The Four Island Tour is one of the most famous tours available to visitors due to its low price and the location of the 4 islands which are not more than 30 minutes from Ao Nang beach.

Our first stop for the day, Tup Island. Also known as Tub Island, Koh Tap or Koh Thap, it is a small island with a beautiful view.

Unfortunately there seems to be no control of number of visitors on this tiny island and the place gets filled up quite fast on that day.

We were lucky to get a spot to just chill out and do some people watching activity.

Different tour guide will have different ways to please their customers. One guide threw some bread to the water to attract both fish and tourist!

A short video of the ‘fish feeding’.

More visitors arrived at Tup Island making the space between sunbathers even smaller than when we first arrived.

One last shot of the sandy beach before our 1-hour allocation in Tup Island expires.

Our next destination was the one I love the most, a short off-the-boat snorkelling stop at an area with clear water nearby Chicken Island.

The clear emerald green seawater was just amazing.

Literally swimming with the fish.

After a wonderful 45-minutes snorkelling fun, the boat sped off to the island, but before that the view of Chicken Island. Can you spot the chicken?

Lunch at Chicken Island

Menu was of course Chicken with rice and vege. We were again unsure of the chicken’s halal status so we had a vegetarian lunch! Hehe

After the snorkelling session, even plain rice + mixed vege and Cili Padi tasted awesome!

The short hop to the 3rd island was right after lunch. Poda Island or Koh Poda offers another great setting for sunbathing, photography and snorkelling.

I was told that a coral reef lies quite near from the beach with a variety of sea life. So it was another round of snorkelling despite just having lunch 15 minutes before.

A different kind of fish.

Dessert.

Our last stop for the day was the Railay Beach.

This is a more commercial and full-of-activities kind of beach. A great place for families. I was happy to spot the food-sellers on the boat.

Not only they were friendly, most of them are muslims serving Halal food! Yeay

Floating kitchen!

One of the activities, mountain climbing at Phranang Cave

And not to forget the famous “Phallus Shrine”

While the crowd at all 4 stops of the Four Island tour was a bit of a turn-off, we still had a great time together.

After arriving back in Ao Nang we had an awesome 4-hour Thai spa/massage session.

No anniversary celebration is complete without a nice dinner. Thai food in Thai, cannot get any better than that

…and a relaxing (and somehow quite romantic!) ride on a tuk-tuk around Ao Nang.

A perfect way to end the day and the trip.

Krabi is definitely in the list for my future travels. InsyaAllah one day I’ll be back to explore the other islands as well as visiting Krabi town itself.

Thinking of going to Krabi? I strongly suggest AGODA for your hotel arrangement, you can search multiple hotels at one time and compare the prices to get the best deals. I actually secured a 40% off from the published rate!

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Almost all island hopping tours regardless by speedboat or long tail boat include the transfer from hotel to the beach. Just don’t expect a limousine to pick you up

We made arrangement the day before and upon arrival at the beach all we had to do was just to sign some insurance form and we were all set to go with 15 other tourists on the same tour.

Our tour guide not only speaks fluent English, he is also one funny and knowledgeable dude. The 25 minutes boat ride wasn’t too bad on the 2-engine speedboat.

Our 1st stop, Lading Island.

We were lucky to be the second boat to reach Lading Island. Just like what I had in mind, peaceful, clean and beautiful island!

For a good few minutes we could hear camera shutters clicking at every angle. Including my better half, testing her new Olympus Tough camera.

A nice giant swing.

While the others opted for sunbathing, my wife and I decided to do some swimming and snorkelling.

Wonder why she was so excited?

This!

Wow! Beautiful sight.

Our tour guide did some wall climbing while waiting for the 60 mins allocated time to expire.

60 minutes is really short when you are having fun! It was time to move on to the next island.

Koh Phak Bia or the Phak Bia Island!

White sand beach and even clearer water!

We hit the water with some other tourist who carried some bread. Great to see more types of fish here compared to Lading.

