Seafood in Tanjung Dawai...

This is a catch-of-the-day lunch I had with my friends in Tanjung Dawai, a small, quaint fishing hamlet, 50 minutes by car from Alor Setar. This was on Sunday. We had an extended weekend because of Wesak which fell on Friday. The group was made up of 3 Ma(s), each with a kid in tow. It's one of the crazier things that we did to fill our stomachs. LOL! Some of the landmarks we passed - Merbok Archeology Museum, UITM and AIMST.

Our first stop was the fishing boats' landing jetties for our supply of the 'catch-of-the-day'. Can't miss them cos the jetties are in town.

Just take any of the alleys like the one above near the mamak restaurant or the goldsmith in the pic above and you will find yourself on the jetties.

And at the jetties, you will also find holding tanks for these.... this seems to be the specialty here. Fresh mantis prawns.

This was part of our lunch. Humongous mantis prawns, deep fried! The enterprising fishermen keep them in their holding tanks till they're bigger... premium size! 8 of these huge flers cost us RM120! But I guess this is what the town is known for. Cos I noticed other tables too had these huge fried mantis prawns for lunch.

Getting to the yummy part is an art as well as a messy task! Definitely a finger food! But I had fun cutting through the shell to get to the flesh. One of these is quite enough to half-fill your stomach. The meat was extremely tasty and sweet; the flesh really firm. It reminds me of lobster meat. Friend and I were just thinking out aloud how easy it is for restaurants to replace real lobster with these in those cold salads.... and then charge patrons lobster prices!

We also had this crabs or ketam batu (stone crab). They were small but every single one of them had eggs. I think I must have gotten an overdose of cholesterol in one afternoon at this place.

Fish was also from the jetty. Super fresh fish when steamed is always nice.

Also had this soft shelled crab fried in batter. Very juicy and delicious. It was attacked before I remembered to take shots of it.

Where did we have our lunch? Not your air-con restaurant but this open shed! With trees as part of the restaurant, it was comfortable enough despite the burning sun. We were the first customers. Friend had to call the proprietor to check whether he was opening as the shop was closed when we got there. He said was on his way! So we drove round town a bit while waiting for him to come. 8).... which wasn't much cos the town is really small.

For me, a big part of the fun of this makan trip is the restaurant itself; the eating in a shed. LOL! Rustic, don't you think? 8) ... and friends to share the moment. With seafood, as long as they are fresh, you can't go very wrong! So, while the cooking may not have that sort of flair and presentation associated with big restaurants, it was nice enough.

We also had their yin yong which was very nice. A must try if you go there, I would say.

On our way home, we stopped by this restaurant in Bedong for mantou or chinese steamed plain bread rolls... but these aren't your usual plain ones. It's located not too far from the junction to Merbok/Tanjung Dawai. It you are coming from Alor Setar, it should be on your right. We had to wait a while for them to prepare the filling for the mantou.

And yup! The mantou was worth the wait. Unlike the ones that we usually see, these are thin and has these slices of fried fritters wedged between. And if you want to enjoy it in its complete yummy-ness, order a cup of coffee and have it straight from the steamer, wok at the kopitiam.... it's a taste to be savoured.

We enjoyed this food adventure... the 3 ma(s) and their brood. 8)