It's noon and you are craving for some really good ikan bakar. What are you going to do? You can either drive down to Umbai, Port Dickson or opt to stay in the state and drive behind Istana Negara at Jalan Bellamy. People from all over town congregate here to eat ikan bakar from three stalls that specialises on ikan bakar . At noon, this place gets really packed. The only place to park your car is on top of a tree. By two o'clock, most of the ikan bakar would have probably sold out.
The stall on the left is Ikan Bakar Jaafar and on the right Ikan Bakar Ramli (rightmost corner where the Air Batu Campur is). Lets talk about ikan bakar Ramli. New to the ikan bakar business, Ramli started selling ikan bakar here only a couple of years ago although their family has been in the food business for years. Now, there are two things that make ikan bakar stalls distinctive. One is the kuah/sauce thay they prepare and the other how well you grill the fish. Ramli's stall serve you two different types of kuah whereas the others have only one. The sour hot chili sauce is a mixture of soya sauce and their secret ingredients whereas their other sauce is a mixture of sour tomato sauce, limau kasturi, belacan and their 'other' secret ingredients. To those of you with a butter tongue or cannot take chili, this is good news because you can opt for the tomato sauce. Ikan bakar goes great with sour sauces. Either way, both sauces are very delicious and distinctive.
"You sweat like a horse and come out smelling like fish"
For succulent grilled stingray's, pamper yourselves at Gerai Seri Melaka (between Ramli and Jaafar). They have been grilling fish behind Istana Negara for the past eight to nine years. Location wise, it's the stall in the middle of three. What makes their fish special is that they use female stingrays only for the grill. Don't ask me how they know which is which but the pari (stingray) at Seri Melaka tends to be more tender and flavourful than the others. Apart from stingrays, Seri Melaka also grills the local mackarel (kembung), terubuk, cuttlefish and seabass. Before grilling, the fishes are marinated in a combination of fragrant serai, halia and special powders which includes curry. Also a must try is their grilled catfish bakar going from RM3 a piece. Expertly grilled, the outer side is grilled crispy but the inner flesh must be well cooked, juicy and moist. Another recommendation is the terubuk. Terubuk is a kind of fish with a lot of bones. The flesh is very tasty if you don't mind the bones (you pick the bones out, don't eat them). The grilled fish is best taken with a plate of warm rice and a glass of ice lemon tea.
The place opens around noon and by 3-4pm there's nothing left so get there early as parking can be horrendous. This is the kind of place where you sweat like a horse and come out smelling like fish. If you don't want to come of of lunch smelling like one, better keep a spare shirt in the boot of your car. Anyway have a nice lunch and enjoy the food...
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Fancy a 'keli' (catfish) for lunch?
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Foodster's Verdict
Ikan Bakar Jln. Bellamy
Address:
Lorong Bellamy, behind Istana Negara Tel:
Open:
Lunch
Pros:
Guaranteed a good ikan bakar meal. Try all three to find your own personal favourite
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