Eating Places and Restaurants in Kuala Terengganu That Most Visitors Can Go

Which restaurants in Kuala Terengganu that I can go? For international tourists, you have choices to take your food or local food. Simple fast food like Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald, PizzaHut are located in the city centre. Around Kuala Terengganu bus station, you can go to McDonald and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Secret Recipe and Japanese Sushi are located at Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin next to Ming Hotel. and Hotel Tanjung Vista. There is another food court concentration where you take fast food. It is around Mydin Mall Hypermarket.

Secret Recipe outlet at Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin.

The Japanese will have no problem. Sushi is here.

For the local food especially Malay food, all restaurants and stalls around the town centre sell or serve those food. For the Chinese food, a few restaurants in Kampong China offer the service. For the Indian food, try a few restaurants along Jalan Air Jernih.

For nasi beriani, try Al Maidah restaurants. It is located in Jalan Kamaruddin and in Permint Jaya. For simple western food and noodles and local food, try Norazila restaurants. It has a few locations. The one at Kuala Ibai junction and Permint Jaya are worth going.

Paradise Deluxe: More than 40 menus are served.

Chilada, the latest restaurant in the market.

For the Thai food, try Paradise Deluxe and Chilada. Paradise Duluxe is located at Jalan Bukit Besar near the Bukit Besar Primary School while Chilada is at Jalan Bukit Kechil near Saibasun Hypermarket. Both restaurants are airconditioned and also cater for groups.

Another restaurant that serves nasi dagang, nasi beriani, nasi himpit, nasi minyak is AZ Selera Timur located in Jalan Hiliran near Masjid Hiliran.

All these food outlets are within the city limits and close to places of interest. Happy travelling

Shahbandar Jetty Point, Kuala Terengganu: A Gateway to Redang Island

Shahbandar Jetty Point is a gateway to Redang Island. It is located  in front of Kuala Terengganu General Post Office and next to Shahbandar Square. There is a parking space for you to park your vehicles. This area was formerly Kuala Terengganu harbour. Now it is managed by the Marine Department. This jetty point is historic by nature due to its existence for many decades.

The jetty. Note: The ferry is parked by the jetty.

View of Pulau Duyong from the jetty.

The ferries that ply between this point and Redang Island have their own schedule, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. So choose the time that suit you most. I found there is not much seating areas for the public to relax while waiting for the departure. This is certainly uncomfortable to the patrons. Some walk to Bukit Puteri and around Touristic Information Centre.

The view from this jetty is quite good. You can see the waterfront of Pulau Duyong, the Monson Cup competition area. You also can see the Shahbandar Square. This area is part of the Kuala Terengganu tourist focus area.  Happy travelling.

Rumah Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia Cawangan Terengganu: A Heritage Building Not to be Missed

There is a unique building, located at Jalan Tok Lam, Kuala Terengganu, which houses Malaysia Historical Society Terengganu Branch office. The 2-storey building is a heritage building  recognised by Malaysia's Department of Heritage. The first floor is all timber. The column or pillar is concrete. The building is over 100 years old.

Historically, this building was privately owned. Then in 1937-1979 it was used as a Town Board office. When the Town Board was elevated to Municipal council status in 1979 (Local Government Act 1976), it shifted to another place. This building was vacated and in 1986, the building was handed over to the Historical Society.

The front of the building.

The public may not know why this building is special. It is special because of its age and  the special carvings on the concrete pillars, door, window and the staircases. The Department of Heritage did some renovation work to this building. During the renovation work recently, they found a buried old well at the basement. The well was then  revived to its original position.

The wall motif is beautiful and artistic.

The timber window with louvres, and the rich wood carving at the balcony.

The old well was restored.

The building now looks beautiful, blending the concrete building and the timber building side by side. It is yet to be open to the public. I was told the building has space for office, display area, and some shops on the ground floor. They have to make this building function like a museum or gallery including introduce some activities with the public.

If you are interested to visit, just walk to Jalan Tok Lam. It is about 100 metres from Shahbandar Square. Happy travelling.

