Top Places to Check-out in Kota Kinabalu for Delicious Local Food - 2023 Edition

Kota Kinabalu may not necessarily be on everyone's of cities to check out, but if you are looking for a short weekend escape where you can enjoy delicious local food without breaking the bank, KK City might just be the right place for you. There are a number of famous hotels in Kota Kinabalu but the most famous ones are definitely the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru and the Shangri-La Rasa Ria. On my most recent trip, I stayed at the Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu which was fantastic (review will come later!) as there are plenty of great restaurants in the area which you can walk to.

Click HERE to check out the top attractions in Kota Kinabalu!

1. Yii Siang Ngiu Chap (香海南牛杂)

Ngiu Chap Laksa
Yii Siang Ngiu Chap (香海南牛杂)

Ngiu Chap Soup
Yii Siang Ngiu Chap (香海南牛杂)

If I had to pick one restaurant to recommend in Kota Kinabalu, Yii Siang Ngiu Chap (香海南牛杂) will be it. Located just a 15-minute drive away from the main city area of Kota Kinabalu (e.g. Jesselton Point) is Yii Siang Ngiu Chap and it is definitely worth the trip. Apparently, the restaurant has been in operation since 1993 - it started as a small stall selling just beef noodles but has built a strong reputation over the years.

A slight price adjustment has been implemented on 01 January 2023 but it is still pretty affordable considering how many ingredients actually come with each bowl (especially when you are visiting from a foreign country where the currency works in your favour). Even though the signature dish here at Yii Siang Ngiu Chap is probably the Ngiu Chap Soup and the 3 Kingdom (which comes with beef balls, beef tendon, and sliced beef), I highly recommend giving the Ngiu Chap Laksa a try too.

If you live in Singapore, it is worth noting that laksa served in Kota Kinabalu (or the greater Malaysia region) is very different from what we have back home but Yii Siang Ngiu Chap’s version is delicious and slurp-worthy.

Get Directions: Yii Siang Ngiu Chap

2. Welcome Seafood (大茄來海鮮餐廳)

The city of Kota Kinabalu is known for fresh seafood amongst other things and the most famous seafood restaurant has got to be Welcome Seafood. Ask anyone who has been to Kota Kinabalu and there is a high chance that they have visited this restaurant during their stay - it is obviously not the best, but it honestly offers pretty good value (especially if you are a tourist and do not want to risk getting ripped off at a less well-known restaurant).

Steamed Fish
Welcome Seafood (大茄來海鮮餐廳)

Online reviews show that the service level here at Welcome Seafood leaves much to be desired, but apart from the fact that it is slightly confusing to order as a first-time visitor, I thought that the service was decent. It’s not a fancy restaurant and you are really here for affordable, fresh seafood so as long as you adjust your expectations accordingly, you will be in for a treat. I managed to walk-in without a prior reservation on a Sunday but it was busy so you might want to make a booking if you are planning to dine here with a big group. Also, it is worth noting that some items can sell out quite quickly so be sure to reserve them (if possible) or arrive earlier if you want more variety.

Kam Heong Crabs
Welcome Seafood (大茄來海鮮餐廳)

I paid approximately RM 72 for a whole fish and RM 36 for two medium-sized crabs - prices are extremely affordable and all the dishes that I ate that night were great. If you are craving something fancier, the live lobsters were going for approximately RM 400 per KG during my visit, and extra large crabs (which were not massive, to be honest) were going for RM 100 per KG.

Get Directions: Welcome Seafood

3. Kedai Kopi Melanian 3 (金沙园生肉面)

Sang Nyuk Mee
Kedai Kopi Melanian 3 (金沙园生肉面)

Famous for Sang Nyuk Mee, Kedai Kopi Melanian 3 is conveniently located along Jalan Pantai and just a short 5-10 minute stroll from the Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu where I was staying at. The noodles were average at best but the soup was hearty and delicious - if you are pretty adventurous then the mixed version (which comes with liver, intestines, and kidney) will probably be the best thing to order. The Tofu with Stuffing (charged per piece) is also something to try when you visit but do note that the restaurant closes by 2:30 PM each day.

Get Directions: Kedai Kopi Melanian 3

4. Kedai Kopi Jia Siang (家香生肉面)

One of the restaurants that were frequently recommended to me by my friends and the hotel staff is Kedai Kopi Jia Siang (家香生肉面). Located within Lintas Plaza and approximately 20-25 minutes drive away from the main area, Kedai Kopi Jia Siang is definitely the best Sang Nyuk Mee that I have tasted in Kota Kinabalu so far as a tourist. The price is definitely on the higher side and you should expect to pay around RM 25 per person if you order a bowl of soup, noodles, and a drink.

Crumble Meat Mushroom Kon Lou Mee
Kedai Kopi Jia Siang (家香生肉面)

The restaurant’s specialty is the Crumble Meat Mushroom Kon Lou Mee which comes with a bowl of noodles, as well as a separate bowl of soup. As we wanted to save (stomach) space for other food in the vicinity, we shared a bowl of carbs (i.e. noodles) between the two of us but the restaurant staff seemed genuinely concerned even though we ordered plenty of other dishes to share. The soup was delicious and even though it was relatively small in size, the restaurant was pretty generous with the amount of ingredients in each bowl.

Tofu Pok
Kedai Kopi Jia Siang (家香生肉面)

The Tofu Pok (which comes in a bowl of four) is also something you may wish to try when you visit the restaurant, and if you have a sweet tooth, I highly recommend giving the Leong Fun Susu (essentially a chin chow dessert served in a bowl) a try as well.

