Rich Seafood Porridge from Matang, Perak
August 27, 2008 | 9,861 views
MATANG FAMOUS SEAFOOD PORRIDGE !!!
Light House Seafood Restaurant
Humoungous claypot of seafood porridge, with shark’s meat (yes, read that right), homemade fishballs, prawns, and enoki mushrooms
We ordered TWO pots of porridge, one with prawns, one without. Simply because KYT cannot “tahan” (stand) the overwhelming seafood flavours, proclaiming them as too fishy. Yet he managed to gobble tonnes after tonnes of sushi, sashimi, and all types of seafood imaginable, the night before at TAO. Hmm … Contradicting statements, huh? =P
Here at Light House, you choose what goes into your pot of porridge. From types of fish such as tiger grouper, normal grouper, pomfret and shark’s meat, to fishballs, prawns, and shellfish. We opted for shark’s meat, fishballs and prawns, as the other species are pricier options. Moreover, boiling tiger grouper in porridge somehow sounds sooooo wrong, no?
Smooth, delightful grains of rice, boiled with the sweetness of the seafood-infused broth, complemented by the abundance of rich, succulent seafood. No soy sauce or pepper necessary, else you just ‘kill’ the flavours. One small reminder though, if you’re not a big eater, ask for smaller portion. They tend to go overboard in stuffing your guts.
Steamed Clams (La-la) RM12
If you do not wish for all the ingredients to ‘drown’ in the porridge, you can order side dishes. We ordered the steamed La-La. Pleasantly surprised by the LARGER than usual clams, with thick, succulent meat, steamed to perfection. Yup, at RM12 for that large serving. Worth every cent.
Or Chien aka Oyster Omelette @ RM15
The Or Chien did not fare too well, though the fried egg was crisp at sides, and the ‘wok hei’ shone through. However, too much flour was used, rendering the omelette stickier than your average, and the oysters barely noticable.
Deep-fried Fish (Cai Yu Zhai) 16 pieces for RM13
Crispy, fried small fish that went really well with the wet, and sweet porridge. Provided much desired crispiness and texture. A good snack, nevertheless.
Total damage? RM127. The 2 pots of porridge cost RM72, each ingredients priced separately. RM42 for the shark’s meat, RM21 for the prawns, and RM9 for the fishballs. Oh, did I mention that the fishballs are not your typical variety? These are larger, firm yet bouncy balls, homemade and tasty. Be sure to add them into your customized pot of simple food for the soul …
UPDATED 9/9/08 – Location : Light House Seafood Restaurant @ No. 10, Jalan Cina, 34750 Matang, Taiping, Perak. Tel : 05-8475408, 05-8475649.
Opening hours : 11am – 11pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Map to the Place
Wow… the pot of porridge really droll me into organizing a trip down there. I’ll make sure to print this out to make my way there…
[Reply]
Just had Orr Chien tonite and it’s the opp, not enough floor and not sticky enough….
Hey such a humongous pot with shark meat, my favourite. You are again on food trails with your kaki your work….every nook and corner too.
[Reply]
How good if the porridge can cook long a bit. I prefer super soft rice instead.
[Reply]
To be fair, it’s not too contradictory lah. I can’t quite explain it, but there’s something different about sashimi versus cooked dishes that may well be a tad fishy. Doesn’t make sense, right? But I bet there are those who know what I mean, hehe.
[Reply]
Wow, i love porridge, especially with seafood in it! Good for cold rainy days, like today! But that place Matang is way out of my radar la!
[Reply]
If you happen to go to Nibong Tebal, there’s crab porridge, cooked the similar way.
[Reply]
Omgz…Really muz come down to
Perak one day. Got so many interesting foods. ><
Make me feel " hungry " to dig out special foods ….
[Reply]
Wow… you sure makes me hungry with all these porridge and dishes. It would be nice if you can
arrange an outing for us from Pg.
