I visited KK so many times since many many years ago and I just realised I have not do any proper compilation of Kota Kinabalu Must Eat Food. I have done reviews on and off of some restaurants or eateries in Kota Kinabalu but not the overall one. So I look through my photos and I’m thinking like, hmmm.. the photos I gathered are pretty much what I love to eat in Kota Kinabalu, so here we are… these are my 10 Must Eat Food in KK. There are more of coz but I guess these are pretty basic one for the first timer to KK. Hope you enjoy!

1. Sang Nyuk Mian

Sang Nyuk Mian is basically a bowl of hearty pork offal stew with a bowl of dry noodles with soy sauce. What makes it a bomb is that all the flavours and gelatin or whatever you call the goodness of everything is infused in the soup. Meat is tender and juicy.. gulping down with a sweet and salty noodles! Perfect for your breakfast, lunch or even dinner I don’t mind at all!

Look the the shiny noodles coated with sweet soy sauce and some pork fats. Noms!! My favourite used to be the Kopitiam Melanian but the quality drops a lot few years back. Some love it at Kim Hing Lee but my utmost favourite one is the Jia Xiang Sang Nyuk Mian. They are way generous in their portion and I just simply love it!!

Kedai Kopi Jia Siang
Address : Lot 1, Lorong 3, Lintas Plaza Ring Road
Hours : 7.00am to 4.00pm

Kedai Kopi Kim Hing Lee
Address : Blk F, Lot 7, Sinsuran Complex, 88000 KK
Hours : 6.30am to 3.00pm

Kedai Kopi Melanian
Address : No. 34, Ground Floor, Jalan Pantai KK
Hours : 7.00am to 3.30pm

2. Ngau Chap 

I love stew beef. I love ngau chap. Ngau chap means beef offals and I just can’t help myself from falling in love with all the offals. Hahaha! Ngau Chap is my second love in KK. Again, I love the one at Jia Xiang but basically you can get ngau chap everywhere in KK. 

Kah Hiong Ngau Chap
Address : Block B, Lot 14, Kedai Plaza Grand Millenium, Jln Lintas, Donggongon Penampang, 88200
Hours : 7.00 am to 3.00pm

3. Tuaran Mee

Like Kuching we have our Kolo Mee, KK have their Tuaran Mee. I am not a big fan of it but a lot of people love it. Tuaran Mee are made from the batter consisting egg yolks and flour, they are lightly fried in the wok before stir frying with ingredients. 

Kedai Kopi Seng Hing
Address : Block E, Lot 10, SInsuran Complex, KK
Hours : 7.00am to 4.00pm
Phone : +608 211 594

4. Tenom Mee

Tenom Mee is noodles originate from Tenom. Honestly if you ask me what is the difference between Tenom Mee and Tuaran Mee, I have no idea. But i like the texture of Tenom Mee more, it’s thicker and more al dente. But well,  it all depends.

How Lee Restaurant
Address : S-26, Lorong Mawas 1, Jalan Kolam, Taman Foh Sang, Luyang 88300
Hours : 6.00pm to 3.00am
Phone : 016 839 1938

5. Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh is very popular in KK. Unlike in Kuching, KK like to have their Bak kut teh at night. I would say the Bak Kut Teh in KK taste a lil bit different than the one we have here. I love it more than the one we have in Kuching honestly. The dry bak kut teh is a bomb too!

Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh
Address : 74, Jalan Gaya, 88000 KK
Hours : 5.00pm to 11.00pm
Phone : +6088 221 192

Sin Kee Bak Kut Teh
Address : 26, Jalan Pantai, Pusat Bandar, 88000 KK
Hours : 4.00pm to 11.00pm
Phone : 017 764 6667

6. Yoyo

Yoyo is their local milk tea brand. Not only their milk tea is incredibly tasty, (the tea flavour is very strong. I believed they brew their own tea instead of using the instant powder) their croissant is something people will die for. Mini croissant with the original one and the chocolate one. For the chocolate one, they have these chocolate lava oozing out when you bite in it. OH MY OH MY. 

Suria Shopping Mall
Hours : 10.00am to 10.00pm

Centre Point Shopping Mall
Hours : 10.00am to 10.00pm

Yoyo Cafe
Address : Lot 16, Block B, Grd Flr, Damai Point, Jalan Damai, Luyang 88300
Hours : 10.30am to 11.00pm
Phone : +6088 317 166

Yoyo Cafe
Address : Phase 2C, B32-0,32-1, Lintas Plaza, Lorong Lintas Square, Lintas Plaza 
Hours : 11.00am to 11.30pm
Phone : +6088 317 166

7. Welcome Seafood

Seafood is one of the must eat in KK but i would rather just state Welcome Seafood because I guess 90% of the tourist or even locals go to Welcome Seafood for Seafood. From only 1 shop when I first visited to now, 8 shoplots to serve the hungry crowds. It is an iconic place already. Need not ask me how is the seafood. Oh if you are wondering, it’s very very very affordable!

Welcome Seafood Restaurant
Address : Asia City, Jalan Coastal, KK, 88000
Hours : 12.00pm to 12.00am
Phone : +6088 447 866

8. Borenos Fried Chicken

Borenos Fried Chicken is KK own local fried chicken chain outlet. Like KFC but KK version. I was quite reluctant to try at first but wow, its really good. The marination for the fried chicken is slightly different. It’s somewhat like broasted but it is fried. Chicken is unexpectedly tender even the breast meat and I highly recommend you to just give it a try. Their thick cut fries are awesome too!

Centre Point Shopping Mall Sabah
Hours : 10.00am to 10.00pm
Phone : +6088 246 900

9. Filipino Food

I love filipino food. I especially love Sisig! Sisig is like a combination of all pork parts, mince it, stir fried it with their own species and served it with an egg! There’s one very authentic filipino restaurant just around the town and it opens until 3am. 

Tambayan At Kainang Filipino
Address : Blk 3 Ground Flr, Api-api centre, KK
Hours : 9.00am to 3.00am
Phone : 016 818 2008

10. Fook Yuen

Fook Yuen is famous for their fluffy white bread and the signature milk tea. It is always one of my top list whenever I visited KK but now they have branches everywhere and unfortunately the one i visited was no longer as good. 🙁

Fook Yuen
Address : Jln Gaya, Pusat Bandar Kota Kinabalu, 88000 KK
Hours : 6.30am to 1.00am
Phone : +6088 743 406

So apart from all these, what else is your favourite must eat food in Kota Kinabalu?

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