Seafood a la Madura in Between Mountain and Shore

By: Brahmanto Anindito

In about one kilometer to the west from Bangkalan city, a food stall stands on the edge of shore. The name is Madurasa. This stall is located near a mangrove forest spread out along the west side of Madura island. Here you can feel a nuance of the mountain range and the shore mix up by nature. You’ll feel at ease taking your time within.

Above all, the stall dishes up us the fresh food from the sea, Madura sea. There are shrimps, crabs, kakap, gurami, dorang fish, etc. Like the other seafood restaurants, as a customer you can freely choose the living sea creatures you desire to eat. Then, all you have to do is wait your order served in minutes while enjoying the vista of the coast looks out on the Borneo island.

It’ll be a little bit longer due to Ida (the owner)’s cooking method. Ida and her employees have been using the traditional way for years. They roast fishes with the charcoal. I don’t know what good is it, but by that, we can keep smell the fish’s natural aroma. Add it with the specialty of Madura’s flavor (that salty-sweety-spicy), and … voilà, seafood à la Madura!

The price, of course, depends on what you have ordered, and the size. For a middle size crab, dorang or gurami, Ida prices it at 15,000 IDR. “The larger one, for example that big crab, it’s a 20,000 rupiahs,” spoke Ida pointing a living crab in one small pond. Those prices include the cooking.

Art of fish cooking has been Ida’s hobby since a long time ago. Furthermore, her husband is a fish supplier for many restaurants in Indonesia, also a fish exporter for few Asian countries. From her husband, Ida knows what type of fish that consumers are looking for.

First time the idea setting up Madurasa came up when in every occasion her husband has been inviting his clients to go fishing in a fishpond near the house. Ida has then cooked the haul. Surprisingly, the guests liked it, even addicted to. So Ida one day thought, “Why don’t I just open a stall with the fishes as the main menu?”

Hence be it. Since five years ago, Ida has been developing his stall. Now, people in Bangkalan aware it, so do some travelers. Madurasa has been booking two million rupiahs per day recently.

“My family and I love to eat here,” Samsul, one of the customers, said. Samsul’s initial visit was because of his friend. Taking a lunch, he explained that it is the atmosphere that made he keeps coming to Madurasa. How about the food? “Is good as well! It’s not too sugar, not too saline. Just perfect.”

If you visit Bangkalan someday, don’t forget to stop by at Madurasa. This stall opens from 8:00 to 21:00. But I suggest you come before sunset. The vista of shore and mountain is just … wow. [with the contribution/photos of Iksan]

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