Kuala Sepetang is one of Malaysia's largest charcoal producing areas. Among foodies, however, this sleepy coastal town is famed for its fresh seafood. I decided to drop by for an early dinner last weekend. The drive from Taiping took 30 minutes and we arrived around 6pm to grab a good seat to enjoy the sunset later.
Our restaurant of choice was Rasa Sayang Seafood, one of the famous restaurants by the Sepetang River.
It's my first time seeing this cockle "washing machine" in action!
Their menu was pretty extensive - seafood, meats, tofu, vegetables, soups, etc. For seafood options, they offer fresh crabs, prawns, squid, mantis prawns, and a variety of fishes & clams.
The servers were friendly enough to provide some recommendations that we happily followed. Food arrived within a quick 15minutes.
Let's makan!
Blanched Cockles (5/5)
The large cockles were blanched and served with a mildly spicy and sour chilli sauce. With cockles this fresh and large, you really don't need to do much. The whole plate was wiped clean in a matter of minutes. So good!
Sour Steamed Cuttlefish (5/5)
Thick slices of fresh cuttlefish were steamed with aromatics and finished with a generous splash of lime juice. I love this simple cooking style that allows the cuttlefish to be the star of the show. It's also not as sour as kerabu and makes for a good appetiser, even for kids.
Steamed Chinese Silver Pomfret (5/5)
We bought this freshly caught pomfret fish (斗底昌) from a friend in Kuala Sepetang. It weighs nearly a kilo so the flesh was really firm & flaky. The restaurant steamed it to perfection in a tasty HK style soy sauce. I couldn't help but order an extra bowl of rice to savour this!
Stir fried Lala with Ginger and Spring Onion (4/5)
Not the most unique dish but their version was well executed. The Lala were fresh & plump and the sauce had a good hit of fragrance from the aromatics.
Thick Tofu Soup (4/5)
I was quite surprised that this was prepared with egg tofu instead of the conventional silken tofu. Nonetheless, it came out delicious! Thick and flavourful, this soup is best enjoyed with a touch of black vinegar - just imagine shark's fin soup but without the shark's fin.
Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves (3/5)
The sweet potato leaves were slightly "old" and didn't taste as crisp as I'd prefer. Thankfully the generous amount of lard still made it very tasty.
Stir Fried Green Dragon Chives with Beansprouts (4/5)
This restaurant really doesn't hold back on the lard when cooking vegetables! But I'm not complaining since it adds so much flavour without making the dish too oily. Compared to the sweet potato leaves, this was much better - fat and short beansprouts are always a winner in my books!
As we enjoyed the scrumptious meal, our eyes were also treated to a nice sunset view.
Overall, I really enjoyed my meal here. Everything we ordered was tasty, fresh and very reasonably priced. I honestly thought that they'd jack the prices higher since this place has all the makings of a tourist trap - a beautiful sunset view, floating restaurant, fresh seafood, English menu, etc. Luckily they didn't and hopefully they won't in the future as I plan to come back regularly for my seafood fix!
Sabbylicious Makan Rating
Food : 4.5/5
Price : 4.5/5
Environment : 4/5
Service : 4/5
Must order : Blanched Cockles, Steamed Cuttlefish, Steamed Fish (All seafood are very fresh!)
Operating Hours Open Daily (12.30pm - 8.30pm)
Location
Rasa Sayang Seafood
150D Tepi, 34650 Kuala Sepetang, Perak