Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we could do
– from Those were the days
The tavern sounds out of place if not obsolete; particularly in a booming city like Kota Kinabalu, capital of the Malaysian Borneo island state of Sabah. Tucked away in a corner on the ground floor of the rather new Imago shopping complex, it nevertheless lives up to its name of a pub that serves booze and a meal. Yet the food isn’t mediocre as most pub lunches and dinners are. Tavern Kitchen and Bar does offer some of the best fares that combine native Kadazandusun, Malay and Chinese cuisine with western food.
It was lunchtime and we chanced upon the Tavern while shopping at Imago. We weren’t impressed with the décor which is a bit outlandish to us. This is despite it being designed by renown Malaysian interior designer Ben Firdaus. We almost walked away from the jarring music and the loud hummings of the airconditioners when we were shown to our table. Bad for digestion. And we could hardly have a conversation. Nevertheless we didn’t want to be a poor sport; particularly when we were shown its “Power Lunch Pomo” menu. We thought it was quite reasonable by Malaysian standards for a set lunch at RM19.90 including tax. There is no service charge.
We got a potato and leek cream soup with croutons and for entrée we could choose from fettucini alfredo with shrimp and cherry tomatoes, nasi goreng kampung (village fried rice) with fried chicken wing and egg and chicken cordon bleu with French fries and mesclun salad. Dessert, coffee and tea are extra. We chose the chicken cordon bleu and nasi goreng kampung. And ordered a jar of “infused water” – water that seeped through slices of lemon, apples and water melon. If not for the lemon which gave the water a bit of bite, the “infused water” was tasteless. Cost: RM8 excluding 6% tax.
The soup was served in a big bowl. But what you see isn’t what you get. The serving size is small but enough for the Malaysian stomach. It was rather bland; but the croutons strangely gave it taste. However the entrée more than made up for the disappointment. The nasi goreng kampung was quite spicy. But you can tell the chef that you don’t want chillies. The chicken cordon bleu was excellent. The chicken was moist and tender and it did give a little bounce to the bite. The thin coat of breadcrumbs wasn’t overpowering or greasy and the tomato sauce went well with the meal. The mesclun salad, a mixture of young salad leaves and cherry tomatoes in a slightly sweet dressing, complemented the dish.
The food was well presented.
All in all it was a satisfying poor man’s lunch. For RM68.20 (incluslive of Goods and Service Tax) for a lunch for three, what else could you ask for?
Its menu offers an array of tempting dishes and we will try to review as many of them.
Editor’s note: Pictures are taken with a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Except for slight cropping, the pictures are largely unedited.
Sabah Insights 