Ikan Bakar (Grilled Fish) at first-class Seafood restaurant in Melaka, Malaysia

food is one of the exceptional reasons to tour, and the grilled fish is a purpose you have to journey to Melaka.

Malaysia’s people are terrific already, however, one area they especially excel in is looking after massive grills complete of fish.

some nearby eaters at the eating place even claimed this is “the fine Seafood restaurant in all of Malaysia.” In brief, Ikan Bakar Hj Musa is one restaurant in Melaka you just can’t manage to pay for to miss.

Freshly caught seafood is out on the show, each purchaser is loose to pick out their own

THE DAY’S fresh catch IS delivered OUT, and also you GET TO select every item to your own.

finding out the fresh seize

one of the most a laugh parts of consuming local meals in Malaysia, is the first rate mind-set they have right here toward ‘self-provider.’

whether or not its the rice, a easy sauce, or even an entire large fish nonetheless swimming in its pen, aside from the real cooking, you select and pick out quite lots every a part of every meal your self.

Ikan Bakar Hj Musa isn't any distinct, and part of the meal experience right here is to begin by coming near the mountain of fish in the front. genuinely take your time to select out the fish you want, and while you’re done, hand it all over to the chef, and watch him visit work.

A large and daily selection of freshly caught seafood, Ikan Bakar Hj Musa is maximum well-known for their grilled fish. In overall they have got a dozen styles of fish, and other types other seafood as nicely, just waiting if you want to select.

objects grilling on charcoal, fish and stingray

at the LEFT, OUR MACKAREL, AND at the right, A large SLICE OF STINGRAY!

First, You choose your Fish

From the diverse tubs and ice trays piled high, you could investigate every fish through hand earlier than tossing it for your private plastic lunchbox of seafood.

note: due to the fact the fish are caught clean every day, there may be a few range in selection. every fish may not be there every day, however in my thoughts that’s another manner you understand that those fish genuinely are coming directly from the local fisherman.**

Then, pick out your fashion

The items they have to have day by day, are in a list at the black menu board. The charges are given via 100 gram weights, and also you absolutely line up your alternatives subsequent to the dimensions, they file the numbers on your invoice, and you flow proper along to the subsequent step.

If there’s no one else in line in front of you, it may not be obvious at the beginning – however there may be a massive gain to serving food like this (except the abundance of delicious fresh seafood of direction).

choose Your Favorites, or just one among the whole thing

I’ll simply inform you at once – the nearby way to devour right here is to pick out now not one, but several extraordinary seafoods, and you could also try an collection of cooking styles as properly (for which there may be no charge, but we are able to get to that during a minute).

consequently, don’t be at all surprised to look a trio of harmless searching younger girls, delicately deciding on fish… however then a ways outdoing you within the length of their order (it befell to us… twice!).

that is an area where you may actually permit your seafood passions flourish. go on your favorite fish, and select out a large one, pairing it with a few small side orders, or cross the other way and taste the complete selection with an order of ‘one in all the entirety, please.’

word: at the same time as looking forward to your very own fish to grill, walk about 100 meters out and beyond the eating place to look at all of the colorful fishing boats lining up at anchor, all the fisherman enjoyable after a tough morning’s work.

A should-order dish at Ikan Bakar Hj Musa, they may be smooth, splendidly easy to peel, and this dish is certain to be long gone in a hurry

FRESHLY caught SHRIMP, GRILLED AFTER BEING SALTED (‘UDANG GORENG GARAM’)

Grilled, Fried, or Deep Fried

After filling your basket (several baskets more adore it), flow to the second step of your seafood dinner party – choosing the fashion of ways your fish will cook.

I will list the person orders in detail down under, however, first I’ll supply a widespread idea of how the selecting/grilling procedure may also appear.

Our first selection of shrimp came out to a 1/2 kilo (I assume it was a 1/2-dozen shrimp), and we requested for them simply salted and then grilled. Our bigger fish (a medium-length Indian Mackarel) we desired on a banana leaf with sambal, then additionally grilled as well.

next got here a unmarried massive squid, sliced up and deep fried, which is also something that incorporates its very own sweet and spicy dark soy dipping sauce.

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subsequently, to top all of it off, the need to-order dish of stingray (‘ikan pari’)! This we ordered grilled, similar to the fish, and its also simply smeared and covered with sambal, then sooner or later wrapped Malay-fashion in a banana leaf.

All in their grilling is finished on a massive mattress of coals, right out in the open for all to look.

Waves of Grilling Aromas

quite the proper way to make any and all customers simply deeply and desperately hungry, the restaurant slowly fills with growing waves of juicy aromas.

