Jia Siang Cafe 家香茶室 (actually a zhi char place) is a special type of seafood experience. It's at a small fishing village in Balik Pulau, Penang. We buy our own fresh seafood straight off the small boats and Jia Siang Cafe cooks it for us and serves it for a reasonable fee. I came here twice during my week long trip to Penang 😄
Jia Siang Cafe (is in Pulau Betong) right at the banks of Sungai Pulau Betung just beside this little vehicle bridge over the river.
By the afternoon, the fishermen have unloaded their night's catch and are preparing their nets for the next fishing trip to the Straits of Malacca.
As you walk along the jetty, you will see monitor lizards which have grown fat feeding on discarded fish from the boats. The large reptiles sun themselves on the banks and slither away nonchalantly as humans approach.
At the jetty, there are a few fish mongers selling seafood straight off the boats.
Locals come here to buy super fresh seafood for lunch and dinner. What's available depends on the night's catch. Every day it is different.
There were live wild caught Grouper fish today.
Ikan Kurau (Threadfin fish) still stiff with mortis rigor (meaning these fish were caught less than 12 hours ago at most).
Live wild caught tiger prawns.
The fish's eyes so bright, it was like they were looking at me through fish tanks.
Don't worry about fishy smells associated with fish markets. There is none here. The fish are so fresh, there is neither fishy smell nor chemical smell of preservatives.
Buy your seafood and walk 20 paces to Jia Siang Cafe (which is actually a zhi char 煮炒 shop). Spartan furnishings, under a flat zinc roof but still comfortable despite the blazing mid day sun and no air conditioning.
Hand your seafood to the chefs at Jia Siang and they will gut, clean and cook the fish for you.
The cooking techniques are relatively simple like steam and stir fry, deep fry but hey.... with seafood this fresh I don't want anyone to mess with it with fanciful gimmicks. I just want to taste the seafood's natural goodness 😄
Jia Siang charges RM10 to RM20+ per dish depending on the cooking method. (But, you have to bring your own fish lah.)
(Jia Siang Cafe also stock their own fresh seafood just like any seafood restaurant, but getting from the restaurant after driving all the way to a fishing village...., where got fun..., right?)
Here's what we had over two days. I enjoyed everything (except the mantis prawns).
Steamed Grouper fish.
Steamed white Pomfret.
Steamed tiger prawns and very sweet flower crabs.
Steamed Ikan Kurau or Threadfin.
Our second steamed Grouper with extra Grouper fish belly added.
Steamed mantis prawns. A bit disappointed with these, as the flesh was somehow mushy..... .
Deep fried Ikan Kambung (Chub Mackerel).
Deep fried Grouper fish blanketed with a Thai style sweet spicy sourish sauce.
Deep fried Ikan Kurau.
Golden brown crisp outside while still tender and juicy inside, as Kurau is a thick meaty fish.
Sambal sotong (squid).
After so much meat, some simple crunchy juicy fresh greens are welcome.
The humble kang kong with sambal balacan chili is one of my favourite dishes.
While you are here, get at least one mug of fresh pure nutmeg juice, the signature Penang drink. Nutmeg has it's own unique taste and may not be for everyone. But, on both visits, I had two rounds. Love it 😄
4-Star (out of 5). If you are visiting Penang and is tired of the usual tourist fare in Georgetown, take the one hour drive down south to Jia Siang Cafe 家香茶室 in Balik Pulau. Experience a bit of fishing village life and taste seafood straight off the boat for a fraction of Georgetown prices. It's a foodie travel story you will be telling for years to come.
Restaurant name: Jia Siang Cafe 家香茶室
Address: 321, Mk 7, Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau, Penang, Malaysia
GPS: 5°18'21.9"N 100°11'41.4"E | 5.306085, 100.194845
Tel: 019 746 8465 | 013 516 8361
Hours: 12:00 noon to 7:00pm (Alternate Monday off)
Non Halal
Date: 2 Sep 2017
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