Kota Kinabalu, and many parts of East Malaysia for that matter, is famous for its seafood, and there are many restaurants to choose from. For a visitor, this can get pretty tricky as there are always those TSH (tourist slaughtering house) that one should avoid.

So on my trip to KK last year, I got the help from locals to suggest a good seafood meal. When both Joyce and Ben agreed that New Gaya Seafood is the destination fit for purpose, it surely can’t go wrong.

New Gaya Seafood at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
New Gaya Seafood at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Unlike some of the fancier seafood restaurants in the city, New Gaya is relatively plain. There’s no cultural dance or elaborate interior decorations, but there’s plenty of live seafood to choose from, with simple dining area that’s complete with plastic chairs and relatively tired looking tablecloths.

We’re here for the food though, and so long it’s relatively clean, who cares?

Sabah vegetable, ostrich meat, tofu in hotplate
Sabah vegetable, ostrich meat, tofu in hotplate

To start with, we have something green in the form of Sabah vegetable (RM 12). While seafood is the main topic, if you’re in Sabah, you gotta order this. The vegetable has a very distinct sweetness that is absent in those you find in Peninsular, I highly recommend this.

Then there’s ostrich meat (RM 20) and tofu in hot plate (RM 20) to complete our non-seafood trio. All these dishes were very good and go along well with the garlic rice (RM 10 for 5pax) we ordered.

fresh prawns and clams
fresh prawns and clams

Then came the seafood.

We started out with 1 kg of live prawns (RM 48). To enjoy the freshness of these prawns in its most unadulterated form, we have them steamed. It was so succulent and full of seafood sweetness, it really is the best way to enjoy these prawns.

Then we had those thick shelled clams (RM 26/kg) prepared with minimal fuss – garlic and chives. Sweet and juicy.

steamed garoupa, more clams, soft shell crab, mud crab
steamed garoupa, more clams, soft shell crab, mud crab

Our most expensive dish of the night was the 1 kg steamed garoupa with superior soya sauce (RM 90), as with everything else, freshness is key and this fish was alive prior to us ordering. I think that garoupa at this weight is pretty much perfect when it comes to the texture of the meat.

We also had the shellfish (RM 22 per kg) that you eat by twisting out the meat with a pick. This was steamed and went really well with the supplied condiment.

these were not all the dishes we shared at New Gaya
these were not all the dishes we shared at New Gaya

No seafood dinner is complete without crabs, and for this purpose we had 1 kg of deep fried soft shell crab (RM 78) and another kg of mud crab (RM 38) prepared with salted egg yolk. These dishes did not disappoint either, though I probably like the mud crab to be prepared a little less dry or perhaps have them baked or steamed instead.

Joyce, KY, Maha, Raj, Ben, Chew, Michelle, Vicky
Joyce, KY, Maha, Raj, Ben, Choo, Michelle, Vicky

Overall it was a great dinner with very good company to boot, we ended up splitting the bill at just over RM 50 per person. If you happen to go to KK, eat where the locals choose to eat and you won’t be disappointed. New Gaya seafood is definitely one of those destinations.

map to New Gaya Seafood restaurant, KK

Address:
New Gaya Seafood Restaurant
Lot A & B, Wisma Lucky Centre, Jalan Kianson,
88450 Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
GPS: 5.988415, 116.138549
Tel: 088-385 020
Hours: 11:30am – 2pm; 5pm – 10pm

KY eats – New Gaya Seafood, Kota Kinabalu
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17 thoughts on “KY eats – New Gaya Seafood, Kota Kinabalu

    • February 2, 2015 at 5:40 pm
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      The Yum List: they definitely do!

      Reply
  • February 2, 2015 at 7:21 pm
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    KY, I never yet try ostrich meat there no where here serve it. I guess buy some for there is a store game meats like moose, deers, racoons ect.

    Reply
    • February 2, 2015 at 9:34 pm
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      Vickie: yeap it actually tastes pretty close to deer!

      Reply
  • February 2, 2015 at 10:41 pm
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    Great recommendation! I’d like to check out this place too!

    Reply
  • February 3, 2015 at 6:19 am
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    wah uncle, u lucky u not kidnap by CB mulu monyet
    eh, i think i see coulthard…

    Reply
    • February 4, 2015 at 9:55 am
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      immature: i went with kommandos, no worries.

      Reply
      • February 5, 2015 at 5:00 am
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        wat? u went kommando?? no underwear??? tsskkk….

        Reply
  • February 3, 2015 at 8:39 am
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    Seafood’s the best in Sabah. Very very fresh, top quality…but can be a bit pricey in KK. Much cheaper in Sandakan, from the sea onto your plate!

    Reply
    • February 4, 2015 at 9:55 am
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      suituapui: yet to step foot in sandakan, hopefully one of these days. 😀

      Reply
  • February 4, 2015 at 11:45 am
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    heheh, folks from sabah always like to tell us that they have the best variety and tastiest types of seafood in the country, ya … and i guess they’re probably right! 😀

    Reply
    • February 4, 2015 at 6:39 pm
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      Sean: hard to argue with them about this. lol.

      Reply
  • September 19, 2017 at 4:24 pm
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    I like seafood dishes of Gaya. Thanks for sharing. Mostly I have enjoyed delicious food of Gaya. Now I’m getting very hungry. lol

    Reply
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