Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

If this plate of rice loaded with SEVEN medium-sized prawns cost you only RM4.30/USD1.40, would you have jumped for joy, rubbed your eyes in disbelief, or await the jolt to wake from the dream within a dream?

I love eating in the smaller towns of Perak. The loyal readers (ahem, I can’t dream?) of this blog would be able to relate to this unconventional travelling fiasco, whereby sometimes back-to-back trips to rural areas are considered as normal. While seated idly in the office Facebooking, MSN-ing (all the in the name of …. searching for information, of course) and of course, blogging sounds like the occasional, once-in-a-blue-moon phenomenon.

How things have changed now.

Anyway, a sudden need to travel all the way to Tanjung Piandang (Tanjung what?! Read my first acquaintance with the small fishing village back then) was instead greeted with cheer, instead of jeer. After a prolonged period of stagnancy, I presumed that I would even say yes to an outing to Selama, Hutan Melintang or heck, just gimme Bota anyday!

Is this a restaurant? Or is this a hawker stall? Or a house? Or were they taking part in the shooting of a drama?!

Tanjung Piandang is a small town renowned for its fishing activities (much like more well-known Kuala Kurau nearby), and someone once commented about how they thrive on the salted fish business as well.

Hence, it was no wonder this stall located on the main road in town centre sells Fried Bee Hoon with salted fish, a rarely heard combination fondly remembered as the dish Axian (of Taste With Jason fame; a Chinese food programme on Astro’s AEC) whipped up with pride in the local production that was screened during Chinese New Year earlier this year; WooHoo!.

Yucky crustaceans? Nah … they’re called Lai Liu Har or Pissing Prawns, more politely known as Mantis Prawns.

Anyway, if you’re a person who can’t live without your regular sessions of movies, karaoke and shopping, then stay away from Tanjung Piandang. Definitely not your ideal spot for a getaway.

But let’s say you’re not averse to the suggestions of cycling around the fishing village, letting your face catching the breeze and the sun, stopping periodically for a leisurely lunch of prawns, prawns and MORE prawns, then followed by idle periods of relaxation and watching the world goes by …. Or until late in the evening when the folks dock at the piers, calling it a day. This town has probably never been graced by the threat of commercialization, instead holding strong to the principles of living life on the edge. The Piandang way …

(Little trivia : Tanjung Piandang is known as “Kak Tao”, meaning at the corner. Here is one site in Chinese about the idyllic, quaint town)

Kung Pow Har Fan – Sweet & Spicy Prawns Rice

From the GPS unit, many eateries were shown. But this was not. A shabby stall parked in the compound of a house, selling various one-dish meals (rice and noodles) at almost rockbottom prices.

I am not kidding you. The Ginger & Onion Mantis Prawns Rice cost RM5/USD1.60 but came with succulent and fleshy de-shelled mantis prawns. More peculiar was the RM4.30/USD1.40 price tag for the plate of Kung Pou Prawns Rice. Seven medium-sized prawns with shells intact, cooked in a gravy that tasted moreish, tangy with a slight hint of spiciness. Use your hands to peel the shells off, and you can even munch on the shells for extra calcium.

No I am not joking. Not even the faintest hint of staleness or any unpleasant odour from frozen prawns. I bet everything was part of the fresh catch of the day, reeled in from the seas/rivers at dawn, and transferred to your plates a few hours later. Pity we could not order more varieties to be shared or sampled, as there were only two of us. (The others were fasting in the midst of Ramadan)

Yes, this was supposed to be a Hari Merdeka-cum-Malaysia post. (Aug 31st, Sept 16th) But somehow procrastination took over ….

Chinese Food Stall @ No 247-A, Jalan Besar (State Road A190),
34250 Tanjung Piandang, Perak, Malaysia.
Just go along the main road running across Tanjung Piandang town, lined with old shops on both sides of the road. You will see this stall directly opposite of a motorcycle repair shop.

“HAPPY MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL, DEAR READERS OF MOTORMOUTH FROM IPOH”