Kuala Terengganu | KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL

24 Feb

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Kuala Terengganu

Posted by kampungboycitygal in CNY, Chinese Food, Kuala Terengganu. 19 Comments

How was your Chinese New Year Celebration? We travelled home (Kuala Terengganu & Ipoh) to visit friends and families. Traditions remain strongest in small towns, a big reason why we look forward to join our families to to celebrate the most joyous holiday of all.

The Chinese New Year holiday has always been a quiet time in Terengganu, the state where Chinese made up a mere 2.6% of the total population.

However, things are a little bit different this year as the Chinatown of KT took on the look of the famous Temple Street of Kowloon, Hong Kong. Even the usually quiet KT town is suffering from traffic jam during the festive period. Definitely a rare sight!

The street of Chinatown has been decorated with lanterns and other ornaments to usher in the new year.

12 May

3 Days, 2 Birthdays & A Bulging Stomach – Part II

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Birthday, Buffet, Kuala Terengganu, Local Food. 7 Comments

Everyone sing the birthday song and have the birthday child sing along.
The birthday is deep in thought, hmmm I wish for more toys, more candies, (more chicks)……
Awwww so cute!
The portrait of a happy family.

We adjourn to Heritage Bay Club at Pulau Duyong for High Tea buffet after that. The RM300 million a year yacht race called the Monsoon Cup (some say the F1 of yachting) has left us behind Heritage Bay Club (Kelab Teluk Warisan Terengganu). Other than accommodation, Heritage Bay Club offers sailing facilities as well.

Idris Yusof, the ex chief minister of Terengganu.

The restaurant that we are heading to is Ulek Mayang Restaurant, located at the club house of Heritage Bay Club, overlooking the South China Sea.

At RM 25++, the buffet spread revolves around Malay delicacies such as mee soto, rojak, ayam kunyit, roti canai, ais kacang and a niche selection of western starters and desserts.

The food was surreally bad, not all of them, but most of them. Quite simply, there is no excuse for unattentive service in such a prestigious club but it happened. Our finished plates are never cleared and we have to squeeze for table room. Nevertheless, we would love to thank KampungBoy’s sister in law for buying us the meal.

Bar Area

Sleekly Designed Indoor Dining Room

Alfresco Dining at the Patio

With KampungBoy’s Parents

After the meal, we walked around the deck for some cam whoring session and to catch a glimpse of the prize-winning boats from the Monsoon Cup competition. Such a stunning place isn’t it? It better be, so much of money was spent on it!

The Heritage Bay Club Marina & Resort,
Pulau Duyong,
21300 Kuala Terengganu,
Terengganu.
Tel: 09-627 7888
Fax: 09-622 9903
E-mail: info@heritagebayclub.com.
Website: www.heritagebayclub.com

6 May

3 Days, 2 Birthdays & A Bulging Stomach – Part I

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Birthday, Chinese Food, Kuala Terengganu, Local Food, Malay Food, Terengganu. 8 Comments

Goodies Bag for Guests

Fried Popiah

Nasi Minyak

Kari Ayam

Ayam Masak Merah

Acar Sayur

Dragon Fruit & Coffee Agar-Agar

Cuties in Beach Wear

Happy Birthday to KampungBoy’s Dad!

Longetivity Noodles

Whole Roasted Chicken

Sweet Sour Garoupa Fish

Sweet Sour Pork Ribs

Sweet Sour Crabs

Two Way Kai Lan

Iron Man Wannabes

“It’s good to come home every now and then, as time goes in a different pace here”, says KampungBoy. I couldn’t agree more. The relaxed pace of life in Terengganu is apparent in the quaint town but one will be easily impressed with its gastronomic delight that exudes an enviable charm.

We have been eating like there’s no tomorrow, mainly because of the two birthday celebrations of KampungBoy’s dad and nephew in merely three days. For his dad’s birthday, we had a lunch gathering ala kenduri style.

The caterers have adequately done a very good job; the food was served piping hot and everything is relatively fresh. An essential for kenduri/wedding function, nasi minyak, or better known as Festive Rice is a perfect accompaniment to the spicy dishes, and it fares quite well as a standalone meal. Cooked with butter, ginger, coconut milk, ginger and various spices; it is highly flavorful and aromatic.

