Cod with a beetroot risotto. Sounds so simple and yet it turned out to be an absolutely stunning dish, a feast for both the eyes and the palate. That piece of fish was one of the best I’ve had in recent memory. Gorgeous beyond words.

“Melanau dish with a Kelantanese twist. Fresh seabass slices cured in lime juice and coconut cream, garnished with herbs, crispy noodles and sambal.” Ah. May. Zing. Mangkuk is definitely one of our favourite finds so far this year. It’s a casual and non-pretentious place, with great service and even better food. You can tell that they’ve given a lot of thought to each and every dish they serve. Dee-lee-cious. Special thanks to the MadHatter (iykyk) for steering us to Mangkuk 🍻

Amazing, amazing, amazing. The Star of the day! Crispy fish skin tossed in petai and a sweet-savoury-spicy sauce. Maaaan, this was addictive. Good with rice, good with beer, good on its own, just downright good! The chef/owner/server here used to be a singer when he was younger and when he’s done in the kitchen he sometimes grabs his mic and sings (mostly Cantopop) for the diners. He’s also been on a Netflix series as well. Very nice, friendly chap. Definitely coming back!

Seriously good! Those thin, delicate strips of ginger really made this all the more better. *chef’s kiss*

Excellent fish dish. Some of us devoured this with our hands. The sauces are good as well.

One of the sauces was different from when we had this dish at another outlet. This time we got what I think is a garlicky tamarind fish sauce. No photos of the sauces as it was a little chaotic with all the dishes arriving at the same time.

Very fresh fish with no hint of muddy taste at all. Gravy was near perfect, citrusy with a playful touch of lemongrass and chili. So appetizing!

Crispy fried tenggiri fish pickled with turmeric vinaigrette, spiced with aromatic garlic, ginger and chillies.

Packed with fish and full of flavour! Some restaurants use too much potatoes instead of fish but I’m happy to report that that’s not the case here.

What a funny name for a dish 😂. Regardless, this was a tasty snack. It was salty, crispy and deep-fried to perfection. Nice with a cold beer too.

Super fresh and absolutely delicious. This dish is sour and savoury and fresh tasting all at the same time from the tomatoes, preserved salted vegetables and ginger strips that are steamed together with the fish. Very appetizing!

Served with vegetable Provençal and pesto wasabi sauce. Nice crispy skin on that fish! Sauce was nicely balanced with just a hint of wasabi.

A traditional local snack of fish crackers served with cili kicap and sambal matah. Not the crunchy variety of keropok lekor but the soft and thick type. Kinda like a chewy fish sausage. Both are well loved by Malaysians.

Sliced garoupa in a mildly spicy tamarind gravy. Very appetizing!

Tenggiri fish in a spicy and sour gravy. Very flavourful and appetizing!

“Johor style daun kesum asam pedas with telor dadar and ikan masin bulu ayam” Stingray in a spicy tamarind gravy. Served with omelette and salted fish with rice. Very appetizing.

It’s good when you want to feel less guilty about eating so much fried food 😆.

Pan-fried fish fillet with tomato salsa. Generous portion, almost too generous. Not one of their best dishes on their menu but still pretty tasty.

Braised sea fish in claypot. Not the most photogenic dish for sure but was quite tasty!