McQuek's Satay Celup — Restaurant in Malacca

I’ve visited McQuek in Melaka several times and had even recommended it to friends and overseas guests. Unfortunately, this recent experience was extremely disappointing and completely ruined what should have been an enjoyable meal.

We arrived slightly earlier than the rest of our group on a hot day and requested to place a few drink orders first. The young Chinese male staff member attending to us responded with a terrible attitude, telling us not to order separately and to wait for everyone to arrive — claiming it would “make them busy.” This was rude and unprofessional, especially considering the restaurant was only about 60% occupied.

Later, when another friend arrived and tried to order, the same staff member served us with an expression as though we were causing trouble, or owed him money — it was that unpleasant. I had to step in and ask if he was unhappy with his job, and told him frankly that if he didn’t want to serve, he could ask someone else. I returned his attitude back to him and asked how it felt. He offered an unwilling apology and walked away. A much friendlier Chinese auntie then came over to assist, which we appreciated.

There were 11 of us, and we ordered more than 30 drinks in total — during a visit that lasted less than 90 minutes. Are guests really expected to place all 30 drink orders at one go just to avoid “bothering” the staff? That logic is absurd.

We’re not asking for special treatment, and being a paying customer doesn’t automatically entitle us to everything — but it should at least come with basic respect. None of us were being rude or unreasonable. Sadly, this one staff member’s poor attitude completely overshadowed the efforts of the rest of the team and left a bad impression.

The food was average at best, but that wasn’t the point — we came to enjoy the space and the experience. Instead, we were met with arrogance and disrespect.

This visit has definitely struck McQuek off our list for any future trips to Melaka.

Remark: The 5 star service is JUST for the Auntie who serving...

Generally any satay celup is disappointment,

hygiene… reuse satay sauce with visible over cooked left over vege… the order paper is erase and reuse, hmm…

Price… high price for bad tasting food and frozen not fresh

Service… poor service, keep rushing u to turn off the stove. Come to stir the satay to avoid burn, but every time stir some item missing in the satay…

Only if u never try satay celup, u can come to experience, else you may skip

Owner's reply Thanks for comments We provide New Fesh Satay Celup upon request by customer (with paying RM26.90/pot) or reuse satay sauce (malaccan traditional ppl use to it) Price high price in what kind of point of view.? bad tasting food ..? It this taste may be not suite to your taste or everybody.? Poor service ....how is poor is poor and how good is good.? Please help us to improve from you valuable advised. Turn off the stove is customer no more longer need it (save energy). We usually will ask customer before turn off the stove. Stirring time may be is our worker lack of handling ...sorry for this inconvience Anyway you thanks for your review.

Good to know you have the "fresh pot" only after i reviewed, which should be your staff and responsible to explain and introduce to the customer which = bad staff training, oh if there is any actual training…

Price high and taste… as in frm all the food i had in my melaka trip include meal that is good portion, great value, tasty and better environment

Poor service is POOR SERVICE, staff not mention of the new pot option, keep rushing, i wonder if the owner know of what service mean,maybe not even English?

Turn off the stove… i still even have sticks that not yet put in the pot! Common sense??!!

Reply is good, but instead, seriously just look at your order paper… with mark or erase… have quality control instead try cover your lack of services and quality with words, look into ur reviews, MANY said taste bad, MANY said bad service, MANY said turn off stove… anyway...

Visited McQuek’s Satay Celup on 25th December 2024 for an evening meal. Despite the scorching weather, we lucked out with convenient roadside parking beside the restaurant. Luckily the place just opened for business for the day and we got shown to a table straight away without needing to queue.

First impressions: The kids, trying satay celup for the first time, had a blast dipping skewered meats, veggies, and tofu into the communal pot of rich, peanut-based satay sauce. Their excitement made the experience memorable! However, parents be warned: no non-spicy sauce options were available, so younger or spice-averse diners might struggle.

The sauce situation: Unbeknownst to us during our visit, the satay sauce is recycled (a common practice here, as we later learned from reviews). While this initially raised eyebrows, we experienced no issues with taste or stomach discomfort as it was piping hot from the start. That said, future diners should note: you can request a fresh pot of sauce for RM26.90—a tip we wish we’d known beforehand!

McQuek’s offers a fun, interactive dining experience perfect for groups and newbies to satay celup. The self-service open atmosphere and flavorful sauce (recycled or not) kept us satisfied. Just be prepared for the spice level and consider opting for a fresh pot if you’re wary of shared sauces. Despite the quirks, we left with full bellies and smiles—a unique Malaccan adventure worth trying...