Little Sulap

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#188 of 611 Restaurants in Kota Kinabalu$$ - $$$, Asian, Malaysian

+60 16-202 7597+ Add website+ Add hoursImprove this listing

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4.0

#188 of 611 Restaurants in Kota Kinabalu

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PRICE RANGE

RM 2.00 – RM 20.00

CUISINES

Asian, Malaysian

FEATURES

Reservations

Location and contact

Jalan Lama Penampang - Kinarut/Papar Opposite to RHB bank kk, Kota Kinabalu 89500 Malaysia

+60 16-202 7597

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Small cafe with country feel serving local food and the super delicious meatballs also the must try Kupi bantaton!

PRICE RANGE

RM 2.00 – RM 20.00

CUISINES

Asian, Malaysian

FEATURES

Reservations

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4.0

9 reviews

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Toru O

Setagaya3221 contributions

Great Kadazan cuisine

Feb 2023 • friends

I had dinner here with a fellow tourist whom I befriended during my trip. The restaurant has a pleasant vibe and serves authentic Kadazan food, which a friend recommended me. A friend ordered a live grub, which I felt kinda bad to eat. Otherwise, everything else was great. A hidden gem that I recommend to anyone visiting Kota Kinabalu!

Written 23 February 2023

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Wildcat7400

Kuala Lumpur1179 contributions

Butods Available For Tasting

Oct 2022 • friends

After checking out from Cabana Retreat, we headed to Kota Kinabalu. Our plan was to have lunch at Little Italy, recommended by our dear friend in Kuala Lumpur who had visited the restaurant previously. According to her, it was the best Italian restaurant in town. Unfortunately, when we googled it, we found the restaurant to be closed. We even passed it while trying to look for it. My partner & friend told me to choose another restaurant. I settled for Little Sulap Café as I wanted to try local Sabahan food on our last day. The local restaurant was close to Chindul Bungsu Outlet & Mamasita. It was a cosy & quaint little restaurant which made us feel welcomed & comfortable. I ordered their local fried rice with “sambal” on the side. “Sambal” is a popular condiment or side dish in Southeast Asia made of chilies, spices & herbs. Although the “sambal” or chili paste was spicy, I asked for more as it was simply delicious & aromatic. My partner ordered meatballs while my friend ordered the satay with peanut taste. While I was eating, I saw the live Sago worms in a small container & went to ask the staff about them. I found out that they can be eaten raw or fried. I decided to try them fried as I don’t think I have the stomach to eat them alive. My friends followed my lead & we recorded ourselves eating them. Truthfully, each serving consisted of 3 Butod worms, 1 lime & 1 slice of cucumber. Eating them with some lime juice only served to kill the original flavour. So, I ate them without. The taste of Butod worms grew on me & I didn’t mind them. I felt they tasted mostly like chicken. Butods or Sago larvae which are hatched from the Snout beetle eggs are high in protein, nutritious & eaten as appetisers. They are usually found in decaying Rumbia trunks or Sago Palm trees. They can also be found in fallen trunks of coconut trees as they feed on the starch contents of the tree trunks. Fat & squishy with the length of your little or pinky finger, they look like maggots. The head is bitten off while all other parts are edible. Little Sulap opens daily from 10:00 am – 10:00 pm. The word “Sulap” means a hut or shelter in Dusun language. You can also order their dishes on platforms such as foodpanda, grabfood & shopeefood. Although the physical Café wasn’t very big, it was clean & had a traditional vibe. Service was impeccable while its tables & chairs were cleverly arranged. The Cafe has indeed given me an unforgettable experience. With that in mind, I would come back again to sample more of Sabah’s local dishes.

Written 24 October 2023

sinseh

129 contributions

A Bit Underwhelming But Good Spot For IG Shots.

