Portugese Grilled Seafood @ Oasis Food Court, Mid Valley

An ordinary looking stall in an ordinary food court in Mid Valley is drawing the crowds. What seemed like an economical place to have lunch and dinner for the mall’s workers is also frequented by the customers. They make a beeline for the not-so-ordinary Portugese Grilled Seafood, which is popular for the tastiness and fair (pretty cheap I dare say) pricing.

Like any other grilled/bbq seafood you can choose to have a type of seafood only, or a combo of your liking eg. Bawal + Lala, Pari + Lala, Pari + Sotong. A set that comes with a serving of white rice is typically RM7.90. More expensive if a better fish is selected.
I know this (Bawal + Lala) doesn’t look too appetizing but hey, they all come looking like that. Fish takes longer to cook compared to clams, which is why I think they fried the bawal (Black Pomfret) first before grilling it. And because of that the fish had a crispier skin and more flavorful flesh too. Good stuff.

Ikan Pari (stingray) + Sotong (squid), RM7.90 too. The red hot chili paste will surely tingle the taste buds, a challenge even for those with high spicy tolerance. You will feel a fiery feeling in the stomach that grows in subsequent tastes.
But as appetizing as it is, it might not be appreciated by some for the oiliness and saltiness. The saltiness is not entirely a bad thing though. Because I believe it is not caused by excessive use of MSG or salt, but dried shrimps instead. The dried shrimps, whether you like it or not is vital for releasing the “fresh” flavor and providing some crunch and contrast.

We ordered only one set initially just for testing but decided that one was not enough, so I queued for another set lol. This time, I specifically no rice but I was charged the same price. Hmm, so rice is free?

I am quite impressed with the staff’s ability to memorize each customers’ order too, given the number of customers and orders that seemed to come non-stop. A set of grilled seafood leaves the stall every 20-30 seconds or so – do the maths and you can estimate their impressive sales figures.

If I am not mistaken the Portugese Grill is located in Oasis Food Court, 2nd or 3rd floor I couldn’t remember. Before the food court was renovated, many people didn’t like eating there because the awful oil smell tends to linger on you. After the renovation I felt the food court was pretty OK and air ventilation has improved? At least I didn’t smell like an oily kitchen when I walked out lol.