Thursday 25 June 2015

Kuala Terengganu Trip : Last Day and Random


We have come to the end of my stay in Kuala Terengganu. Sobs!!! It was a Friday which is a weekend in Terengganu. We had no special plans and visited my uncle (we were there practically everyday) to say farewell to him, my cousin and my grandma.

We had something simple for lunch which was satay. My dad went out to buy the satay early in the morning. Do you know that people eat satay for breakfast in Terengganu? 

This was my satay, all 20 sticks of it. It was delicious! The sauce tasted very good though it was a bit runny.


Mum told us that this was not from the usual stall because the regular makcik did not open for business that day.

Since we had satay, this is all you can see for our lunch hah..hah.. So I am going to slot in some other things I ate over the past 6 days and also some sights in Terengganu. I have some pictures from the new shopping mall, Paya Bunga Square, but those are in my proper camera and will have to wait for another post.

Let's see. You probably think all I did was eat but no, there were two days when brother and I went to town by ourselves.

We went to the market (Pasar Payang) and these are some of the things we saw.


Do you know what these are? They are cashew fruits (jambu golok). The cashew nut grows at the tip of the fruit. Colorful aren't they? The fruits can be eaten but you must process them first by slicing and soaking in salt (if I am not wrong) or else it will cause irritation to your mouth and throat.


You don't eat them raw like that but cooked in sayur kolok (Terengganu style sayur lemak). My friend Ratna's sayur kolok which she cooked for our reunion is still fresh in my mind.


I was rather surprised when I saw these turtle eggs being sold openly in the market. I thought they are banned. Are you familiar with turtle eggs? They are the size of ping pong balls and they are soft with papery shells. Not like chicken eggs. As you can see from the photo, they have dents because the shells are soft. 


To cook, the eggs are boiled but they do not become hard like regular eggs. The contents are still runny except for the yolk which is firm and very creamy. The egg whites are viscous and runny like....for want of a better word....snot. I know it sounds yucky but turtle eggs are delicious. No, I did not buy them and I am telling you from my childhood experience.

To eat, what you do is pinch the shell to make a small tear and then you suck the contents. It's yummy I tell you. But no. we shouldn't be eating turtle eggs as they are an endangered species.


This is one of the stalls I snapped at random. I don't know what are in those plastic bottles. I suspect the big one contains tempoyak.


This pakcik almost lost his chicken. There was a  commotion and when I turned around, the chicken was already subdued and lying on the ground. Don't worry, it was still alive when I took this photo.


This is another stall. Look at the big tray of cashew fruits and I see lots of petai. The fruits on the left, I have no idea.


This was the view from the top floor of the market (there is only one floor up). I went up to look for batik blouses but found none. I mean the fabrics were beautiful but the design of the blouses were not to my liking. 


I did not snap any pics because it was very crowded up there and walking space is very narrow. The whole upstairs was fully occupied by shops selling batik and garments.

I wanted to see more of the market. But it was very hot and I did not want to drag brother any longer than necessary. I told him, next time he can drop me off at the market early morning and then pick me up later.


Everywhere in town you can see this banner promoting the Terengganu Peranakan Festival which ran from 05-06-2015 to 10-06-2015. My uncle told brother and I that we could go to Kg Cina to take a look at the event.

But we were already leaving the next day (06-06-2015) and wanted to have an early evening to chill out with our parents (ended up my dad was watching Shogun on the media player muahahaha!!!). Besides, we knew the town would be jammed and crowded. Brother and I do not like crowds. So we gave this event a miss though I would have braved the crowds had we stayed longer. I think it would have been interesting.

Now let's have a look at some food I ate which I had not shared previously.


Nasi Dagang. This is not to be missed when you are in Terengganu. My dad bought this for our breakfast. One packet each for the brother and I. Yes, he bought two packets only because we were going to have a heavy lunch. We have been know to down 2 to 3 packets in one sitting hee..hee...hee...


Then there's keropok lekor. Also for breakfast after the nasi dagang. We did not manage to finish all and kept some for dinner.


It's eaten with a chilli dip. Keropok lekor can be found in KL and PJ as well and at some stalls they slice it thinly and then deep fry. I prefer it in this form, like a sausage.


This is pulut lepa/pulut panggang. They were not so generous with the filling.


