[Malaysia 2020] 2 Days 1 Night In Kuala Sepetang & Taiping
By Elin Chow - Monday, August 17, 2020
A week after our Penang trip, we went on an impromptu weekend trip to Taiping, the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh. Taiping is known as the rain capital of Malaysia because it rains almost every day here. Often overshadowed by Ipoh and Penang, The small town is known for its centuries-old rain trees and scenic lakes, which makes the town an ideal destination for nature lovers and photographers.
Xin Kuala Sepetang Seafood Restaurant
Kuala Sepetang is popular for its seafood restaurants as seafood are plentiful here . We decided to eat at Xin Kuala Sepetang Seafood Restaurant after reading some good review online.
The restaurant is spacious and overlooks the river. Fishing and trawling boats lined the jetties by the river, the smell of salted fish and the fresh breeze coming from the sea.
We were asked to order our food at the counter where the selection of seafood are displayed. You can choose the seafood you want directly from the counter and the restaurant will cook it whatever way you would like.
There is a water tank where you can pick up some live seafood such as mantis prawns and flower crabs.
Kung Pao Squids
This was supposed to be one of my favorite dish to eat, but it was a bit disappointing. The squids taste rather fishy because the residual innards were not removed thoroughly. But the squids were tender and the sauce was delicious too.
Steamed Grouper
The Kam Heong Clams was disappointing. It was not fragrant enough and the sauce was not to my liking.
Kangkung Belacan
This was probably one of the worst Kangkung Belacan I have eaten. The Kangkung was overcooked and there was too much Belacan added.
Steamed Flower Crabs
We also picked two live flower crabs from the water tank and have them steamed. The crabs were very fresh, but I am not sure how they taste because I am not a fan of crabs.
Overall, I feel that this restaurant is a little overrated. The food were not amazing and prices were not really cheap as well. I believe there are better places to eat in Kuala Sepetang.
Aulong Biscuit and Confectionery
After lunch, we visited Aulong Biscuit and Confectionery to to do some shopping. The bakery and shop is located in a wooden house lot, within a quiet residential area of Aulong. There is only a small signage on its gate, so it is easy to miss it if this is your first time here.
Other than the beautiful lake, the Lake Gardens are also particularly well-known for the huge ancient rain trees that are planted along the roadside, circling the lake. The branches of the trees stoop precariously low over the road, almost touching the lake. It is as though the trees are bowing down to me.
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Overall, I feel that this restaurant is a little overrated. The food were not amazing and prices were not really cheap as well. I believe there are better places to eat in Kuala Sepetang.
Penang has Tau Sar Piah, Seremban has Siew Pao and Ipoh has Pomelo. When it comes to Taiping, it is Heo Pia, Heong Peah or Heong Peng, which literally translate to "Fragrant Biscuit". Aulong Biscuit and Confectionery is famous for its homemade Heong Peng, which are freshly baked, packed and sold directly right from their home kitchen.
The crispy biscuit has a flaky layer of crust and is filled with sticky sweet caramel. It is fragrant and not overly sweet, but unfortunately, not the best I have eaten so far. Besides Heong Peng, you will also find a great variety of traditional Chinese biscuits and confectioneries made by other small home-based bakeries. It is difficult to leave the shop with empty hands once you enter because everything looks so delicious and prices are fairly cheap too.
Beverly Hotel
For this trip, we stayed at Beverly Hotel, a 3-star hotel located just opposite Taiping Sentral Mall and Tesco Taiping.
Measuring 21 square metres, the double room is spacious and comes with a large king-size bed, a work desk and an attached bathroom. Fitted with carpet flooring, the room was clean but smelled a little musty.
Complimentary WiFi is available, with fast connection and reliable signal. Other in room amenities include a TV with limited channels, a mini safe and coffee and tea making facilities.
The attached bathroom is decently sized and comes with hot and cold shower and basic toiletries like body wash and hair shampoo.
Generally. this is a very basic hotel with few amenities. We did not really enjoy staying here even though it was reasonably comfortable. But it would be a good place to stay if you are in Taiping for just a night. The location is quite convenient as it is located right in the heart of Taiping. There is a food court located just below the hotel where you can find a variety of local food. For those who drive, there is free parking available at the hotel but parking spaces are a bit limited.
Taiping Lake Gardens
A trip to Taiping is never complete without visiting the famous Taiping Lake Garden. We visited the Lake Garden after a heavy downpour around evening.
Formerly a tin mine, the Lake Garden is one of the oldest garden in Malaysia. Spread over 64 hectares, it is made up of ten scenic lakes and ponds, a Lotus pond, bridge and tracks for jogging and reflexology. The lakes and ponds are all surrounded by tropical plants, flowers and trees. There is a playground to keep your kids entertained too
Around the lakes, there are well-maintained paved paths that are perfect for biking, jogging or strolling. The paths are mostly shaded by lush greenery, so you can stroll around without suffering from the heat.
You can either bring your own bike or rent one of the yellow bikes when you arrive. Prices are cheap, but please make sure that you return the bikes to the designated area after use.