Lunch was served by the beach as part of the package, Unfortunately we were not sure whether the food was Halal so we decided to stick to the trusty, Ayam Brand Tuna and bread! haha

And of course the unlimited fruits!

After lunch, we hopped into the boat for our next destination the Hong Lagoon.

Surrounded by beautiful tall cliffs and can only be reached by boat through a narrow gap, Hong Lagoon is very calm and a good place for a relaxing kayaking activity.

Mangrove at Hong Lagoon

Nature at its best.

We then took another hop to the final island, the Hong Island. Despite the tour being called “Hong Island tour”, I think that the Hong Island itself is the least attractive. Still it was nice to just chill out and relax by the beach.

Overall it was a satisfying 6-hour tour of 4 places. I strongly recommend the Hong Island to any visitor to Krabi who don’t want to take the hour long boat ride to Phi Phi. You are going to love it!

It felt good to end day 2 with a nice 1-hour foot massage

We had the “4 island tour” lined up on the next day so the rest of day 2 was spend just chilling out in Ao Nang enjoying good food, good company and good holiday ambience. This is what I call a holiday.

Thinking of going to Krabi? I strongly suggest AGODA for your hotel arrangement, you can search multiple hotels at one time and compare the prices to get the best deals. I actually secured a 40% off from the published rate!

The end of the year is always a good time to take a break, chill out and reflect on the hard work that was put in continuously throughout the year. My wife and I are fortunate that our wedding anniversary is on the 27th of December and that allows us to have a 2-in-1 celebration every year, the year-end break + wedding anniversary.

Alhamdulillah we were lucky to be able to secure cheap air fares on Air Asia for a 4 Days 3 Nights trip to Krabi Thailand on the last week of 2011. So the year of 2011 ends with a romantic adventure for two to Ao Nang Krabi and its nearby islands!

On day 1, by the time we arrived in Krabi it was already late afternoon thanks to the long immigration queue at the Krabi airport. After a 40 minutes cab ride we arrived at our pre-booked hotel in Ao Nang, the Centara Anda Dhevi Resort & Spa Krabi (เซ็นทารา อันดาเทวีรีสอร์ทแอนด์สปา กระบี่).

Centara Dhevi is a nice new resort which I would give a 4.5 star rating for its facilities, location and service. A great place for honeymooners and special occasions like wedding anniversary celebration.

Ao Nang is a small resort town that has its own charm. Beaches, connections to islands, shopping, seafood and bars are common attractions in Ao Nang. Similar to Phuket with probably 50% less happening nightlife and party which is perfectly fine for me!

Almost all the shops, bistros, restaurants and tour operators are within walking distance..

…but there are still public transportation available for anyone to hop on.

Private ‘tuk-tuk’ for 20 Baht per trip per person around Ao Nang

Nice bus stop.

We continued walking for a good 15 minutes on the road that leads towards the Ao Nang Beach.

Despite this particular stretch of the beach being used for embarking to speed boats, the beach remains clean and gave a good vibe to the image of Ao Nang as an unpolluted laidback beach town.

Nevermind the typos and spelling mistakes, the message is clear and serves as a friendly reminder.

The beach at Ao Nang isn’t perfect, but it is a good spot to base yourself for the island excursions departing every morning from the Ao Nang Beach.

After checking out a few tour operators, we decided to randomly pick one to arrange our day 2 activities – an island excursion to Hong Island and its surrounding islands.

Since we were going to the islands the following day, it was a good excuse to shop for some beachwear.

Almost everything is negotiable which may be good news or bad news depending on the type of person you are. I’m quite bad with bargaining but Krabi people are friendly enough so it was not too bad.

Saw this cute Volkswagen as we were walking back to the hotel.

One excellent thing about Krabi is the availability of Halal food. It’s everywhere! I personally think this is a very big plus point as Muslim visitors like me would be able to taste local cuisine prepared in halal manner. This is something I don’t get to experience in many countries.

Pancakes, deep fried shrimps and spring rolls are as common as seeing someone in 2-piece bikini. Ok, bad comparison.

