Rainforest Restaurant — Restaurant in Sabah

It pains me to say this: their signature dish "Rainforest Combo" is not for everyone.

To my foreign taste buds, the dish is mostly on the exotic side of flavours. The chicken is nicely grilled and tasty, and with the torch ginger flavouring - I don't fully understand it, but it does make some sense. The fish is a bit drier which the delicious mango mixture topping failed to save. The local veggie taste... ummm ... interesting. I have nothing against the steamed rice - they are good. The fruit tea is also nice and refreshing.

Of course, with little experience with truly local Malaysian food, I have to assume that I am just too unsophisticated to appreciate the dish. Considering similar situation (with lesser severity) also happened in the Liwagu Restaurant from Sutera Sanctuary Lodges at Kinabalu Park, I have to emphase that the 3 star rating I gave for the food only applies to the "Rainforest Combo" but not food from this restaurant overall, since other western dishes tasted great except the signature local dish at Liwagu. Together with other reviews on this restaurant, I can safely assume that even with foreign taste buds, this restaurant probably have options for like... the three of us.

Anyway, just for the other two person out there who are just like me, expect a unique experience instead of putting on high expectations, and it should be alright. No need to avoid this restaurant and solely rely on cheaper restaurants outside.

Last but not least, the staff and the service is excellent -...

I wish I could speak well of the food here. Unfortunately, it is just mediocre. We had expected a scrumptious lunch, but we left disappointed.

The papadum wasn't fresh and crunchy as it had already turned soft. We cannot imagine how any chef in a resort would even think it would be okay to serve it.

The house special, Rainforest Special ( I think that's what it's called) is nothing special. There were hardly any taste, no sambal, no gravy. It was just brown rice with some crackers, some fried fish, some bitter greens, and the soft, soggy papadum.

The lamb stew was too salty. What's strange is that they gave another plate of rice free. We wonder if it's cos the stew was too salty!

Good thing for us is that the nasi lemak was lemak enough. That was about it. Even the sambal wasn't up to mark.

The drinks were presented well. However, it was overpriced.

For the amount we paid, we could get a way better meal elsewhere.

The atmosphere was nice as it was right by the spring. That is the only consolation.

Service was polite, but far from efficient .

This is a skip...

Located just off the Poling Hot Springs's main entrance and surrounded by the untouched rainforest as suggested by the restaurant's name, this place serves local favorite dishes that is synonymous with the Dusun community that lives around this historical Kinabalu National Park. Top notch atmosphere but food is nothing to shout about besides the prices that are definitely in the tourists bracket. What won its ratings from me was the service and cleanliness. Manager was very friendly and informative which adds a good dining experience here. Verdict : Food - forget able..Ambience and experience - Excellent. Recommended to give this at least a try when visiting this hot spring tourist spot in...