Melaka is a haven for gluttons i tell you. Being born and bred here, i can only be proud (if that's even worthy to be proud of) of the food they have here. Really its crazy. Correct me if i'm wrong. Besides Peanang, I should think that Melaka is next in line for its notorious reputation for good food. You think people come here to shop? No. You think Singaporeans come here to visit the zoo? No.
Everyone comes to Melaka for one sole reason. To eat.
I'm serious! There is nothing else to do here besides eating. Aside from the insanely sweet calorie packed Cendol and the over rated chicken rice balls served with its steamed chicken with 2 inch thick oily fat and skins, people normally flock this sleepy hollow for Ikan Bakar as well. Loosely known as Burned Fish. Baked fish. Grilled Fish. Fish you. Whichever you like lah.
Because Ikan Bakar is so famous in Melaka, it is only natural that there are MANY Ikan Bakar stalls in Melaka. There are more Ikan Bakar stalls than 7-11s here. I'm not kidding. Every hawker centre got at least 3 stalls. Got chinese type. Malay type. Portugese type. Kurang gay type only. But locating the best stall is one whole other story lah.
When it comes to this, only US locals would know lah. Tu lah...u kene baik baik ngan merk then only i tell you where is the best spot lah. So dun expect me to reveal where is this magical place. Unless you know the pak cik Ikan bakar personally lah. Ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, lau niang is keji tahap cipan tenuk.
The only thing that i will reveal to you is that the best ikan bakar spots are NOT located in the city. Yep, you gotta travel a lil' bit off town to get the best ones. No pain no gain. And in this particular shop, costumers pack this place everytime because the shopkeepers gurantee you fresh supplies of seafood all the time. You can pick your choices blindfolded and you won't go wrong.
See what i mean? All so so fresh kan. And you are really spoilt for choices too. They have every kind of seafood you can name here. Ok that's a bit too over lah. They dun have sea horses or whales. Hmm...but then again...sea horses cannot eat and whale is not a fish kan. So i'm right after all. Ha ha ha ha!
And after you've made your selection of seafood to eat, they will cook it right in front of your very eyes. So nice kan. They have many ways of cooking such as sweet and sour, spicy, deep fried and many more, just to name a few. Best of all, they dun charge you for the cooking. You only pay for the seafood you picked. As a result, many customers are really happy and they keep coming back. After all, how many shops offers you cheap and fresh seafood kan. Personally, i dunno exactly how cheap it was but everybody tells me so. My mom, friends and colleagues whom i took them there all say its reasonable. Coz i never pay the bill one. All they pay only. Larriiiikkkk!
Amongst their most famous dishes are the cockles and prawns. They have SO MANY type of cockles to choose from! From the normal ugly bloody siham type right up to exotic bamboo lalas and some i never see before also. Feels a little like Fear Factor.
Their satay prawn is the signature dish. As you can see, satay sticks were shoved up the asses of these yummylicious huge ass prawns and they are baked till sedap sedap. It's a compulsary order for every visit!
I wish i can take more pics of the cooked dishes but my dad and sisters couldn't keep their paws off the food. Everytime a new dish arrives on the table, it gets half eaten already before i can even switch on my camera. By the time i'm ready, the food is too fugly to be cammed. Grrr!!
But the fish is sooooo good i tell you. It is wrapped all over with banana leaves and they are baked until the leaves gets.....burnt. Of course. Now it looks really ugly on the outside, but when you open the leaves up....oh my lord. That's a living proof that there is a God out there and He loves us all!
The cooling coconut drinks compliment well with the spicy Ikan Bakar as well. Its a very hot favourite among custumers. Personally, i'm not really a big fan of coconuts. I still prefer my sirap ais anytime but you can see at least 1 (if not more) coconut with a straw on every table around. You can visibly see the mountain of coconuts decreasing in numbers as you sit down and eat. The boy chopping coconuts like he's in trance. Don't you dare play peek-a-boo with him when he's holding that foot long parang i tell you. Silap silap your head also can put straw inside...
So the next time you drop by Melaka, do bring me for a treat and i will bring you to the best hidden treasures that you won't find on your own. Motif sangat. Ha ha ha ha!