We decided to try some Krabi street food for dinner.

A mobile Tom Yam stall. It was impressive witnessing delicious meals being prepared at the comfort or discomfort of seating on a bike.

Tom Yam Gung, Thai Style chicken and omelette.

Delicious.

And of course Banana Pancake for dessert. These so-called pancakes are actually ‘roti canai’ with toppings. It’s quite tasty especially eaten hot with the right toppings.

We spent most of the evenings in Krabi in our hotel room. After all what’s the point of spending so much on hotel if you don’t make full use of it right? It was nice just chilling out at the balcony watching the view and enjoying the sea breeze and a plate of banana pancake.

Thinking of going to Krabi? I strongly suggest AGODA for your hotel arrangement, you can search multiple hotels at one time and compare the prices to get the best deals. I actually secured a 40% off from the published rate!

The taxi driver who drove me from the airport dropped me at the Dutch Square, right in the centre of the tourist attractions, in front of the famous Christ Church. This unique red-color church was completed in 1753 and follows an extremely simple design of a typical church with Dutch architecture.

Also at the Dutch Square is theTan Beng Swee Clock Tower, a clock tower built by the third generation of a Chinese philanthropic millionaire family.

Queen Victoria Fountain - built in 1901 by the British to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

From Jalan Gereja, many of other tourist attractions are within walking distance.

Malacca River – now famous for its river cruise. Hats off to the Malacca authorities who successfully transformed the river into a tourist attractions. Something that other states can learn from?

My initial plan was to go by foot around the area, that’s the best way to explore every single site in and out.

But I cannot resist the temptation of wanting to take an easy ride on one of the trishaws! Haha

At least I have a personal tour guide explaining the background of the tourist attractions…

…and someone that can snap photos of me! This is me standing in front of a model of an old ship that was used hundreds of years ago. Melaka was an important trading port due to its location on the Straits.

Menara Taming Sari, a 110m tall tower that provides visitors a 360 degree panoramic view of Malacca.

A pleasant surprise when out of nowhere my eyes caught this lovely old plane! A Twin Pioneer Mk.1 “Lang Rajawali” (FM1064 c/n:583) on display at the Melaka Transport Museum!

Not only that I got to fly on an empty flight from Subang to Melaka on that day, I also got to see one of the earliest plane of RMAF that flown Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman! An interesting ‘aviation day’ for me

My personal tour guide also showed me a pokok Melaka and buah Melaka right in front of the plane. I swear I would never notice the tree without the help of a tour guide.

Next stop, Porta de Santiago or better known as the A Famosa – a Portuguese fortress built in 1511! The Porta de Santiago, a small gate house, is the only remaining part of the fortress still standing.

Last time I visited this ‘icon’ of Malacca was when I was 12 years old. Somehow I think the A Famosa was much bigger, or maybe I was small at that time! Haha

The Fort Terrace is a good place to spend some time admiring the surrounding sights.

BE52- the car which carried Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman for the proclamation of independence from the British rule at 1957. This car is kept at good condition until today.

Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat Armoured Vehicles

Next stop, Jonker walk – the perfect place for street photoshoot!

Makam Hang Jebat

Tukang Tong??? Unique for a town boy like me! Hehe

Masjid Kampung Kling

One of the Chinese temples.

A malay house in Kg Ketek

Bound Feet Shoes!

Way back during the Ming dynasty, only the women of high breeding had bound feet. It was a beauty that few women could boast of. In Malacca you can still find shoemakers making this kind of unique shoes. Source: http://www.cityturtle.com/Bound_Feet_Shoes.html

Malacca especially Jonker Walk is famous for its Pineapple tart.

Taking the recommendations from my guide, we stopped at this shop for a dose of Melaka Cendol Durian which is another signature dish of Jonker Walk.

Good stuff!

On the way back, I saw this long queue of people waiting to try the Chicken Rice Ball. It’s non-halal so obviously I did not join the queue.

One last stop, the museum.

One last photo, thank you abang beca!

