Pecel Lele @ Kak Long Tomyam in Meldrum Walk, Johor Bahru

I needed a quick dinner one evening and as I was in Old Downtown JB, I walked briskly over to Meldrum Walk for a quick bite.

Decided to go for Kak Long’s pecel lele or Indonesian style fried catfish with rice.

I was pleasantly surprised that for a reasonable RM6, the chef actually took a large fresh catfish, gutted and cleaned it on the spot, only after I had made my order.

The catfish was then marinated with sauces and curry powder, and deep fried till golden brown.

What would be “normal”, would be pre-cooked catfish – which was what had I expected. So this fresh fish was beyond my expectations J

This is the set of freshly fried catfish smothered with crispy crackles on a banana leaf, and it comes with a generous heap of steamed white rice, tempeh, tofu, vegetables, sambal and a clear soup.

I enjoyed this catfish, as I always do. The tender flesh was sweet and doesn’t have any of that “muddy” taste normally associated with catfish.

The sambal was mild and unremarkable - personally, I much prefer mine to be more robust and extra spicy hot.

If you like pecel lele, Kak Long’s is definitely a very good choice.

Restaurant name: Kak Long Tomyam

Address: Stall in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/n7qhh

GPS: 1.460045,103.764673

Hours: 5:00pm to midnight

Halal

Date visited: 29 May 2012

Bakar Stingray @ Kak Long Tomyam in Meldrum Walk

There are several ikan bakar (BBQ fish) stalls in Meldrum walk. With so many choices, I had a hard time deciding on which stall I should bet my precious calories.

So I used the well tried and tested method of seeing where the crowds are congregating.

Then I took a look at the seafood on display to make sure that it is the freshest.

Finally, I observed the chef in action and the cooking process.

After due diligence, I settled for Kak Long. The stall is made up of two stalls - it looked popular and promising.

I picked a small stingray for RM18. It was big enough by itself to stuff two people.

The sambal sauce is spicy. While my fish was being cooked, the bubbling sambal aroma engulfed the alley and people nearest to it had their noses stung by the pungent smell. I love it but some  people may prefer a milder sauce.

The fish is skilfully and lovingly grilled by makcik (Malay for auntie). It made me feel like its mum's home cooking. The way she went about the process, it was obvious that makcik sincerely wanted us to enjoy her cooking which she did with much pride and loving care.

The end result was a perfectly done stingray. The entire fish turned out steaming hot, tender, oozing with naturally sweet juices, and spiced with hot chili sambal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this stingray. Nothing was left of the fish, not even a single bone. I forgot to take a picture of the bed of banana leaves, the only thing that was left after we were done.

Just recalling it to write this post makes my heart sing. Terima kasi makcik :-D

Restaurant name: Kak Long Tomyam

Address: Stall in Meldrum Walk in downtown Johor Bahru

Map: http://g.co/maps/n7qhh

Hours: 5:00pm to midnight

Halal

Date visited: 13 Feb 2012