Mess Kantin

 A stone's throw away from Tawau Airport is Mess Kantin, an unassuming cafe tucked away in the middle of what I recall as either an oil palm plantation or a forest reserve. As we were nearing the building, I noticed that it was a white church, as there was a cross on the outside. Ah, so it is attached to a church. However, when I searched on Google for information, there is no mention of a church. Instead, the cafe is attached to a bed and breakfast place called Tiku White House.

To enter the cafe, we used a side entrance. I thought the black and white gave it character. I noticed that the building is perched on a hillside and is surrounded by greenery. 

White seems to be their main colour. Even their coffee machine is white. One other thing that stood out was how cold their air-conditioning was.

The team were all youngsters, probably college or university students. One notable person was the barista, a young girl who continuously made coffee, which made me look forward to my cuppa. I then recalled seeing this cafe on Jason Loo's IG a few years back, who was here for the first Borneo Barista Retreat.

Ah, so yes, coffee here is not bad at all. The latte art, too. Look at the cute squirrel.

Dad had their Streaky Beef Sourdough (RM19.90), which essentially is sourdough served with scrambled eggs, streaky beef, mushrooms and salad.

We also tried their burgers - Salted Egg Burger (RM25.90) and Messy Eggcited Burger (RM23.90). I wondered why they use charcoal burger buns and whether they baked them on-site.

The full panels of glass allowed us full view of the outdoors, which added to the ambience especially when it was raining while we were eating. It did not help that it made it even colder, though.

If I ever have another chance of patronising again, I would give their dessert menu a try. And more of their coffee. Also, hopefully it would not be raining the next time I visit, so that I could walk about in their outdoor compound.

So, do not go thinking that Tawau is a small place with no hipster cafes.

Mess Kantin

Tiku White House, 2112 Jalan Sin On Tiku, Kampung Sin On Tiku, 91000 Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia

M: +6013-216 5259; E: messkantin@gmail.com

Daily 10:00am to 6:00pm

FB | IG

Sabah

Finally, some pics from Sabah. For those of you who do not know, I was in Sabah for 4 days with my parents. As usual, AirAsia was late so we were at the LCCT till 7:30pm. We arrived in KK pretty late and guess what we had for dinner/supper... bak kut teh! Spent the night at dad's development company's apartment and the next day we headed off to Ranau, where the national park is. I did not enjoy the trip. That is the truth. I enjoyed the scenery very much but because of the time we spent on the road, it was more or less hell for me. Yes, I have motion sickness.

Ok, I'll let the pictures do the talking. However, I would like to let you guys know that if you have not been to Sabah, please do. The greenery there is amazing. I'm glad that our government has managed to preserve some parts of Malaysia. This part is especially precious due to the vast rainforest, or should I say, botanists' heaven. Some say that the rainforest we have in Sabah may be the oldest in the world! Whoa, the proud feeling I felt when I heard a British lady say that while trekking....

Yes, yes, I'm zipping my mouth now...

Mount Kinabalu in all her majesty...

To get to our little chalet, we had to go up this steep hill...

There's even a balcony for you to relax and enjoy the view from your room... and check out the fireplace and Astro!

And look at the grey stones on the white wall. Don't you think they add character?

I saw my first green snail in Sabah...

On the last day of our holiday, we had so-called dinner at Jesselton Hotel. According to dad, they served really good curry laksa when he was there 5 years ago. Now, it seemed as thought they had switched to Italian cuisine. They even had an angmoh chef (presumably Italian). Two thumbs up for the food! Below was what I had for dessert. It's ice-cream (vanilla and chocolate) filled in a ball of hard chocolate coated with coffee powder. Hmmm......

Sabah, Land Below the Wind, the place where I began my year - year 2007, the Year of the Golden Boar.