We were in Malacca on Boxing Day and instead of having our dinner in the city centre which is jammed packed with tourists, our friend Sheik took us to the fishing village of Serkam for their popular Malay style sea food.
Serkam is a short 15 km drive out of Melaka city, heading south along the old coastal road in the direction of Muar. At the jetty at Kampung Serkam, you will see many small fishing boats moored by the river.
There are 5 grilled seafood stalls here at Serkam Medan Ikan Bakar with roughly the same menu - grilled fish, fish cooked with various sauces (e.g. masak tiga rasa, asam pedas etc), deep fried squid, stir fried vegetables, and omelette etc
Each of the stalls have their own loyal following. Many families come here with all three generations and have their own favourite stalls. The prices here are also budget friendly.
The fish here are fresh, needless to say. I saw Ikan Jenahak (Golden Snapper), Siakap (Sea Bass), juvenile Ikan Kurau and Ikan Pari (Stingray). There were also prawns, mussels and squid.
Grilling over charcoal is the most popular cooking method here - after all, this place is called Medan Ikan Bakar or Grilled Fish Field.
Cooking over red hot coals need eagle eyed attention and sharp skills as the heat can get all the seafood's natural flavours and juices dried up or worse, get it burnt easily.
Siakap grilled with fiery looking sambal chili is a popular choice.
Customers also like fish cooked with sauces that are less spicy e.g. tiga rasa, or sweet and sour.
Many families order the simple grilled prawns too.
We had this slab of Stingray slathered with sambal chili, wrapped in banana leaf and grilled over charcoal.
The soft and juicy white flesh was so sweet, it's natural flavour was accentuated by the mildly spicy hot chili paste with a strong lemon grass taste. The sambal chili was slathered on sparingly - just the right amount to bring out the Stingray's delicious flavours without overpowering it.
The Stingray is eaten with sambal chili (chili paste) or kicap pedas (blend of chili paste and soy sauce). Both were excellent. It makes the fish more delicious and I am happy even to eat these sauces by themselves. Really. Ask Sheik - he saw me
We had our Ikan Jenahak cooked tiga rasa style. It was nicely done too - with the outside crisp and the flesh inside still tender and juicy. The sauce was also just mildly sweet, sour, spicy flavoured and thus enhanced the taste of the fish (without masking any of it's natural flavours).
The deep fried squid rings were very well executed too. Crispy outside and juicy spongy inside. I didn't use the special salty sweet sour spicy sauce that came with the fried squid as they were already so delicious.
Here in Serkam, we eat our seafood with small packets of plain nasi lemak (coconut rice) wrapped in banana leaf.
The best way to enjoy seafood here at Serkam is to use our fingers to mix the nasi lemak with sambal chili and fish.
I love the experience here at Serkam fishing village very much. Very grateful to Sheik for bringing us here. Thank you.
I want to come back and check out all the different stalls here :-D Which one is your favourite stall at Serkam?
Restaurant name: Serkam Medan Ikan Bakar (various stalls)
Address: Medan Ikan Bakar Serkam, 7730 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia
GPS: 2.135629, 102.383167
Hours: Lunch and Dinner
Halal
Date visited: 26 Dec 2015
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Looks delicious! Is the place difficult to find from normal touristy hotels in malacca ?
ReplyDeleteIt is easy. Just lock on the GPS and follow the directions. To be extra sure, try going for lunch on first visit. And, can go for dinner after you know the way.
DeleteWhat's their operating timing for lunch and dinner?
ReplyDelete