Ask anyone* where the best seafood in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is and they’ll inevitably say “Ocean Seafood”. Don’t. Just don’t.
I’ve been there, done that, bought the motherfucking t-shirt and I stand here as witness that it’s a tourist trap.
* Now’s probably a good time to say that anyone means hotel personnel.
You wanna eat where the locals eat? Are you a traveller or a tourist?
Ignore me if you’re the latter. However, if you’re a serious traveller, head on over to Twinsky Seafood where there is fresh seafood, much better than all the fancy air conditioned, scented napkins, attentive service restaurants.
Don’t get me wrong, the good people at Twinsky Seafood has damn good service as well and the place is absolutely fucking packed when we went there. We didn’t even go during peak hour – that’s a testament (okay, okay, cutting down on Biblical references now) to how good their food is.
Go on a tour of the establishment and you can pick and choose the marine life that you want to consume.
Would appreciate it if you kept the gold prospecting away from the fresh seafood.
Aww…poor fish. Sucks to be you.
Alrighty then let’s get to the meat (no pun intended) of the post:
Crabs in hot and sour sauce. This is good and you get to choose the crustacean that you want.
Sabah Green Abalone. It only costs RM 15 per abalone. (!!!)
I told you seafood is cheap in KK right? The portions are larger than what you’ll expect in KL and it’s juicy and sweet.
Best dish ever.
This is a sea fish that we ordered. Wait ah, lemme get my wallet to see how much it is.
Chup! I forgot about the delicious pickled papaya appetizer.
Rock fish a.k.a. stone fish. It sounds a bit dodgy as Jerine pointed out (and she swore not to eat it at first) but when it was served…it’s magical. =D
It’s cooked HK style with soy sauce (as all fresh fish should be prepared) and it tasted delicious. It was hard to the touch at the tank, yeah, stating the fucking obvious here, there’s a reason it’s called stone fish but after steaming…it’s the best thing that hits your palate. Smooth, silky with all the right tones.
The entire meal costs about RM 250-300 – I don’t have the receipt coz Jerine paid for the meal.
hello hb! abalone that cheap is worth it. i hope to go to sabah once
Twinsky? Rip-off tourist trap as well if you ask me.
thats cheap as i used to those price in kch which dont serve as fresh as that… 😉
HB, that steam stone fish sure look. Here in San Francisco is called Rock Cod and the meat is very sweet and tasty. Fresh abalones are costly in states and not easy to find. I use canned one for cooking.
Its pickled papaya. NOT mango!
Mate, if the seafood is so cheap, how did you rack up a $250 bill? Why did the rock/stone looked like it just got hit by a truck?
Anyway, what catched my eye is the crockery, damn fine quality.
And where is C? You broke off with her? Wah, tay-mia-gor-nee-liaw.
did you get any fish bones in your mouth?
this is cheap?
wait till u go to Tawau! LAGI CHEAP AND FRESH AND YUMMO!
Can go try Welcome Seafood Restaurant, near Penampang
wow !!
well, …
“we are emptying the seas” — Jacques Cousteau
— and filling our bellies,lol !! 🙂
debbie: Sabah abalone is surprisingly cheap! 🙂 I was pretty amazed too. They sell it at 5-6 for RM 50 or some ridiculous price like that, frozen.
ShaolinTiger: Yeah, but then again we didn’t have transport and could only be in the city so the least tourist trappy area we could eat at is…TWINSKY. 😉
Which the locals eat at too. Heh! The bill is actually very cheap, it was the alcohol that boosted it up that much. I kinda drink a lot on vacations.
ah nel: Yup, it is pretty cheap and most of the bill comes from alcohol. Heh! The food is cheaper than that, KK has a wide range of seafood places so they are competitive. 🙂
Erica: Rock cod! Oh, so that’s the name! It’s pretty good eh? I love it steamed! 🙂
Abalone is expensive here too but not in certain states like KK. 🙂
Jerine: Alas! It looks and tastes like mango to me. Okay, changing now. Haha! 🙂
rocket: It’s coz of alcohol mate – the bill can’t be that expensive with RM 15 abalone. 😉
The food bill was cheap but I can’t remember how much I drank. 🙂
I was very intrigued by the stone fish too!
WEEN: Nope, the fish we chose isn’t the kind that has those tiny annoying bones – it has the huge bone structure and flesh all around! 🙂
annant: Tawau is quite far away from KK. T_T
With the cab prices (taxis in KK are expensive eh?), we’ll have eaten much more in town.
Tawau has good seafood though, I heard. 🙂
ghostynana: Penampang? I wanted to go to Inanam to eat the beef noodles but with the prices taxis charge over there and the time to travel, we passed. It was supposed to be a relaxing holiday. 🙂
Thanks for the tip though. 🙂
Darrell: Haha! Nicely put. I’m not losing any sleep though. 😉
i like the one in SALUD! (waaaay way out!)
that doesn’t look like mango. that’s papaya pickle …
ciki: Interesting! Where is Salud? Is it in KK or some other city/town?
You know the best little nooks and crannies! 🙂
Very seasoned traveller. I like!
headsteadi: Heh! Yeah, my mistake, it’s a papaya pickle. Fixed. Cheers mate! 🙂
How to go to Twinsky from Hyatt Hotel?
pixie: Hmm…it’s actually within reasonable walking distance (but don’t quote me on that coz we walked from Centerpoint to Wiya chicken rice and then back to Sutera Harbour – and that is QUITE A DISTANCE). 🙂
Why don’t you catch a cab to be safe? Cheers!
Salut… a quite away from KK need transport la… but it also 1 of good spot for seafood hunter in SABAH….
i think SABAH is seafood Heaven… cheap & fresh… my kampung … crap was sell about rm10 per kilo errr nyum nyum nyum….
how much is a beer or did you go spirits all the way? did the restaurant add a few more drinks to your bill?
And where’s C?
Jairo: Nice! I shall rent a car next time I go to KK and find that place. Yup, it is indeed seafood heaven.
Crabs in Sibu, even though we’re landlocked costs RM 13 per kg, but it’s not fresh and it was a gimmick promo by a food place. 🙂
rocket: Eh, I saw the bill while rummaging for claims just now. Most of it was food. It is not cheap after all but it was a good dinner! 🙂
hey mate, stone fish is not rock cod, that’s a different fish. Like crayfish is not lobster. did you see any live octopus? they are yummy with chilli and sake.
Where is C?
omg… am going to KK this June!! DEFINATELY GONNNA TRY IT OUT!! *weee*
rocket: Haha! I knew you were going to bring up the crayfish issue again. 🙂
Anyway, no octopus there, but it’s easily available. I used to go deep sea fishing in KK and those octopii would get caught up in your rods and break it if it’s too heavy and you’re not holding it. 🙂
yienyien: Yeah, KK is just fabulous! You can’t beat the place for sheer fun. I vote it best place for vacations in Malaysia. 🙂
Something for everyone.
HB, hope that not really stonefish for many people in states know it a poison type of fish. It does look it like a rock cod any way.
Vickie: Ah apparently it’s not a rock cod – it’s a stone fish of some sort – tough exterior, nice interior, delicious! 🙂
Dude, I didn’t know that stone fishes are edible? Those are poisonous man..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aLt5gxwTx8
john: You’re right! We eat the poisonous stone fish in Asia though and it tastes good! 🙂