Greetings from Sandakan! 
The inaugural Sandakan Food Festival 2017 is on-going from 30th Aug – 2nd Sept, every evening from 5pm onwards at Bandar Kim Fung, at the open carpark next to Yu Yuan school.
The Sandakan Food Festival themed ‘Oceans, Land and Forests‘, will offer a culinary selection that is uniquely Sandakan and Sabahan as well as other ethnic styles of cooking.
Visitors to this free-entry event can looks forward to delectable noms from over 50 stalls, all reasonably priced and while you can grab and go, there is an area for those who wish to dine in.
Coming from a state rich in culinary delights, this Penang girl was excited and absolutely thrilled to be here in the flesh. At 6 pm the location was packed with hungry visitors and most stalls were enjoying brisk business.
It was obviously both locals and tourists found the event to be a
I should have more pictures to share later this evening when we head to the festival grounds again. Yesterday was a challenging session, as we were there slightly later than opening hours and the massive crowd made it difficult for photography and videography. Some of the food were sold out within the first 2 hours!
Anyhow, out of the few dishes/food we managed to sample, the cakes by Grace Voong were the most impressive. I know, I know, I’m supposed to be bowled over with the traditional and local staples, but truly, the Avocado Cake, the Milk Yam Pie and the Rainbow Crepe Cake were amazing.
White Rabbit ice cream bun.
I had the opportunity to Sabah Red Durian (aka “Sukang”) for the first time!
It’s main attraction is its bright-coloured flesh; attractively red /orange when ripe.
I managed to savour both the fresh and cooked version. The fresh pulp was delicately sourish sweet, not as pungent as the common durians and certainly not as tasty. The cooked version had dried prawns added (I chewed on one) and while I haven’t been able to secure the recipe (yet), I believe there were chillies added too.
The cooked version was served with rice and chicken as pictured, and I think it was meant to mimic sambal.
My advice?
Come early and come hungry! 
Here is the program for the next few days:
