I took the East-West Highway back from Kelantan recently, the drive was a little annoying with so many cars on the road and with so many of thiems driven by imbeciles. I tried to stop at Lake Banding for lunch but the place was overcrowded and so I moved on. Finally, I stopped at Chenderoh, at a foodcourt / tourist center right beside the lake just off the main road. Most of the shops were still closed and the ones that were open were crowded particularly those that were immediately beside the parking lot. My family and I decided to try a shop beyond the first row and settled at a small "warong" type place called Kedai Makan Mat/Tam. They served ikan bakar - barbequed fish and they only used fresh water fish. What was interesting was that these fishes were mostly alien to me except for Ikan Jelawat. I'm told that the choices that offered depended on what they caught in the lake that day. So we settled for a rather large fish, I forget that it was called but certainly nothing I had heard before. The meal was a real delight. The fish was barbequed with a sauce made mainly of chillies and tamarind juice and served right off the flame. The rice was steaming and the wind blowing off the lake was pleasant. I have no reservations in saying that it was the best barbequed fresh water fish I have had in a long long time. Of course, I was starving which made it even tastier. So if you find yourself in Chenderoh, I thoroughly recommend this place and its ikan bakar.
In Kelantan, I also found an excellent and rather surprising place. There is a nameless restaurant - I think they had not not yet put their name up - in Tanjung Cat. Take the Pengkalan Chepa road from Kota Bahru and turn right at the Tanjung Cat traffic light (Its just before ISLAH). As your turn to the left at the traffic light the restaurant is on your right, right beside a handphones shop. The place serves your basic Tom Yam fare which was nothing to write about but in addition to that they also serve chicken chop and steak, surprisingly. Ain, my wife, decided to try the chicken chop and I tried the black pepper steak. I tasted a little of the chicken and it was very good. More importantly both the steak and the chicken chop were better than the ones we had at some much fancier places in KL. The chicken chop was about RM 6 (with garlic bread) and the black pepper steak was RM 9 (with garlic bread). While we are at the place, there is also a great place for ayam percik (Kelantanese style barbequed chicken) nearby. Turn right at the same traffic light if you are from Kota Bahru, drive for a couple of minutes and you'll come across a place called Yati's Ayam Percik (or something like that), it will be on your left. The Kelantanese styled barbequed chicken and fish they serve there is well worth the trip. Well, in my opinion anyway.
So, BON APPETIT.
In Kelantan, I also found an excellent and rather surprising place. There is a nameless restaurant - I think they had not not yet put their name up - in Tanjung Cat. Take the Pengkalan Chepa road from Kota Bahru and turn right at the Tanjung Cat traffic light (Its just before ISLAH). As your turn to the left at the traffic light the restaurant is on your right, right beside a handphones shop. The place serves your basic Tom Yam fare which was nothing to write about but in addition to that they also serve chicken chop and steak, surprisingly. Ain, my wife, decided to try the chicken chop and I tried the black pepper steak. I tasted a little of the chicken and it was very good. More importantly both the steak and the chicken chop were better than the ones we had at some much fancier places in KL. The chicken chop was about RM 6 (with garlic bread) and the black pepper steak was RM 9 (with garlic bread). While we are at the place, there is also a great place for ayam percik (Kelantanese style barbequed chicken) nearby. Turn right at the same traffic light if you are from Kota Bahru, drive for a couple of minutes and you'll come across a place called Yati's Ayam Percik (or something like that), it will be on your left. The Kelantanese styled barbequed chicken and fish they serve there is well worth the trip. Well, in my opinion anyway.
So, BON APPETIT.
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