Villa Seafood Restaurant @ Kampung Cina, Sitiawan – A Toast to the Good Times
February 10, 2009 | 11,346 viewsFinally the 15 days of joy, recklessness (in all manners) and various holidays peppered throughout …. are over. This year’s sense of festivities was lacking, at least IMO, probably due to bitter feuds over at Gaza, and the endless policitical tsunami at our very own backyard. Oh, and the bleak statistics of the Ops Sikap (or whatever they’re callin it now) splashed on the dailies, a grim reminder of the dark side of humanity.
Credits to KYT for this shot.But let’s concentrate on something worthwhile. Some food for the guts, as well as for the soul? Here’s today’s post on the famous stretch of seafood restaurants in Sitiawan. Kampung Cina, in particular.
Those tall coconut trees provided much shades and serenity …
Still remember my AMU Coconut Villa post? Situated directly opposite of AMU is this Villa Seafood Restaurant, touted as some as an even better alternative to AMU’s.
Toddy at RM6/jugAMU and Villa are in fact, not only popular with the locals, but very, VERY famous with outsiders alike. A testament to their popularity transcending borders, it seems. And through out our lunch at Villa today, we witnessed many patrons bearing registration plates from Perak, KL, Penang, etc.
To counter the heatiness of the food, or the plain sweltering heat from the scorching, almost desert-like weather in Perak nowadays, we ordered a jug of toddy (coconut flower wine?) to be shared. Rather than served chilled like Coconut Flower Seafood restaurant in Teluk Gong, the toddy here was served at room temperature instead, with additional ice cubes for those who prefer them cold. Toddy’s best served chilled, but the addition of ice cubes somewhat diluted the beverage. And be wary of the flies. They’re attracted to the drink like bees to flowers. 😉
The compulsory Greens – Choy Tam stir-fried with carrots
Marmite Chicken (edited thanks to Hulk!)
Steamed Siakap in Assam Sauce
The ULTRA crispy Oh Chien (Oyster Omelette)
The portion here is bigger than the average. Hence refrain from over-ordering. Us 4 were having trouble finishing the 4 dishes.
Tastewise? I’ll pick Villa over Amu, based on the once visit to each place. The Oh Chien, in particular, was very crispy at the sides, with juicy M-size oysters deep-fried with batter and eggs. Paired with the famous Kampung Koh chilli sauce, the Oh Chien was almost snack-like, requiring no rice as complement.
The siakap was very fresh, the flesh firm, tender, and steamed to perfection. Had we known the fish was this fresh, we would’ve ordered the plain steamed siakap instead, to fully savour the sweetness of the fish. But the spicy and tangy Assam gravy was not bad either, and perfect to drench our plates of white rice.
What a relaxing sight? Old friends chatting over some young, fresh coconut juice and seafood galore …. under the shacks ….
The meal costed a mere RM59.90. Very reasonable, given the amount, the quality of the ingredients, and the inflated prices in most eateries nowadays.
Location : VILLA SEAFOOD RESTAURANT @ Kampung Cina, 32000 Sitiawan. For directions, please refer to my post on AMU Coconut Villa Restaurant. Villa Seafood is situated opposite of AMU. Need help? Drop me a comment or email.
A toast to our friendship …. and remembering the priceless one and half year of MAKAN-ship, MAKAN tours and CRAZY times ….
really cheap, with fish, drinks and oysters! that’s quite a special way of serving oh-chien right..?
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Sure is nice to see the reasonable prices for all the food plus the toddy that they served. I like the drink after trying it in Ong Cheng Huat in Butterworth.
Will add this place to my food outing list.
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wei.. haha… the GREENzz looked so geli la.. so raw!!! wondering how could u all finish them?? hmmm…
yeah, so fast one and half yr huh?? hehe.. sure u’ll miss ur makan kaki(zz) then… =P
ReMinDeR: ur mission not yet completed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*FIRE* Arrrgggghhhhh…………
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The steamed siakap looked tempting…
while the greens a little too boring…
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Hoo hoo hoo. Toddy? I think I’ve been to a place like this, but at Teluk Gong (not even sure if I spelled the name of the place correctly, haha).
