Welcome Seafood in Kota Kinabalu: A Delicious Surprise

2017-12-03 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

Due to an unexpected torrential downpour, I had to stay in my accommodation until the evening. Despite the rain, everyone else had gone out and hadn't returned, so I just spaced out watching the rain in the very relaxed guesthouse with only Sarah, the manager, around. Aside from the fact that the rainy scenery was a torrential downpour accompanied by strong gusts and lightning, it was the kind of downtime I had always dreamed of.

While I was blankly staring outside, the Filipino guests returned. They seemed to be touring as a group of two guys and one girl, and it looked like they had hurried back because of the rain today. After washing up at the guesthouse, they didn't have much to do either, so they were just smoking or spacing out. It was the perfect atmosphere to strike up a conversation, so I ended up chatting with them about this and that. We talked about everything from where we lived to various other topics, and eventually, the conversation turned to our itineraries for tomorrow. They mentioned they had booked a driving tour to see Mount Kinabalu and offered me their one open seat to tag along. Wow! I couldn't be more grateful. We both save money and get to hang out, so isn't this a win-win? I had been worrying about what to do tomorrow, so this was a huge relief.

After that long and meaningful chat, I trudged out for today's highlight event: "Dinner at Welcome Seafood with the two women I met at Sapi Island."

To give some backstory on today's highlight event, back on Sapi Island, when I was alone wondering "why am I even here," there were some people speaking Korean and enthusiastically taking selfies. I offered to take their picture, putting my absolute heart and soul into it, practically burying myself in the sand to make their legs look even a little bit longer for those few shots. Afterward, I asked if they wouldn't mind me joining them for dinner—just adding one more spoon to the table. Perhaps moved by my dedication, they gave me the OK. I rejoiced, thinking, "Finally, I get to eat a massive dinner!!" but my joy was brief when they explained that since they were on a package tour, they only had free time on the evening of the 29th. Still, I was grateful for just that, internally shouting, "Your grace is immeasurable, Your Majesties!"

And today was the D-day of that epic saga.

I arrived right on time, but they were already there waiting in line. I felt so bad since I was punctual but they had come even earlier to hold a spot. Rather than getting to know each other, we immediately launched into a very deep debate about what to eat at this restaurant. I just kept repeating like a parrot, "I'm fine with absolutely anything. I'd just like to try several small dishes." These two most beautiful ladies in Kota Kinabalu aggressively ordered nothing but shrimp. With their fiery personalities and their focus on just one main ingredient, I had a feeling this was going to be a very, very enjoyable meal.

Thanks to these delightful women who work in the wedding industry in Seoul, I finally got to eat the food I really wanted in Kota Kinabalu. According to my original plan, Welcome Seafood was supposed to be my very first meal upon arrival, but I only just barely managed to eat here now. If even one of the guys who was supposed to come on this trip with me had actually shown up, I wouldn't have suffered like this and would have eaten at Welcome Seafood every single day. Wow... the anger is suddenly bubbling up again. Everyone, the most important thing when planning a trip is checking if the people you're going with are actually going.

Because Welcome Seafood is so famous, people tend to trust it blindly even on their first visit. That's why people with sky-high expectations might say it's just okay. But maybe because it was a dream-like place for me, I just absolutely loved it. The chili shrimp, in particular, truly deserves high praise. On the other hand, it's hard to say the rice and noodles are delicious. We intentionally didn't order crab because I heard someone who went before complain that while the crab makes your mouth water just looking at it, there's barely anything to eat once you pick it up. To summarize: skip ordering the crab and just happily stare at the next table's. Only order rice and noodles if you're really hungry, and try to focus your order on shrimp, especially the chili shrimp. Mixing rice into the chili shrimp sauce is also a pretty great idea. And since the flavors and aromas here are strong, beer is a must. Drinkers, rejoice!