Longkang Siham @Melaka, Malaysia

The first night, we decided check out the Longkang Siham, loosely translated as blood cockles by the drain. This is a back alley that is famous for cheap and fresh seafood, where patrons sit on tiny stools along long steel tables, accompanied with whiffs from the drain.

There were 2 stalls here, and we opted to try out the Capitol Seafood 佳必多祖传海鲜小吃 first. We ordered Lala (RM2 per portion), Kerang (blood cockles, RM2), Bendi (lady’s fingers, RM2), and Sotong Kangkong (RM7).

While we were initially a little apprehensive, we were pleasantly surprised that the seafood tasted fresh and sweet 🙂 The seafood and lady’s fingers were just boiled with water, and came with accompanying sauces; so simple, yet so memorable. In particular, we could even choose how well cooked we want our cockles to be; normal worked well for us.

The pineapple slices with rojak sauce made the plate of kangkong sweet, salty and spicy; overall it was quite refreshing.

The drain smell was also bearable. A pity we had to sit at normal height tables though, because this place was already filled with people before 7pm.

We went to Tong Bee Stall 東美檔 the second night. This time we got to experience sitting on the stools with the long steel tables, hehe!

We were pleasantly surprised to find that they sell Bamboo Clams here at RM5 per portion. We also tried the Blood Cockles (RM2 per portion) and Lala (RM2) for comparison. The versions here were saltier, and the lala was slightly overcooked. Oh, and the drainage smell was almost non-existent at this corner of the lane, probably because this stall was located closer to the main road, hence better ventilation? There were also a couple of cart-stalls selling oyster omelette and otak near Tong Bee.