Food at Tanjung Tualang, Perak

I know I'm gonna to get bombed when I say that this is the first time that I actually visited Tanjung Tualang. Being a Perakian... a Kamparian for that matter, it would be unthinkable for most people that I have never visited Tanjung Tualang in the past.

For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with this place, it is famous for fresh seafood... but then again, I'm not sure if the term is correct or not... because these 'seafood' that they are famous for are not raised in seawater :P but rather in freshwater. See the contradiction there? :P

Anyway, if you ever go there, it is filled (supposedly, though I don't think so) with rows and rows of seafood restaurant and is a famous for both tourists and locals (again, I didn't notice that since the restaurant we ate in is rather quiet).

In a celebration for my sister in graduating (finally!), and getting a car, we decided to go to Tanjung Tualang for dinner (and to determine if she is fit to drive a car in KL :P). Nevertheless, it is a very pressured journey, with me always keeping an eye on basically all directions as she drove her brand new Proton Iswara Gen. 2... which is actually cheaper than my smaller, mini Kelisa! No fair one ler... but if given a choice again, I'll still choose my beloved mini :P... no reason to get a big car when the passenger in the car is almost always myself only.

And I still don't know why would one drive from Kampar over to Tanjung Tualang to have dinner. It's soooo far away! I think it took us almost 45 minutes to reach there (might be due to my sister's (pretended)careful driving).

Anyway, my uncle recommended the restaurant called Sin Mee Fong... since he's friends with the boss lady of the restaurant... mainly due to his frequent visits. There is another more famous restaurant, which I forgot what's the name already... it's supposed to be located at the end of the road... whatever that meant :P. Anyway, he didn't bring us there because the owner of the restaurant (well, I think it's the waiters ler) offended him. Apparently, he was there one weekend with his daughter and the restaurant refuse to take his order because there's only two people... meaning they think that his business is too small.

So, now he's the loyal customer to this Sin Mee Fong.

Sin Mee Foong

Fried rice

One of the must try dish here is the fried rice. Yup, fried rice in a seafood restaurant... nope, it's not seafood fried rice... it's more like kampung fried rice. The fried rice is super fragrant... really delicious... only thing I don't like is the overloaded anchovies. It might be because the rice is so fragrant is due to the anchovies, but with the anchovies, I was unable to fully enjoy in savouring the rice because it's extremely sharp!

Plain steamed prawns

Next dish we (or rather, my uncle) ordered is the plain steamed prawns. My uncle, being in his fifties is watching his diet and thus, he ordered a mid size prawns without the roe... which is fine by me since even though I'm not a healthy eater, I dislike roe. Anyway, the prawns are super nice... super fresh... super succulent... Tanjung Tualang is definitely living up to the name being famous for freshwater seafood restaurants!

Fried prawns...

Next, is the fried prawns... still the same prawns but of different cooking style... and it still is heavenly... it's just plain fried prawns with soy sauce... the soy sauce was a little bit too salty, but it makes the dish even more appealing... seriously, the prawns are to die for... and yes, I ate the shells too :P.

Vegetables...

Sorrylah, I'm not very good at translating Chinese to English... so I have no idea what to call this vege in English, but I presume it would be identifiable with my super clear picture which was taken by a super powerful camera :P. And it is amazing that even such a simple dish can be made so nice... crunchy vege, nice salty taste... good.

Fried oyster

Really, this restaurant never ceased to amaze me... think you've had eaten the best fried oyster? Think again! This one is a little bit different from the ones I ate... this is crispier albeit drier... and anyone who knows me, know that I absolutely deep fried stuff. And this fried oyster is fried with excessive butter... or maybe Planta :P... but the main thing is that is soooo nice! Crispy and salty... what could anyone else ask for? :P Though I must say that I don't really feel the oysters loh... it's more like fried egg... mainly because the oysters are tasteless and the margarine's taste covered the oysters freshness.

Spicy crabs

The supposedly star of the day is unfortunately a great letdown... but it might be because I don't like crabs anyway... basically I don't like anything that I can't immediately put into my mouth after acquiring it from the plate... that's why I don't like prawns too and that's why I was praising the restaurant so much since I actually like something I usually don't like! However, the crabs are another matter. The so-called spicy sauce is not spicy at all... in fact, it tastes sweet! A mix up perhaps? But there were only two tables with customers... and they'll have to be idiots to mix that up with so little customers. Apart from the really bad sauce, the crabs seemed to be not so fresh too... but then again, I really am not sure since the biggest bite that I can take at one time is one tiny sliver of crab meat that I have to work for 5 minutes to get. It's soft and it's crappy.

Some of the prawns that is overloaded with roe

I must say that this restaurant is not bad at all... and if it is located near to my house I would be a frequent customer too... for the fried rice and fried oysters ler... prawns are for rare occasions only. Unfortunately, it soooo far away... and to me no food will ever be great enough for me to drive so far away to taste it.

So, if you don't mind driving over there, it will not disappoint!