Pak Din’s ikan bakar at Medan Selera Tang Lin is the cream of the crop among three choices.
FIRST of all, I would like to wish all Muslim readers a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Drive safely to your hometown and remember to obey the traffic rules.
Okay, moving on, reader Abdul Halim Mohsin from Puncak Alam in Selangor wanted to know if there are any good ikan bakar stalls in Kuala Lumpur.
“Dear Mr Samo, I am a big fan of ikan bakar and I want to know if you have any recommendations where I can take my family for a makan outing..,” asked Abdul Halim.
Well, speaking of ikan bakar, you are in luck.
Why? Because I have three expert opinions on where to eat ikan bakar.
In Kuala Lumpur’s city centre, there’s the Ikan Bakar Jalan Bellamy (03 07.849 N, 10 1 41.691 E) located at the back of the old Istana Negara.
This is the place to go to if you are in the city centre and Mat Langsat, an old fishing kaki who specialises in the Malayan Masheer (ikan Kelah), said he highly recommends the stalls in the area.
Ah, if you like fish like the ikan pari (stingray) roasted over a slow fire on a skillet, Jalan Bellamy has a lot to offer.
And on the average, you can expect to spend between RM15 and RM25 for a lunch fix,” added Mat.
The medan ikan bakar in Jalan Bellamy caters to the lunch crowd and one word of advice from the wise Mat Langsat is: “Go early and car pool”.
On the other hand, Man Misai, another dear friend of mine who is a fishing kaki, said there’s none better than Pak Din’s ikan bakar at Medan Selera Tang Lin (03 08.643 N, 101 41.440 E)
Now, if you are familiar with Nasi Lemak Tang Lin, the ikan bakar stall owned by Pak Din is just within reach.
Man Misai said this is “THE” ikan bakar stall in the city centre and he goes there at least once a month.
For a resident of Bukit Beruntung in Selangor, he sure goes far to get his ikan bakar fix from the stall located behind Masjid Negara.
Pak Din’s ikan bakar at Medan Selera Tang Lin is the cream of the crop among three choices. “I love eating there, the selection is good and the fish is roasted over a charcoal fire.
Once, I had some sotong bakar and it was bad, Pak Din replaced it for me and apologised.
That’s why he has so many regular customers, some coming for makan as far as from Seremban!”
On the average, a typical ikan bakar meal would cost between RM15 and RM20, depending on the seafood dishes you order.
If you live outside Klang Valley, Adnan Siput, a cycling kaki of mine, recommends Restoran Muara in Klang’s Tanjung Harapan (N 03 00.690, E 101 21.606).
Eh Samo, this place best la!
They are the same people who run an ikan bakar stall in Umbai, Melaka.”
When I probed further, I found out that Adnan had got the information from StarMetro’s Food Trail column.
“What? Samo and Sam Cheong the same person ka? Sorry la brader!“.
Adnan, a resident of Setia Alam near Meru, said he visits the ikan bakar restaurant at least twice a month.
“We spend about RM80 for four people and this includes nasi lemak, crabs, prawns and a fish,” he added.
To sum it up, I agreed with Man Misai because my favourite ikan bakar stall is Pak Din’s in Medan Selera Tang Lin.
I would rate his stall an eight out of 10 on the Samo-scale, while Jalan Bellamy’s ikan bakar would come in at five out of 10 and Muara ikan bakar in Tanjung Harapan scores a measly four out of 10.
The ikan bakar stalls in the city centre caters mainly to the lunch crowd while Muara in Tanjung Harapan caters to dinner patrons.