Dec 2022 • couples

We were thrilled to see that Little Sulap specialises in Kadazan-Dusun cuisine. (For the uninitiated, the Kadazan-Dusun is one of the indigenous groups in Sabah.) We usually make it a point to try local food or local specialities of the places we visit. Being Muslims, we'd to keep in mind our dietary restrictions. This was one of the places we found that didn't serve sinalau bakas (smoked wild boar), a dish that's also synonymous to Kadazan-Dusun fare. There's also no pork or lard in their menu, as most of Little Sulap's food is fish based. Which is also why it's a hit with many local Muslims here and how we found this place. It was almost full house when we went there, so it took awhile to get their waiter's attention (we wanted to ask whether ordering was self service or via the waiters. It was self-service.) and for the food to arrive. There were also a few Food Panda riders who's been waiting awhile for their order pick ups. I ordered the Original Sabahan. Which consisted of locally grown brown rice, fried basung fish (big eyed scad), tuhau (chopped wild jungle ginger), bambangan (wild jungle mango), salted duck egg, losun (wild spring onion), Sabah veggie (also known as sayur manis) and turmeric soup. Unfortunately, the food wasn't something to shout about. The fish wasn't crispy, unlike what many reviews had described it to be. The saving grace for me were the accompanients like tuhau, bambangan, soup, etc. But the whole dish was very filling nonetheless. It was basic, yet homely and comforting. Very 'food from the earth'. (Which it essentially is, as most of the ingredients are traditionally jungle produce.) We'd wanted to try Hinava, a raw fish salad mixed with lime juice, ginger and chopped shallots, that's also synonymous to Kadazan-Dusun cuisine, but it was sold out. Surprising, because we were there at lunch time. I guess they only have that in small quantities. We were also looking to have dessert there, but they no longer serve the cakes and brownies that we'd read from another review. Which was quite a pity as the rustic kampung setting and atmosphere of the place, together with the piped in Kadazan-Dusun music playing in the background were perfect for an after meal dessert and drinks. (They also serve Sabahan coffee.) Little Sulap is recommended for a first try at Kadazan-Dusun food in a cosy, hipster kampung garden setting, with plenty of IG worthy shots. ☆ Tips/Shares ☆ - The place can be a bit hard to find even with Google Maps. We went round in circles for awhile. When going there, look out for the traffic light behind Old Town White Coffee. This traffic light is sheltered/under a building. (See pic.) Cross this traffic light to get to Jln Dewan. Little Sulap is at the end of this road, right next to the stairs leading up to the Bukit Bendera (Signal Hill) nature trail. It's a very small cafe in a yellow, three storey old building. Blink and you will miss it. - Although it doesn't serve pork or related dishes, Little Sulap isn't halal certified as it also serves alcohol and traditional alcoholic drinks like Montoku, Tinogi and Lihing. They also have the traditional dish of butod (sago worms) on their menu for the brave. - Do your homework before eating here as there are no descriptions/explanations as to what each dish is in their menu, if you're not familiar with Kadazan-Dusun food. We did some reading up before coming and it helped a lot as the waiters were busy when we were there, and they never would've had the time to explain to us. The cafe also serves Western fare for those who may not be initiated enough to try something new. - Be prepared to eat with your hands as the basung fish is quite bony and a hassle to pick apart with cutlery. (It wasn't an issue for us, coz as Asians, most of us are used to eating with our hands anyway.)

Written 1 January 2023

TrailBlazer0723

Malaysia4 contributions

Not recommend place to eat

Jan 2022 • friends

The food is not worth the price, cold food is served including rice, soup and side dishes. 👎🏻👎🏻 We asked the staff but no answer given... ☹️

Written 1 January 2022

Aeisha

Malaysia481 contributions

Nice Ambience with A Local Touch

Aug 2019 • none

Found this place in instagram and decided to give it a try. I want to eat Halal local foods. The menu is basic and the same time, I found it funny with the name with a reasonable price and excellent taste. It a self service cafe and you have to proceed to the counter for ordering and pay your food first. I forgot the name of my menu, but it consists of sayur, ikan goreng and my first try to eat sayur Tuhau. I like the taste, pair it with Sabah Local Coffee. All in all, it worth to visit and try all delicious foods in Little Sulap.

Written 29 December 2019

Lesley

Petaling Jaya208 contributions

Name of the menu should be amend

Sept 2019 • friends

We do enjoy the dishes of Original Sabahan and Ambuyat set. We find that the drink name of “kupi Bantaton” should be changed to moderate way, because it is not pleasant for native Kadazandusun elder people to read the menu. Please used this drink name “kupi gatas” which is much more appropriate. Thank you.

Written 11 September 2019

Shelly

Kota Kinabalu22 contributions

Interesting Lunch!

Jun 2019 • friends

Little Sulap has moved to Jalan Dewan currently. It's a small shop that serves the native cuisine - Kadazan-dusun cuisine. This is my first visit and I had Original Sabahan and surprisingly it is really nice!

Written 25 June 2019

Michael

2 contributions

Best Restaurant in KK

Apr 2019 • solo

Had a chance to have lunch and dinner here after 3 days in KK. This is definitely the best restaurant I've been to in town. Its fresh, its local, its full of flavor, its clean and the decor is on point. Definitely an awesome spot, the chef is brilliant as well.