Muara Sg Duyung : Best Ikan Bakar Ever

at this place, i ate, what is arguably, the BEST ikan bakar i've ever tasted. i want to be selfish and not tell you exactly where this place is, because it's already crowded as it it.

however, good food are meant to be shared, and so i will.

a sneak peek at the ikan bakar

the place is 'muara sungai duyung', melaka. to get there, just follow the old road leading to muar. along the way, just be on a lookout for a narrow path leading to a river - and you'll eventually see the ikan bakar restaurant.

when at lost, asked around. that was how we first 'stumbled' upon the muara sungai duyung.


i have 3 boys; one of which is a baby that sleeps in the baby carrier upon a stroller. the place is huge enough for a whole lot of strollers, or even spaces for kids to run around.

it's clean. it's clear and bright. it has a nice view of the river, and it's festive with shouts of the staff making orders for the patrons.

speaking of making order, here's how -

1. you pick a seat,
2. check out the counter at the back with all the fresh fish, crabs (and even a tub of siput sedut that are still moving!),
3. make your order,
4. sit down and wait for your order,
5. eat,
6. drink,
7. be merry,
8. and pay at the cash counter.

another plus point is, the food comes fast - before you can even wonder 'apsal lama sangat ni?' or make basi jokes like 'diorang ni masak ikan ke, gi tangkap ikan?'

bravo! this part is very important in every restaurant - serve food promptly!


the ikan bakar is served together with this cicah - soy sauce, cut up limau purut and cili padi, together with slices of onion.

nasi lemak

also, it's the first time i ate ikan bakar WITH nasi lemak! really a new thing. when i first came i still ordered white rice, and eventually tried it with nasi lemak. not bad. different, but it's still good!


how's ikan bakar with icy-cool jugs of fresh orange and watermelon juice? perfectorific!

ikan bakar

...and here's the main dish - the ultra delicious ikan siakap! salty sweet and succulent. soft and melts in your mouth. take a spoon, cut into it, and watch the juice trickle.

it's fresh, and it tastes fantastic.

kepah?

ok, at first, i thought this is kepah. and then i thought it's probably something else. wanna help me out here, anyone?

fried squid

here's my personal favorite - the sotong goreng tepung. this is a must-have in my list of lauk because (being a picky eater, remember?) i love to have ANYTHING crunchy to go with my rice and other lauk.

keropok is best, popadam next, and other deep fried food item would do fine as well. that's why having this fried squid was just perfect.

chilli crab

specially for mr khairul's spicy-nut tastebud - the ketam masak cili, and udang masak cili. yes, masak cili. myself being a tak-tahan-pedas chick took just a bite, and left it up to mr. khairul to finish it.

chilli prawn

* * *

...and at the end of the day...


if you're a fan of good seafood, your pursuit of the best ikan bakar stops here at muara sungai duyung. simply because of its freshness, great taste, and highly affordable. try it yourself!

we finally went there this time around, we will go again when we come back next year, just like we went there last year. click here to read about our last year's trip to muara sungai duyung.

Impromptu Night Trip to Melaka

this was not the craziest road trip we've taken. but still falls under the 'are-you-really-freakin-serious' category. mr. khairul, only 2 days away from flying back to dubai, decided that by all means, he had to have ikan bakar at our favorite grill fish haunt - sungai duyung in malaysia's historical city - melaka.

we started out from kuala lumpur to melaka at 6.30pm, and came back almost midnight. just for that ikan bakar.

* * *

the first time we came, most people seemed to suggest umbai as the best place to get ikan bakar in melaka.

pegi umbai!

umbai la best!

best seafood go umbai!

once in melaka, when we asked the otais of melaka including the pakcik at the melaka river, they all had these to say:

umbai dah comercial sgt. gi sg duyung.

seafood klasik punye pegi sg duyung.

pegi sg duyung la kalo nak yg stail kampung.

we did go to umbai first (only because we cannot find sungai duyung) then discovered that the place was clean and comfy, suitable for a large family outing. however, it does look comercialized with a lot of different stalls operating, ala food court. it's okay if you like that sorta thing but at that time, mr. khairul still wants the classic, kampung style - lagi run-down lagi baguih!

after a lot of driving around and asking a number of people, we finally found sungai duyung. speaking of asking around, i would like to state for the record that MEN DO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS. apsal dalam jokes men are always assumed too proud to ask for directions?

* * *

..and we arrived! through a small path, then we saw this cozy little place right by the river! this time around we went with mr. khairul's parents and his youngest sister sofia.

mr. khairul quickly left the car for his dad to park while he scooted off to pick and choose the fish and other seafood delicacies for our devouring pleasure!

we ordered:

siakap fish

ikan pari

sotong goreng tepung

ketam cili

(an unknown lala-like sea-shell)

i don't know about you guys, but when i first came here, that was the first time i found out that people eat grilled seafood with nasi lemak! not bad! however, i'm still a purist - i ordered plates of nasi putih nontheless!

i love its air asam. mainly for the kicap as its main ingredients - of course accompanied by sliced onions, cili padi and limau. cicah dengan ikan bakar - sigh!

fresh fish, the kind of fresh where you see yummy juices flow as you pick on the fish and the taste - soft and melts in your mouth! overall, it was still a wholesome meal worth travelling miles and hours for, at a moment's notice!

* * *

after filling our tummies with yummies, we made full use of our sudden trip to visit melaka city, passing by the famous dataran pahlawan and other landmarks. we made a stop in front of the very old st. xavier church, where rows of melaka tree stood proudly on the opposite, along the melaka river.

so this is melaka tree!

legend has it that the founder of melaka, parameswara was resting when he saw a kancil fought and ultimately defeated his hunter dogs. amazed by the wit and dexterity of the little kancil, he then asked about the tree under which he was resting upon, and was told that it was the melaka tree. hence, parameswara named the place as melaka.

we then moved on to one of the museums in melaka, which not only has the shape of a ship - but it really is a ship! complete with all the parts and sections of a typical ship.

khaleef was so excited screaming, "jack sparrow ship!"

after a few shots and the kids running around, we decided to wrap up the night and head on home. a tiring trip but was so worth it after seeing the look on mr. khairul's face after his long-craved seafood meal.

goin to melaka? give it a try, guys!