Terengganu: Kopok Sukaramai

Where do you go to in a short weekend trip, basically without aim and at the same time, just need to be out of Kota Bharu? There are lots of places to meet those criteria. But we chose Kuala Terengganu.

Then come the next question. What and where do we go to in Kuala Terengganu?

For local tourists, I would recommend the Pasar Payang, Taman Tamadun Islam (Islamic civilization park) and the Terengganu state museum.

Of course the list is open. For foreign tourists, I really think you should follow the recommended stop overs as mentioned in authoritative references such as the Tourism Malaysia's Terengganu reference or simple recommended guidebooks such as the Lonely Planet's Malaysia Singapore and Brunei. I really depend a lot on the latter. This is so, to let foreigners to experience the real sight and sounds (very touristic cliche!) of the east coast way of life. But seriously you should. The many islands of Terengganu should not be left out in your travel itinerary.

One thing about Ganu is, one must not miss the keropok lekor (elongated fish cakes) and the keropok losong. The latter is a shorter or "stunted" version of the full length fishy goodness. From what I have gathered, the Ganu keropok lekor is more yummy than the Kelantan version. I would attest to that. Still, some other people would disagree and would have experienced the better version of the Kelantan Lekor.

While I am on this topic, let me get it off my chest first. The most "hok sohor" (famous) place to get your keropok lekor would be at Keropok Lekor Sukaramai (GPS coordinate: N5.461236 E103.031211). The address; 179, Kg Mengabang Lekar Batu Rakit, 21020 Kuala Terengganu, along route 3685. It is located right opposite to the entrance of Gem Beach Resort.

 

From Terengganu

In other words, the mention of Kampung Mengabang Lekar's Keropok Sukaramai to your taxi driver should easily take you to your destination and does not need the unnecessary waving of sign language or repetitive verbatim reference to your English to Malay dictionary.

The price? RM1 for 2 sticks of lekor. Each lekor is about 1 foot long. Apart from that, there are other fish based products on sale. Such include the raw keropok chips, and the ready to eat ones. However, along the way, there are many Keropok stalls dotting the coastal roads en route to Kuala Terengganu.

Some contacts say that the stall is always swarmed with tour buses passing through the coastal road. I must say that the price of the Keropok lekor here is still considerably low and not  as astronomical as some really touristy places. The frequent buying of the lekor will ensure fresh new cycles of hot lekor be on sale, thus averting the risk of food poisoning by consuming old cold ones. 

That's a dose of omega 3 for Ganu travel checklist. Enjoy!