Mecca of Bread Havens @ Fook Yuen Coffee Shop

Ask any tourist to Sabah on what not to be missed, and sure they would proclaim seafood. Lots and lots of seafood; coming in at cheap and not-so-cheap categories nowadays. Gone were the times when we used to feast on fresh seawater fishes couriered over by my uncle who worked in Labuan. The Seven Star Grouper, Tiger Grouper, Mouse Grouper (all direct translations from their Chinese names) and even fresh cod arrived in abundance; timely for the reunion dinner come Chinese New Year. Imagine the relatives had run out of idea on how to cook the fishes aside from steaming them; and we ended up having curry cod instead.

But wait, how come I was eating breads and buns instead, yet came back not regretting the decision one bit? Read on to find out why.

Fook Yuen opens until late at night, a favourite haunt among the locals as this will be the traditional kopitiam challenging the omnipresent Old Town and such.

First stop? Fook Yuen Coffee Shop situated on Jalan Damai in Luyang of Kota Kinabalu.

Thanks to a bunch of lovely foodies permanently residing in KK, the short rendezvous took precedence over the dastardly sleepy spell hitting on them on that Sunday night. Bear in mind that there is a slight timezone distortion between peninsular and East Malaysia, but not acknowledged in the official Malaysia’s timezone. They actually call it a day much earlier than us here, thus having supper at our presumably ‘early’ 9.30pm was much of a chore for them.

Guo Tie, or Woh Thip, or Gyoza is a type of pan fried dumplings with fillings of minced pork and Chinese chives (ku chai). Very famous in Sabah supposedly. These ones at the coffee shop directly facing Fook Yuen were good too; being freshly prepared as can be seen from where we were seated.

The place was brimming with people. People from all walks of life (students, middle-aged crowd, old-timers) were leisurely sipping on their coffee and enjoying their breads. If you’re here and wonder aloud how different can toasted bread with kaya and butter can be?

Then you’d better eat the humble pie and give in to temptation at Fook Yuen.

Because the loaves of bread were freshly baked in-house with an impossibly soft and fluffy texture. Go for the un-toasted version, definitely better choice amongst the two.

Good Teh C Ping (iced milk tea with evaporated milk) was all I needed to cap the night off but I relented and ordered another glass of iced “kopi+teh kahwin” thereafter. Equally as good. And remember there is no Cham like what we order here.

Since this coffee shop opens from morning until late night (about 1am), you have all the more reason to drop by at least once. Remember this when planning your itinerary. They have another branch on Gaya Street, a slightly upmarket version of the more traditional setting.


Fook Yuen Coffee Shop

Damai Plaza PH4,
Jalan Damai,
Luyang, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
(Famous of Roti Kahwin, Teh C Ping, Pan-fried Dumplings)