TORN BETWEEN CAREER AND PASSION

Travel Date: April 2018, in the midst of Ramadan.

Location: Kelawat Village, 70KM from Kota Kinabalu City, North of Borneo, East Malaysia
Malaysian terms: Sinalu = Smoked | Bakas = Wild Boar

Who could’ve thought that in the middle of the road to Kota Kinabalu Park in Ramadan days we ate a wild boar? Of course, it’s a non-halal food. Prior to our trip to Kota Kinabalu, I have been searching for the Do’s and Don’ts especially this is a Muslim area.

When we were on our way back to the city from Poring Hot Spring, the Masiun, the car owner/driver asked us if we wanted to eat a wild boar—-that makes us excited. We have been looking for soothing unique in Kota Kinabalu that we do not have in The Philippines. In one village that is 2 hours away from Poring Hot Spring, we have been seeing several stores that have signage as “Wild Boar Burger, BBQ”… Masiun dropped us to one of the stores that serves wild boar bbq—- We were surprised that in the middle of Ramadan, in a Muslim country—there is a village that serves wild boar—of course, it’s a non-halal food and for non-muslim only. We also noticed that there are a lot of Catholic churches in the area. There were a lot of tourists that are dropping to this store to eat this dish. It was past 5 PM that time and it’s almost dinner.


This is how the eatery looks outside.

And this—welcomes us.

It’s not a fancy place, yet tourists and travelers are flocking to this place.

IF we have ‘Puso’ or hanging rice in Cebu, they have this.

The Wild Boar BBQ and its soup read for consumption!- (Sorry for the lighting, it ain’t good, I know).

Some take home foodies.

Should you happen to visit Kota Kinabalu, and even if you are not hiking in Mt. Kinabalu, try at least to go North and indulge yourself to this area of KK.