For only a tantalizing amount of time, its impossible not to look every minute closer to the grill, constantly attempting no longer to marvel when it is going to be your fish’s flip to locate its way via for your table…

Ikan Bakar is the most famous fashion to have your fish cooked right here, and just like the call, its the dish for which this restaurant is known

THEY SMOTHER every FISH IN SAMBAL before GRILLING, placing THEM ON BANANA LEAVES before SERVING

Indian Mackarel (‘Ikan Kembung’)

a very famous fish in Malaysia is the Indian Mackarel. a bigger fish than the Thai favorite, shorthead mackarel, a not unusual manner to have this is the traditional style of Ikan Bakar (grilled fish, just like the restaurant’s name).

After selecting your fish, the chef will slice it down the spine, and lay it spread open over the recent charcoals.

a few turns are essential to even out the warmth on each sides, and the searing heat from those coals has the fish finished in less than 10 mins.

After the grilling, the chef will cowl one side in sambal earlier than turning it over onto a banana leaf, then overlaying the other aspect with sambal as well, before in the end turning in it to your table.

The Sambal turns to Chili Jam!

as the fish meat is still so hot, the cool sambal getting into touch with it sort of chefs some of the sambal at once. It will become a jelly-like consistency, almost like a chili jam, that's gloriously highly spiced, slightly fruity, and properly stinky from the mashed up blend of chili peppers and shallots.

Take a piece of fish from some thing a part of it is nearest to you, however simply be a bit mild with a view to now not get any bits of charred pores and skin in your first bite (quite a mission to restrain yourself!) The fish’s own fat within the layer closest the skin normally breaks away cleanly, however its constantly higher to head lightly until you learn how each fish’s meat organizes itself around the framework of bones.

positioned the chew of fish onto your rice, use a spoon to scoop up a piece extra of the sambal, and then perhaps deliver it a squeeze of sparkling calamansi (the small citrus fruit), a great ratio of direction is one squeeze for each chunk.

first-rate order of grilled salted shrimp, and i really like the chef's fashion of cooking them as well (you can see the complete shrimp, prolonged to its full period)

i really like THE fashion, STRETCHING THE SHRIMP OUT LIKE THIS – quicker TO GRILL, less complicated TO devour. extraordinary!

Grilled Salted Shrimp (‘Udang Goreng Garam’)

one of the options that tastes best for these shrimp is to actually have them salted, and then grilled – those also include their personal type of sambal (sauce).

The shrimp are well massive already, but the chef chooses to stretch them out at the skewer in a way i've by no means seen earlier than.

i am now not sure if it's far because of this man or woman species of shrimp, or that chef’s trick of pre-bending the shrimps lower back before grilling, however the shrimp are notably smooth to peel.

The Peeling approach

The skin is so skinny that before everything, I notion you may just eat the whole thing!

however attempt now not to consume the pores and skin/shrimp scales, you do need to peel them off first. every crispy scale segment although, comes off with just a pinch among a thumb and forefinger.

Peeling these is so smooth in reality, that this dish sincerely disappears – anyone at the desk politely but swiftly dividing up the shrimp. every segment of shrimp simply tastes tremendous on its very own, with a spoon of rice, however the dark sauce that includes it's miles well sweet and highly spiced as nicely.

That mature darkish soy sauce is full of diced red shallots and green onions, it's miles pretty candy, however properly vinegary as well, and goes splendid with the bites of juicy, salty shrimp.

The chef smears chili sauce over the stingray as quickly as it's miles accomplished grilling over charcoal

sparkling STINGRAY, GRILLED, AND BATHED IN CHILI SAUCE

Stingray (‘Ikan Pari’)

The stingray is truly a spotlight of any Malay-fashion seafood dinner party, and there’s no way I ought to bypass by way of the large ray up front without ordering a plate for our table.

(via the way, stingray this massive must be reduce into four identical quantities, which is why it might not be so recognizable in a serving tray).

The equal types of cooking are to be had to the stingray as they are with the ikan bakar grilled fish – and we selected ours to be first cooked over the charcoal, then bathed in chili, and finally wrapped in a banana leaf before returning to the grill again for a final few minutes of cooking.

but the chef chooses to smear on all that chili sambal, one issue is for sure – this dish is one of the ones you want to make sure to order as ‘extra, greater highly spiced.’

That Sambal is a cause to rejoice

The sambal just offers the most splendid and gooey outer layer, its nearly like a cushion to bite thru before entering into the meat.

there's in order that a great deal grilling and smoky flavor in the sauce, in addition to a level of spice and pepper taste that just makes any tongue and tastebuds dance for pleasure.