Institut Al Quran Terengganu: A Life Long Learning Centre For the Public

Institut Al Quran Terengganu (also known as IQ Terengganu) was formerly Maahad Tahfiz (established in 1984) and in 2007 was renamed as Institut Al Quran Terengganu.

It is a learning institution to train students to become hafiz (those who can memorise the Quran). Beside that, the institute offers courses to the public during weekends. i.e. Friday and Saturday. The courses include the basic reading of Quran (Ulum), Tarranum , Calligraphy, Qiraat, Arabic language and others that relate to the teaching of Quran. It is a great institution that produces many students and also had benefitted the public who enrolled in the weekend classes.

The management office.

The signboard at the front wall.

The walkway linking the buildings.

This institute is located in Padang Midin, 7 km from the Kuala Terenganu city centre. It is facing the main road to Kuala Berang.  What I am telling you is that, there is a program that allows the public to participate. I call it a continuing educational program or life long learning centre.

So when you visit Kuala Terengganu on Friday morning, you will notice many people (the public) go to this institute to learn. It is part of the activity and has become a tradition and norm for Terengganu people in acquiring knowledge. Terengganu folks call it "Menadah Kitab".

If you are interested to enroll in the part-time weekend course, contact the management or for further information click http://iqt.terengganu.gov.my/    Happy travelling.

Kek Ang: A Terengganu Traditional Food That is Not a Cake

Recently I found a traditional Terengganu food by the name of Kek Ang being sold at Pasar Ramadan. Sounds like Chinese or English? Any way this food looks like laksam. The difference is that there is no ulam and its gravy is somewhat sweet.

Kek Ang and its gravy.

Kek Ang is made of flour dough and cut in pieces. Then the pieces were put in the boiling water. When they float, it is considered cook. Then drain it and cool it. For the gravy, the ingredients are coconut milk, grilled fish (without bones and pounded), onions, ginger, halba, a bit of salt and sugar (according to taste) and black pepper. Mix all of them, cook it until coconut milk thickens. Then, mix the pieces with the gravy, serve it hot. I found its gravy tastes like tupat sutong gravy due to its halba and coconut milk.

Some say there is another technique to cook the dough i.e. steam it. I do not know which method give a better taste. This Kek Ang is not found daily. If you wish to eat, it is better to order from those who can make it. Happy travelling.

Duku Terengganu: The sweet fruits that are sought after

Duku Terengganu is considered among the best breed in Malaysia. Traditionally, they are planted in the villages along the Terengganu river. The flood water brings large amount of silts to riverine villages. These silts supplied nutrients to the soil. Duku tree thrives well in the village vicinity where not much disturbance at its base and its surrounding.

Sample of good , sweet duku.

Duku fruit is light yellow in colour and round in shape. Its size is around 1.5 inches  in diameter. You can get  tons of duku fruits from a tree. Those days, people who owned duku trees are richer when the season comes. Lorries came in to bring the duku out from their orchards. They exported the duku to other regions as the demand was high.

Now duku is everywhere. When the season comes, the orchards are full of duku.  If   there is a glut., the price falls. You can buy duku fruits in the market with RM3 per kilo or less. Happy travelling.

Buah Semeta: Terengganu version of Mangoesteen

Mangoesteen (garcinia mangostana) or buah semeta as it is called in Terengganu, is the queen of the fruits. It is a seasonal fruit availaible not only in Terengganu but the whole of South East Asian countries. Its outer skin is dark blue black and the flesh is white and sweet. Its season is quite similar to durian. When you see durian, you too can see mangoesteen.

Mangoesteen, its white flesh is very sweet.

The scientists have found the xantones in the rind of the fruit which had vigorous phytonutrients with powerful nutritional properties. You can not eat the rind just like that. It has to be processed first. Traditional herbalists in Terengganu used to dry this rind and later boil it. It is consume like drinking tea for the treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes. Some companies around the world now are turning whole fruit  into juice.But they add other juices to this mangoesteen.

Mangoesteen trees in Terengganu are planted in the orchards with other fruit trees. Some are planted in the town parks for artistic appreciation.

If you want to taste Terengganu mangoesteen, come in May to July. But do not get frustrated if you do not find it as some season may produce less mangoesteen. Happy travelling.