Malacca is a great place not only for foreigners but also Malaysians. I managed to only visit a small portion of the city within my 4 hours trip but I’ll definitely return for more. Afterall It’s only 2 hours drive or a 25-minutes flight from Subang. Firefly Airlines / Melaka Air flies twice weekly (Monday & Frieday) between Subang-Melaka and Medan-Melaka. Check out my review on the flight here.

Click Here for My Other TRAVEL STORIES.

Fancy for a trip to Malacca or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

My last trip to Cherating was many years ago and I am happy that it has not change much and developed into another tourist trap. It’s still the same relaxing Cherating.

Business as usual despite monsoon season.

Harimau Malaya in Cherating?

Motels and Chalets are cheap and literally on the beach!

Fine sand

Our main programme in Cherating – to visit Pak Ali and his “Mat Salleh”

Mat Salleh is a trained monkey, majoring in none other than plucking coconuts. Hehe

We got to witness Mat Salleh in action.

Mission accomplished. Pak Ali sharing the coconuts and stories of Mat Salleh

Refreshing

Mat Salleh taking a break.

Pak Ali is 67 years old and has been to as far as the United States in sharing his talent in traditional games such as gasing.

A very good relationship between the two

The group.

A poser.

Give Pak Ali a call the next time you are in Cherating and for a minimal fee you will get to experience Mat Salleh in action and enjoy fresh coconuts.

Instead of driving all the way to Cherating, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to Cherating. Firefly Airlines fly to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Cherating or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

This post is suitable for those who have about half a day to spend in Kuantan and do not want to explore the surrounding towns like Gambang, Pekan and Sungai Lembing.

I’ll start with Pantai Teluk Cempedak.

If Venice has its canals and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Kuantan folks are very proud of its own icon, the Teluk Cempedak.

Located within Kuantan borders, only 5km from the city centre, Teluk Cempedak is the place to be for anyone visiting Kuantan. The white sandy beach facing the South China Sea is a great place for swimming, sun-bathing, kite-flying, sailing, wind surfing, water-skiing and jet ski.

It’s also a perfect place to unwind after a long day at work.

And of course for couples wanting to spend time chatting dan ‘lain-lain’ hehe our friendly tour guide showing one of the many common poses in Teluk Cempedak.

With so many different people coming in for different activities, it makes Teluk Cempedak the perfect venue for my favourite activity which is People Watching

I still find it hard to believe that such a beautiful beach can be maintained clean despite having so many visitors.

Facilities like wooden walkaway/platform, toilets, food stalls, fast food outlets and natural tree shades allow easier and more comfortable access to visitors.

For visitors to Teluk Cempedak, leave your pets behind.

Teluk Cempedak has its own ‘pets’.

On that day, I spotted the monitor lizard

and the macaques monkeys

While Teluk Cempedah has a few stalls selling souvenirs, I would strongly suggest for those looking for souvenirs to go to the Natural Batik Village instead.

This is the place for visitors to get all kinds of ‘ole-ole’ or souvenir from Kuantan all under one roof.

Being mainly a batik factory, visitors can also watch live batik demonstration.

And even try your skills on batik stamping.

No, this is not a batik meal!

End product.

Visitors can buy multiple batik products and also usual souvenirs like key chains, fridge magnets, etc

But if you are someone like me who usually avoid all these touristy souvenirs, then Sin Kee Hung might be the place for you.

This is a famous place to get all the cheap and good dried seafood and ‘ikan masin’

The dried fish.

Udang Kering

The shop has also some delicious snacks that I enjoyed while waiting for the rest to shop. Halal certs are displayed at the counter.

There you go, from white sandy beach to souvenirs and ikan masin. The right combination if you are visiting Kuantan on a half-day trip. Also don’t forget to try Kuantan delicious food as shared in my previous blog post here. If you have more than half a day, why not explore Sg Lembing, Gampang and Pekan!

Instead of driving all the way to Kuantan, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to all these interesting places. Firefly Airlines fly to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Kuantan or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

Click Here for My Other TRAVEL STORIES.

