KY eats – Awesome Grilled Scallops at East Coast BBQ, Penang

My siblings are all like me when it comes to food, super adventurous, and always looking out for new and delicious food to try. Last weekends when I went back to Penang for “cheng beng” (tomb sweeping day), my brother brought me and mom to East Coast BBQ at Sungai Pinang food court for some awesome BBQ seafood.

East Coast BBQ at Jalan Pinang food court, Penang

The difference between East Coast BBQ and the other 10,000 other Chinese ikan bakar places is the sheer variety of seafood they offer. Instead of just the usual stingray, lala, and a few different fish species, they have at least a dozen different types of fish, 4-5 different shellfish, prawns, cuttle fish, corn, long beans, brinjal, and even Shishamo (Japanese “pregnant” fish)

BBQ scallops, egg plant, and long beans

What we really came here for though, is their scallops. For the three of us we picked half a dozen pretty big size scallops (RM 6 each) to be freshly BBQ’ed.  Topped with plenty of garlic and other granish and perfectly grilled, they were fantastic! Anyone who loves scallops will definitely not be disappointed.

BBQ Brinjal (RM 8.50) is another one of their speciality. The eggplant is split into half and topped with finely chopped garlic and garnish not unlike the one used on the scallop and then grilled till soft. While the “toppings” are the same, the flavor comes out completely different and proved to be another winning dish. I love it.

BBQ long beans (RM 6 each) was a little simpler and seemed to have only curry powder/paprika on them. Very mildly spicy, but otherwise not entirely too interesting.

fried lala, sotong bakar (bbq cuttle fish)

We also ordered a big portion of fried lala (RM 36), but it turned out to be a disappointment. My favorite lala of all time is probably the one at Alisan at PJ SS4, and while the seafood here is fresh and juicy, the sauce of the lala was one dimensional (in this case, powderish feeling curry) and we ended up not finishing this dish.

Grilled cuttle fish (RM 19, by weight) did turn out to be another well executed dish. The cuttle fish was crispy on the outside and juicy within, mom loves it and so did we. The accompanying sauce perfected the dish.

Mom, KY, and younger brother Win Sern

If you’re looking for some reasonably priced grilled seafood in Penang, this is definitely one of the places to check out. My brother said that from what he heard, their grilled fish isn’t particularly special, so if grilled fish is what you really look for, I’d suggest going to Song River at Gurney Drive instead.

Address:
East Coast BBQ
Sungai Pinang Food Court
Jalan Sungai Pinang
Georgetown 11500 Penang
GPS: 5.400029, 100.325711
Tel: 04-281 0943
Hours: dinner and supper