Teluk Tempoyak, Penang

Teluk Tempoyak is one of the last remaining Malay fishing villages located on the developed eastern coast of Penang island. For a long time it remained isolated from the rapid development taking place on the rest of eastern seaboard of the island. One reason for this was its geographic location. Located in a tiny bay hemmed in by hills on all sides, the only access to Teluk Tempoyak was through a windy road that crossed over the forested hills down to the idyllic fishing village below.

Indeed crossing over those hills all those years ago in my younger days seemed like crossing over to a different world. Today the reality is different, as development has encroached all the way to Batu Maung just before the turnoff to Teluk Tempoyak with large anonymous housing estates and commercial developments all along the way. Even the hill has not been spared, with a major developer having cleared the forest up top for the "Southbay" gated community.

Fortunately the village down below is still stuck in time and for the moment still remains as it was and largely undamaged from rapacious developers. However where there was once just the sea, today the newly completed second Penang Bridge can be seen in the distance.

Fishing boats still lie in the bay. The Second Penang Bridge can be seen in the distance.

The wooden fisherman's jetty disappears into the horizon.

You can spend time wandering around the small village or even walk out onto the rickety wooden jetty to pass the time. But the real reason why people visit Teluk Tempoyak is to eat Ikan Bakar (malay styled grilled fish).

The Ikan Bakar shack. The reason why people visit Teluk Tempoyak.

You can't miss the Ikan Bakar place. Located right next to the wooden jetty, this is not the place for people looking for a five star dining experience. A simple open air structure with a corrugated blue metal roof, long tables arranged canteen style and plastic chairs is what you will get. There are other better looking seafood restaurants in Teluk Tempoyak but this unassuming shack is the one you must head to for the real grilled fish experience.

Inside there are only 3-4 stalls, and the one you must make a beeline for is Adnan bin Hassan's.

Adnan bin Hassan's famous stall.

Adnan bin Hassan's only specialises in seafood cooked one way - grilled. None of those other fancy-schmancy ways of cooking fish like steamed, fried, or drenched in various sauces. Adnan bin Hassan is the King of Grilling and does what he does best.

Various types of fish, prawns and crabs. Grilled Only.

Choose your seafood from the plastic containers displayed at the counter and get it weighed. The price are all displayed and are charged by the kilo. Either fish, prawns or crab. Nothing else. And remember there is no need to tell them how to cook it ... its only "bakar" (grilled) here.

You can also order Nasi Putih (white rice) to go with your seafood, or go for the Nasi Lemak (fragrant coconut milk infused rice) with sambal.

Choose your fish from the display, all fresh off the boat.

Being a working fishing village, you can be assured that the catch of the day is fresh, coming straight from the fisherman's boats. Unfortunately on the day of our visit, there was no crab available, so we settled on the prawns and chose a kerapu (garoupa) for the grilled fish.

Grilled Prawns

Eating the prawns grilled was a refreshing change from other local seafood restaurants, where the prawns are usually cooked drenched in sauces or done in other styles of cooking. The prawns were grilled to perfection and were not overly cooked.

As good as the prawns are, it pales in comparison to the star of the show, the grilled fish. Now I have eaten in many local seafood restaurants throughout the country, and even reviewed a couple of other ikan bakar places here on this blog. While I may give good reviews to other places, there is no doubt in my mind that Adnan bin Hassan's place has the best ikan bakar that I have ever eaten anywhere.

The ikan bakar comes with dipping sauces.

The grilled fish comes with a choice of dipping sauces - kicap (soya sauce) with bird's eye chillies and lime; or the sourish belacan sauce with chillies and onions.

Wrapped in banana leaves.

The fish is wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over a charcoal fire upon your order. This takes time but the wait is definitely worth it.

Unwrapped.

The secret to any good ikan bakar is the sambal sauce that it is grilled with. Adnan bin Hassan's homemade sambal in combination with the fragrant banana leaves is truly what makes the ikan bakar here outstanding.

The drink stall and the "other" stall.

Besides Adnan bin Hassan's stall, there are two stalls on the opposite end of the shack. One specialises in drinks and the "other" stall is where you can order other food to complement your ikan bakar meal.

Telur Dadar (malay style omelette) from the "other" stall.

Mixed vege from the "other" stall.

With the pace of development on the island, one must fear the fate of Teluk Tempoyak and expect it to follow the fate of other obliterated fishing villages on the island like Batu Uban and Tanjong Tokong.

Visit Teluk Tempoyak while it still exists! 

Adnan bin Hassan, Ikan Bakar Teluk Tempoyak

Address:   Medan Selera Teluk Tempoyak, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang.
Telephone: +6019 413 2572 
Opening Hours: 6pm - 11pm. (Closed on Mondays).