27th Birthday | Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort

DESTINATION : KUANTAN, PAHANG

Travel period : 111013-121013

#1   Hyatt Regency Kuantan Resort, Teluk Cempedak.

greetings from Kuantan!

fantastic beachfront from de room's balcony.

including de hotel lobby, this is de only best thing for a 5-star rated hotel. for those who are not planning to get a seaview room you should really consider for other alternatives as things started to go downhill from there, especially when it comes to de room.

Sampan bar.

de second pool that has a deeper end.

one thing that I'm not happy with de hotel management is that they do not really reinforce their guests with proper swimming attire to enter to de pool. come on, even Kajang Mewah Club managed to do it. I see a lady wearing tee shirt, long pants, and beanie on head (omg?!) dipping herself into de pool. oh my, this is no kolam ikan. 

Sea View King at RM500++ per night  (not including breakfast)

lizards droppings, peeling paint, and a bad window cleaner basically summarized everything. if you can bear with showering in partial clogged water in de bathtub, these are not problems. somehow it reminded me of de backpacker days in Europe.

limited editions.

couldn't stop laughing at de remote control.

night at Sampan Bar with fresh coconut at RM17.00

soothing sea breeze before de heavy downpour.

#2   Brunch @ Zaman Restaurant, KM14 Jalan Gambang.

it was almost noon when we stopped by at our first eatery. we were quite surprised to see no queue and de restaurant was nearly empty, at a place reputed Kuantan's best nasi lemak.

Nasi Lemak   RM2.00

seriously, it doesn't really live up to de name of de best nasi lemak in de world (perhaps only in Kuantan). sambal is a wee sweet for my liking. but good thing is de packet of nasi lemak still felt warm when touched even though it is already at noon.

#3   first dinner @ Ana Ikan Bakar, Tanjung Lumpur.

there is another branch located in Bangi but de one we visited in Tanjung Lumpur is claimed to be de original. I read a lot of positive reviews about this place hence decided to give it a try. for seafood, you can go to de fresh section to choose what you want (but make sure you get your table number first). fruit juices were too sweet (too much syrup) just as expected.

Kangkung Belacan   RM3.00

a remnant of everything in a small portion. unknown chicken parts (?) with minute amount of leafy kangkung, mostly branches. seriously, you got what you paid for.

Spicy Chilli Lala (Clams)  RM25.00

these clams came in a big packet where we didn't get to choose. I bet they were frozen clams so I'm not surprised with its 'fishy smell'. besides, de boy also complained about de low graded rice without rice fragrant (by just smelling it haha). a bad start though.

Grilled Stingray (Ikan Pari) with Petai   RM27.00+

insisted to try this as it is one of their specialties although I'm not a fan of petai. too bad there were only few pieces of petai as I thought they would mushroom all over de fish (they even grilled de petai skin together oh my fish!). de fish was kinda dry and there wasn't much gravy to go with. in fact, de whole thing felt like a huge piece of charcoal when it was served (wrapped with burnt banana leaf). overall, I am not impressed. either we chose de wrong fish or we ordered de wrong flavour- maybe tiga rasa (3 flavours) would be a better choice?

Fried Squid (Sotong Goreng Tepung)   RM18.90

this was de only thing that gave our low mood a boost. ahha so now you know you cannot always trust what food bloggers say.

#4   breakfast on second day @ Hoi Yin Restaurant, Teluk Cempedak.

this place is only available from morning till lunch and it is within walking distance from Hyatt Regency. woke up early morning and expected a crowd but thank god we did not need to wait for tables. I saw a lot of malays patronized this halal restaurant. many came for take-away too. 

ended up with Teh (tea) since Teh C was not available.

thought it would be filthy sweet but actually not bad.

Curry Noodles (Meehoon)

served with succulent chicken pieces, cockles, fish balls, fish cakes, and tofu pok (beancurd puff). it is considerably good for a halal chinese restaurant. still, nothing can beat Kajang's curry noodles.

Dry Kuey Tiau

served with a separated bowl of curry with similar ingredients. it was less superior compared to curry noodles.

#5   Lunch @ Sara Thai Restaurant, Jalan Gambut. 

(Wan Seafood & Tomyam)

Kangkung Belacan   RM9.00

another brave attempt ahha! tasted more like de real Kangkung Belacan but it was a bit salty and has to go with one spoonful of rice. again, de boy wasn't really happy with their rice as it wasn't fragrant.

Tomyam Seafood   RM7.00

Green Curry Chicken   RM10.00

believe me, de green curry that everyone has been talking about tasted just so normal to me. tomyam, on de other hand, as we have already prepared for de worst, turned out pretty satisfied.

Lime Steamed Fish (Grouper)   RM42.70 (RM9/100g)

lime steamed is always an appetizing dish. fish was fresh but not de freshest.

#6   Black Stone Beach (Batu Hitam).

don't bother to picnic at de beach because you wouldn't want to stay here for long. a pretty run down place(never a blue-green ocean) and all you can do is just to snap de best picture and wave goodbye.

#7   Mustafa Cendol, Jalan Teluk Sisek (near to Satay Zul).

this is probably de best place with de most satisfying food. 

Cendol Biasa.

like it served in a stainless steel bowl, simple is best.

Cendol Campur

one of de recommended flavours, rich with ingredients. 

Cendol Campur + Pulut (sticky rice).

similar to Cendol Campur but it has a distinct flavour of its own, worth a try. it was quite tummy filling towards de end. 

Rojak.

sliced cucumber, potatoes, prawn fritters, dried bean curd, and a half slice of hard boiled egg tossed in yummy sweet peanut sauce. heavenly!

#8   Terminal Satay Zul, Jalan Teluk Sisek.

dinner was at a place reputed best satay in Kuantan (many have said it has better satay than Kajang). seriously, I shall appreciate Kajang satay more after today's eating experience. I think Satay Zul didn't deserve a praise and it is not even near to de gold standard. food ordering began with:

waiter: minum apa?

Saam: ada apa minum?

waiter: ... ... macam biasa lah.

Saam: air tebu ada?

waiter: air tebu tak ada.

Saam: 100 plus ada?

waiter: tak ada 100 plus.

Nasi Impit   RM2.00

texture of de rice cakes were much softer. it came with 1, 2, 3, 4 and half pathetic slices of onion.

Chicken Satay   RM0.70 per stick,
Beef Satay   RM0.80 per stick

only chicken was conformed to de average standard. it didn't impress, so did de peanut sauce.

Mutton Satay   RM1.00 per stick

de skewered mutton came in chunks larger than de usual. first stick was quite yummy.

and it triggered de gag reflex thereafter.

forget about de ridiculously charred and possibly carcinogenic, first time in my life I've eaten mutton with unpalatable fats and tendons (?!). they were like rubber bands and were quite impossible to chew on.

goodbye Kuantan.
two-lane city traffic in de centre of town. I'm still confused.

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY TO ME =D

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