. We spent more than two hours in that car so it was very uncomfortable! Cocoa plantation is not really a plantation, just a couple of cocoa trees in their "back garden", waterfalls were partially closed (they didn't tell us before), and the advertised "chocolate lunch" where everything supposed to be made from chocolate, was just a normal lunch with fruit and one choc jelly. We didnt learn anything about the process, how to work with the beans or how to make chocolate, couldn't buy any choc products and all in all it wasn't a nice experience. With RM100 per person it was way overpriced and basically just a payed lunch in a remote house with a couple of choc trees in the garden. Maybe the cocoa museum provides a different experience, but don't do the...

The appointed tour guide is well-versed in her subject. By the way, I'm not fond of chocolate. However, the way she begins her narrative about chocolate is exceptionally interesting. She starts with the chocolate history, the humble beginning of Teck Guan chocolate in Tawau, giving every detail that is certainly appealing to the listener. As a former lecturer, I can tell she has mastered her tour-lectures tremendously.

The best thing about the tour is the A-Z chocolates Majulah Koko making narrative - that is truly authentic Tawau of Borneo.

I'll try the Hoko chili chocolate, and my tastebud say yes to it. Hoko chocolate spread certainly a good substitute to Nutella since the cocoa was grown locally & sustainably practice from the Borneo jungles across Tawau, Semporna...