The Great Outdoors

Parit Buntar Food Trail

Weather was cool as it was drizzling. We were up at 7.00am and had a simple breakfast inclusive in out hotel tariffs. GPS routing went bonkers, so we just hit the road by memory. First destination was towards Nibong Tebal, crossing the Kerian River via Ampangan Jajar.

It wasn't very far from our starting point and we reached there in no time. From the bridge, we can actually view the 3 states, namely Perak which we are standing on and Kedah across the bridge and further downstream is Pulau Pinang. After some snapshots, we rode on towards Nibong Tebal passing through a paper mill.

We reached Nibong Tebal after a short ride and we headed to Chop Chuan Guan biscuits. Lilian wanted to get some snacks here as she was fascinated by the pictures in some blogs. But it was still not open yet! There is still a good hour before it opens. So we decided to go for breakfast again as the one we had was not really filling.

We headed to the parallel road where the famous Nibong Tebal's pork noodles. The place is Teik Kee's Coffee Shop. Locally the noodle is called "tu bak hoon". Alas, when we reach there, they were just unloading the stock and arranging the chairs. Gan saw a place where there were many patrons going in and out of a noodle shop when we were riding past. So, we back tracked to the place and the place in Kg. Sanglang was indeed busy.

So, we ate what the next table ate and also drank what the next table drank! The drink is actually their 'cham ping' which is a mixture of tea and coffee with cream. The noodle which is a bit bland due to the less amount of MSG used in rurals but it was greatly improved with adding pepper and soy sauce which is on the table anyway. I kind of like such foods after exposing myself to too much of heavy tasting food in the city.

By the time we finish our second breakfast of the day, Chop Chuan Guan is already opened. Ironically, this popular place is just directly opposite a casket shop. They are opened for only 2 hours today as it was a Sunday, so there's no on hand preparation of the delicacies. Lilian bought so many that both our bikes had plastic bags hanging on the front bar.

We crossed the motorcycle bridge back to the opposite and set our GPS to Sungai Udang.  There was actually another similar bridge but located elsewhere which leads directly to Kg. Berembang which is nearer but it's OK anyway. The detour was not really far anyway.

Looking at the signboard, it says Seberang Perai so we are in Penang actually. We explored till the end of this road and there was a lively fishing industry thriving  there. We are so impressed with the freshness of the seafood there and more impressive was the public can choose, and haggle directly with the fish mongers here. Right where the seafood is landed on the jetty! The freshness was so tempting but we can't buy , not today!

So tempted to buy! So cheap and so fresh! Must bring a cooler box next trip. All kinds of seafood! The atmosphere here was intense with customers haggling over the prices and rivalry among the fish mongers to sell off their seafood. Next ride will be a homestay and a seafood BBQ with all the fresh seafood bought from here!

After watching in awe at the fish trading here, we rushed back to our hotel to clean up and check out without being penalized. We made it with an hour to spare and Gan went to the maintenance officer for water to clean our bikes , all dirtied with riding in the rain. The guy allowed us to use the fire hose and washing was easy with the high pressure. I already washed all 4 bikes even before the first group was not down from cleaning themselves. When they did, another 2 went up to clean and after that we handed back the keys to the reception and said 'goodbye' to the hotel.

We drove immediately to the riverside for the famed 'assam laksa' and was there at 1.00pm. We were here yesterday and it was also closed already. So, today there was no hard searching for a stall in a discreet alley! They are only open on weekends and starts from 11.30am opens only 3 hours! Sadly! they were finished when we walked in and the lady boss told us, if we want to enjoy it , we have to be there at 11.30am!

No worries, we then drove to Fo Soo Suan Hotel for the beef noodles and...........we met the same fate there. Sold out!

Too Borr Sui

We then decided to head straight for lunch, yes the other 2 was just snacks! Our destination, Law Chang Kee in Nibong Tebal for their famous " Tu Boh Sui " , a boiled octopus appetizer!

The octopus did not disappoint us, it was crunchy and fresh! So were the other dishes, they were really good, especially the deep fried prawns and also the steamed pomfret.

Every table seems to have this towfoo dish!

Now that we done this ride, we just have to link up the dots and plan another more improved ride! Hopefully it doesn't rain then.