The Return to the Beach and Land of Good Food

i had to settle a few things regarding the house in terengganu. i didn't want to go back alone though, so i asked mozie to accompany me. she's happy to oblige.

terengganu is a nice place for those who like a laidback life at the beach with plenty of cheap good and fattening food. not to forget - a place full of artwork, what with the production of quality brassware, songket weaving, batik sarung and colourful, sophisticated and elegant batik silk.

which is why i made a point to stop at kuala kemaman to have otak otak and pulut lepa at Aziz Satar. mozie likes satar, so she bought those. with those in our hands, we made our way to Pantai Mak Nik which was nearby and had our lunch there.  ah the beach!

we arrived in KT at nearly 4pm. the house was in a mess, but the tall grasses and weeds had been cleared by my neighbour. thank god for pak din. that evening we went to have fried seafood at the beach at Teluk Ketapang. earlier, mozie's friend told her to eat fried seafood at ICT, and i thought, what is ICT??? my answer was answered later.

there's no other nicer place to eat freshly fried seafood than at the first stall at Teluk Ketapang, since it's facing the beach - so while eating the crunchy seafood and sipping coconut drink, you can enjoy the evening seabreeze. there're a lot of cars at the first stall, and during the school hols more often than not, you'll find out -of-state car registration numbers. finding an empty spot there is also a problem, as you can see judging by the rows of cars there. one has to go to the counter and wait for the makcik to dump the freshly fried mackerels or calamari or crabs or prawns onto a big tray, and with an empty plate(s) in hand, one will try to dive into getting the perfect catch (or grab for any catch at all, since the seafood disappears just as soon the makcik puts it on the tray. people really have long hands when they're hungry). however, it's different with fried calamari. the makcik will dish the fried calamari rings onto the plates herself - and this is the best of all the fried seafood there.

so, happy with my catch, i made my way to the table and then mozie told me "look to your left" and there i saw it on the signboard "ICT" which translates into ikan celup tepung (fish dipped in batter). well, i've been going there since 1999 and i didn't know that it was called ICT. 

the next day we went to Pasar Kedai Payang and spent a lot of money there. it's a curse to be a woman - can you see those gorgeous silks and not buy them? i think not. there're always new designs around, and usually the new designs come out during the school hols. we met with another friend, Norni who had her boys with her. we then met later that night for a dinner with a few other friends.

the next day it was back to the market and we bought beef floss, keropok, and more silks.i met with my friends Shima and Ah Chooi, who i hadnt met for quite some time. Shima was busy with her thesis, rushing with all the lab tests, and ah chooi was busy moving her tuition centre to a new spot.

we finally started our journey back to KL after doing the last shopping at pasar kedai payang and having lunch.of course, we stopped to take pic at our favourite spot in dungun.