Wonder.Food.Travel

My lil' brother invited me to go on an island getaway with him. Where? So we looked towards the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. He wasn't interested in Pulau Tioman or Pulau Rawa in the southern region, and we contacted several sites in Pulau Perhentian but they were fully booked on our preferred dates. Peak season. Hence, we picked Pulau Redang and yay, Redang Beach Resort had availability and reasonably priced snorkeling packages too. Lo and behold, it was the same resort we went to 13 years ago with the family! Same, same. For our resort, we needed to board a boat from the jetty in Kuala Terengganu. Instead of taking an overnight bus from KL, i decided to drive in the morning a day early to explore this eastern city. Maps estimated a five-hour drive. We took frequent breaks to rest our eyes (and the car) and refill our stomachs (and the car). This added an hour to the estimate. The music-filled drive was smooth as we cruised along the quiet East Coast Expressway (...

Earlier in the morning, we asked a local whether she preferred this restaurant or its neighbour, Restaurant Malaysia. She somehow replied the latter but since there was no crowd when we arrived at that restaurant, we decided to try Restaurant Tong Juan instead. The restaurant.   This restaurant is one of the popular restaurants in town among locals, people working in Kemaman and tourists, that a few mentioned this restaurant is touristy and expensive. Crowd pulled us in and we were quick to be seated. As i entered, the ambiance of the eatery reminded me of a restaurant i had for lunch in Keelung, Taiwan (and it was one of the most delicious and memorable meals i had while i was there). Whether it tastes as good, we shall see. Fish ball soup to warm the stomach. The soup, with vegetables, was simple and plain. Good to maintain the balance of diet as other dishes were seafood and saltier. Fish balls were bouncy. Nevertheless, an ordinary dish.   The true examina...