Welcome 2018!

Sunday 31^st Dec - I didn’t get a good sleep but still could wake up early. I like that spirit! - which will only appear when I’m on holiday. Hehe.

We're gonna have a breakfast before going for beach swimming at Cherating. As recommended by a friend, I set on Waze and looked for ‘Mee Ikan’. It’s said nearby local Bus station, but when Waze said ‘You’ve arrived at your destination’, we didn’t see any bus station. Google Maps was the same too. So after driving around to find the bus station and still can’t find it, I decided to stop and ask the makcik (auntie) who sells some kuih-muih at the road side. Yeah sometimes, asking locals is better that relying totally on your electronic device.

Emm but, the makcik  seems to have difficulties to explain the route. Eheh! But no but, coincidently in front of us there’s another shop selling Mee Ikan. The makcik said it’s the same Mee Ikan because they are kind of related. Thank God! So we got into the shop instead.

Mee Ikan and Keropok

I don’t really like to eat fish. But this one, I can finish it! It blends perfectly with the sambal chili. And the mee kari (eventho doesn’t look like a curry) taste really yummy too.

After breakfast, I drove to Pantai Cherating. Beach is calling! Any beach in the world is my favorite. We spent more than 2 hours swimming and soaking in water. This beach is also famous for surfers and as now is the monsoon season, you can see many surfers busy chasing waves. Ni lah masanya nak cuci mata tengok surfers muda bergelinjangan bak kata paihdiki. Ngee~

The weather was quite inconsistent. Light rain come and go. But it’s ok, we were just enjoying it. And after getting a dark skin and feeling hungry, we got out of the beach and hunt for lunch. (walaupon still tak puas mandi laut).

On the way back to Kemaman, we stopped at the restaurant which showing a big sign ‘Nasi Dagang’. It was raining, so having a hot tea with Pisang Goreng is the best. The nasi dagang was not disappointing too, it’s delighted taste!

We’re back to hotel to change and rest about an hour before going out for a tea-time. There’s a small shop in a village that sells a delicious Vietnamese coffee, as recommended by a friend. It's called Coffeedential. When reaching there, my friends were a bit skeptical but after trying the food – Mee Kari and Laksa and of course the outstanding Vietnamese White coffee, they enjoyed it. It’s beyond expectation - so glad we went there! And plus, we love the kampung houses in that area! Good for a photoshoot session. Hehe.

And now, where to get that kind of coffee in KL?

Next, we headed straight to Pantai Cherating again. We walked around the shops and enjoying the sea breeze while waiting for dinner at Restaurant Duyong, the restaurant by the river. It’s seafood time! We also walked to the river to check out about Filefly Mangrove cruise, it costs RM30 for 1-hour trip. Not bad but we had to go for dinner, so just forget about it.

We started dinner at about 9pm. Here are what we ordered:

Deep Fried fish

Fried Squid

Butter Prawn

Tom Yam seafood

Total cost was RM167 which is quite cheap. Satisfied!

After dinner, we walked to the beach again for a New Year countdown. We saw people releasing lanterns to the sea, maybe wishing for a better year ahead. But I just wonder, will the lanterns caused any harm to the marine life? Well move forward, we hang around at the beach side, many people were enjoying drinks and chit-chatting among each other, I just love the moments.

Surprisingly, at sharp 1200am 01012018 – there were big fireworks – just on top of our heads!! Absolutely beautiful made me goosebumps! This is definitely one of the best new year celebration I’ve ever had.

Happy New Year 2018 everyone!!

Monday 1st Jan 2018 - The next day, we had a breakfast before heading back to KL. Hai Peng kopitiam is the place. I set on Waze and we reached at the kopitiam at the corner of 2-storey shop lot. I know this place is different from the one I went about 5 years ago. It should be the one at main road, not this one. But as this is also called – Hai Peng, so we just took our breakfast there. Nasi lemak were sold out when we got in. It’s ok, we ordered Meehoon Kampung, Toasted bread, Nasi Dagang and Nasi Ayam Penyet. 

Nasi Dagang

 

The nasi ayam penyet looks different though, not that good but not too bad.

I got a chance to talk to one girl at the shop, most probably the owner’s daughter. I asked her about the shop at the main road and she said – they moved to the new shop about 2 years ago. The one at main road is still there but it’s owned by her uncle. They seem to have an issue with each other (not gonna say it here). We just enjoyed the food. Hehe.