In no particular order, here are some great ‘makan’ that we had as part of the Firefly familiarization tour. I am aware that I missed out a few famous ‘must-try’ food like Nasi Lemak Zaman but there’s always a next trip to Kuantan

Let’s start with “MEE CALONG BESERAH”

Beserah is about 8km away from Kuantan and it took us about 10-15 minutes to get there by bus. We had our Mee Calong at the famous “Joe Warung Mee Calong & Keropok Beserah”. It’s by the roadside of the main stretch so it’s not that difficult to spot this warung.

A simple warung setup. In my food dictionary, the simpler a warung is, the higher the possibility of it serving good food.

The Mee Calong Beserah.

If you ask me personally, I would describe Mee Calong as Mee Sup + Yong Tau Foo + keropok lekor + fish ball with the noodles made by mee lidi or dry noodle sticks.

So what actually is Calong? “No one really knows. Here’s a better description of the history of Mee Calong.

A warung that comes with SOP on how to eat Mee Calong!

Not convinced with the explanation, I went to attack the ‘kitchen’ to better understand Mee Calong.

This must be one of the ‘unique features’ of Mee Calong, the Keropok Leko.

No wonder the ‘fish taste’ of the soup is so good, look at the amount of fishballs, fishcake and other ingredients thrown into the soup.

As I’m not a big noodle fan, I would give Mee Calong 7.5/10 for its unique taste and freshness of ingredients. Definitely a must try.

Proud owners of the warung.

Next up is another warung that need no further introduction to Kuantan residents.

Akob Patin House!

A normal malay Nasi campur setup but you can also request for the dishes to be served to your table.

The signature dish is of course – Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak.

What else can I say… it’s a combination of 2 of my favourite dishes, fresh ikan patin + tempoyak. I was in my own world for a good 30 minutes.

Alhamdulillah, I had the opportunity to taste the fresh ikan patin and the cooking style is just perfect. Exactly as what I had in mind when people spoke to me about Akob Patin House prior to the trip. Soft texture and smells good all the way are indicators that the fish was fresh.

Some other ‘kampung style’ dishes

Sambal Kicap + Sambal Belacan + Sambal Tempoyak

Ulam-ulam.

Gulai lemak daging salai.

Thumbs up! The owner entertained us well. All we had to do is to raise our left hand up for more rice. Many did not realised that I raised my hands 3 times. Yes, 4 plates of rice.

Tapai for dessert. Cannot get any better than this.

Last but definitely not least, allow me to share the delicious dinner we had at Ana Ikan Bakar Petai.

The Tanjung Lumpur stretch in Kuantan are famous for many seafood stalls but Ana Ikan Bakar is always the first one being recommended whenever I speak to a Kuantan resident.

The signature dish – Ikan Bakar or Grilled fish with Petai. Perfect combination. I’m a huge fan of petai so the addition of petai makes the fish even tastier.

Lala sweet sour. Tasted quite ok and nothing special about it.

Kerabu Mangga and Mushroom.

Ikan Tiga Rasa, suitable for those that does not eat petai or those that one fish is not enough…. like me. Hehe

Happy faces after a full day of GOOD FOOD!

Food is a a good enough reason to justify your trip to Kuantan. I can guarantee that you will be fully satisfied with my above recommendations. Bon apetit!

Instead of driving all the way to Kuantan, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to all these delicious eating places. Firefly Airlines fly to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Kuantan or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

Click Here for My Other TRAVEL STORIES.

Sungai Lembing, 42-km North West of Kuantan is one of these destinations that allow visitors to experience the wonders of a small and old town.

Sungai Lembing was once upon a time the richest tin mining town in Pahang. The area in Sungai Lembing was the second richest tin deposit in the world after Bolivia. In its 100 years of mining since 1888, the Sungai Lembing mines produced approximately 13 million tonnes of ore that was able to produce 150000 metric tonnes of pure tin valued at $2 billion. During its heyday, Sungai Lembing mines brought the town alive with some 15,000 people being employed creating a unique mining community.