To start with, nibble on some crunchy acar sayur (pickled vegetables) drenched in sweet and sour vinegar sauce. Continue feasting on ayam masak merah (spicy tomato sauce), its distinctively spicy sweet and sour flavour has lured us over again and again. Prepared using free range chicken and various spices, gulai ayam is another variant from the usual curry chicken. Coconut milk makes it creamy with a hint of sweetness and the use of spices takes it to another level of taste. Beef rendang was pretty popular as well, judging from the little leftover for our breakfast the next day.

The dinner was held at Uncle Ng’s Restaurant, one of the better Chinese restaurants in Kuala Terengganu. The food is mediocre, can’t complain much because our taste buds were spoiled by all sort of good Chinese food around Ipoh and KL. However, the roasted chicken deserves a mention here. It’s crackly crispy skin is absolutely delicious; where KampungBoy insist it’s the best part of the bird while I love the tender and juicy part of the meat.

Stay tune for Part II, the ending of our short escapade back home (to some of yours relieve! :p)

Uncle Ng Restaurant
50E, Jalan Tok Lam
20100 Kuala Terengganu
Terengganu.
Tel: 09-6312863

2 Sep

Keropok Sengit

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Kuala Terengganu, Malay Food, Terengganu. 20 Comments

Keropok Sengit!

My homeland, Terengganu comprises of seven districts: Setiu, Kemaman, Dungun, Marang, Hulu Terengganu and Kuala Terengganu. 90% of the population on this state are Malays and the reminder share among the Chinese, Indians and aborigines. It is not surprise to see a heavy Malay influence on Terengganu’s delicacies.

Keropok sengit, please. Sengit = Satu Ringgit whereby Terengganuan pronounce it as such. These are some of the unfamiliar local pronunciation that is peculiar to the West Coast people. Other than the infamous Kak Yah keropok lekor, this is a place which serves mouth watering keropok – Mak Long Keropok.

Mak Long, has been running the business with the help of her family members at the same spot for more than two decades.

The place seems dodgy, with the old heavy gage galvanized zinc rooftop and wooden beams. It is always the case where you can get nice food at such hidden gem.

Though rapid development and modernization slowly adapts to the way of life, Mak Long still adapts the traditional way of cooking before the advent of electricity– wood. Why would she take in so much of trouble? According to Mak Long, gas cooked food can not match the flavor imparted on the food from a real wood fire. Wood fire can maintain a low enough temperature for proper slow cooking.

Soft drink in glass bottle is so old school !

Long style of stir fry mi (mee kasar) and stir fry rice vermicelli (mee halus). The noodles are selling like hot cakes, it disappear within seconds from the big tray.

Mak Long’s homemade cili padi. The darker colour concoction is more to the sweeter side and the light colour one is some tongue burning hot and spicy cili padi dippings.

It costs you RM0.60 for the smaller portion and RM1.00 and large portion, a value for money isn’t it? My all time favourite would be “Campur”, a mixture of mi and rice vermicelli with shredded cucumber served as a side dish. The taste is just divine; in fact it is beyond description.

Keropok Goreng is a snack made from fish ground with sago and salt before it is steam and later deep fried. It is best to be eaten with the chili dip. It is crispy on the outside but soft, warm and aromatic inside, sort of like a baguette. Guess what, it costs only RM 0.10 per piece, so RM10.00 can serves up to 100 pieces of keropoks and surprisingly my friend managed to finish it all by self. It is a great place to have a little chat and chew on the fresh Keropok Lekor.

I took the effort to compose a map that shows the direction towards Mak Long’s Keropok, a traditional Malaysian snack food composed of fish and flour.

Other delicacies around Kuala Terengganu:

Hainanese Chicken Rice

http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com/2006/07/terengganu-specialties-kak-yah-keropok.html

http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com/2007/03/roti-paun-and-hup-bee-keropok-kampung.html

Steam Keropok Lekor

Love,
KampungBoy

24 Mar

Roti Paun and Hup Bee Keropok @ Kampung Cina, Kuala ATerengganu.

