Thursday 16 October 2008

A good makan spot in Mersing, Johor

I mentioned earlier that we spent the second day of Aidilfitri at my wife's kampung. Having had enough of ketupat and rendang for two days, I decided to take the family out for dinner. As it was still the second day of raya, I didn't think that there would be many restaurants open for business yet, but we took a chance of exploring the small town of Mersing anyway.

Surprise, surprise! We found one that was open and what a find it was. The restaurant is called Sally's Place and the tagline on the signboard says that they serve Chinese Muslim food. Sally's Place is quite unique in that it is actually an old Malay kampung house. The original living room and bedrooms in the raised section of the house are now converted to dining areas. The kitchen is located in a front annexe on the ground floor. Being still a small-time business, the interior decor is nothing to shout about... but the taste of the food was something else.

Our meal that night was made up of Siakap fish steamed Teochew-style, hot-plate ginger beef, black pepper prawns, mixed vegetable soup and egg foo-yung. The steamed fish was exquisite and the beef was delicious. The prawns were a tad small, both in size and portion but the black pepper taste was actually quite good. If they had served us large-sized prawns (for which I don't mind paying for), it would have been perfect. The soup and eggs were not bad too. We cleared all the dishes, no leftovers.

Steamed Siakap, Teochew-style

Black pepper prawns


The whole meal for four cost me RM67 only. How's that for value for money.

I was told that Sally's Place began operating only recently, about 3 or 4 months ago. I hope they can maintain their taste and I wish them continued success. The restaurant is located about two kilometres from the centre of Mersing town, north after the bridge on the road to Endau. They are open during dinner time only.

I went to the place again the next day to take a photo of the house from the outside. Opposite the house is a tranquil beach facing the North China Sea.

If you happen to be spending a night in Mersing, do drop by Sally's Place for a lovely dinner of Chinese Muslim cuisine.

Old Malay kampung house converted into a restaurant

Mersing Kanan beach with a view of Pulau Setindan

Update 01 Dec 2021 : Sally's Place ceased operations many years ago. A few other businesses have taken over the place since then. None seem to last. The house still exists but it's only outdoor dining now.

17 comments:

HLiza said...

I'll look for it if I ever reach Mersing..

Anonymous said...

salam bro...adoi sedap2nya lauk2 tu...menyelerakan n amat lazat sekali... trliur la bro huhu..
aper2 pon unik tul design rumah kampung tu.. i like ehehehe...

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Oldstock
Anything than rendang, lodeh, nasi minyak and nasi briyani after the first few days of Syawal ... is sedap!
Nasi dengan ikan kering dan kicap pun ok!
As always, we had McDonalds on the third day.

Pat said...

Oldstock,

Sally's Place sounds lovely. And your pictures ... I can almost smell them prawns, man!

The difference between Sally's and most other places is that the others worry too much about the decor, and then their food sucks!

And it all cost you RM67?! That's unheard of in Kayel!

Pat

Anonymous said...

from the pics . . .

it was really worth it..right..

laily said...

Kat mersing ye kg arwah suami kat mersing. Tapi tak pernah perasan pun tempat tu, kat town ke. hmmm kena carik gak sally's nie

Anonymous said...

Oh wow - Mersing IS my favourite place. Where EXACTLY is this place? Apa nama kampung nya? Sri Lalang? Tenglu? Sawah datok?

fie the elf said...

food food fooodddd

*drools*

Fadhil said...

Sorry guys for the delay in responding to your comments. Am getting swamped with work.

-> Hliza, you belum pernah sampai Mersing? Actually there's nothing much... it's only a boarding point for tourists heading out to Tioman and other islands.

-> Hanitha, my wife said the house originally belonged to a Mat Salleh who was a manager at one of the rubber estates in Mersing. Rumah Melayu klasik. Bahagian bawah rumah (kitaorang panggil kolong) di buat tempat rehat.

Fadhil said...

Salam Fauziah,

McD on the third day, huh?

While driving past Mersing town, my son saw the KFC outlet and was already suggesting we eat there if we could not find other makan place that was open.

Fadhil said...

Pat,

The prawns smelled good and tasted better. Pity it was a bit on the small side. But the other dishes didn't disappoint.

I think the price had to be on the economical side to suit the general population of Mersing. Otherwise, they may run out of regular customers fast.

Fadhil said...

Razif,

Yes, it was worth it. We'll definitely go there again on our next trip balik kampung.

Fadhil said...

Hi Laily,

Kampung arwah di mana? Sally's Place ni baru je berniaga. Probably wasn't open when you were last here.

It's just after Air Merah. There's a new traffic light junction after air Merah, turn right on the new road towards the beach. The house/restaurant is on your right.

There's actually another access from the main Mersing-Endau road but you have to be sharp-eyed to spot the small signboard.

Nice to see you drop by this blog. Hope things are looking up for you.

Fadhil said...

Hi anon@08.40,

Firstly, welcome to this blog. Exact location of Sally's place as I've described in my response to Laily's comment above. Sebelum Sg. Siapu.

Hope you find it on your next trip to Mersing.

Fadhil said...

Elf,

Err... you can stop drooling now :-)

Unknown said...

Very well written, congratulations. You should join ' Jalan2 Cari Makan'. Thanks to you if the restaurant expands its business!

Fadhil said...

Hi Datin,

Thanks for dropping by. I believe, the restaurant would expand and improve because their food taste good. My post is just a pastime.