Today, long after the end of the glorious mining era, Sungai Lembing has transformed into a sleepy little town while retaining some of its unique sights that have become tourist magnets for the town.

During the recent media familiarization trip, we were given only half a day to cover Sungai Lembing which in reality is not enough. We started off with the Sungai Lembing Museum.

This is the place that any visitor should visit to better understand the stories behind Sg Lembing’s glorious days of the tin mining activities. The museum building was formerly a residence of a mine manager before it was converted to the current museum while retaining its British architectural features.

Plenty to see in this museum.

From sample of rocks and minerals,

to mining equipments,

to old ‘office’ equipments.

I find this mining diorama very interesting. It gives first time visitor like me a rough idea how a tin mine looks like.

The old bungalow effect makes it a great place for photographers as well. Plenty of photo-oportunities.

After an interesting visit to the Museum, we went to discover another famous tourist attraction of Sungai Lembing, the suspension bridge.

Blends well with the ‘stuck-in-time’ image of the town, the Jambatan Gantung Kolong Pahat Bridge is one out of few suspension bridges in Sungai Lembing.

This suspended bridge action is definitely a must try thing to all visitors.

It was quite hard for me to balance my ‘not-so-light’ body in taking good photos from the bridge.

All of us had fun laughing at each other!

We were supposed to visit the factory of the famous Mee Sungai Lembing. Unfortunately it was close on that day. Oh by the way when I mentioned ‘factory’, I was referring to this small shop lot kind of factory

Sungai Lembing is also famous for its Lembing Coconut Biscuits. We stopped by at one of its bakery producing these biscuits. From outside, the house producing the biscuits look like a normal kampong-style residential unit.

Once we entered the compound, four dedicated workers can be seen busy producing the biscuits to meet their orders.

We were given lengthy explanation on the process of producing the biscuits. Check-out the t-shirt!

The end-product.

No visit to Sungai Lembing is complete without spending some time at the town. This is where you can enjoy the ‘stuck-in-time’ effect of Sungai Lembing.

If you ever get lost in Sungai Lembing, this is a good landmark to refer to. The only petrol pump in the town. Classic.

Which by the way if you ever get lost in Sungai Lembing, be extra careful. This is the location for some scenes of the movie Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam II. It can get a bit scary at night according to some locals

Happy faces!

We ended our Sungai Lembing trip with a quick visit to Gua Charas.

After a short 10 minutes walk climbing about 100 steps, we were greeted by this cool sight.

The cave is well equipped with walkways and lighting making it accessible to visitors.

Gua Charas or Charas Cave is famous for its temples and the reclining Buddha.

Besidesthe attractions above, it is also advisable for visitors of Sungai Lembing to stay at least a night to visit the famous Rainbow Waterfall and Panorama Hill which we did not get to experience. After a long day exploring Sungai Lembing, we made our way back to Kuantan to explore other interesting places which will be covered in my next blog post.

Many towns and cities around the world are stuck in a time warp because of lack of funding to catch up with modern times. However in the case of Sungai Lembing, I can imagine that the people simply don’t want their hometown to be overwhelmed with modern developments and are perfectly happy with their current way of living. It turns out to be a good decision in my point of view. At least the people of Sungai Lembing can be proud that they still maintain their unique identity of a ‘tin mine’ town.

Instead of driving all the way to Sungai Lembing, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to Sungai Lembing. Firefly Airlines fly to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Sg Lembing or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

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While Murtabak is available almost anywhere in Malaysia, Murtabak Mengkasar is unique and only available in Pekan Pahang.

As part of our familiarization tour, we were introduced to Murtabak Mengkasar Hj Din, a famous restaurant by a busy roadside in Pekan.

It might not have a 5-star restaurant ambience but visitors can be guaranteed of a 5-star Murtabak experience. This is the real thing!

I had a quick look at the preparation of the Murtabak.

Ingredients are made by hand. Despite it being seen as something casual, in reality every ingredients follow a strict quality control procedures which have been passed on from previous generations.