This one is satar. So very, very delicious! My dad bought this three times for us because we loved it so much.


It doesn't look like much but packs a powerful punch in the taste department. It is made from fish and is very aromatic from the santan, young grated coconut and smoky from the charred banana leaves. I couldn't stop eating :)


Finally, this is beef noodle soup (sans noodles) courtesy of my uncle. I had this early in the week for dinner. I loved it! The soup was very beefy and flavorful. Head and shoulders above the one I had at Du Viet.

So is that all I have on Kuala Terengganu? What? You want some more? heee...heee...heee... Yes maybe another one or two more posts to show you the first major shopping mall in Kuala Terengganu and also some gems from my dad's garden.


45 comments:

  1. ping pong ballsss...muhahahaha..... but cannot play one.

    now the batik shops have moved to opposite the road liao...the new buildling.

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    1. Ya kah? I saw so many batik shops until I feel pening. It was very hot up there.

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  2. Hi Phong Hong,

    I might have passed by but don't think I have been to Terengganu before. Love to check out all the interesting food that you mentioned. Your dad is so nice feeding you lots of Terengganu local foods.

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe! Yes, we miss Terengganu food and my mum and dad did a good job us feeding is well :)

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  3. Satay for breakfast? Yes, I believe you, just like they say people in Klang eat BKT for breakfast.. For me, I'll stick to my chicken porridge and a cup of Milo, hehe.. Jambu merah I heard before la, hehe.. Oh, we don't eat it just like that? Have to cook it ga? Hmm, then I prefer my jambu merah with lots of asam powder, hehe.. Errr, turtle eggs? I thought banned wor, no? I would love to try it (since I like half boiled eggs), but maybe I won't blog about it after that, scared people hentam me, same like eating sharksfins soup in a wedding dinner, takkan blog about it meh.. I think I like your beef soup the most, looks very flavourful, lots of spices, macam sup tulang/kambing kat mamak, yummzzz..

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    1. Hi Louiz! For me, I can't eat satay for breakfast as it seem strange hah,..hah... I prefer it for lunch or dinner. I thought turtle eggs were banned but they are so readily available at the market. I miss all the food hee,,hee..

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  4. 20 sticks of satay for breakfast....you go, girl! I think max I can eat is 10. Yes, turtle eggs should be banned already (I'm surprised you managed to take a photo of it). Those fruits on the left look like duku langsat but giant ones! Satar...I never seen or had one before. From your description of the ingredients, it sounds a bit like otak-otak.

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    1. Actually it was for lunch hah..hah... I guess satar is similar to otak-otak but quite different too because of some of the ingredients used.

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  5. I've had satay for breakfast before too, totally not weird at all!! XD

    I think it is difficult to completely ban turtle eggs consumption, just like sharks fin. People have been eating it for generations, when there is demand there will definitely be supply. Maybe need to take another 2 generations to completely purge this practice. Hopefully the turtles can last that long :(

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    1. Oh, really? hmmm...

      Yup, people are fond of what they enjoy eating and it's quite hard to stop them unless they change their mindset. I do miss turtle eggs...

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  6. Terengganu weekend same as JB, Friday and Sat?

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    1. Yes, same. I heard that in the beginning there was some confusion in JB because some private companies still observe Saturday and Sunday as weekend. Some even missed deadlines because they forgot that Friday is a weekend!

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  7. Oh no! I ate turtle eggs many times when I was small as they were legal and sold in Penang markets. Good girl, you didn't eat them. Penyu says thanks Phong Hong.
    It is so warm and nice to see the excitement and fun you had with your parents and brother there. These are priceless happy moments to share. Wah! You still got grandma at your aunty age! The seniors must have all married at teens! LOL... Blessed family indeed.

    You should be voted the Food Mayoress of KT.

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    1. TM, I am not qualified yet to be the KT Food Mayoress hee..hee.. Have not been back to KT for too long liao.

      My grandma is long lived which explains why auntie still has a grandma!

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  8. What!!!!! Turtle eggs are protected!!! I love turtle eggs...but no, cannot buy them anymore here. I hear there is some kind of arrangement, if I am not wrong - a certain number to be kept and hatched and beyond that number, they can be sold. That is the problem - when they have conditions like that - people will tend to "stretch it a little bit"...like the sale of wild boar meat here. We do get to see that sometimes, even though it is protected as well.