We started our journey back to KL after filling our tummies heavily. It was raining all the way, luckily the traffic was good, not as bad jammed as expected. We stopped awhile at Temerloh R&R. Get our tummies bloated again with Putu Bambu, fruits and drinks. I also took away Ikan Patih buah masak tempoyak which costed RM15. I just can’t get enough of this food 😄

See you again Terengganu!

Alhamdulillah~ after 5 hours of driving, we safely arrived at KL about 430pm.

Overall, we were so happy with this trip. We got to try a new food, met up new people and thank God, the journey was smooth too. Just to let you know, most of the makan place are recommended by my friend, the pure Kemaman people. I prefer to ask the local cos if we just Google, we wouldn’t know the hidden places that favored by them.

Till next time, enjoy every food on your table!  😊

Food Hunting in Kemaman

“I’m not gonna celebrate a new year alone at home!”

Itu la targetnya sebelum 2017 berakhir.

There will be a X’mas holiday for 4 days and another week, New Year holiday for 3 days.

So I started planning with few friends since early Dec. This getaway not only to get close to beaches but also to hunt for delicious local foods.

The trip was supposed to take place on 22^nd Dec but last minute, my friend had to cancel it for some reason. So I postponed it to 30^th Dec with other friends. And too bad, she also canceled it (family matters).

Well, when it’s fated, it’s still gonna happen.

Just a few days before, I managed to get 3 friends to hop-on this trip.

So here we go - 4 single ladies ready to food-hunt!

Saturday 30^th Dec - We departed from KL at about 1140am after sending my car to wash (it was so dirty I just can’t stand) and after having a roti canai at our usual mamak.

The weather is good, no rain, no sun, just dimming skies.

First target, Lila Wadi at Kuantan. The journey takes about 3 hours and we reached there at almost 3pm. But I didn’t notice earlier that the restaurant will only open at 5pm. So we googled, walked around and luckily we found Akob Patin House. When we arrived, only a few dishes left as it passed the lunch time, but thank God, they still have Ikan Patin tempoyak!!

This Ikan Patin buah cost RM30. Quite expensive but it’s worth every penny. Rasa pedas dan memang sedap!

Next, we headed to Kula Cakes. It’s a must-go place in Kuantan! I was craving for the famous Mango Cheesecake for quite a long time. Glad I finally had a chance to taste it and yeah it’s tremendously delicious! OMG I don’t know how to describe it but after eating, you might also think 1 is not enough. 

Rasa mango yang sebenar dan cheese yang tak rasa muak langsung. Ohmaii I’m drooling now~

Nutella Pavlova pon sedap gila!

Aside from the tasty cakes, I love the ambience of the place. The eating area is in the middle of 2 shops and it decorated nicely and classically with the basikal tua hanging at the wall. Totally Instagram worthy.

After enjoying our cakes and drinks, we continued our journey to Kemaman. The town where we gonna spend our 2-nights at. Reached there about 530pm, just spent 30 minutes to rest and freshen up then we went out cos I can’t wait to get my sata.

We stopped by at Warung Aziz Satar, took away Sata, Telur Sotong celup tepung, Keropok Lekor and deep fried Prawn. 

I googled just to show you in case if you don't know what Sata is.

Pastu lepak makan kat Pantai Mok Nik. Nama mat salehnya, Monica Bay. Best gila duduk sambil ditiup angin pantai. Angin bukan sepoi-sepoi bahasa tapi macam nak taufan pon ada. The waves are big, not suitable to swim. So we just sat there eating and relaxing. 

Left back to hotel at 730pm. Took bath and ready for dinner.

Before going to dinner, we went to Sungai Kemaman waterfront to walk alongside the river. But there’s no light and nothing to see, so we straight away set off to our dinner port – D’Beteng. It is famous for Nasi Minyak, Mee Kari and Mee Rebus but all were sold out when we arrived. Thus, we ordered Chicken Grilled and Aglio Olio Prawn. We’re still full so we just shared the food. 

The taste is not bad and the outstanding one is blackpepper sauce!

With full and happy tummies, we’re back to hotel to get a well-deserved rest.

Food hunting journey to be continued tomorrow...