339 Seafood — Restaurant in Malacca

This posting is for stall #9, 339 seafood 文海鮮. This is a rather nice eatery with good seafood in Portuguese settlement.

For some reason, there doesn't seem to be many GENUINE google reviews for this place. The stalls here seem to be dragged into an ugly "review wars", and some of the accounts doesn't even look like real people, so I don't feel the ratings have much meaning.

I am hereby saying some of my true opinions:

There aren't many tourist on weekdays, and given the number of tourists I am seeing, I don't know how a business could sustain with this small amount of people. (Maybe it's crowded on weekends?) Therefore, once you get off the grab, all the hawkers will swamp up. It's a bit terrifying to be honest, and it kind of scared my family because some of them were really aggressive (not the one from 339 though - this lady, 阿珍 from 339 has been quite polite and speaks good mandarin too). I was expecting a serene fisherman's village but we were scared on the spot. Again, the responsibility doesn't really fall on 339, it's just the business is really cut-throat I guess. Once you tell them which stall you will opt for, they will go away. But if you haven't made up your mind, they can be very aggressive and follow you all the way.

I like the fact that they do put price on menu instead of saying it's "seasonal". I hate stalls who put "seasonal" on their menu; I see those "seasonal price" I dulan and walk away. Here, price is fair compared to town center (go to google map and check out the photos for the menus and you will know it's true) maybe with a little bit of premium but you definitely won't be chop cai tow la. They put the menu on their google map page, so you can check for yourself, and decide if it's acceptable before visiting. The seafood is fresh, fish is tender, so I don't see any problem with the seafood itself. I feel that those who claim to be sick afterwards could possibly be fake comments. The seasoning for the butter garlic scallop was a bit too strong on msg for our taste, but the scallops are fresh and texture is nice. The fish (we ordered Thai steam so we can still taste the fish instead of just the strong sauce) was good! Oyster egg was a bit too raw for our taste but I believe if you have some special request they will be happy to cater to - just let them know.

One of the things to pay attention to is that they will price it as small/medium/large servings for 1-2pax/3-4pax etc, so you don't really know how many shrimps/oysters you will be getting beforehand.

Is the food decent? Yes, it is. Is it a place I'd love to revisit or recommend to my friends? Not quite sure. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience given all the aggressive touting. But do also understand that the hawkers here are trying to make a decent living post covid. It makes me a bit sad to see this happening. I can feel this, and hope my comment here will bring them...

We went on Christmas Eve, as a small family of 3, (parents with a 3-yo).

We saw good reviews online, we went straight to this restaurant even though all other stalls are very aggressive.. but unfortunately the food is much below expectation.

We didnt order seafood so we cant comment on the freshness. We ordered Portuguese Pari fish (too salty), 四大天王 (not cooked enough, and less savoury), butter creamy deep fried sotong (ok), oyster omelette (this is good), seafood fried rice (for a shop like this, it is expected to serve good fried rice but it is very disappointing.. not nice, using frozen shrimp)

Now just it didnt meet our expectation of a high rated restaurant, i think it is even below par in terms of food taste for a seafood restaurant. The few dishes that we ordered are very common dish and should be done better, but really disappointing. I dont understand the high rating.

But good thing is, price is reasonable. Service is fast and staff are attentive. The coconut served is large and sweet and refreshing.

P/s: me and my daughter got into food poisoning after one another. Myself vomitted 2 times few hours after dinner, my daughter admitted into hospital 2 days later. Pls avoid...

I recently dined at 339 Seafood Restaurant and enjoyed a flavorful spread, including the black pepper beehoon crab, baked crab, Asam Pedas stingray, oyster omelette, and stir-fried kangkong. The black pepper beehoon crab was the highlight – the spice level was spot-on, with a lovely wok hei flavor that didn’t overwhelm with heat or leave you parched.

Unfortunately, the baked crab fell short, as it had a burnt, charred taste that overpowered the dish. On the upside, the Asam Pedas stingray was fantastic, with a balanced tanginess that complemented the tender stingray, and the oyster omelette was served with a generous portion of fresh oysters, making it a delight in every bite.

A note of caution: the dining experience starts even before you enter. Along this stretch, several seafood restaurants compete for customers, and as soon as you park, stall assistants from different spots may crowd around, urging you to choose their restaurant. It can feel a bit overwhelming and may impact the overall enjoyment of the visit.

Overall, 339 Seafood delivered on flavor, particularly with the black pepper beehoon crab and Asam Pedas stingray, but be prepared for the bustling...