Similarly, the cooking style follows specific procedures to ensure consistent quality of the Murtabak.

All staff receives hands-on training by Pak Din himself before being allowed to be in-charge of producing Murtabak Mengkasar.

Despite the heavy crowd our Murtabak was efficiently prepared in not more than 20 minutes after ordering.

WE were all excited when the Murtabak was served; a few plates of chicken and beef murtabak.

Together with pickled onions.

Even the famous blogger, Rebecca Saw could not wait to taste the Murtabak

Love at first bite!

One for the album!

In between eating multiple pieces of Murtabak, I had a chance to join the others in interviewing Pak Din.

He shared many insights of the business and the many challenges that he faced in elevating his Murtabak business to where it is today. He is a good example of how small food business can grow successfully given the right combination of good food and unique marketing proposition.

Ask anyone in Pekan either someone from Royalty family, politician or a commoner about Murtabak and most likely they will point you to Murtabak Mengkasar! That’s good marketing sense.

Is it as good as Murtabak Singapore and Murtabak Diraja Kota Bharu? I would say all three are equally good in three different ways. Check out Murtabak Mengkasar Pak Din at Jalan Sultan Abu Bakar, Kuantan, Malaysia 25200 on your next trip to East Coast.

Instead of driving all the way to Pekan, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to Pekan. Firefly flies to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Pekan or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

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Our main destination for the day – Pulau Keladi Cultural Village.

Not to be confused with many beautiful islands in Malaysia, Pulau Keladi is not a place where you get to enjoy beautiful sandy beaches. Instead it is home to two interesting tourist attractions which are the birth place of Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia’s second Prime Minister and the Pahang Silk Weaving Center, which gives you a complete end-to-end insight into the complicated art of silk weaving.

Born in Pulau Keladi, Pekan, Pahang on March 11, 1922, Tun Abdul Razak is the first of two children to Dato’ Hussain bin Muhammad Taib and Hajah Teh Fatimah bt Daud. Visitors to Pulau Keladi Cultural Village would be able to visit the actual house where he was born which has been restored.

The house contains some old and nostalgic items such as this classic sewing machine

Clay stove

Dressing Table

Cooking items.

Just next to the house is an air-conditioned gallery with all the info on Tun Abdul Razak.

Family photo, can you spot Dato Seri Najib Razak?

Of aristocratic descent, Tun Abdul Razak studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.

My favourite info panel, a love everlasting!

Also located within the Pulau Keladi Cultutal Village is the Pahang Silk Weaving Centre

Like many states in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Pahang has always been one of those states where the ancient ‘adat dan tradisi’ of the local Malays has been kept alive.

The traditional weaving method has been passed down for generations and this centre is responsible in ensuring the knowledge transfer continues for many years to come.

A colourful art.

Visitors would be able to witness the process from stand to end.

The kind of art that requires lots of persistence.

The weavers are friendly and knowledgeable. I admire how they were able to focus on their task at the same time entertained all our questions.

We were also lucky to have the master weaver, an industry celebrity who has been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles, explaining the tenun process to us.

100 % hand-woven + pure silk + woven with the finest of silk threads = a high price tag.

In my opinion this kind of ‘art’ should be expensive to preserve its uniqueness and after seeing the complicated process of producing it, the price tag can easily be justified!

No visit to a Pekan is complete without visiting the Istana and Polo Ground.

And of course tasting the Murtabak Mengkasar, which I’ll cover on my next blog post

Don’t forget to check out Pulau Keladi and Pahang on your next trip to Kuantan. Instead of driving all the way to Pekan, why not fly to Kuantan and take a short taxi/bus ride to Pekan. Firefly Airlines fly to Kuantan from Penang, Subang and Singapore – Head on to http://www.fireflyz.com.my for more details.

Fancy for a trip to Pekan or any other places in Malaysia but not sure where to stay? Check out AGODA’s website (click the banner below) for a one-stop comparison of all hotels from budget to 5-star. I am personally an AGODA fan and have saved a lot on my accommodation cost for my travels.

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