We decided that instead of spending the Hari Raya holidays sitting at home we would drive around the countryside and enjoy the food that is famous in the places that we would visit.
Since many people were still celebrating the Muslim New Year in their hometowns, the roads were traffic free making the drive very pleasant. The weather was also surprisingly good, cloudy and not too hot or wet.
Mostly oil palm plantations, banana plantations and occasionally some fruit orchards along the way.
Two of the towns we visited are Bentong and Karak.
The famous Yik Kee restaurant in Karak which is well-known for its freshwater fish dishes and local- made pastries.
Here are among some of the food we sampled at a fishing village (on the first day) and at Yik Kee in Karak town on the second day. Fried oyster omelete...a bit gluey but quite delicious.
Prawn noodles. The prawns that accompanied this dish were huge and extremely fresh.
Freshly steamed fish. This dish was much too big for the two of us.
Many local tourists bought home-made cakes and biscuits from this famous shop to take home.
On this trip we were also on the look-out for the king of fruits which is in season. Everyone knows that the current best variety is the Musang King which has delicious yellow meat with very small seeds. I'm told that Hong Kongers are coming in plane-loads specifically to eat this fruit.
This stall even had tables and chairs for those who prefer to eat the fruits at site. They even provide water to wash your hands after the feast.
As we were too full from lunch we decided buy some to take home to enjoy later. Not cheap but who can resist? Durians tastes yummy when frozen and eaten with ice-cream.
How did the average Malaysian celebrate the holidays? Taking the family for a picnic by the sea seems to be very popular judging from the huge crowds at these public beaches.
