Charcoal Grilled Squid (Sotong Panggang), KL, Malaysia

Down memory lane, to the days where we can smell the fragrance of grilling squid by the roadside. There are very few such stalls now especially in Kuala Lumpur, therefore it is a surprise to me when I bumped into one stall at Sungai Besi.

A friend told me that when he was young, he got so much fun grilling squid with a group of friends on their own in the village (kampung). They would buy a normal dried squid (sotong), which cost only a few cents back then, from the sundry shop. One would run home to take a few pieces of charcoal, one would look for twigs to build a fire, another would look for big flat stones. Everyone would gather at a small clearing, build a charcoal fire. Then the fun begins, put the squid over the fire, take it out, hit it with the flat side of a stone, over the fire again, hit again, fire again, hit again until it is flattened and soft. Everyone will be very happy, with some jumping around the fire, when they smell the aroma of grilling squid. Yes, the appetizing part is the irresistible smell this beautiful fragrance of grilling squid.

I like the head and tentacles of squid as they are chewy and I just love the time taken to just chew and pull the tentacles of the squid my mouth. Maybe it makes me feel that I am eating lots of squid as it last longer.

This hawker also sells grilled tofu. It is tofu stuffed with strips of cucumber, turnips, local brussel sprouts (also known as 'taugeh' locally). It is then grill over the charcoal and served with sweet and spicy peanut sauce.

This is my finished grilled squid. It is thin, crispy and cut into angular shape. 

This piece of about 18 inches long cost RM13.00



Normally, grilled squid are sold in packets coated with sugar. Here, we were given this delicious concoction of sauce which really enhances the taste and take it to another level. It is a combination of chilli sauce, sweet sauce, sticky brown sauce and chopped peanuts.

This charcoal grilled squid stall is in front of famous Fatty Mok Hakka Yong Tau Foo Seafood Restaurant, the one on the right in the picture.

This is the street name, 'Jalan Hang Tuah 1'.

"Reminiscences of the younger days"
 "Fun and carefree outdoors" 
"Old is Gold"