Seafood galore @ Welcome Seafood Restaurant [Asia City], Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia)

A few months ago, we travelled to Kota Kinabalu for the weekend to attend my cousin's wedding, and on the night after the wedding, my cousin held a dinner for family members at Welcome Seafood Restaurant. This place was massive! The restaurant looked like it occupied the whole ground floor of the building, with a halal section for the Muslims (which has blue tables and chairs) and a non-halal dining area with red tables and chairs for everyone else. Clearly this is a very popular eating establishment, as every single table were taken on that Sunday night, and the red-capped staff were kept very busy. Our group filled up three tables, and I must say that I was quite impressed with how efficiently the place was run, considering its capacity. The dining area was kept fairly clean, and there were sinks equipped with hand soaps stationed at regular intervals for customers' use. The seafood was good - there are water tanks filled with live seafood for you to pick and then you choose how the seafood is cooked. The seafood was fresh and preparation was good. There are also non-seafood items on the menu, and the chicken dish my cousin ordered was pretty good. I cannot comment on the price as I didn't order or pay, but gathering from the reviews online, Welcome Seafood Restaurant is reasonably priced for the quality of seafood and the location of the restaurant. The original restaurant is located in Bundusan, about 10km from the KK city centre, and it is apparently cheaper and less crowded there with better seafood. I wonder if we will have the opportunity to try it out. Anyway, this larger branch is good for big, informal gatherings of seafood lovers, like my extended family.

The large non-halal dining area - looking in one direction:

And the other view of the non-halal area:

Refreshing young coconut juice:

Scallops, in a sweet and savoury sauce:

Sambal kangkung - my all-time favourite leafy greens, and something I always order if I see it on the menu:

I believe this is the Kam Heong Crab, meaning Golden Fragrant Crab, a signature Malaysian-style of stir-frying that incorporates Malay, Chinese and Indian ingredients to impart a 'fragrance' to the crabs. Personally I think fresh seafood does not need spices or heavy sauce which can overpower the subtle flavours of seafood, but this is an often-requested style of cooking seafood in Malaysia:

Steamed Sea Snails - not bad, but not remarkable either:

Fried Calamari - favourite with our boy:

Steamed Prawns:

Welcome Seafood Restaurant
Ground Floor, G-15 - G-18
Kompleks Asia City Phase 2a
Jalan Jalan Asia City,
88300 Kota Kinabalu
Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: +60 88 447 866