Sabah Malaysian Cuisine is not a fine-dining establishment by any stretch of the imagination.

It is located at Shops 4 and 5, Numbers 98 – 102, Jaffe Road, almost in the heart of what is known as the ‘red light district of Wanchai’.

But adventurous TARGET Subscribers should not be put off by the location of this restaurant because it is situated in a perfectly safe area, surrounded by restaurants, left, right and centre, so to speak.

TARGET (泰達財經) visited Sabah Malaysian Cuisine on Friday, March 19, 2010, at about 7 pm, having been informed that this stand-alone eatery is as close to traditional Malaysian cuisine as one can expect to obtain in these 416 square miles, known as the Hongkong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The first appearance of this restaurant, which seats about 80 people on 2 floors, is not particularly inspiring, but, then, one hears a group of what appeared to be office girls and boys, toasting each other – with soft drinks and tea.

This is not a place to drink hard liquor and the people that know of this restaurant are, as far as this medium could ascertain, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers and/or people that enjoy Malaysian food – including the heads of companies.

Without having to interview any of the other diners on the night of TARGET’s visit to Sabah, one only had to observe the wrist-watches and expensive shoes, worn by a large majority of the people, seated close by, to understand that these people posed no threat to anybody.

The following was that which this medium ordered for dinner, last Friday night:  

Beef Korma (Mild Cashew Nut Sauce)

古馬咖喱牛肉

$75

Fried Ho Fun and Bean Rice Noodle in Malaysian Style

馬拉炒鴛鴦粉

$60

Stir Fried Malaysian Green Leaves

馬來西亞貴妃苗

$60

Sabah Sweet Coconut Roti

莎巴薄餅

$30

Roti Canai (Plain)

油鬆餅

$22

Within about 10 minutes of ordering the above, it was placed on the table, piping hot.

Consideration of the presentation was almost non-existent because, clearly, the philosophy of Sabah was hearty food without any pretentions, at all.

The curry was not spicy, as one might have expected, but it was terribly fattening, the base, having been made of coconut milk.

The trouble with this dish was that it was much too tasty and, as a result, one is tempted to eat too much of it at one sitting.

The roti was a perfect accompaniment to the curry dish, as was the vegetable dish with the strange name of ‘Malaysian Green Leaves’.

Botanists, no doubt, could elucidate the correct English or Latin name of these ‘Malaysia Green Leaves’, but notwithstanding, discovering the correct name, they were sweet, succulent and very appetising.

The noodle dish was very tasty, too; it is, however, very different from its Cantonese counterpart.

As TARGET Subscribers will note, the above menu for the night was quite small, but it was, in fact, much too much for 2 people to eat at one sitting, each portion, being rather large.

The Ambiance

Sabah is a noisy restaurant.

This is because people are enjoying themselves, eating, drinking cups of tea or soft drinks; chop sticks are clinking against bowls; spoons are chinking in soup bowls; and, laughter can be heard from one part of the restaurant to another.

There is no music at this restaurant – because even if music had been piped in, nobody could hear it.

The furniture is inexpensive and, considering the philosophy of the restaurant, perhaps it is the best choice since it gets a great deal of use by the never-ending stream of people, waiting to find a table.

The staff is all very pleasant, but because of the crush, they have little time to chit-chat.

A visit to the water-closet is not a particularly pleasant experience, however.

Considering a cost of about $HK247 for a meal, Sabah is something of an inexpensive ‘gem’ in Wanchai.

However, once outside Sabah, it is back to negotiating one’s way past a myriad of bars and hole-in-the-wall snack bars.

Mostly young men, cigarettes, dangling from between their lips, frequent this area of Hongkong Island in the evenings, but they all seem to be very well behaved and offer no sense of foreboding.

One should not be put off by the street noises, motor cars and mini-buses, crowded into this area, with young men and women, scurrying hither and thither, all seemingly in a hurry to do something.

In short, this is an exciting part of Wanchai, but one has to be adventurous to venture into it.