Cristao Cafe and Grill @ Gaya Street

Our vibrant city has come a long way from the days of eating out was merely to fill an empty stomach. Nowadays, you can drop by any restaurant and you'd be served chow that is inspired from every corner of the world. We have German food, Japanese, Italian, Korean, French, Spanish, American Diners, Latin American and the list and the list literally goes on and on. This certainly augurs well with the development of KK's food scene. Cristao sets itself apart from other restaurants, and thereby adding to the list of fodder, by creating a niche for Portuguese inspired cuisine.

 

Cristao Cafe and Grill @ Gaya Street
No 1, Jalan Jati ( next to BB Cafe, near Sugar Bun) off Jalan Gaya
88000 Kota Kinabalu
Contact: 016-905 8497
Operating hours: 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Website: http://www.cristaokk.com
Facebook: Cristao Cafe & Grill

As we've heard from many restaurateurs of past reviews, the proprietor of this fine establishment ventured into the food industry purely out of passion. And with passion the energy to drive oneself is almost automatic, which is translated into the food we are about to consume. 

 

 

From the first glance of our provisions set before us, we knew we were in for a great treat. The first of many was the pulled pork burger. Heaps of pork meat meticulously pulled apart by its muscle fibres was indicative of the slow cooking that precede it. During those laborious hours, herbs and spices were given time to infuse into the very core of the meat. The resulting effect was a tinge of sweet, aromatic with a twist of Asian flair, not to mention juicy from all that wondrous gravy, yet still manages to provide a certain firmness, achieved perhaps from the sheer amount of meet, that is essential to have a good bite on a burger. The sweet potato chips also gives a healthy appeal to a dish packed with lean meat sans all the nasty fats and oil.

 

Pulled Pork Burger RM15.50

 

 

 

Our next dish came from the grill, which is set up outdoors to match its designation on its namesake. 2 large sticks of pork ribs, slow roasted to tender perfection. These fine ribs are then grilled to give it more colour and allow a little bit of sauces to caramalize on the meat. The final product was pure ecstasy, with the meat firm and chewy, and also infused with herbs resulting in very aromatic sensation. The caramalized bits were lightly crunchy and sweet from the marinade sauce while we're sure the grill also adds more depth in flavor. This dish comes with corn on cob, coleslaw and sweet potato chips. 

 

BBQ Pork Ribs RM32.50

 

 

 

Next comes the Devil's curry, a rather spicy thick curry sauce infused into chicken and potato. The near absence of coconut cream is a good thing as you can enjoy a true curry in all its gloriousness: rich in natural flavor and texture, it has a myriad of spices that makes it extremely aromatic and spicy. The warm boiled rice is the perfect accompaniment to neutralise all that explosion that goes on that little bowl of devilish heat. It comes served with their rendition of acar and cucur.

Devil's Curry Chicken RM14.50

 

 

 

 

Our last main course was the Portuguese grilled fish. Fish and an assortment of vegetables, and lemon is put together in a foil together with spicy soury curry sauce and locked and loaded onto the grill. The fish is pressure cooked within the locked bag in its own juices while the flavour from the curry is infused into the flesh of the fish. The sauce was very aromatic and spicy, while being slightly sour almost like a tom yam. Also, the fish was tender without the unpleasant sea smell. 

 

 

Portuguese Grilled Fish RM13.50

 

Cristao also serves lunch and its lunch promo of only RM13.50 is available from 11.30am to 2.30pm, which includes main course, desserts and free flow drinks. The choices of main course are Chicken Pon Teh, Devil's Curry Chicken, Portuguese grill fish and Devil's Chicken Sandwich. 

 

Cakes are made fresh so just ask the kind waitress what are the cakes of the day, during our particular visit, we were lucky to be served carrot cake and blueberry cheese cake. The carrot cake was soft and crunchy, while the icing was pleasantly sweet. The blueberry cheese cake was soft and creamy, and the slightly savoury base gives a nice twist to the sweet and slightly sour blueberry topping.

 

 

 

 

Facebook: Cristao Cafe & Grill

Everydayfoodilove.co/ angeline-ong-yoga.blogspot.com. Thank you for reading our posts. Our team media coverage touches mostly on lifestyle events and focuses on happening scenes in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. Invite us for food reviews, travel and hotel reviews, KL clubbing reviews and product launches. Our other interests include the movies, technology and photography. Subscribe to my facebook page. Contact us via my email at: [email protected] or [email protected]

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