Nook Cafe — Restaurant in Borneo

When we’re on extended trips we generally stay in budget accommodations that are good for sleeping but not always good for doing our digital work. So we always seek out local spots with good wifi so we can catch up on work in a fresh, comfortable environment. So good coffee/tea, and as a bonus good food, at a reasonable price (aka: table and wifi rental fee 😉) is a must.

While in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo Nook Cafe ticked all the boxes.

In a city with not-so-great data coverage - at least with our Malaysian HotLink packages - the consistently strong wifi at Nook was a godsend. It’s also a comfortable space with good AC (not too cold) and friendly, attentive staff. And they are super chill about letting folks hang out with their laptops and work. A note about this: please be courteous about this. Buy food and drink, and if the place gets super busy and you’ve been there a while, be a good human and give up your table to others.

As for their coffee, it’s a more “western” style cafe serving things like latte, Americanos, and espresso, and at a slightly higher price than the local coffee shops. But the coffee is delicious, and the “higher” price is relative given the overall affordability of Malaysia.

And their food is outstanding. We had a bagel with duck breast that was off-the-charts delicious, a luscious grilled cheese on sourdough served with a side of tomato soup (just like grilled cheese was meant to be served), and a killer Rojak Buah served with prawn crackers. The most we spent at a sitting was RM 55 (CDN $16.65), and that was for two outstanding Dirty Chai Teas and the aforementioned grilled cheese sandwich and Rojak Buah salad. That’s a pretty damn good deal for a filling lunch and a couple of hours of reliable wifi in a comfy, chill space.

*Bonus points: Nook is steps away from a clean, modern laundromat so you can catch up on laundry while you chill with delicious drinks...

Nook establishment comes high in my recommendations whenever people are in town to KK & I’m a current visitor myself. The coffee here, I must say, is one of the best in town!

However, my recent visit didn’t see its finest. Came for breakfast & glad to see that chicken shakshuka was in the menu - naturally, excited to try because…where else can we get them in KK? Glad to have tried Nook’s version of this dish, however, it needs a little bit more work, in my opinion. Currently, it’s a bowl of tomato sauce (or is it soup), poached eggs, gallop of sour cream & corn & slices of pepperoni. Sheer different twist to what it is. :(

Another dish we ordered was the steak sandwich. The steak was cold and gummy. The cheese is not even half melted.

Apart from the food, there’s a dining experience. Let’s talk about the ordering service. There is a stickef of a QR code on the table - but please don’t bother & go straight to the counter to order. The menu on Beepit is not updated to its latest menu. Lastly, in terms of service, the cafe is a self service cafe, so you’ll need to get water & plates yourself from their shelves.

So in short, I’d recommend People by Nook for better dining experience. Has not...

We got the sweet potato chips w sweet mayo and i tot it wud be fried actual French fries but it was like store-bought chips haha.

The vibe, interior, ambience and feel is 10/10. It's so cozy, welcoming & relaxing. They relocated & renovated cz they were on the opposite lane before. Got al fresco bt i think it's closed fn.

They have native sinokadazan dusun motifs w frames decorating the walls of the cafe, v nice touch!

We went in after 3pm on a weekday and they closed the kitchen alr so only snacks and certain drinks were available.

𝑼𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 24/7/22 Remarking that friends decided to surprise me fr my bday at nook & even after paying rm50++ for mediocre food they didn't allow us to have cake there cz "no outside food".

Which segments nicely into my next segue - the subpar food omg. It tasted as if they spilled an entire salt of pepper onto the Aglio olio (RM23) cause it was way too peppery that we cudnt even taste the chilli flakes 💀💀.

A friend got another spaghetti dish (forgot what) and cud barely stomach half of it. The "all day breakfast" consist of a tiny portion of omelette w sourdough containing crusts a bit too tough to chew fr rm22.

They did supply me w a knife to officiate my...