Ikan Bakar Portugis

Some of you may well be puzzled at the title. Let me explain.

I live in a country that has a wealth of food varieties and tastes. Most of it is beautifully cooked and presented so that picking out individual items for prize can be a particularly trying task.

The heading means ‘Portuguese Style Barbecued Fish’; ikan bakar – the burnt fish of the title, is a popular dish here. Who does not like a plate of fish especially if it is bakared?

This precise method of cooking fish is restricted to very few places where it will be either delicious or… not. There appears to be little in the way of middle ground here!

Today we found ourselves in a part of Selangor, one of the fourteen States of Malaysia, where we very rarely go. It is a town called Port Klang.

As a typical harbour town it holds very little interest for anyone who has no business with boats or the cargo that goes on and comes off those boats.

Our visit was for an entirely different reason from anything maritime but, in the event, it proved fruitless. The hour’s drive from our house to Port Klang seemed to have been a waste of time, petrol and energy until a shining finger from the heavens pointed down to a spot at the side of the road where it lit up a sign that said, “Ikan Bakar Portugis’.

Why we saw that I have no idea. Perhaps there really was a shining finger!

Lining the highway as we entered Port Klang were multiple rows of shop-lots, all of which were bland and uninviting. There was nothing to distinguish one from another – until!

Finding our primary purpose of going to Port Klang defeated we said, as one, that we should go back to that place we saw at the roadside and have lunch. We were both hungry.

Now, my diet says no seafood, meat or chicken. But, ikan bakar! 

When we went into the café my intent, on peering at the menu, was to see what vegetarian options here were available.

But ikan bakar!

The waitress suggested we share a fish. The waitress was chirpy; she was also married to the owner.

She said the siakap (barramundi) was very good today. Fresh. Portuguese style.

I made an executive decision to put my diet on hold for this lunchtime and ordered the Ikan Bakar Portugis Siakap. With kailan (Chinese Broccoli) and a telur dadar (omelette).

Waitress: desperately trying to understand my Malay 

The tea – no milk, no sugar, and my wife’s Thai Green Tea arrived promptly and was really good. That set the tone, really, for the rest of the meal.

First, the rice appeared with a bowl of a light asam sauce (slightly bitter sauce). The vegetables arrived with the omelette followed very quickly by the fish wrapped, as we expected, in foil.

 

Verdict?

It was all superb. Not just good but exquisite. Everything.

The fish slid effortlessly off the bone without being overdone. The vegetables were just slightly crunchy – perfect. The asam sauce was a treat for the taste buds.

Joyful Anticipation

 Who would have thought that we should find a place in such an odd spot?

There was one family in there when we arrived. By the time we left it was packed out with the lunchtime workers crowd.

Not the cheapest place but still very reasonable considering the quality and the swiftness at which the food appeared.

Will we go back?

Absolutely.

But it’s an hour’s drive! Yes, and worth it.

What did I like best? The service. With a smile – and a chuckle at my terrible Malay language skills.