Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

Suang Le River @ Bagan Pasir, Tanjung Karang -The idyllic by-the-river ‘floating’ (?) restaurant, serving fresh & affordable seafood

Countless doses of poisons over the months had me drooling, enticed and craving desperately for a taste of Kuala Selangor’s seafood. Previous experience of Sekinchan’s seafood delights promises a whole different level of expectation for Kuala Selangor’s seafood, and we vowed for a stopover at any of the seafood restaurants along the Hutan Melintang-Sabak Bernam-Sekinchan-Kuala Selangor route for some form of reprieve, for God knows how long has it been since I’ve tasted REALLY fresh seafood. (Maybe since the lunch at Men Lok in Hutan Melintang?)

Teapots in disarray, Cutleries all in tow, and care for some Karaoke session post-meal?

Opportunity came knocking last Friday, when we were on our way from Teluk Intan to Hutan Melintang (both towns in southern Perak, for those still wondering where in the world these places are!) for work, then proceeded to Klang using the coastal road (or highway now?) of Jalan Sabak Bernam-Hulu Selangor. Desperately seeking for a restaurant with positive feedbacks rather than measly accounts mediocre meals and of being conned, the names of Jetty Restaurant, Riverview Restaurant, and the Pasir Penambang stretch of seafood outlets popped up in my search.

But then I remembered vaguely, a restaurant that Precious Pea had blogged before, and Tummy Thoughts herself had paid a royal visit to the infamous loo (IF, you can call the shack that), and I was having the misconception that the restaurant is situated somewhere in Kuala Selangor. Only to be duly corrected, as the restaurant named Suang Le River is in fact, a good 15 minutes of drive away from Kuala Selangor (if you’re coming from Klang’s direction), towards Sabak Bernam. It is in fact in Bagan Pasir of Tanjung Karang, nestled in the midst of a row of fishery village houses, with waste materials strewn all over, possibly after being washed up on the shores.

Fresh and succulent Steamed Clams with ginger, chopped spring onions, and fried shallots (RM12)

To cut a long story short, we went in circles, passing by the towns leading to Kuala Selangor with much gusto, pretty confident that we were going to locate the seafood restaurant with ease. Then with tails between our legs and our egos tarnished, we drove back the way we came, in hopes of ‘discovering’ the route that boo_licious mentioned in her post.

But the turning to Kampung Bagan Pasir is a little obscure, as the junction is positioned a good 20 metres or so after the signboard on the left (coming from Kuala Selangor’s direction). So blink and you’ll miss the sharp turning, like we did. So, once you reach Tanjung Karang town, be on the lookout for the blue signboard indicating the turn to Kg Bagan Pasir. The full directions to come at the end of the post.

Sweetish, savoury and not spicy at all, Kung Pou Baby Squids (RM12)

Arriving at a rather late hour for lunch (it was way past 3pm), we were famished, fatigued, and nearly lost all hope for a chance of seafood feast. For usually, restaurants close in between lunch and dinner hours to replenish their energy; those of the chef, and the staff. But we still pressed on, with the faintest silver lining shining in our horizons …… and were almost on our knees thanking the heavens above (ok, slight exaggeration here, but still ….) when the restaurant was still accepting customers albeit completely devoid of any other patrons.

Steamed Prawns (RM11.25) – about 10 pieces of sweet crustacean steamed lightly, and garnished with ginger, spring onions and fried shallots

The restaurant overlooks the not-exactly-clean river (or was it the straits?), built on wooden planks, and is in fact, the residence of the proprietor’s and his family. So at any one time, you’re able to see them in their most stripped-down states (no nudity, please), puffing away, dozing on hammocks overlooking the calm waters beyond, while the cooks will be whipping up a storm in the kitchen at the front portion of the restaurant. The seating area is designed for one to be savouring one’s meal while being blown/caressed by the gentle breeze, and no prize for guessing whether the restaurant is equipped with air-conditioners or not.

We were required to refill the hot water for our own pot of Chinese tea, from the dispenser placed at one corner of the restaurant. And we picked our own cutleries, chose our own bottle of chilli sauce (Kampung Koh’s garlic chilli sauce, nevertheless), and short of scooping rice onto our empty plates.

Kam Heong Mud Crabs (1.5kg for RM36.00)

The food presented on our table was testament to the various positive reviews of the place. Served on metal plates, with minimal effort of garnishing the dishes sans for the occasional chopped spring onions, julienned ginger and fried shallots for the steamed dishes (both the clams or la-la and the prawns were cooked in similar manner, but no laments from all quarters for the freshness was evident in both the dishes). The Kam Heong (spicy, fragrant sauce) Mud Crabs came in a most generous portion, for only RM36! Dirt-cheap, I tell you. Sweet flesh, some with roes, others none, the crabs were devoured in the most carnivorous, barbaric fashion – We bit through them with our teeth! Since no utensil was supplied together with the crabs, only one extra tough S.O.B of a crab’s claw was left lying, for we could not pry open the flesh within with our teeth, knocking the claw with a chilly sauce bottle, and even considered on stomping on the claw. But we stopped short of performing the latter fit of rage, for fear of being reprimanded.

But the prawns were most succulent, the flesh tasting sweet and bouncy (QQ?), a prove of their freshness. We ran out of luck as the mantis prawns (those BIG ones, not the mini “Hae Kor” commonly deep-fried with various condiments. The clams were top notch as well, without any hint of unpleasant fishiness or bits of sand or mud inside the shells. The baby squids reminded us of Men Lok Seafood’s crunchy and extremely tasty version, but fell short in the umami department, with no particular lingering taste that left us wanting for more.

The legendary wooden shack of a washroom, whereby you’d be better off doing your business in some bushes …….

The meal came to RM77.60 for the four of us, a price we gladly paid for the portion and quality of the seafood served was indeed worthy. Rice was RM0.60 per plate, and Chinese tea (unrecognizable tea leaves, it was a cross between Tit Kuan Yin and Heong Pin … go figure) at RM1 per person.

“Eat my relatives?!! …. Don’t ‘piss’ me off!!!! Squirt your eyes then you know !!!”

Address and Contact Number :

Suang Le River Restaurant  & Karaoke

Bagan Pasir, 45500

Tanjong Karang, Selangor, Malaysia

Tel No : +6019-690 6788 or +6019-233 5296

Opens for lunch and dinner.

Directions to Suang Le River Restaurant @ Bagan Pasir (from Kuala Selangor towards Sekinchan/Sabak Bernam) : After passing by Kuala Selangor town, drive for a good 15 minutes or so. Take note of a signboard to Kg. Bagan Pasir on the left side of the road. Turn left  at a rather sharp curve to some residential area. Go straight until you reach a junction at the end, and keep to your left. You’ll see a row of houses built on stilts on your right, with reasonable amount of trash washed up on the grounds. After a while, you’ll see Suang Le River’s signboard on the right.

Here are some other burps after their respective seafood feast at Suang Le River :

Precious Pea, boo_licious, Tummythoz, Petrina, and Marx.