Kemaman halfday food trip

It's such a rare occasion when our whole extended family got to go on a road trip. Because there's no on call on this particular Saturday. But the weather was a horrible storm from kuantan which fortunately turned into a sunny morning at Kemaman.

We started off by satisfying the coffee lovers at Hai Peng Kopitiam which is very popular on the food map. It is now sporting a brand new sign and has also expanded into two shoplots because it's always full.

Kedai Kopi Hai Peng Kemaman
Address K-3753, Jalan Sulaimani, Chukai
Opens Saturday to Sunday 6am to 7pm
Facebook page
https://mobile.facebook.com/pages/Hai-Peng-Kopitiam/106887502715457?_rdc=1&_rdr

One must have their signature coffee which is so Asian and aromatic yet not too overpowering to cause irritation to the sensitive stomach. Mixed with condensed milk, it's very different from your conventional Caucasian capuccino but a champion nevertheless. The toasts come in the round or square variety with butter and Kaya (coconut spread) which is another popular food all over Malaysian Kopitiams (coffee shops).

Next pitstop was nonetheless Intan Keropok Lekor. After comparing with so many other Keropok shops in the area, this is one of the best!

Keropok Cap Intan
Address 301, Jln Kuantan - Kemaman
Opens daily 9am to 7pm
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/keropokcapintan96/

Freshly cooked fish crackers are simply the best! The Keropok here comes in both the soft and cripsy version. The crispy one is flat and dried before being deep fried into tempting Keropok. The soft one, on the other hand, was shaped into short roughly 15cm sections and cooked in boiling water. One can then eat it as it is or deep fry to create more aroma. I love how chewy and fishy the Keropok is (fishy here means the fresh ocean taste).

Of course we also had to stop by and have some satar and otak-otak. Again these are traditional Malay snacks made with fish. This was the first time we have this at Mas Satar.

Warung Mas Satar
Address T124, Kampung Geliga Cik Akob, Chukai
Facebook page https://mobile.facebook.com/pages/Mas-Satar/839813986136498?_rdc=1&_rdr
Opens daily 8am to 9pm

Utterly enjoy how spicy the satar is! These pyramid shaped delicacies were filled with fish cakes with fresh bird's eye chilli inside. Wrapped in banana leaves and pierced onto a long satay stick, it's roasted over a barbeque. The otak-otak, on the other hand, contained fish pieces marinated in curry paste, also wrapped in banana leaves stapled at the ends then roasted until it's still juicy inside.

But we just couldn't have enough food! After stopping by Pantai Mak Nik so we could digest some of these brunch off, we headed to our last stop of the trip.

东源酿蟹 Restaurant Tong Juan
Address K-117, Jalan Sulaimani, Kampung Dusun Nyior, Kemaman
Opens daily 11.30am to 3.30pm, 6-10pm

This is the original stuffed crab from Kemaman. It's so popular that the price is going up exponentially from RM7 per piece to RM10 each now. But original is still the best. Juicy fresh crab meat mixed with finely chopped carrot and onion, covered with layer of egg then deep fried into perfection. The way to eat crab without making your hands dirty.

Their fishball soup is also a must try. Texture is light and crunchy, not chewy. One can easily taste the freshness of the fish. Take this with clear soup cooked with seaweed, it's refreshing and yummy.

The sambal squid had a unique flavour. It's more soury and runny than your usual sambal. Combined with onion, pineapple and cucumber. I wished there's more squid though :p

We have only come across 龙门客栈 at Chukai after gotten back from the trip though which was a disappoinment. But that means more future trips to Kemaman!