Day 8 in Kota Kinabalu was almost perfect, with us starting the day at Gaya Street Sunday market and then feasting on delicious steamed crab for lunch. We also discovered a mountain that took just 30 minutes to get to the summit.
You’ll be surprised at how a mountain can be planted with so many photo props along the way up. An absolutely fun climb indeed!
Read on and check out our delightful experience on Day 8 of our 10-day Kota Kinabalu trip.
RELATED READINGS:
- Day 1 to Day 3: Things we did in Kota Kinabalu
- Day 4: Journey from Kota Kinabalu to Kundasang
- Day 5: An enjoyable day in Kundasang
- Day 6: From Kundasang to KK’s Hyatt
- Day 7: Exploring Gaya street & Best night market experience
Gaya Sunday Market in Kota Kinabalu
(10am)
Remember how we had a great time at Api Api Night Market the night before? Well, the party continued.
The next morning, the same street was similarly lined with numerous stalls at the Gaya Street Sunday Market. But it offered a different experience as compared to the night market.
Instead of a strong focus on food, this Sunday market’s offering is a lot more varied and sold anything from animals, birds and plants to clothes, jewelries, souvenirs and whatnot.
However, it was rather hot as we were directly under the scorching sun!
Breakfast at Fook Yuen Kopitiam (Gaya Street)
Midway through street-shopping, we decided to pop into Fook Yuen Kopitiam for breakfast as it seemed well-patronized. To order, we would walk through a line and pick our food from a row of counters offering a variety of dishes or add-ons.
Here’s what I picked – not exactly exciting hor? And food was cold.
A nice tea break at Mizumizu Cafe (Gaya Street)
After our breakfast, we continued strolling along Gaya Sunday Market.
Soon, it was time to hide from the heat and we found ourselves having Japanese tea at Mizumizu Cafe.
The man ordered matcha while I had a Hojicha latte. Both were great and we thought they tasted authentic.

Enjoyed Seaview from Hyatt Regency Hotel (KK)
The great thing about staying at Hyatt Regency KK was how accessible it was from the vibrant Gaya street.
As the lunch place we’d decided upon (Chinese seafood restaurant) would only open at 2pm, we decided to retreat to our hotel.
There, we found ourselves captivated by the beautiful sea view and busy snapping photos to ensure we would bring back the memory.
Crab feast at New Luyang Restaurant @ KK
At 2pm when the restaurant just opened its door for business, we found ourselves to be the only customers at New Luyang Restaurant.
Ordered a steam crab, garlic stim clam, grouper fish, pea shoots (dou miao) and bean sprout, which were really quite a lot of food for two pax.
After some disappointing seafood experiences on the first two days, we were absolutely pleased with our dining experience here.
The crab was meaty, unlike the decomposed crab we had at the “Night Market” near Handicraft market. We also didn’t have to worry about being scammed as a tourist.
Total seafood meal came up to rm160. :)
Ice Cream indulgence at Mosaic Cafe
With so many days in Kota Kinabalu, we could really afford a relaxing and leisure itinerary. After grabbing back to Hyatt Regency KK, it was time for ice cream.
At Mosaic Cafe which is located at the hotel premises, we used the voucher given by the hotel to redeem a free scoop of ice cream.
Not exactly a food connoisseur, but could tell that the ice cream was of good quality.
KK City Tour: Limited time in KK and like a guide to bring you around? This KK city tour brings you to numerous popular landmarks in just half a day.
Discovering a great hiking spot in Kota Kinabalu
(5pm)
Bukit Botak is a place we “accidentally” discovered when driving to Kundasang a few days before. From afar, we saw a mountain that looked bare at the top. With the help of Google Map, we discovered that we could be looking at Mount Bukit Botak.
The reviews also told us that this was a popular place to do a hike in under an hour (one-way) and to catch sunset.
The grab ride to the Bukit Botak cost rm17, and we reached there around 5pm (trailhead location here).
Nearby Attractions: If you rent a car like we did on the first few days, you can cover these few places too – Kokol Elf Hill, Mari Mari Cultural Village and Ulu Kionsom Waterfall.
Steep and sandy route to Bukit Botak Summit
30 minutes were all it took for us to get to the summit. The climb was steep and made via sandy and rocky path. I highly recommend that you come with shoes that offer good grip.

What’s great about this mountain and hike is the numerous photo props planted along the way, making for an interesting and memorable hike.
But let’s not be tempted and get to the summit first so that we wouldn’t miss the sunset.
Sunset viewing at Kota Kinabalu (Bukit Botak)
If you are looking for a great place to catch sunset at Kota Kinabalu, I highly recommend Bukit Botak, provided you love hiking. Check out the view!

Based on compass orientation, I believe that’s Mount Kota Kinabalu, shrouded behind the clouds and faintly visible (photo below).

Well, we didn’t wait for the sun to touch the horizon for safety reasons. Not being familiar with the mountain and knowing that the path is slippery, it might be dangerous to hike down in the dark.

Therefore, the very logical and rational us started heading down earlier than others.
TIP: Check time of sunset. During the time of our visit, the sun set quite early, at 6.20pm.
But it was not a bad decision, as we got to pose with some of the props on the way down while there’s still daylight. This really made for a very memorable experience.

And to prove the point, I have this image as my WhatsApp profile image. Cool right? “Biking up the mountain.” LOL!
By 6.12pm, we were at the base of mountain. Let’s head back to our hotel to freshen up.
Dinner at Kota Kinabalu
The man craved for Chinese food and decided to have Peking duck at Gam Tong restaurant – an outlet along Gaya street that specializes in HK cuisine.

The food was not bad and I enjoyed the Peking duck. Just that that the man ordered too much and I struggled since I was actually quite full. See what other things he ordered for a total of two pax!
As you can tell by now, we really were eating non-stop in Kota Kinabalu. Haha!
Map Location For Day 8 (Kota Kinabalu Itinerary)
Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu >> Gaya Street Sunday Market >> Fook Yuen Kopitiam >> Mizumizu Coffee >> New Luyang Restaurant >> Mosaic Cafe >>Bukit Botak (trailhead here) >> Gam Tong Restaurant (Gaya Street)
And that’s it for Day 8 which was a day I really enjoyed. Tomorrow would be our last full day in Kota Kinabalu and we would tour the offshore islands. Stay tuned!
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