The taste is coming from the neighborhood favorite blend of purple lengthy peppers, and small hot chilies, and is one which just may move you to 3 moments of barely awed, silent laughter.

you'll want to scrape each remaining little bit of sauce from the outer skin, from the banana leaf, get all of it onto your rice as you peel off the long strips of stingray’s grilled flesh.

notice: The bones of a stingray are pretty precise, and even as I think they're innocent in case you appear to swallow some through accident (very understandable, this stingray changed into insanely scrumptious), nearby Melaka people do no longer eat the bones.

easy veggies cross notable with the salted and grilled options at Ikan Bakar Hj Musa restaurant

chinese KALE, FRIED AT high warmth WITH some SHREDDED CARROTS AND pink ONIONS

Vegetable options

Any quantity of grill alternatives this considerable constantly is going super with a simple plate of clean green veggies.

We requested for ours fried chinese style, over extremely excessive heat, however the chef virtually offers it a Malay twist via adding some chops of flavorful facets as well (some carrots and crimson onions in this case).

i will’t assist but admire right here, simply as incredible as their meals genuinely is, additionally the reality that each meal takes region in a setting of such quite laid returned feelings.

The beach feelings of relaxation which so flawlessly accommodate everybody journeying this restaurant simply elevates this meal to perfection.

Its delicious, Its relaxing, Its only simply Seafood amusing.

this is simply one of the quality methods to combine each fun, meals, and rest, and by no means was this meal specific to my standard Malaysian enjoy.

that is without a doubt how neighborhood Malay’s like to devour all their seafood, anywhere you go! On each of my previous visits to Malaysia as properly, with out fail there was always one evening of the trip where i found myself well sorted by using a glad institution of friends, taking me around to devour seafood.

main me, and giggling with me (or at me, which is great too), as my eyes have been bulging out, over just a thoughts-boggling amount of freshly caught seafood, all of which we chose ourselves.

In 2009, 2012, and now in 2019, it changed into that equal consolation, the identical incredible emotions. There are few locations within the world that ever out-do Malaysia with meals, specially in relation to an all-out grilled seafood banquet (Pakistan though, is genuinely a contender).

nicely textured deep fried squid completes the meal at Haji Musa Ikan Bakar eating place.

DEEP-FRIED SEAFOOD FOR DESSERT! THE SQUID COMES WITH A TANGY DIPPING SAUCE.

Deep Fried Squid (‘Sotong Goreng Tepung’)

The squid are not the maximum flavorful issue at the menu at Hj Musa, but wow are they properly crunchy!

on occasion, building a great mixture meal involves extra than simply the flavor found in each dish on its personal. I’m still perfecting this art in Thailand, and Malaysia has its very own varieties of flavor stability opportunities as nicely (ie. Tempoyak 🙂 )

by itself, the deep fried-ness form of overpowers the whole lot else inside the flavor… but to me, this was in reality best. As part of this diverse meal, accompanied by so many other bitter sambals, highly spiced chilies, and sour herbs, the squid is not an area you want any wild flavor in any case.

the feel of this squid (‘sotong’) is simply spot-on, frying to a super crispness on the out of doors, smooth and barely bouncy on the inner. Squid cooking like this serves flawlessly to praise the deeply flavorful chili jam-protected grilled fish, stingray, any of the other objects to your desk for this meal.

outstanding food, and well-loved through locals, every other client commented on how in his opinion, this meal changed into the best seafood in all of Malaysia

“first-class GRILLED FISH IN MALAYSIA” – any other purchaser AT IKAN BAKAR HJ MUSA

“The high-quality Grilled Fish in Malaysia”

finishing our meal become a mini-marathon, and although i was unhappy to peer the final bit of fish move down, i can genuinely say i used to be a bit worn-out.

this will come as a lot of a wonder although, as this eating place’s layout is essentially focusing on facilitating you ordering just top notch and considerable quantities of seafood.

Its superb. Joyous. Its a reason for a charcoal and chili, seafood birthday celebration.

The lower back tale

before inquiring for our invoice, a huge group of buddies simply coming in, came over for a quick chat.

Confirming for us (their personal opinion) that Ikan Bakar Hj Musa changed into “the best location in all Malaysia” for grilled fish and seafood, the primary element they wanted to recognize, became how we had observed it.

(some of them had seen Migrationology’s YouTube channel, they preferred the Malaysia collection from 2012.)

permit me to repeat, this institution of gents all declare Hj Musa as now not only ‘the first-rate on the town,’ some of them even made positive we knew that they hold it to be the quality grilled fish in the whole u . s . a .!

So super to pay attention, as there without a doubt are so many shops, all look quite similar from the front, all of these eating places promoting various grilled gadgets down the whole beachfront location of Melaka’s coastal vicinity.

stop with the aid of Hj Musa Ikan Bakar for your subsequent trip to Melaka, Malaysia. Don’t leave out this first rate meal of seafood, at this gorgeously enjoyable, seashore nearby restaurant.