During the time when I worked at Dungun in Trengganu many years ago, I would occasionally pass by this town on my drive back to Johor Bahru. My more frequent route would be Dungun - Kuantan - Segamat - Yong Peng and then entering the North-South Expressway at Yong Peng to travel down to JB. It meant that I would cross the width of the Peninsula on Federal Route 12, a delightful (but sometimes dangerous) road which cuts across large stretches of palm oil plantations plus whatever is left of our untouched rainforest. Sometimes I would take the alternative coastal route of Dungun - Kuantan - Pekan - Mersing - Kota Tinggi - Johor Bahru. Shorter in distance but longer in travel time due to the poor road condition (those days) and the many small towns along the way.
Kuala Rompin is one of these towns. Sometimes I would stop there for a rest break or petrol refill but I never had the chance to explore the place in greater detail. I had been told by a number of friends that Rompin is well-known for its `udang galah', a species of large freshwater prawns of which I know not of a specific name in English. It was also recommended to me that I should not miss trying to taste them at any of a number of foodstalls there. Fresh, tasty and cheap... those were the normal words I hear.
Unfortunately, my travel from Dungun to JB were almost always in the evenings and it would be late night by the time I reached Rompin and the stalls would already be closed. Hence I never had the chance to try eating those prawns.
But not anymore. In the middle of last month, we attended an event in Kuantan. The drive back to JB required a pit stop in Mersing and this meant that we would travel on the coastal road. An opportune time to drop by Kuala Rompin and check out what some people have been raving about.
Kuala Rompin today, is a very much developed town from the days of my earlier journeys. We spotted a restaurant at one of the new block of shophouses along the main road and made a random choice to stop there. It has a catchy name - Udang Galah King Restaurant. They serve the prawns in a variety of ways, cooked to order. Choices include `masak lemak cili api', `masak sweet sour' and `goreng black pepper'. My selection? Udang galah goreng telur masin...
What else can I say? Exquisite. Best udang galah I've tasted in Malaysia.
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| Tastes as good as it looks |
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| The king is here.. |
Footnote : This post is my contribution to the collective blogger revival effort set for today 6 May 2015 and spearheaded by Kak Teh. May my other blogger-friends succeed in posting something too. But if you don't, then not to worry... just take your time, as long as you need.
25 comments:
Yeayyy! U did it.
Now I must try too!
Yes, I did. Thank you.
The challenge now is, as always, can it be sustained?
But let us be positive about it and try our best. You can do it too, my friend :-)
Alhamdulillah. Yours is the 2nd blog i read for #blogreviveday congrats
Thank you Arena. Congrats to you too for making a simple idea turn into reality.
Must go there la next time i balik Pekan.
There's a gem in every town...we just need to discover.
Hi Manal. You orang Pekan ke? In the same trip that I wrote here, we made a detour around Kuala Pahang and had a view of the new UMP campus. A bit out of the way, if I may say so. Could be tough for students without transport. Also stopped by a roadside stall to buy satar. Sedap dan yang paling murah kami jumpa setakat ini (RM2 dapat 6 pcs, compared to 4 pcs at Warung Poksu in Kuantan and 5 pcs in Mersing).
Thanks for dropping by.
U know u r getting old when all day u think about is food, food and more food....hahaha
Yati, indeed there is. Jalan-jalan cari makan is what I like to do. Sometimes I drive off the beaten track and stop by any decent makan place I can spot. Kalau tak sedap, tak apa... kalau sedap, then its a discovery.
Thanks for dropping by.
Tommy, you referring to me or talking about yourself, hahaha...
You know me lah kan.. food is my secondmost favourite subject. And I've been `old' since a few decades ago.
You still in Oz, my friend?
Yup OldStock born in Pekan myself :D
Never been to Rompin. But.. Mersing, yes quite a few times.
sesat jalan is sometime a blessing..dpt jumpa something interesting.
Anyone that writes about food glorious food is definitely worth my time reading it! :-)
Oh, wicked picture that!!
Oldstock, The udang galah looks super delicious. I have never been to Rompin but the name is making waves now in the media. and also too far for me to go during this trip.
Udang rompin sedap!..never been there..but manage to get udang galah rompin.
Revive dan terus makan udang galah .. Way to go Fadhil!
Pak ZABS, Rompin used to be just another town where I passed by, nothing much to see or do. But now worth a pit stop :-)
Yati, betul tu. Cuma kekadang tu, kena cool sikit bila dah sampai kat sesuatu tempat yang really out of the way... do we turn back or do we proceed to explore? Takut terlebih sesat sampai tak jumpa jalan balik.
Thanks for dropping by. Nice to be meeting with new blogger friends.
Maszuzu, haha... don't expect too much from my writings about food. It's something that I fall back upon should I run out of ideas.
D, wait till you see and taste the real thing :-)
Kak Teh, Rompin is not really that well-known until recently. And it used to be quite far to reach if we're coming from the west coast. Before the existence of Bandar Muadzam Shah and the Segamat-Kuantan road, Rompin could only be reached from Pekan (north) or Mersing (south).
Ibu Vogue, actually I've only tried this one restaurant in Rompin and the taste is really good. Not sure if the other restaurants or gerai are of similar standard.
Thank you for dropping by.
Ayoh Wang, takleh makan udang selalu.. ada sakit gout, hehe..
Masa saya kerja di Dungun dulu, ada jugak beli udang galah kat Durian Mentangau.
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