Another popular activity at the Lake Garden is boating. There is a boat house where you can rent a boat and move around the lake. You can choose from a few different types of boats (Ferry, Sampan or Swan boat) available depending on your preference.
The Lake Garden is a popular recreation spot, frequented by both locals and foreigners. I really enjoyed strolling around the lakes because the air is so fresh, the atmosphere is so peaceful and the environment is so tranquil. It is a perfect spot to for exercise routine, a picnic or a family day out.
The calm water of Taiping lake made almost perfect reflection. It was absolutely stunning!
Other than the beautiful lake, the Lake Gardens are also particularly well-known for the huge ancient rain trees that are planted along the roadside, circling the lake. The branches of the trees stoop precariously low over the road, almost touching the lake. It is as though the trees are bowing down to me.
The tree-lined road is known as the Raintree Walk Trail. Some of the trees here are over a century old. The trees provide much shade with its large, wide and umbrella shaped crown.
Light House Seafood Restaurant
For dinner, we decided to eat at Light House restaurant. The restaurant is located in Matang, which is halfway between Taiping and Kuala Sepetang and is famous for their seafood porridge.
Walk into the restaurant and you will find almost every table has a large clay pot of seafood porridge.
The restaurant serves Teochew style porridge where cooked rice is added to a flavorful broth. It is much more watery and the softened rice are still whole and not in an overly starchy state.
You can choose to add anything you like to your porridge. The restaurant offers a selection of seafood like prawns, fish slices, sotong, crabs and many more for you to choose from.
Seafood Porridge
We ordered a 3-person portion of seafood porridge with sliced grouper and fish ball. Beside grouper, you can also choose silver Pomfret or shark meat. The porridge arrived sizzling hot in a large clay pot, garnished with a generous amount of green onions and parsley.
I am not a fan of Teochew style porridge, but I love this one. The rice was really fine and smooth and each grain was infused the sweetness of the seafood. The fish was very fresh and the fish balls were also very soft and bouncy. Highly recommended!
Deep Fried Salted Egg Yolk Mantis Shrimp
It is more than just porridge here. Their other seafood dishes are worth trying too. Another must eat here is the deep fried salted egg yolk frozen mantis shrimp. Deep fried to golden perfection, the shrimps were delightfully crunchy, juicy and fragrant!
Stir Fry Potato Leaves
The stir fried potato leaves was delicious as well. We ordered the plain stir-fried version with just garlic. It was a really simple dish but so flavorful and tasty!
Ginger & Clam Soup
We also ordered Ginger & Clam soup to try. This was so much better than the Kam Heong Clam that we had for lunch at Xin Kuala Sepetang Seafood Restaurant. The clams were perfectly steamed and comes with a clear, sweet tasting broth laced with Chinese rice wine.
I am not sure what is the name of this fish. But you will find most of the restaurants in this area have this dish on their menu, so we decided to order some to try. The fish is usually deep fried till crunchy. You can eat almost the entire fish, except the stiff backbone and head, but they would be nice to chew on. However, we did not like it at all.
Overall, the quality of food was good and prices were pretty reasonable as well. We enjoyed eating here so much that we decided to visit this restaurant again the next day before we depart for home.
Biskut Tupai Emas
The next day, we checked out early from our hotel and headed to Biskut Tupai Emas to do some shopping. Biskut Tupai Emas is another well-established biscuits and confectionery brand in Taiping. They are famous for their Heong Peng too. Other than Heong Peng, you will also find a variety of Chinese biscuits and confectioneries such as Kaya Puff, Tau Sar Piah, brown sugar biscuits and etc, which taste equally good as well.
Teochew Steamed Grouper
After shopping, we visited Light House Seafood Restaurant again for lunch. But we decided to have rice instead of porridge this time. The first dish we ordered was Teochew steamed fish and this was so delicious. The fish was very fresh and the gravy has just the perfect balance of sweetness, sourness, saltiness and spiciness. We love it so much!
Clay Pot Tofu
The clay pot tofu was good, but nothing special. It was just regular tofu cooked in a clay pot with assorted vegetables and mushrooms. The tofu was slightly crispy on the outside and soft inside. The gravy is savory and goes well with white rice.
Sour and Spicy Crab
This was a little like the Chili crab in Singapore. It come in red, thick savory gravy that is spicy, sour and a little sweet. But the crabs were not as fresh as the one we ate at Xin Kuala Sepetang Seafood Restaurant because they were already dead before they were cooked.
Stir-Fried Sambal Potato Leaves
We ordered stir-fried potato leaves with sambal because we wanted to try a different version of it. The sambal version was good as well, but I prefer the plain version more. I think this is just a matter of taste.
After lunch, we headed back home to Kuala Lumpur. Overall, we enjoyed the trip even though it was a bit boring. Taiping is a very quiet and quaint town away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are nothing much to do here, but it is a great place for you to relax, unwind and enjoy the slower pace of life. Yep, it rains quite a lot here. So it really deserve the title of the wettest town in Malaysia.
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