    Just back from the Ramadhan stalls and just ate everything for dinner - so full...and no, I'm not drooling over this post. Hehehehehe!!!!

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    1. Yup, that was the reaction in my head too when I saw the turtle eggs.

      Ah, Ramadan stalls! I'm sure you had wonderful food :)

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  9. WOW!! it is a real eye opener seeing your hometown. It will be one of the place I would visit and eat to my heart content. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Christine! Hope that you get a chance to visit Terengganu :)

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  10. I ate a lot of similar things at one of the floating markets in Thailand, usually gorging myself until I couldn't walk.
    As for cashew fruit, if they are ripe, you don't have to process them you can eat the bulbous fruity part right off the tree. they are excessively high in potassium and can and will cause mouth sores if you eat the rind. In South America, it is commonly blended into a milkshake or smoothie kind of thing.

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    1. Hi Toby! Glad to know that you enjoy Thai food which means that you would enjoy the food in my hometown as well :)

      I had no idea that the cashew fruits could be eaten raw like you described. It's quite rare to find these trees where I live now. I do remember we had one at an old house. It was a big tree and the fruits were pink in color and smelled a little bit like strawberries.

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    2. to be honest, I never really cared for them - they have that same milky/chalkiness texture like durien with a sweet raw cashew flavor running thru it. -

      as for the other fare - there isn't much that I wont try at least once.... or gorge myself on if I really like it :)

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    3. Great! It's durian season now but it's really expensive right now :(

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  11. I didn't know petai looks like that. This is an eye opener.

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    1. Oh? The ones at the supermarket are already peeled, so I'm not surprised you have not seed the pods :)

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  12. I'm so jealoussssss of your keropok lekor..... thats one of my fav Malay snacks. Lately, the stall I patronise for lekor stopped doing them cos the aunty say too much work! :(

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    1. Yen, if you go to Terengganu, you can enjoy the original keropok lekor :) Can buy the uncooked ones and keep in the freezer.

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  13. I want to try the Satar Do you know of any Satar sold in KL here?

    I know cashew nuts are like that but I did not know we could get it like that locally. Can cashew nuts trees grow in our climate?

    Satay for breakfast? Never seen any stalls here selling satay for breakfast.

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    1. Mun,I have no idea if you can get satar in KL. Cashew nuts are grown here and you may not have seen them before. In fact the young leaves of the cashew tree can be eaten raw as ulam. Satay for breakfast is quite normal in Terengganu but I don't think people in KL do that hee..hee...

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    2. Hi Mun, you can get satar at Pasar Malam near the Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque on Tuesday and Friday. Now Bazaar Ramadhan at the same place is available everyday.

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    3. Thanks for letting me know! :)

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  14. Hi Phong Hong,
    The jambu looks different to those here. Indeed lots of yummy good food to enjoy back in your home town :D

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    1. Hi Karen! Yes, I ate so much good food in KT hee..hee..

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  16. oooh, here comes the very last day of your trip back to KT.. and we can see even more food!! i mean more varieties..

    satay for breakfast??!! hmmm, that's not uncommon but also not common, hahaha!!! i think i will only have satay probably if i am having breakfast in a hotel, and there are satay served.. else, which pakcik or makcik over here wakes up early to grill the satay for you?? hahaha, i guess most stalls opens only at night, which is cooler for the seller.. but i think i'm okay with satay for breakfast though, it's just like having nasi lemak, hehe~~

    many interesting stuffs to see in the market.. eih, that's buah gajus!! okay, now i know they are not the normal jambu air we have, hahaha!! when i saw pictures of the cashew nuts, i really thought they grow from the jambu air, so now prove me wrong!! even the texture of the fruits are very different..

    i would be happy to try that actually, but definitely not the turtle eggs!! OMG, and they are still selling in bulks!! from where did they get the eggs?? if they got all these from the seaside then that's really bad.. or probably they have a farm where they breed the turtles?? anyway, hope those eggs are not fertilised eggs, and let's hope for the goodwill that they are collected from farms and the farms only sell unfertilised eggs..

