Sate Debot

Satay and then some!

How wonderful it is to see the lesser used meats and organs being used in satay! I'm a big fan of the yucky bits (must be the Chinese in me!), and I was very happy to see this Malay satay seller in Pontian, Johor, offering not only the usual chicken, beef and mutton, but also lungs and tripe, as well as fish. Sate Debot is a small stall on Jalan Delima 7, across the street from Marrybrown.

Although I was full from a meal, I just had to try out the stall. I like satay - it is one of my favourite Malaysian foods, and a good satay is always welcome. I passed on the chicken and beef, but ordered mutton, which was lovely - the gaminess of sheep always tastes better a little fire blackened and caramelized with spices and traditional satay marinade. At 70 sen a stick, it was the most pricey satay item, but it was goood!

I have never had paru (lungs) in satay form before, although it is an offal variant which the Malays use very often in other dishes. I have had it fried and crunchy, braised and chewy and stewed till soggy, but this took the cake. The sweet marinade of lemongrass (serai), cinnamon and cloves gave it a lovely lift. Lung by itself is quite tasteless, but after being marinated, this was really a delight. A huge plus was the soft chewiness of the meat, which was simply exquisite. For 60 sen a stick, I wish I could bring a whole mess back to my folks in Kuala Lumpur!

I didn't know what babat was, but ordered it anyway. When it arrived, I knew it as tripe and was not at all unpleased, because it's another thing I quite enjoy. Again, the marinade made it sing, and the offal was nearly meltingly tender. It was heavenly, if something as base as stomach lining can be heavenly!

The other safe option I ordered was the fish satay. These chunks of fish were compressed until they tasted meaty. The delicate flavour of fish was overpowered by the spices of the marinate and therefore was quite a lost cause. It was not terrible (very little can be, with a great marinade), but it was lacking in texture and synnergy, which was a shame.

I thought the satay here was the highlight of my eating in Pontian, but Kit waking at 5am and feeling decidedly ill made me wonder if I can ever eat here again. Sad, sad!