Over the weekends I went to Kuantan for a short trip with Sheryl. We didn’t have any concrete plan, and it was basically just an opportunity to spend some time and catch up after she’d come back from her post graduate studies in Europe. After all, it was some 7 years since we were last living together in the States.
Pak Su seafood restaurant, with the best al fresco dining experience
After spending better part of the afternoon chilling at Cherating beach sipping coconut juice, we decided to check out Pak Su seafood restaurant by the beach. It was partly due to convenience as Pak Su is located rather close to where we were staying.
While this is a Chinese restaurant, it is also halal, and there were quite a number of Muslim patrons and workers alike at the premise.
We took a table at the al fresco dining area by the beach. The scenery was incredible, full moon, strong waves, and the rather powerful sea breeze makes up for one of the best seafood dinner ambiance I’ve experienced.
fresh Canadian oysters, vegetable, butter prawn
For the two of us, we ordered a pair of fresh Canadian oysters (RM 8 each) to start. They were huge, juicy and absolutely delicious, the other other place with comparable oyster would be Kensington at Seremban.
Butter prawn (RM 20) was another commendable dish, it was cooked in the “wet” style (there’s also the other butter prawn preparation you might have had from Chinese wedding dinners, this is not the same method). The prawns were huge, fresh, and rather delicious.
To fulfill the illusion of having a complete meal, we ordered a plate of vegetable (豆苗 RM7) too. It was however, a bit too old and not something I’d recommend.
stuffed crab and steamed siakap
The one famous seafood dish everyone must try when at East-Coast is the stuffed crab. Pretty much every seafood restaurants from Kuantan to Kemaman will have this particular dish on the menu.
We ordered two stuffed crab from Pak Su (RM 6 each). It was basically a crab shell stuffed with plenty of crab meat and god knows what else, but it was quite tasty! I would order more than one next time, it was like having the best of crabs without having to deal with the whole peeling off crab shell nonsense.
The steamed siakap (RM 18) we had was forgettable. The fish steak as per recommended by our server was way too tough it felt like we were chewing on cardboard. There are quite a lot of other live fish to choose from though, so perhaps other choices would be better than what we ordered.
KY, the awesome view, and Sheryl
The service at Pak Su follows the life style of east-coast Malaysia quite a bit too much, it was horrendously slow. While it didn’t take too long for us to get our food after ordering, getting the attention of servers to start the prepare our table/ordering/paying/getting change took way too long.
Our dinner was RM 84 in total, including 5% government tax, pretty reasonable price that is comparable to KL standard.
As for the food, there were dishes that was rather good (oyster, stuffed crab, butter prawn), and some were pretty lousy (vegetable, fish). However, I do feel that this place is worth visiting even if just for the ambiance. You really have to be there to appreciate it.
Address:
Pak Su Seafood Restaurant
No.4/1417, Batu 6, Lot 922, Kg.Bahagia Beserah,
26100 Kuantan , Pahang Darul Makmur.
GPS: 3.87582, 103.36636
Tel: 09-544 8025
URL: paksu-seafood.com.my
By the time you read this, I should be well on my way to the Paradise for a diving trip that is long overdue. For the next few days I’ll be going from KL – Tawau – Semporna – Mabul Island – Sipadan, and should be back by Saturday with a whole lot of smile and hopefully many pretty photos.
all my gears are packed and I’m ready to roll (off the boat)
The gears that I’ve packed (and this is post also serves as my check list):
Getting to Paradise in 3 easy steps
Who said you have to go to a place of worship to get to paradise?
Paradise is just a 2.45 hours from KL via air to Tawau, another hour’s cab ride to Semporna, 45 mins boat ride to Mabul, and from there, a further 15 mins speed boat ride. Paradise is also known as Sipadan island, a place guardian.co.uk rated as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
This is my first trip there, and lets hope it’ll be a good one. My dive buddy will be the crazy Irene from Kuching, and this is the first time I’m meeting her, I heard she’s not entirely sane, but my life will be literally dependent on her when we’re underwater. Wish me luck!
I’ll be meeting her with four other travel buddies at Tawau in a few hours’ time. Can’t wait!