Get Directions: Kedai Kopi Jia Siang

5. Woo!

If you follow The Shutterwhale on Instagram, you might realise that I consume 3-4 cups of coffee on average each day so obviously, visiting cafes in between meals seems like a pretty natural process.

Pain Perdu
Woo!

Most of the good cafes in Kota Kinabalu city are located along the same stretch on Lorong Dewan - the most famous ones are October Coffee Gaya and Nook Cafe, but you should drop by Woo! if you are up for sweets. The modern take on a traditional pain perdu was not only pretty to look at but also executed beautifully. There are also a number of restaurants and bars in the area but most of them only operate from 4 PM or 5 PM.

Get Directions: Woo!

6. Yuit Cheong (悅昌)

Satay Jawi
Yuit Cheong (悅昌)

Kaya Butter Toast and Teh C
Yuit Cheong (悅昌)

Yuit Cheong is one of the oldest coffee shops in Kota Kinabalu with a history dating back to 1896 - while it still remains a popular old-school coffee shop that serves local coffee and tea beverages throughout the day, it is also famous for its satay (chicken, lamb, and beef) which is served with a delicious peanut sauce.

Do note that the satay is not served throughout the day and from my understanding, satay is only served from 11:00 AM each day. Yuit Cheong closes at 5:00 PM daily officially, but the satay does sell out earlier (especially on a weekend) so I definitely recommend going earlier if you wish to try everything - the beef tripe satay is unique and you probably can’t find that easily outside.

No visit to Yuit Cheong is complete without ordering a cup of delicious Teh C or Kopi C. During my visit, I also decided to order a kaya and butter toast to try but it was average at best (even though the kaya was actually pretty good).

Get Directions: Yuit Cheong

7. Keng Wan Hing (瓊萬興)

Keng Wan Hing is another restaurant that has been operating along Gaya Street for more than a decade and it is well-known for both its steamed and baked buns.

BBQ Pork Baked Pastry
Keng Wan Hing (瓊萬興)

Some of the locals also recommended the laksa (or curry noodles) but I thought that it was nowhere as good as Yee Fung Laksa (which isn’t great).

Laksa
Keng Wan Hing (瓊萬興)

With that being said, I did enjoy the baked pastries from Keng Wan Hing - the BBQ Pork was delicious but the kaya (which was sold out during my visit) sounded divine. Steamed buns start from RM 1.80 each, and baked buns, as well as pastries, start from RM 1.50 each. The restaurant has two cashiers but it appears that only one (located at the front of the restaurant) was in use during my visit - the noodles take a while to come as they seem to be cooked individually so make sure you factor that in if you are in a rush for time.

Get Directions: Keng Wan Hing

8. Kedai Kopi Yee Fung (怡丰茶室)

Laksa
Kedai Kopi Yee Fung (怡丰茶室)

More commonly known as Yee Fung Laksa, Kedai Kopi Yee Fung is where you will find the famous laksa which was mentioned by some chefs of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Located along Gaya Street, the restaurant is popular amongst both tourists and locals, with snaking queues during peak periods. In all honesty, I thought that the laksa is pretty decent, but it wasn’t exactly mindblowing - the ngiu chap laksa from Yii Siang Ngiu Chap had much more complex and refined flavours.

Chicken Claypot Rice
Kedai Kopi Yee Fung (怡丰茶室)

With that said, the Chicken Claypot Rice is more deserving of its reputation - each claypot (which is enough to feed a single diner) comes with three chicken pieces and a running soft-boiled egg which comes perfectly with that rice.

Get Directions: Yee Fung Laksa

9. Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant (發記魚雜)

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Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant is one of the most established restaurants in Kota Kinabalu and it is famous for its sup ikan or fish soup. There are a handful of outlets here in Kota Kinabalu and I actually visited the one located on Level 3 of Suria Sabah Shopping Mall (just across from Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu) which has the worst rating out of all its outlets, so maybe this is not really a fair representation of what the restaurant has to offer. There are two main types of soup bases - tom yum and tomato - and I tried both during my visit. The tom yum is delicious but the tomato soup base is unique and delicious.

Honestly, even though the tom yum soup was fairly delicious, I did not think much about Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant as everything seemed to be a lot saltier than expected. The soup was not served piping hot (a big mistake in Asian countries), the fried fish was not crispy, and the omelette (not photographed) had patches of salt that were not mixed evenly into the egg mixture. With all that being said, Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant comes up on top of peoples’ list of recommendations all the time so maybe the experience is different when you visit one of the real restaurants (as opposed to the outlet located within the shopping mall).

Get Directions: Fatt Kee Seafood Restaurant (Suria Sabah Shopping Mall)

10. Api-Api Night Food Market (Friday and Saturday Nights only)

Pisang Goreng (with Nutella and Condensed Milk)
Api-Api Night Food Market

If you are visiting Kota Kinabalu over the weekends, you might want to check out Api-Api Night Food Market which runs on Friday and Saturday evenings only. While there might not be anything outstanding, the atmosphere is actually pretty great and there are plenty of stalls offering interesting dishes for you to try.

Get Directions: Api-Api Night Food Market

Most people will probably think of Mount Kinabalu when you mention Kota Kinabalu but even though there is so much more to do in Kota Kinabalu, the food was definitely the highlight of my trip. The Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu was also fantastic (especially when you factor in the price point of the property) and its location makes it easy to visit a number of great restaurants without having to venture too far out. I am not sure whether the city gets busier when tourism starts to pick up internationally again but the city was pretty laid back during my visit and I never had to stand in line for popular restaurants even without prior reservations.