The Eighth Chinese Restaurant @ Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Sabah

During our stay in Shangri-La Rasa Ria in Sabah, we were elated upon learning there is a Chinese restaurant specialises on seafood in the resort - The Eighth. Not many hotels we came across has restaurant serving authentic Chinese dishes, as it was mainly offered as a la carte disehs, banquet or wedding dinner. Furthermore, the close proximity of the resort to South China Sea suggests we will be getting really fresh seafood in The Eighth. Indeed, the Chinese food here is very palatable and seasoning is on point. 

Sabah Tiger Grouper Pot

If you just wish to order a single item on the menu, then you ought to order Sabah Tiger Grouper Pot. Fresh grouper is used to prepare the soup, along with fish maws, yams, mushrooms, red dates, wolfberry and ginseng, resulting superior broth which is extremely appeasing to taste buds. Even though herbs were being used in preparation but the soup did not express pungent herby that tasted acrid, instead it was very sleek. 

Even our little daughter who is close to 2 years old had fun savouring the soup. If it rains during your visit, I reckon this soup even taste better! Apparently we learnt that Sabah Tiger Grouper Pot is the restaurant hot selling items after we had a chat with the hotel's staff. 

Chili Lobster

A more simpler dish here would be their Yam Basket with Kung Pao Chicken, which has stir fried chicken in soy sauce in a yam. I like the yam was cooked to the nice texture - just soft but did not rupture when I poke my spoon onto it, which completed the crispy Kung Pao Chicken.

The Double Boiled Chicken Soup in Coconut is a lighter and less luxury version of the signature Sabah Tiger Grouper Pot. Inside the coconut there are fish maws, dried scallops, chicken, abalone and prawns. The resultant soup is nice, and milder in taste if compared to the grouper pot. Somehow there is an elusive sweetness which is hard to tell, perhaps due to the infusion of the coconut flavour to the soup. 

The Eighth also features some cocktails and mocktails, and some are available exclusively in the resort so you should give it a try.

Overall it was a nice dining experience in The Eighth. The dishes served were superior and quality in taste, especially the Sabah Tiger Grouper Pot. If you ask whether it is worth the effort to travel to Kota Kinabalu to Shangri-La Rasa Ria just to savour the Chinese style seafood here, we would totally say yes! 

On top of that, the Eighth only opens on specific hour of the day, so remember to give a call before coming to avoid disappointment.