Have Perut Will Travel...: Sekinchan Trip, Day 1

It has been a while since we last blogged, 3 months to be precise. What with the end of the EMCO imposed on our condo, and coping with the new normal, planning and making a trip anywhere was the furthest from our minds?

August is a special month for us since it is the month when Brendan was born as well as the month we got married. As is always the case, we usually plan for a trip in the month of August to celebrate these joyous occasions.

We have never been to Sekinchan and have always marvelled at its photos posted on the internet. Barely 2 hours drive away from KL we have always wanted to go but never had the chance. Things would be different this time around.

We left home at about 9.35 am and arrived in Sekinchan exactly 2 hours later. Bearing in mind Brendan has had allergic reactions to seafood in the past, we decided against a seafood restaurant for lunch. With that in mind we ended up at Restoran Hui Siang, a Bak Kut Teh restaurant.

first order of the day

a non-seafood restaurant, a rarity here

SOPs observed!

hard at work

putting the kettle on

your customary utensils

condiments of choice

we are Malaysians, after all

herbal goodness

worth another shot

with extra broth, to boot

time to dig in!

The meal cost us RM40, which is way cheaper than the going rate in KL. With lunch out of the way we then headed to Mango King, a place that we have often read about online.

popular in Sekinchan

you won't miss it

power outage at the time

these were not served at the time

freshly plucked white guava

RM25 per canister, but well worth it

home grown mangoes

take your pick

we got 2 kilograms worth

in hindsight we should have gotten more

not too busy

sweet potatoes as well

don't mind if we do

we got a canister of dried banana fritters

not his 'thing'

wonder that these are?

Mango King apparently had a power outage, and the heat was overbearing. Hoping to cool off, the birthday boy asked for refreshments and after a quick check online we headed to Mamawe Café.

in the heart of Sekinchan

seeking refuge from the heat

in the shade at last

all manner of refreshments

I was distracted...

waiting for his ABC

Brendan's comfort food

Cat's mango bingsu

while Brendan and I...

both had the air batu campur (ABC) i.e. ice shavings galore

time to put the phone away

and enjoy all that iced goodness

Again, with all the ice shavings ordered the total cost barely came to RM20. A definite perk of living in a small town.

With time to burn till we check into our hotel we headed to the beach coincidentally called Pantai Redang (or Redang Beach). Being a Terengganu lad the word Redang is more easily associated (in my mind anyway) with the island off the coast of Merang in Terengganu.

Redang beach

posing with their 3-ply masks

unlike its namesake in Terengganu

it was a very hot day

very very hot indeed

we were driven into the shade

and continued taking photos

out of the sun

the new normal of sightseeing

face masks and all

checking Mom's handiwork

The extreme heat eventually dissuaded us from spending more time at Pantai Redang, and in a few short minutes we were checking in to The One Boutique Hotel.

fairly new

in full compliance with SOPs

one of the tallest buildings in town

let's get into the shade

We booked two Superior King rooms with a balcony, and yes, that means birthday boy had a room all to himself.

clean and spacious

with its own balcony

adequately equipped

view from the balcony

the new overpass cutting across Sekinchan

along Jalan Balai Polis (and we don't wonder why)

the only other tall building in Sekinchan

The sun was blazing outside, and we took a long afternoon nap, eventually waking up in the evening. When in Sekinchan seafood was inevitable, so armed with antihistamines we made the short drive to Loong Hua Seafood Restaurant.

ample parking for its patrons

but come early or risk not being able to find parking space

along a very narrow lane

we came pretty early

the usual

room with a view

the view can be very distracting

he was having nothing of it

To be honest we chose this restaurant solely for its view of the canal and the surrounding fishing boats, so we were pleasantly surprised by how good the food here was!

a pill before, a pill after

dining on the water

authentic fishing boats

lifeline of the town

never ceases to amaze us

absolutely distracting views

waiting to dig in

Another pleasant surprise was the entire meal of sweet and sour pork (for Brendan), steamed fish, kung pao fried squid, salted vegetable soup and a large omelette cost us less than RM90.