Picture: Sotong bakar, Ikan bakar and Oyster egg
Another one of my favourite eating spot in JB town near City Square has got to be the multitude of stalls sprawled across Meldrum Walk that comes alive during the evening time. First impression is that you can see countless number of stalls mushrooming with table and chairs littered everywhere in a huge road maze. Your sight and sound will be assulted with the various aromas and food choices available. It is a unique food heaven suitable for food lover and hungry mongers alike.
The stalls are open in between shop lots backlane. The setting itself does not look clean but once you have gotten over the initial unpleasant dirty impression, you will find that the place oozes a charm that is uniquely Malaysia. To prove my point I can see "Ang Moh" tourist walking past the stalls carrying their backpacks and taking pictures of the overall ambiance. You can see their expression light up as they stop to ponder and took picture with their DLSR camera. I can imagine it is quiet fascinating to them as they might not see it in their own country. It is uniquely Malaysia due to its environment and location. Looking at the stall owners and workers pounch into action serving at a frantic and practice pace. The customers that comes from different nationality hovering over stalls awaiting their tapao or enjoying their meal. Recently I saw a boy helping at a stall. He is almost like 11 years old but he is acting like a 25 years old. I watch in surprise wonder as he was really matured asking you for your order, serving the drink and getting the changes. People like this makes the place a special and unique place to eat. Needless to say I am in love with the place.
Once coming here i can order and stuff myself to the max. 2 days of stalls hunting at Meldrum Walk and I can really see my body and face bloating! Got to really control myself from going there for a while. Else i will seriously order all kind of food from there and get real fat!
Day 1: Tapao (takeaway) Char Kueh Tiao, Poh Piah 2 slices and 2 chicken wing - stuff myself to the max
Day 2: Ikan and sotong bakar (with ladies finger and vege) and Oyster with egg - shared with a friend but I have to finish 80% of the portion cos she ate very little.
Sotong and Ikan bakar review: The sotong was cook just nice. It was succulent and I like the sambal mixture use. I will definitely eat the Sotong bakar again. The fish tear off from the bone easily. Cost RM17.40 including 2 rice.
Oyster egg review: Its super delicious. The oyster given is big and fresh. I was totally hook and I kept craving for it the next day. Its a must try (if u are immunize)! RM5 smallest plate.
Char Kueh Tiao: JB kueh tiao is the salty version (unlike Malacca which has the sweet version). I like looking at the way the owner cook the kueh tiao. I view it as a live cooking show. There is a sense of purpose in his movement when he dump the kueh tiao/tao geh/chives, oil, salt and seasoning in the kuali and the way he cook furiously with the smoke billowing in all direction. I always tear up when he add in the cili while cooking. The kueh tiao is hot and off course delicious. I wallop them very quickly. The chives added brings out the char kueh tiao flavour and the taugeh act as a crunchy balance with the softness of the kueh tiao. RM3 smallest.
Poh Piah stall: The owner are teo chew ppl in their middle age. The stall is really popular. I think they prepare the poh piah so many times that their rhythm look rather artistic. Their shoulders are stoop as they hover and fuss over the poh piah. First they line the poh piah skin out carefully. Swipe black and cilli sauce at the poh piah skin. Next they drain and scoop up the reddish carefully and put on the poh piah skin. This is followed by their special seasoning. RM4 minimum 2 pcs.
Chicken Wing stall: Its skewered and cook bbq style. RM1.70 per chicken wing. Delicious finger licking food. They will chop into small pieces and cili sauce will be given.
Singapore Hokkien Mee: Its manage by a middle age woman. Too bad it was close for 2 days. When it is open i always make a beeline to the stall and order Hokkien Mee from the aunty. Not sure how she manage to cope the stall alone. She shared that her husband has to go through kidney dialysis. Guess that explain her absence. I love her Hokkien Mee.
I seriously enjoyed the makan session though it is really sinful! Wish that i had taken more photos but i was way too impatient to start! All this delicious food is within the chinese area section that I always go to and they are located nearly next to each other.
I mainly hunt the stalls located in the Chinese area. The Chinese area is more than enough to satisfy my palette. However meldrum walk stalls offer so much more. They have a wide selection of Malay and Indian food. Walking pass the Indian food you can see that many of them sell lamb soup (erm..due to the lamb body part displayed) and mix rice. You can also find burgers and roti john in Meldrum Walk. Its hard to give Meldrum Walk justice when writting a review about them. Its going to be a very long/endless post if i truly need to write out about the place. Therefore go there, see for yourself and try their food! Relax, chill and order lots of food - enjoy them the way that I did!
This post may be updated once I took more pictures in the future.
Part 2
Meldrum walk stall part 2 - Chinese section (click here)
