Reached Raub, Pahang

My Saturday morning began when my dad came into my room and woke my brothers and i up. He said, 'let's jalan-jalan makan' (literally translated as travel and eat) today and my first reply was 'where?'. 'Raub', he said. Spontaneity has never exactly been my strength but when thrown in with adventure, i was all geared up to go. My parents got the idea to visit this place mostly because of Axian's travelogue in the Asian Food Channel- the episode i didn't watch. I only knew little about Raub in Pahang- that it is a gold mining area, famous for peanuts and bean curd.

Journey to Raub took us almost an hour and a half drive from home, and it was a new yet familiar experience. From the bustling roads in KL to the old (tar) road, and as we ventured further from city life, slowly but surely we got absorbed into the lush greenery and generally simple surrounding. Lately, i find a liking to use old road because it redefines travel and i can see glimpses of the everyday lives of the people along the way (unless if you're behind a truck, driving like a snail and your patience wearing thin). I noticed several TF Value Mart which likens the hypermarkets such as Carrefour, Aeon or Giants, and Vega Mall that struck my attention as one of the bigger shopping malls i saw throughout the journey. We drove past oil palm and rubber estates, and small townships; amazed at the plenty stalls selling durians and jackfruits (nangka) at the roadside leading towards Raub like guiding lights- almost every 100 m. Raub came to sight and there it was, our first destination written in large against a red backdrop.

Restoran Ratha (Curry House)
My expectation for lunch here was high as, with limited connectivity, i saw many websites recommended this curry house. I was looking forward to the curries as it is, after all, a curry house. And i was blown away most by the 'kurma', Malaysian Green Curry. In fact, the Chicken Curry was nowhere near the excellence of the 'kurma'. The ideal blend of spices in the 'kurma' makes it so aromatic and the flavours naturally dance in your mouth. Apart from the curries, the fried chicken was tastily marinated and the skin (especially) was delicious. Crispy on the outside, succulent meat inside. When paying the bills, i was actually surprised to learn that the price for our lunch was about Ampang price- tourism may have boosted economy in this town.

 The look of the restaurant. For those who enjoyed the food and wishes to try cooking them back home, prepacked ingredients for selected dishes like chicken curry, seafood curry, fried chicken and 'kurma' are sold next to the counter at RM 4.60 per box. We ordered the food at the food counter.

Two pieces of fried chickens here, RM 4.70 per piece. Behind is the curry chicken gravy. The coconut taste is overpowering and sweet, and little spicy. It is unique but not not highly favoured personally.

 Red Chicken, red but good. Spicy but tasty. This plate costs RM 6. Behind is the 'kurma'- supposedly in greener colour. We tasted only the 'kurma' gravy, which was actually not allowed as it is to be served together.

 

Greens for lunch are the Acar. A combination of cucumber and carrot pickles with sauce.

Overall, this curry house was good lunch but it does not leave a lasting enough, wow impact to crave for more. Yes, i will remember it for its 'kurma' and yes, i will return if i happen to visit Raub in the future, but not to drive to Raub for it. This shop greets you at Jalan Tun Razak.

The main part of the Raub town, to me, lies on two main streets: Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Dato Abdullah; so much that i believe if you park your car at one place, you can complete these two rows of shop-houses on foot (most other recommended eateries are here), and may not go lost. Nearby Restoran Ratha are many grocery shops- one nicely decorated with Christmas items on sale. Further down the road was our next stop.

Kedai Kopi Sun Yuen Cheong
A very Chinese- Hainanese feel shop that serves homemade cakes such as chiffon and marble cakes, and butter muffins. Was not extremely impressed, but the Hainan Tea was pretty good. There are other food choices from the menu like rice and noodles but we were full after lunch. Looking at the menu, likewise, the prices were Ampang standard. But our damage for this was minimal- one chiffon cake, two muffins and one Hainan Tea in below RM 4.

Chai Tofu Factory
One of the highlights of this getaway. The locating and location of this little factory were challenging. My mom suggested to use the GPS but i prefer the old fashioned way when traveling free and easy (with no printed map)- stop by the roadside and ask for directions from the people. That's much more fun compared to listening to voices or looking at moving triangle on an electronic device. Obeying the instructions to Bukit Koman with the Petronas station as landmark, and later following the small road signs led us deeper and deeper into a housing area, until the road was too narrow for our car to enter and we had to park and walk in.

The factory has been managed by four generation from the same family. The factory produces thousands of white bean curds 'tofu' and about 100 kg deep fried bean curd puffs 'tofu pok' daily. As we were there in the afternoon, they had stopped processing the bean curd from imported soy beans and focused on deep frying the 'tofu' in a large pot of oil. They offered cubes of 'tofu pok' for us to try before purchasing. It is crispy and slightly hard on the outside with soft texture inside. He offered us to taste the 'tofu pok' with Bentung Soy Sauce and the combination was good. The almost plain and pure flavour of 'tofu' enriched with sweetness from the sauce. Soy bean drink is also sold in small (RM 1.80) and large (RM 4) bottles here. Just as we left, another crowd came in (no tourist was there when we entered the factory).

Bean curd cut into cubes, ready to be fried in the large, hot pot of oil. The white bean curds in the big pot are to sell as it is, at RM 0.90 per piece.

Don't they look innocent? Or innocently delicious? The hot, freshly fried ones were tempting me, calling me out aloud 'take me, take me!'. No, i didn't. Not the new ones. 'Tofu pok' sold at RM 14 per kg.

Kebun Sea Loy Kacang Goreng Sempelit
Raub has also been synonymous with peanuts. Greeted by two golden peanut statues, we thought we could see the making of these famous peanuts before packaging like in the 'tofu' factory but realized that it is not open to public. Instead, a hut at the entrance sells the packed peanuts.

With the golden peanuts at the entrance.

Name sign of shop.

The different types of peanuts, from the Tiger Stripes, deer to 2 bears at the front cover. One packet costs RM 3.

Kedai Ais Krim, Bentung
Initially looking for another ice cream shop, this ice cream shop sells homemade ice creams of various flavours. I particularly liked the pandan flavour.

 

Pandan at the front, chocolate at the back. Each bowl costs RM 1.80.

Bought a packet of 'Nangka Madu' Honey Jackfuit on the way back home and car smells sweet. Sweet also with bean curds and nuts!

 

The number of these stalls and the whole jackfuilts intimidate me.

Now that i have been to Raub, i realized there are many neighbouring places, things and food to explore. I will leave that for my next trip eastward. My time spent in this trip is rather short; nevertheless, it was a new, exciting experience and sometimes, that is what truly matters.

Where? Raub and briefly Bentung in Pahang
How much? As included, as of 1 December 2012