Kuantan Dining & Restaurants

Pahang offers a nice variety of Malay, Chinese and Indian food. On a more specific note, Kuantan, as a city along the east coast, has some great seafood to savour.

Visitors can also enjoy international cuisine from the many restaurants and food outlets located around the city. Further up north, in Terengganu state, more local dishes can be found, mostly Malay food.

Some of the most unique dishes found in either Terengganu or Pahang are listed below.

Laksa Pahang

This is a Malay dish composed of thick rice vermicelli topped with seafood gravy, which is usually made of mackerel. The coconut milk added as an ingredient gives it an extremely rich taste.

Seafood

Kuantan has an amazing variety of seafood from crabs to prawns and fish to squid that is cooked using local recipes that can be Malay, Chinese or Indian in origin, depending on the restaurant you go to.

Besides Kuantan, Termerloh is famous for its silver catfish dishes, which are cooked in traditional Chinese-styles.

Nasi Periuk Kera

A special dish from the indigenous communities of Pahang's rainforests, Nasi Periuk Kera is simply rice cooked in pitcher plants; a type of jar-shaped plant that preys on insects.

Keropok

A popular fried snack in both Terengganu and Pahang, the little fishing communities found along the shore-line specialise in this tasty offering.

Using fresh fish caught from the sea, the fish is grounded into a paste and mixed with local ingredients such as sago. It is then dried and fried into crispy chips, their size and texture depending on the locality.

Nasi Dagang

A Terengganu speciality, Nasi Dagang is literally translated as 'trader's rice'. The aromatic rice is made by combining both steamed and glutinous rice. It is then served with equally tantalizing curries and dishes.

The most popular complement to the rice is spicy tuna fish curry and vegetable pickles.

Laksam

Using wheat and rice flour, the resulting dough is steamed and then cut or torn into pieces to be served with gravy. The gravy itself is made of fish meat which is boiled, pureed and mixed with coconut milk.

Sata

To make Sata, local chefs blend succulent boneless fish together that is marinated in spices beforehand. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over a hot bed of charcoals.

The banana leaves permeate the meat inside with a nice fragrance, giving it a sweet taste as well.

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