Empire Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Sabah

So I visited this place semi-regularly since like 8 years back; due to my business trips to Sandakan. I loved their food since they started near the old town. Service in this place is quite good. They don’t have a menu but the auntie is kind enough to explain what they have and will not oversell. She recommended what portions we should order based on the size of the group and appetite. She even told my friend that since she is coughing, maybe she should not order the coconut. She came to check on us a few times to make sure we are happy with our orders. This is more than a typical neighborhood seafood resto! Now the dishes. My friend reminded me to order the Shang Ha Mein - and it was the highlight of the meal. The noodles soften perfectly with the sauce which was tasty but not overwhelming. The prawns were nicely cooked. If you order crab, order with BBQ sauce. I have never tasted crabs cooked this way - the flavor went all the way into the meat and have this smoky flavor! The steamed fish was so fresh nothing else was left. The vegetables: the bittergourd with salted eggs was divine. The bitterness was balanced with the saltiness of the egg; and some sweet salty flavor in your mouth. The coconut pudding is so good! If you have a small appetite after the big meal, one coconut is enough. SUPER recommended. I will definitely...

I've given Empire 5/5 for all categories and it's so deserved. We're Australians on a group tour of Sabah and have been eating a lot of exciting local dishes but Empire out classed them all. The salted egg squid is the best calamari I've ever tasted and cooked perfectly. I also highly recommend the spicy fish, the BBQ crab, the shrimp in broth and fried rice with veggies - that's all of the dishes we had and they were all amazing. They don't have menus which is a bit unusual for us but Susan (I think she is the owner) helped us to select dishes based on what we liked and she got it perfect - including for one of our group who is vegetarian. We would be tempted to come here again tonight...

Signature dish of prawns with noodles in a broth - delicious : prawns cooked to perfection.

Not spicy at all - I added a dash of soya sauce to the broth for a bit of saltiness.

Also had spring rolls which were also very good - served soya sauce, crushed garlic, chilli and small limes to make one's own dipping sauce which was a lovely change from the sweet chilli sauce out of a bottle.

Atmosphere was rated 4/5 only because, in typical Chinese restaurant style, the plastic chairs and tables don't add a feeling of "luxury".

All perfectly clean.

No real menu so good idea to "Google" the restaurant and see pictures from previous diners.

Would definitely go...