What do you guys think of the Hong Kong ‘Dai Pai Dong’ or the 大排档? Ok for those who don’t know, in Hong Kong this type of popular eating outlet is something like our Singapore’s kopitiam Cze Char where they serve you food at really affordable prices.

Well it’s meant to serve the general public of humble income and not only that they can provide terrific customer service too. For instance, one can actually order any tailor-made dishes from such stalls. As long the chef has the needed ingredients, he’ll be more than willing to cook anything you ordered to appease your appetite.

Now maybe that sounded like a wonderful thing to some but not for me. I think the food quality of such places can be lower. For instance, how can the chef produce something like for eg, a terrific plate of Beef Hor Fun if he hasn’t been doing so all the time?

Or if you were to go to such stalls and shout Mee Pok Tah, even if the chef has the Mee Pok, fishballs and some chili sauce, you trust that he will produce a bowl of Mee Pok Tah better than an actual Mee Pok Tah stall? For that reason I would actually run away from such stalls.

Ok now for something that is as common as prawns, crabs and lobsters, there are many different methods of cooking it. In Australia if you talk about seafood, people usually just eat it boiled, raw or decorate it with some cheese on top or something.

In Hong Kong just like in China, people eat it in popular cooking methods like Salt and Pepper or Chinese style of steam. In Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia we love eating it in no other ways than to have it spiced up, either with Chili sauce(or sambal) or Pepper. Of course we also have steamed but I think that’s not a favourite cooking method of Singaporeans, agree?

After been to this seafood place called Pangkep33 once, it had left a deep impression and I kept thinking about what is the thing that hit the umami spot so hard that it managed to make me come back one more time for it. This is the only place in my whole trip that I die die must eat one more time before my return is due.

Ok it’s been a really long time since I tasted such fantastic seafood. I think the last time I had was when I was still young and the whole stretch of Upper East Coast Road(near bedok) was a popular seafood place and it was filled with so many seafood restaurants that’s operating from what looked like kopitiam style of outlet. I distinctly remembered the old Long Beach and another one which is called Keng Lock(or Kheng Lock).

During those days, they just have tables filling up the spaces and then people would just appear out of no where during meal times. Orders would be shouted across the open space while cooks would be busy whipping up those delicious seafood dishes and customers would be enjoying eating seafood in absolute satisfaction with the unhygienic environment in oblivion.

Those days are long gone and popular seafood stalls have now upgraded themselves to higher class of eating outlets and so that’s how it’s becoming more expensive to eat really good seafood in Singapore, unfortunately. This place in Pluit, Jakarta seriously brought back the memories of yesteryears, and not only that, the quality of food here can really fulfill every ultimate desire of seafood lovers.

After my first trip, the die die must order dishes were once again ordered. Sambal Mussels and Cumi(Sontong) Goreng. This time we ordered another 2 new dishes which is the Udang Bakar(Grilled prawns) and Cumi Telur Bakar(Grilled Sotong with eggs).

Sambal Mussels: 9/10  

This plate of sambal mussel is seriously something that I think every seafood stalls in Singapore should consider selling. I mean it’s very very seldom that I come across something that can have the satisfaction elevated to such heights by just simply deep frying it before tossing in sambal. Ok for those who don’t know, I’ve said that the mussels here were deep fried and it tasted really really delicious. Ok it is about 3-4 times more delicious than deep fried sotong head, so now you go figure.

Every cooking tricks that seafood sellers have, we already know but this is something that really gave me such a surprise. There are no magic in this fantastic elevation of this mussel dish but yet no one in Singapore is doing it as far I know. If you happen to know any seafood sellers, please tell them to introduce this dish to their menu!

Fried Sotong: 9.5/10  

Cumi Goreng is really that kind of dish that requires nothing more than getting the Goreng right. If you have that delicious goreng recipe, deep fried anything in it and you sure can produce something extraordinary.

This is one plate that really doesn’t make me feel ‘jerlad’ after eating it unlike those that I’ve eaten elsewhere. I think it’s gotta do with the right amount of salt, pepper and sugar. This plate clearly has that kind of goreng aroma that can forever make me want more and more without ever getting sick of it.

Grilled Prawns: 9/10  

Prawns are easy to taste good when grilled, agree? Well somehow when the shell goes on top of the charcoal or fire, it can be turned into some kind of really good flavour thing where you can lick and lick and chew and chew without realising that it’s actually only shell and are not meant to be eaten.

Ok now I think one of the reasons why grilled seafood taste better here is because they still use charcoal to grill while in Singapore, they grill anything on top of flat pan like those used for frying Pratas. That type of grill unfortunately can never outclass this charcoal kind and this is undoubtedly one of the best I’ve had in a long long while.

Grilled Sotong: 9/10  

Sotong egg is already hard to come by in any kind of eating place, yet here they are serving it grilled! Fwah! I tell you, this dish is seriously a gem! Ok this taste nice I think also due to the charcoal flavour. But honestly doesn’t the photo look appetising? Well let me tell you that it actually tasted 3 times better than how it it looked! Ok it’s not exactly that soft, as with any sotong that you try to grill.

It’s a little bit chewy but if you can accept that, then beneath that chewiness, is this clustered soft thing that has this fantastic texture and flavour that can seriously make you shout OOh La La! Ok by the look of it, I think they uses nothing more than butter to grill this squid but a lot of skill is required to grill something like this to perfection and clearly here, they’ve got a grilling master behind it.

Well the only strange thing here is that we have to pay for the belacan. But like anything good, it’s definitely worth paying for and I suspect it’s to do with cutting down on wastage but this belacan is a little special in the way that they were served with tiny bits of mango on top.

Mango Belachan Chilli: 9/10  

If you’re thinking why they are serving it on this kind of rock plate instead of the the mini sized plastic plate, then let me tell you that this is how in the past traditionally people were served chili during the caveman era where plastic had not existed.

Sambal Kangkong: 8/10  

Ok ok I made that up but doesn’t it make sense? Just like why we still use Banana Leaf or Opeh leaf now is because in the past people used it too.

Our seafood meal: 9/10  

Ok now, I have reasons to believe this is simply the most extraordinary and delicious seafood place on earth. Not only that, this meal only cost us Rp 160 000($20+). So it’s not only outstandingly sedap, it does provide really exceptional value too! And while I was leaving, I saw some dishes on other tables like deep fried fish and chilli crab which looked really really delicious. If ever I am compelled to come back to Jakarta again, Pangkep33 must be the reason!

Price: SGD$4-5 a dish

Recommendation: Sambal mussels, Kang Kong, grilled prawns, grilled fish, goreng cumi, goreng cumi telur.

Conclusion: Needless to say, the best seafood I’ve had interms of authenticity. This is the real flavour of the past, something that I think doesn’t even exist anymore in Malaysia. If you ever come to Jakarta for a holiday, here is a die die must go place for dinner.

Likes: Very very authentic and very very affordable. This combination is hard to come by.

Dislikes: Nothing though the place is a little run down.

Address		Overall Rating
Pangkep 33 Seafood Barbeque Kafe Tenada Muara Karang Raya Dining Hours: 18:00 – 23:00 Daily Phone: (021)7078 5432 or 0815 180 7869 Pangkep22@gmail.com		Food: 9/10   Value: 9/10   Service: 8/10   Ambience: 7/10   Cleanliness: 7/10   Overall: 8/10