a day in kuantan

Fresh local coconut.

We kicked off a trip up the Malaysian Peninsula east coast in late August, and while it's not the first time I've gone to that part of the country, I feel like I've discovered a different side to some of these places that I didn't see as a child.

Our first stop was Kuantan. Truth be told, we considered it to be more of a resting place before we continued on to our next destination, so we didn't do much, but it was certainly pleasant enough.

We happened to pass by a shop called No.1 Egg Tart King on our way to our hotel, so I popped in to get a couple of their signature egg tarts. They were actually very nice - there is a sweet, gentle whiff of fragrance that led the way as I tucked into the flaky pastry and tender custard.

A tasty egg tart.

We went for a walk along Teluk Cempedak beach. The place is absolutely swarming with monkeys! By the way, if you're planning to visit, my advice would be to just keep your distance and admire them from afar. They can get pretty aggressive - I saw a guy who only intended to share a few of his potato chips but somehow got mugged for the whole can. You have been warned. If you can avoid being caught up in the monkey business, though, they can be fun to watch.

Monkeys grooming each other at Teluk Cempedak beach.

That night, we had dinner at Hai Tian Restaurant. Our experience was slightly mixed, but really it was just one overly salty tofu dish that strayed - the two seafood dishes we had were good.

We chose to have the assam fish with "ikan kembung" - Indian mackerel. Spicy, sour, satisfying.

Assam fish with "kembung" fish, i.e. Indian mackerel.

The coconut prawn curry was impressively presented in an actual coconut. The prawns are large, and the curry gravy was quite intensely rich.

Coconut prawn curry, served in a coconut!

After dinner, we called it an early night, and slept well to prepare for the drive up to Terengganu...