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Kuala Terengganu, Local Food. 18 Comments

Yes, it is time for me to blog something about Kuala Terengganu, the place where Kampungboy was borned and grow up. He has been staying in Kampung Cina for so many years that he can sketched out the map that I requested without second thoughts.

Kampung Cina is the main Chinese settlement in Kuala Terengganu , situated near the heart of Kuala Terengganu city centre.The row of prewar old buildings were build by the Chinese from China in the 19th century. It is said to be one of the well preserved Chinatown in the world. In fact, it is included Unesco’s heritage listing.

There is a hawkers’ centre at the back of the other row of shophouses that sells various types of local food. An old well which dates back to more than a hundred years is also located nearby. It is known as the Low Tiey Well. During the early settlement days, the term Low Tiey signified both that of Chinese translator and Chinese community leader. The water in the well was used for drinking and washing. The well was also believed to have been excavated and constructed in 1875 by Low Tiey Lim Keng Hoon (1820-1882). (information from My Far East – Terengganu)

Kampungboy’s mum makes her daily visit here, the morning market at Kampung Cina. Poulty, fruits, vegetables, kuih muih and various items are being displayed here.

Roti paun (little bun) is the toasted small rectangle bread loaf that is make up from 4 little buns. It is one of the specialty that is only available in Kuala Terengganu.

I can finish the whole roll by myself easily. Each buns come in a pop- into- your- mouth size. This little toasted bun goes well with margarine, butter or kaya (home made coconut jam).

Another delicacies that get me hooked. Ikan Parang Keropok lekor from Hup Bee, it is retailed at RM 9 per packet. Usually keropok lekor was made from a mixture of ikan bamban, ikan parang, ikan kerisi and even ikan bilis which gives it some sort of fishy smell. However pure ikan parang keropok is plain aromatic, that is why the price can be slightly expensive.

The sliced keropok must be sundried for 2 to 4 hours before the deep frying take place. Kampungboy’s mum gives me some tips on the deep frying part: flatten the keropok slices with wok spatula in the hot oil. You have to be patient because this has to be done slice after slice. The results? Larger, thinnier and crispier keropok lekor!

7 Jul

"Genuine" Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Kuala Terengganu

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Chinese Food, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. 6 Comments

Hainan Chicken Rice, it is one of the most popular everyday meal served in food stalls and eateries all over Malaysia and Singapore. Singaporeans even claimed the rice dish as their national dish! It was brought here by the Chinese immigrants from Hainan. Now that it has evolved with some elements of local culinary.

What makes Hainanese Chicken Rice so Hainanese?

Chicken - The chicken is prepared in traditional Hainanses methods strictly. First, they boil the chicken with pork and chicken bone stock and the broth is reused over and over again to create “master stock”. Hainanese prefer older and bigger chicken to extract more oil and Cantonese use younger birds to get tender meat which distinct them from the Hainanese version. Some will dipped the cooked chicken in ice water to produce smooth and jelly like skin. Lastly the chicken is garnished with cucumbers, scallions and cilantro, sometimes served with a side of soup from the broth.

Rice - The rice is the essence of the whole dish. Fry the uncooked rice in a wok with some of the chicken stock and fat until the rice turns golden in colour. Next pour the rice into a pot and add some chicken stock, salt and the water obtained from boiling water. Lastly throw in 1 clove crushed peeled garlic and a bruised ginger.

Dipping Sauce – A dipping sauce of chili, garlic, ginger and lime juice is a must-have to complete this meal.

As a Hainanese himself, Kampungboy claimed that this place offer the most authentic chicken rice that he has ever tasted. The owner is of the same origin as Kampungboy.

The fragrant, greasy and sinful rice is the essence of Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese call this ‘undi’, dipping sauce made of garlics, ginger, chilli and lime juice

The next time you are visiting Terengganu, drop by here for a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice. No regrets! Do not hesitate to share with us which is your favourite Hainanese Chicken Rice place.

Restoran Chuan Kee, Jalan Kota Lama, Kuala Terengganu (Opposite Bank Simpanan National)

Readings:

1. Wikipedia

2. Asia Cuisine

3. Thingsasian

7 Jul

"Genuine" Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Kuala Terengganu

Posted by kampungboycitygal in Chinese Food, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. No Comments