Seafood mam-mam

Some friends suggested to go for seafood today. It was planned like a few days back after some of the girls got talking about food, and suddenly have a craving for seafood.

AH kindly volunteered to bring us there (Port Klang), though she still refuses to drive, so SG nicely volunteered. On the day itself, one friend (JK) chickened out, because he had an overdose of seafood the night before (and unfortunately suffering from an upset stomach due to overeating! – err… or was it due to the food?)

So, merrily we trotted on the highway, with SG religiously sticking to the speed limit. 90km means 90km, and 80km means 80km. Hmmm….Good in a way, but unfortunately, LL and myself got bored, and started pestering AH and SG, “Are we there yet” like numerous times, as well as cracking jokes on what’s the difference between a Fart and a Belch! (see previous post). Being quite tired, I kept yawning, and was “scolded” by the girls. Me being the odd one out for the occasion (only 1 guy amongst 3 girls), I was bullied left, right and centre. I suppose I am used to it, but I give as good as I take! :P The threat of either bearing with the yawn or smelling the “one that didn’t catch the lift” definitely did the trick! MUAHAHAHAAAA. However, I was threatened with being abandoned by the roadside (amongst other perverse thoughts by the girls) and saw fit to continue yawning. I lost count on the number of times I yawned. Don’t know why so tired, but just, tired’leh! Must be the age… and I can just imagine the 3 girls sniggering! Humph!…

Enjoyed the view in bits and pieces, took the Kesas highway, and directly to Tanjung Harapan. It was a near miss on one occasion when AH sort of lost her directions and wasn’t sure of the exit from the highway (she was our navigator) and had to call her “aunty” for directions. Phweew…. at least we got there correctly. Hang on a minute! The place sounded familiar, and lo and behold, it is the same place, and even the same restaurant as I came to a few weeks ago. The same cruise boat was anchored around the same position. And again, heard the honks and tonks on and off as we were munching through our dinner. And no, the honks were not me blowing my nose, and the tonks were not sounds coming from my nether regions! :P

First to arrive was the mantis prawn, or as they called it the mantis shrimp. Cost about RM2.50 each as stated on the tank, but doesn’t imply whether that’s for a life mantis thingy or a cooked one! You can just about make out a fish (no, I still don’t know what type of fish that is) lurking at the background, eyeing the 3 mantis(es?) suspiciously. I wonder why… I can just imagine them previously in a big fight. The mantis(es) in a defensive corner position, and the fish, oh well, must have taken some heavy beating, so lurking ever so warily at the back eyeing the prawn/shrimp mantis...hmmm… Anyway, the mantis shrimps/prawns or whatchamacallit, ended up on our dinner plate cooked “kungpo” style. Was really looking forward to it, but it was “a bit” hard. Coated with sugar I think, and the coagulated texture was not so pleasant to chew. First dish, I would rate it a 3 out of 10.

Second to arrive was the nestum prawns. Now, this I liked. The prawns tasted fresh (at least I hope so, well it’s port klang after all!), and the nestum bits were very yummy. Was picking the nestum bits even after the prawns were finished. The only drawback was that when I got to the bottom bits, I could see the layer of oil, and that put me off somewhat. Still, a good 8 out of 10.

What’s next? A platter of soft shell crabs. I looked at it, and was sorely tempted, but reminded myself that I have a sore throat. Still, held out for another minute, and thought, heck it, “makan’lah”…. Travelled so far already, might as well just whack! Will probably suffer the consequences later… Oh well… Good though, and just looking at the plate reminded me of eating it in a Japanese restaurant and being charged “a bomb” just to have it in a roll. And here, we are, a platter full, with some sweet chilly sauce to boot! A 7 out of 10.

La-la fried mee hoon came next. Supposed to be good, but thought that the noodles was a bit dry, and didn’t come up to mark. A disappointing 3 out of 10. But still, at the end, we also finished the dish. What a hungry horde we were.

On came the crabs. It was a toss up between sweet and sour, and sweet and spicy, but finally decided on the latter. It came with “mun tous” or buns to eat with the sauce. Quite nice, and the buns went well with the sauce (or is it the other way around? The sauce went well with the buns???). Hmmm…..

Was captivated by the nice shape of the buns, but the girls were being unimaginative, and kept saying it was just a bun!…. Don’t you think it’s a nicely formed shape? Well, the texture was nice and good, but I think I had eaten better buns elsewhere….. Still, I liked it, and as they were some left over (even after me having consumed two already), the girls harangued me to eating the last bits. Definitely need to drag a few of my other guy friends (and make sure they don’t “put aeroplane” me next time). Why is it girls always make the guys finish the last bits? DBKL ah! Anyway, one or two more of the buns, and I was up to “up there” already.

Starting the third bun, I began playing with my food. Normally, a nicely shaped piece of food like this, would just go into my mouth in one gulp! But alas, not this time, the bun appeared bigger than my mouth can open (so folks, I don’t have that big a mouth after all! No pun intended. Hahahahahaa). So, there I was, being quite full already, and thinking how to eat it. I know!, cut it into four bits, to represent the four winds (“tung”, “nan”, “si”, “pei”), and before the “four winds” can blow me off course, I drown the winds with lots of sweet and spicy sauce. Just to make sure, added a dab or two of the leftover nestum flakes (from the prawn dish), and voila!, edible after all…. :)

The fish came next, so called “Lotus Leaf Fish”. Nope, don’t know what fish it was, and I just whacked it. Tasted ok, was initially fried, and then cooked with a kind of beanpaste, not quite assam, not quite thai kind of sauce wrapped in lotus leaf. Not bad actually, but had too much already. Only ate a teeny weeny bit. (especially after eating four of the “mun tous”!)…. Also, the poor fish looked pitiful, with a sad face (probably suffered due to the horrible cook manhandling it!) :( It was dejecting looking at that particular fish. I think I would prefer to see a smiling fish on the table cooked up and ready to be eaten. This one, had paste covering its face, probably put by the cook who felt guilty, and tried to "cover up" the scene. Awww...

And the monetary damage? Not too bad actually. Didn’t cost as much as I had expected. Well, the dishes were not as big as could be, but having 6 dishes between us (and 3 girls at that, mind you), was pretty good, considering we finished everything. Overall, food quality this time around, not bad, but not brilliant. Maybe I am hard to please, but it had its moments, particularly the nestum prawns. A must have if we were to go again.