If you linger in Lahad Datu, and hook up with Bike & Tours, you can learn to cook the Borneo way, dive and snorkel the local reef and shipwreck without the Semporna/Mabul crowds, or go mountain biking up and down Mt Silam for scenic views of Darvel Bay. It's a far cry from the first glance of this little coastal town, which appears to have a lively produce market, dry-goods market, sun-scorched buildings and very little else. Travelers who breeze through en route to Tabin Wildlife Park and Danum Valley, arriving on early morning flights from KK and spirited away immediately, are missing out. Lahad Datu's location, roughly halfway between Semporna and Sungai Kinabatangan, makes it an ideal place to fly into from KK if you're looking to commune both with sea creatures and orangutans.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Lahad Datu.
Seafood
Sakura doesn't look like much at first glance – a few plastic tables and chairs scattered under an awning. But then the food arrives: succulent butter prawns in a creamy sauce, crispy, tender, delicately spiced softshell crab, crunchy and garlicky sayur manis, steamed fish with ginger… Flawless.
Malaysian
We find that there are many reasons to like this branch of the internationally popular Malaysian chain: the very memory of its white-chocolate-and-macadamia gateau invokes a Pavlovian response and its savoury mains – from chicken schnitzel and spicy seafood pasta to a potent tom yum – are deeply satisfying.
Chicken
This unassuming spot gets Hainanese chicken rice just right. The chicken, simmered in broth, is melt-in-your-mouth tender, the broth zings with ginger and the chicken and rice are served with a punchy chilli-and-garlic sauce.
Indian
Besides a full buffet of curries and other Indian-Malay dishes, this unassuming joint makes the flakiest, melt-in-your-mouth roti canai in town.
Chinese
A respectable spot for a substantial meal of Chinese-style seafood dishes. Around the corner from the Danum Valley Field Centre.
Bakery
Malaysia's franchised patisserie is located in Fajar Centre (it has free wi-fi, too). Good cakes.