PETALING JAYA, Aug 21 — I love grilled fish.
I love the blistered, charred skin; I love the moist, flaky flesh.
Where most “Western” (read: Mediterranean) preparations favour restraint with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkling of parsley, I much prefer our full-blooded Malaysian versions.
Whether it is ikan bakar with a fiery sambal or “Portuguese” style grilled fish smothered in a flavourful sauce, they are always a whirlwind for the palate and perfect to wolf down with rice.
The latter dish may be Portuguese in name, but it is also distinctly Malaysian, thanks to the Kristang community from which it originates.
Anyone who has visited the Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir, Melaka, will undoubtedly have seen and most likely tasted this style of grilled fish.
The main dining area.— Picture by Ethan Lau
These days, though, it is possible to find it all over the Klang Valley, usually at places specialising in grilled fish prepared in various ways.
December Grill Fish in Seksyen 51a, PJ is one such place.
The business first began in Seksyen 1, PJ Old Town, in 2021, before moving to a converted bungalow on Jalan Penchala in 2022.
In April this year, it shifted to its current home in Boulevard 51.
The menu is straightforward: choose from ikan pari (stingray), dory, patin (shark catfish) and, most interestingly, chicken fish or ikan ayam.
Each is grilled and served with a choice of proprietary sauces, including Portuguese, Nyonya and asam.
Ikan pari, or stingray (RM45 for a large portion), is the classic choice, and Portuguese is the classic sauce to pair it with.
Instead of a whole fish, hunks of firm stingray meat arrive in a tub of aluminium foil, filled to the brim with a chunky orange sauce and topped with slices of okra and onion.
As with any well-cooked stingray, the flesh doesn’t so much flake off the wings as peel away in long, soft strips.
Importantly, there was no hint of urea or its telltale ammonia odour that sometimes plagues stingray, even if the sauce could have masked it.
‘Patin’ fish comes in small bite-sized pieces, but is grilled until nicely charred and caramelised. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Smothered in the grainy Portuguese sauce, spicy yet mostly savoury with plenty of dried shrimp, it goes down a treat with plain rice.
The offering of patin (RM33 for a small portion) caught my eye, as I’m more accustomed to eating it steamed with seasoned soy sauce, which highlights its fatty qualities, or in tempoyak, where long cooking gives it a firm texture, but I’ve never had it grilled.
Instead of large hunks, it comes in smaller, almost bite-sized pieces of entirely boneless fish.
Each piece carries a substantial char and caramelisation from the flat top grill, and the asam sauce we opted for turned out to be my favourite.
Tangy and spicy, the sauce complements the supple, slightly fatty fish beautifully.
In addition to fish, seafood like ‘sotong’, ‘lala’, scallop and shrimp are also offered. — Picture by Ethan Lau
In addition to fish, sotong, lala, scallop and shrimp are also offered, with the option of choosing three for a mixed platter.
We went with sotong, lala and shrimp (RM38 for a small portion) in Nyonya sauce, though to call these grilled feels like a misnomer.
Wrapped tightly in foil, baked is probably the more accurate description of the cooking process.
The seafood was decently fresh, but the sauce was disappointingly sweet, tasting saccharine rather than complex and spicy as one might expect.
Ultimately, grilled fish, whether stingray in Portuguese sauce or patin in asam, remains one of the great pleasures of eating in Malaysia.
At December Grill Fish, there is enough to remind me why I will always prefer our fiery, sauce-laden renditions to the restrained lemon and olive oil versions elsewhere, and it does not hurt at all that this comes in the comfort of air-conditioned digs.
Look for the black sign inside Boulevard 51. — Picture by Ethan Lau
十二月烧鱼 December Grill Fish
A-G-3A, Boulevard 51,
Jalan 51A/241, Seksyen 51a,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am-2pm, 5.30-11pm. Open only for dinner on Saturdays and Sundays.
Tel: 011-5857 7317
Facebook: December Grill Fish
Instagram: @decembergrillfish
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and self-deprecating attempts at humour.