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wow… it is very cheap. Should make a makan trip there. lol The “O” chien looks very crispy.
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The oysters sure looked special! It looks much nicer than the oily ones in Penang, with too much uncooked flour in the batter with eggs. Eww… I hate it when I eat into uncooked or pasty flour. Yuck!
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mhmm, i like the sound of this place already. sitiawan’s still unexplored territory to me… time to go and explore eh? but the oh chien looks good! and yeah, fresh fish is best eaten plain steamed .
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hahah its amazing how food can tie up frendship so close and tight eh?
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thenomadGourmand : yeah, crispier than normal. but the crisp sides was good, offered extra crunch.
ck lam : Sitiawan n Manjung actually got a lot of nice places, but i myself find it hard to discover all.
KCA : the greens was good lah … crunchy, and cooked one. mission? =P hahhaha …wait lah.. no time. 😉
ahlock : greens look boring … but was stir-fried well, not too oily, and not too soft.
Life for Beginners : yeah Teluk Gong, over in Klang. Coconut Flower Seafood right? 🙂
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ah, dreamy look, i miss sitiawan in a odd kinda way. was working there for a few months, when you were probably still in diapers. (1991)
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The look of the oh-chien so special~~ All the oyster at the middle, crispy eggs at side?
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chinese lunch with toddy? it doesnt get any more interesting that this! so cool la.
welcome back to work..hehehe…
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Food Paradise : indeed the Or Chien was crispy.
iamthewitch: I know! I’ve tried most in Pg, I think last time Swatow Lane’s version was good, and the one at Northam Beach cafe was great. but not anymore … sadly.
jasmine : Ppl either go to Pangkor, or Ipoh. no inbetweener. The Manjung, Ayer Tawar, Sitiawan all got lost in the plot. heheh ..
Joe : yeah, food DOES bring ppl together, from all ages, races, and backgrounds.
FBB : wei! where got in diapers… me that time already in primary lah, pls ….
mimid3vils : yeah, the oysters all concentrated in the middle. which was good, as one of us does NOT like oysters.
Nic : hey … once work starts, things get hectic. oh how i wish it’s Xmas all over. then 3 months of holidays consecutively … hahaha
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Ah, I have been there…
Thanks for reliving my memories again via your pictures with entries..
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you’re most welcomed, adel.
good old places eh? 🙂
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that’s a hugeass jug of toddy for rm6.
Just think how drunk we could get for only say RM25 !!!
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very reasonable priced.
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CUmi & Ciki : erm, if i'm not mistaken, it was 3/4 full only though.
foodbin : yeah, agreed!
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1 of My favourite seafood restaurant. Shd have try out the marmide (gosh ..mind my spelling) chics/ tomyam (simply best & original)/ fu chow chap choi/ deep fried small fishes etc instead of the usual cooking stlye. Price wise is not actually cheap for local standards but foods good.
Ooooh….if u wondering why am I missing ..well its stressful period in Ipoh with this back door corrupted govt take over.
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Hulk : hey Hulk, welcome back! makes me wonder r u involved in politics?!! hahaha …
thanks for ur recommendation, that WAS Marmite Chicken! i mistakenly thought kung pow from my pic. geez …. me n my old memory.
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[…] Steamed Flower Crabs (NEW!!) Sitiawan – Amu Coconut Villa Seafood Restaurant @ Kampung Cina Sitiawan – Villa Seafood Restaurant @ Kampung Cina & Second Visit Sitiawan – James Cendol & the Revisit Sitiawan – Kampung […]
This restaurant has moved to a new location further along the same road. turn left after the stop,look,go for another 2 km.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:07 am
Thanks Peter. They were supposed to move for quite some time, but then the last time we went there was only a notice, but no definite date.
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Hi there,
I.would like to book 2 tables for today dinner for chinese new year. Could i know yr phone no to contact for make booking ?
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