Coffee Town - Tenom

Tenom, an interior town gained its prominence when the British Chartered North Borneo Company introduced coffee planting in the late 19th century. In the old days, KK and Tenom was linked by the only railway operated by Sabah State Railway. 

To many people, Tenom is synonymous with coffee. Many coffee lovers still find Tenom coffee to be of superior quality compared to its competitors in other parts of Malaysia. Food lovers too are constantly drawn to Tenom to savor the much publicized corn chicken, yong tau foo and chun kian or meat egg rolls. 

Before this recent trip, I was not aware that Ah Miau's mom had at one time operated a sundry shop in Tenom town. In those yester-years, a single mom with a strong will and tremendous tenacity chose Tenom, a remote place to earn a living for herself and the family. She reminded me of the typical China Chinese who in spite of all odds and challenges decided to leave their home in China and moved to one of the Southeast Asian countries to seek a better life.

It is no wonder that Ah Miau always makes it a point to visit Tenom whenever she returns to Sabah. It's her second home after KK in Sabah.

In Tenom, one can still find benches placed in front of 

shops for the convenience and comfort of pedestrians 

and customers.

Shophouses once purchased by her mother.

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Yit Foh and Fatt Choi are two established coffee producers in Tenom. Yit Foh which started since 1960 is generally recognized as a more well known brand. In addition to the sale of coffee, both have now diversified and offer customers a chance to savor their coffee in their cafe and restaurant. For those who like to spend longer time, they are welcome to stay in the chalets built in their premises.

While Yit Foh's chalet-typed accommodation appears to be of better quality, Fatt Choi or tfc in short may have customer's preference by virtue of its strategic location. The site has a commanding bird eye view of Tenom town, Padas River and its surrounding.  

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Anyone familiar with Tenom food and who come to spend a night there will not leave without eating some of the popular food at the local market. The "economic mee", yong tau foo and chun kian are some of the must-eat-items. We faithfully completed the ritual and did not miss savoring any of these food items.

Corn chicken or commonly being referred to as Pau Suk Kai is another favorite item. On Sunday evening, we drove across Padas bridge towards Sapong to look for food outlet that serves Terrapin and corn chicken. We finally ended at Sungai Wang Restaurant.

Sungai Wang has dedicated one side of the restaurant wall to display photos of old Tenom. This restaurant serves both Terrapin and corn chicken. But we decided to forgo Terrapin after being warned by the proprietor of the fairly long waiting time for this dish.

In Sungai Wang, we bumped into the local Kapitan,  Wong Tet Yun who was having dinner with his wife. Wong, a friend of mine and to my surprise is also an acquaintance of Ah Miau.

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Photos of old Tenom

Train Station - Then.

Train Station - Now.

Before the existing steel girdle bridge was built across Padas River, the only mean for vehicles to cross the river was via the simple ferry. That service was usually suspended when the river was swollen after heavy downpour.

Existing steel girdle bridge.