[Reply]
wa.. porridge look real good. use to eat seafood porridge in a shop in bercham which forgotten the name but did not look tis good
[Reply]
24hrmom : do email me in case you need more directions. while I still rmbr them. haha …
JENCOOKS : yeah, it’s work and eat all the way …
little inbox : still rmbr Penang’s version of porridge, not so mushy but instead more like rice in soup/water.
life for beginners : know what? there IS a difference between unlimited sashimi (that you’ve paid RM50/pax for), and normal, plain fish that you order ala carte. LOL
PureGlutton : also out of MY radar. just that we go taiping often, and nothing special to eat la … I need recommendation!
jason : YES ah? why you never tell one? rmbr that day I asked you bout what to eat in Parit Buntar?!
jeromefo : hahaha … do drop by. but Perak’s towns are miles apart, and no highway to connect ALL of them.
CK Lam : wow …that’s a gargantuan task! =) maybe someday, when I’m a full-fledged flogger? =)
mycroft : which one in Bercham? kindly tell so I can try?
[Reply]
‘Her parents are foodies, full-fledged personnels, searching for good food at every nook and corner … =P’ ???
is it a compliment?? hehe… i muz inform them lo.. mayb they wil treat u BIG BIG… =P
yeah, pity KYT… ‘poisoning’ himself 2 days continuously.. but, he still looked OK only.. no swollen at all!! ban sai yei… =P
wei, i think nibong tebal one tat ur bro mentioned is the one i told u tat day when we crossed the flyover or bridge. Remember??
ei, ur bro so supportive ya.. my sis dun even read my blog… sad rite?? haha!!
[Reply]
OMG, u asked me about Parit Buntar ar?? I didn’t remember!
[Reply]
kca : no need tell your parents!!! nanti they unleash Jojo on me!
and btw, this Jason is NOT my brother lah … U think every Jason is my brother meh?!
jason : did not remember!!! v_v
sigh … it was before I went for the Juru/Taiping/Parit Buntar thingie …
[Reply]
j2kfm, i’m heading down south from Penang next weekend, dont mind to drop by this place to try it out.
Is it open for lunch / dinner?
Can send me the map?
[Reply]
hi penang’s baby shop, I’ve updated my post with the address and contact number. and the map. hope that helps.
[Reply]
Well it is the shop I was talking about. They do sell their soy sauce, very good for dipping. A bit sweet. I like the spicy soft shell crabs the best and the seafood congee is okay. I bought their dried shrimps to take back to Melbourne. They do not add colour to make it look fresh. Never buy dried shrimps that looks very red, it is all colouring! It is a bit difficult to find the place if you are not a local. Melbournian food critic.
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
April 29th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Hi jeniah, glad I finally wrote about something even you like?
The seafood porridge was good, as far as I can rmbr. This was almost two years back then, hence the amnesiac attack.
Oh they have soft shell crabs as well? Good, I like them, and it’s rather hard to find good ones in Ipoh.
[Reply]
The seafood porridge is quite good as I’ve been there a few times. I find the Restaurant Lemon Tree (a few shops away) tasted better as the soup/gravy or whatever you want to name it. My local friend brought me there the 1st time but they were closed that day so we proceeded to Rest Lemon Tree. We came back to try Rest Light House the 2nd time for seafood porridge and later for the 3rd time, back to Rest Lemon Tree. For a local, my friend and other said Rest Light House is the best, but nowadays he admitted Rest Lemon Tree’s seafood porridge is better.
By the way, there is 1 restaurant opposite of them both but only opened at night. Famous for seafood (Steamed Pomfret) and very crowded at night. Been there once and waited for quite some time for the food. The fish is just okay for me as I make better Steam Pomfret than them. Won’t mind going there again when in Taiping for other seafood.
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
July 27th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Yeah, and Kuala Sepetang’s on my list of to eat …. though I can hardly arrange for the time now. Unlike back then.
[Reply]