Breakfast at Oxygen - South West Harbour

Category: Eating Out

Written by Husen Fulhu

As most of you may know, Male’s south west harbour area went through a facelift recently; the once shabby-seeming establishments that lined its perimeter are no more. Instead, all the outlets are under enormous white pavilions and give off a sleek feel, like a mid-market food court in Kuala Lumpur. I guess this is what progress looks like, at least for some.

What I did notice though, and it seemed very obvious, was the number of women in the cafes. Traditionally, the harbour kadas were mostly male spaces, and I think upping the hygiene factor and overall aesthetic of the place play a role in drawing in those who’d otherwise shun the spot.

So now, instead of say, Alibe Kada, you’ll be getting places like City and Oxygen. While some may argue that this deprives certain people, like fishermen, of cheap meals, it also opens up a door of opportunity for families and children.

Anyway, I choose Oxygen this time, not because I’m familiar with the name rather; it’s their breakfast buffet, which was still going strong at 11:15am.

There’s a load of stuff here, like rai mashuni and normal mashuni, kulhimas, mas riha, disc and roshi, rihaakuru. But I’m a mashuni fanatic so that’s what I go for; trying a bit of both. There’s also cut githeyo mirus served separately, which is pretty thoughtful; who doesn’t like extra githeyo mirus with their mashuni? I’m keen to know.

So, taking a seat outside with middle-aged menfolk who’re engaged in coffee, cigarettes and business talk, I dig in. First, the rai mashuni. It looks very good, red from the skins of dried chilli. There are some curry leaves (hikandhi faiy) in it, which might turn some people off but I don’t mind the taste. It’s got an excellent fish to huni ratio, there’s a touch of sweetness from the fresh huni, plus it’s fairly spicy. I try it with roshi and disc, but I find the crisper, thicker disk complements it more so than the roshi.

Moving on to normal mashuni. What’s immediately noticeable is a slight huni imbalance. I approach it with little expectation but in truth, it turns out to be quite good. And this is where the extra chili comes in handy; together with the githeyo mirus, it’s definitely a delectable combo, best enjoyed with the roshi. I finish off the last remaining bits and gulp down an apple juice, part of breakfast, of course.

Meal over, I sit back and take in the sights, such that there is. The men are still seated with their cigarettes and empty coffee cups. Away from their smoke, in the interior, groups of women chatter away. Seems like a good way to spend the remainder of the morning. Soon it will be noon.

I can’t say much about the service of Oxygen as I didn’t experience any, but the buffet cost 80MVR. I must note that you can get more stuff besides mashuni; there’s also omelettes, cereals, sausages, hash browns. And though, price-wise, it’s nothing like the 50 Rufiyaa breakfasts you used to get at the harbour kadas, I believe this buffet’s reasonably priced; perhaps you can drop by on a weekend for your morning fix.

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