Weekends in Kuantan

Hubby is from Kuantan and we make it a point to go back once a month to visit his parents. I love going back to Kuantan for the weekend. It's a leisurely weekend escapade with plenty of good food. There are several foods which I look forward to having each month in Kuantan. My favourite is the keropok lekor stall and curry puff from Taman Gelora. The keropok lekor is fried to the right level of crispiness on the outside while the inside remains soft and tender. Between hubby and I, we can easily polished off 15 pieces. That's not good news for our waistline, really but we just can't help indulging in this local snack. And the 'teh o ais limau' is excellent too, for they use lime instead of the usual 'kat chai' normally used by stalls in KL. The stall is located beside a lake and the ingenious owner has also recently started a business providing recreational pedal boat in the lake.

The curry puff is another must have, the best I've ever had. It is filled to the brim with potatoes and slivers of chicken, instead of the usual sweet potatoes filling. At 50 cents a piece, it indeed is a steal. We will normally buy extra, freeze them and bring back to PJ to savour for the next few weeks before we make the trip back to Kuantan again.

Breakfast on Sunday morning is typically at this shop which sells the famous Sungai Lembing Hakka tofu. The silky smooth tofu is filled with a combination of fish and pork, and pan fried just right till the filling is cooked without overcooking the tofu. The noodle is also a special home-made noodle unique to Kuantan.

Clockwise from top left: keropok lekor with dipping sauce, curry puff to tapau back to KL, the famous Sungai Lembing Hakka tofu noodles, the wok full of silky smooth tofu waiting for be panfried

Another of hubby's favourite, which I've also grown to like, is rice noodles in a dark, sweetish and spicy sauce. The rice noodles are topped with minced meat, barbequed pork, fried wantan and preserved vegetables. The taste needs some getting used to but once you're hooked, you'll simply look forward to having another bowl.

And of course, there's the home-cooked dishes and soup prepared by MIL who's an excellent cook. Knowing that we eat out most of the time in KL, she'll prepare many dishes for us to bring back to KL so that we can just pop them in the microwave over the next few days for a quick home-cooked dinner. And more often than not, knowing how much I love sinful foods, she'll also bake cakes and cookies for me to bring home. So tell me, how can I not look forward to our monthly food escapade in Kuantan?