    hehehe, you are not only a baking queen and an eating queen, but i guess you are also a shopping queen?? too bad, you gave up spending more time in the market for the sake of your brother.. and you did not have the chance to go to the peranakan festival.. so, that's really even more a makan trip, hehehe!!

    and back home you have got lots to eat too!! ooh, the authentic KT lekor!! how can one give this a miss?? i actually prefer the thin and crispy ones than the thick and chewy ones.. i guess nowadays they even have something in between already due to demand?? something little crunchy outside and fluffy inside, that is nice, i once tried some bought from pasar malam..

    and finally the pulut panggang and satar!!! satar is something new to me, i don't think i have tried this before.. probably i can visit the pasar ramadan and might find some in there huh?? looks good i wish to try it.. :)

    hehehe, welcome more posts from the KT trip.. yeah, show us more about the place maybe, let us learn more about the place and should you have been to some tourist attractions, show us by all means.. then you are not just the Food Mayor of KT, but a real Mayor, hahahaha!! :D

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    1. SK, as usual you have lots to say and it is very interesting and amusing to read your comments!

      Since I was small, the people in KT eat satay for breakfast which I honestly thought (and still do) is strange. I find it too heavy for breakfast.

      I think many people here have not seen buah gajus yah? I had the privilege of having seen a cashew nut tree at our old government quarters. I even plucked the fruits from the tree!

      I have no idea where those eggs come from. I thought that turtles don;t land at Terengganu beaches anymore due to tourism and all that. Last time Rantau Abang was famous for turtle watching.

      Well, going back to hometown means indulging in the local food and childhood favorites. I'm still struggling to lose the weight I put on. Sobs!!

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  17. Oo..klu org tganu..satu lg lauk famous.,sayur lemak jmbu golok mix dgn petai dan sedikit sotong dan ikn..mmg mebelos..😊.dan satu lagi buah yg kuning sebelah jmbu golok tu.buah setapi@setor(xtau org kl pggil ape)..akn madak seperti sayur lemak di campur petai, kacang pnjg dan sotong..we terengganunians call " sayur golok" ☺.you should try it..
    bet..nice entry promote my negeri 😊

    http://nesaprima.blogspot.comJom singgah kemaman..my homestay:

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    1. Oh...hok tu buah setor! Saya dok tahu setabok hee..hee...orang tganu konon. Sayur golok tu memang best ah... boleh makan gitu jer dengan nasik. Yes, mesti promote Teganu kite :)

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    2. When I was young, I was told is buah setoi. The is from WIKI
      "Kecapi, sentul atau ketuat adalah nama sejenis buah dan juga pohon penghasilnya. Nama-nama lainnya adalah kechapi (Mal.), sentol, santol atau wild mangosteen (Ingg.), santor (Fil.) dan lain-lain. Nama ilmiahnya Sandoricum koetjape (Burm.f.) "
      The skin we used to cook sayur golok

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    3. The soft drink and mineral bottle next to tempoyak are "cuka nipah or cuka nyiur", this is what we call organic vineger.:) Can add a little when you make "gonyok betik"

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    4. I hear that this is the best vinegar to use when making Terengganu style salads. Thanks for the info!

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  18. Hi Phong Hong, thanks for sharing all your Terengganu update. Nice pictures and nice place to explore. I'd visited all the states except Kelantan & Terengganu. :)) One of this day must visit this 2 stats or else cisit M'sia not complete. hahaha......
    Thanks for sharing.

    Have a nice weekend, regards.

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    1. Hi Amelia! You must visit Terengganu one day and enjoy the good food there :)

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  19. Hi, My husband is making a trip to Trengganu next week. He is asking where he can find the most popular Nasi Dagang and Authentic & Famous Malay food in KT. He told me there is one which is near the airport but how to get there?

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  20. Not only do we eat satay for breakfast, we also eat nasik minyok with the full set of ayam masak merah/beef etc. That's because traditionally, Terengganu folks have been fishermen. There isn't much you can eat at sea and only so much you can tapau and fishing at sea is hardwork. So you eat all you can before going out to sea. Nowadays, many of us are no longer practising the profession but still eat like a hardworking fishermen :)

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  21. By the way, not all turtle eggs are from endangered species. Those with permits to collect and sell are fine to eat. And yes, they are delicious.

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