Flashing Lights

Snap, snap, snap!  You would think our table was with Kanye West circa 2007 with all the flashing lights we had.  Oh no, this wasn't Hollywood…it was a food blogger potluck.  After paying our respects to the mouth-watering spread of dishes in the form of food photography, we dug in. I was lucky enough to snag an invitation to this food-lover meet up with bloggers arriving to Kota Kinabalu (KK) from Brunei, Kuala Lumpur (KL), and the surrounding areas.  I was introduced to these fellow food lovers by my new, wonderful friends from Sabah Eats.  

For the last few months I have been following Sabah Eats' Facebook & Instagram accounts, lusting over their daily posts of the best food finds in the state.  Their pictures are so enticing they’ll make you want to hop the next plane/boat/train to Malaysia to try it for yourself.

Joanne, Adam, and I became fast friends after I reached out to them and told them I wanted them to take me to their favorite local eateries. We bonded over heaping bowls of noodles, dark soy sauce squid, and a plethora of other dishes. 

Famous Adam and me!

The duo started Sabah Eats after moving back to KK from KL and were intrigued by all the differences in food, even between East & West Malaysia.  Additionally, Joanne is an extraordinary baker.  The first time we met she left me with a package of her chocolate-chip, almond cookies and I fell in love with the bite-sized wonders.  I. Can’t. Stop. Eating. Them. 24 cookies in 48 hours is just unacceptable…even on vacation.

Sabah Eats' newest venture - their free guide to all things food in Sabah!

Roti canai - I could eat this all day and all night.

With our common love of food as our anchor, we have shared some memorable meals including a “noodle tour of KK”, a blogger tasting at “the coolest café in KK”, and a personal tour of the Gaya Street Sunday Market.  Where, it needs to be mentioned, I almost decided to stay in Malaysia forever because I fell in LOVE (again) with two adorable puppies!

The adorable Joanne and me!

Noodle tour!

A tea break at the Sunday Market

Check out those mangosteen y'all - my favorite fruit in the world!

Melting my heart!

My thought for today stems from my newly found friendships.  Spending time with these two wonderful people has been extremely inspiring.  They are deeply passionate about their work, creating community, sharing their talents, and helping others to achieve their goals. Not only have they helped me with everything from research to marketing but I've also witnessed them consistently offer help to others.  And because of this mentality, they have developed a strong following and success for themselves.

Adam & Joanne’s enthusiasm has propelled me forward to worker harder on my own projects, and it has minimized my fear of failure. Surrounding yourself with inspiring people is an important part of believing that you can achieve your goals. If you do not already have a support network I encourage you to seek out people who have common interests and goals. It’s easier than it seems…when I reached out to “info@sabaheats” I had no idea who was on the receiving end of my request to meet, but it resulted in an invaluable connection.