Seafood in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah – Kampung Nelayan Floating Seafood Market Restaurant

It’s a crime to be on Kota Kinabalu’s soil & not enjoy her bountiful harvest of fresh seafood.

It is also then an expected item on our itinerary, that our sponsored familiarisation trip to KK, Sabah by Sabah Tourism Board & Firefly Airlines would include a seafood dinner.

The seafood dinner marks the last evening in KK town before the group was split to their chosen itineraries. I was headed for Pulau Tiga, while the rest was placed on mountains, ASTRO-ed cultured villages (hurmmpphhh!) & golf courses.

The coconuts here begs to be ordered. Bigger than our heads, with thick juicy flesh & probably packs min a litre of sweet coconut juice in each, we were nearly stuffed even before dinner was served!

Seafood here was marvellously fresh, but that’s expected isn’t it? Our bowl of shark-friendly sharkfin soup below was brimming with crab meat & fish maw; and in thick & flavourful stock. It totally started dinner off on the right note!

Every dish was prepared in a simplistic manner, and rightfully so, as the emphasis remained on the natural flavours of the seafood.  The prawns below was exemplary. Sweet with a fabulous crunch.

Some fibres to round off the meal, showcasing the Sabahan ferns stir-fried with shrimp paste. It was delicious.

While I loved the crisp skin on the chicken, I find it a tad salty. The condiments of sour plum powder with a dash of lime was nice though.

I think only in KK, Sabah you can order a whole plate of soft-shelled crabs & not worry about the bill. We polished the whole plate, and with the exception of some that had too much batter, the soft shell crabs were delightfully sweet.

Oversteaming a fat, fresh fish is a crime. Too bad there wasn’t anyone around to arrest the cook.

The most popular dish that night was these snails. Uncommon elsewhere, I was told these molluscans are found only at Northen Kudak, Sabah, which is near the Philipines borders.

Best enjoyed lightly steamed, draw out the firm chewy flesh from its shell with a toothpick and dip it into the accompanying house sauce. Proceed then to pop the whole thing into your mouth. It’s really moreish and you certainly can’t stop at one!

Kampung Nelayan Floating Seafood Market Restaurant is Kota Kinabalu’s only lakeside floating seafood restaurant currently. Dining here encompasses an all round experience of KK’s freshest seafood, with a cultural experience thrown in from the nightly performance as well as the relaxation of dining in an easy, laidback open air atmosphere, with cooling breeze blowing in from the lake.

The Cultural Show is performed nightly by professionals on the floating stage with traditional Malay architecture. Bloggers being bloggers, we couldn’t resist a camwhore shot. ;-)

GPS:  N05° 58.51′ E116° 05.35′
Kampung Nelayan Floating Seafood Market Restaurant
+6 088 -231 003/5

Business Hours: 11.30am – 2.00pm, 6.30pm – 11.00pm daily

Thanks again to Sabah Tourism Board for the dinner! ;-)

KK Sabah food, sabah, trav