Restoran Mei Hiong, Kuantan

Mei Hiong – how I first got to hear of it was when one of my friends mentioned that she had sharks meat in Kuantan. I was perplexed and so I had to ask the normal questions e.g where, when, how, etc…..  as in all my years of travelling to Kuantan, I must admit that I have never ever eaten sharks meat before.

Now comes the ‘tricky’ bit – to locate the restaurant. Well, if you have GPS then it would be easy peasy, but if you don’t, then let me guide you there. As you come from Teluk Chempedak take the road leading to Kuantan town. You will pass by Zul Satay on your right. Drive on until you come to Jalan Tanjung Api. Turn left and drive all the way to the end. Don’t fret or make a U-turn, as yes, the road looks rather dim and deserted. Just persevere and you will find Mei Hiong on your left.

 

We arrive close to 7pm and this two-shop lot restaurant is abuzz. The waitress asked whether we had a reservation and to be frank, I was shocked as to me this was just an ordinary makan place, which looked rather simple to me. Anyway, I told her that we did not have one, and she said that well, we can have the only available table there as the rest were reserved. We made our orders fast as we were very hungry and yes, we DID of course ordered sharks.

This is stir fried sharks meat with ginger and spring onion…and hmmmm…how would I describe the texture of sharks meat – I was mentally prepared to sink my teeth into tough meat, but my perception of sharks meat was totally quashed that night. In fact, the meat was tender, more tender than chicken and I really enjoyed it.

 

 

Sweet and sour pork – with its perfectly balanced flavour of sweet and pungent, this dish was heavenly.

 

Stir fried choy sum – with sufficient wok hei, I couldn’t fault this dish at all!

 

 

Marmite chicken – I’ve always wondered why this dish is called marmite chicken! Looking back at childhood days, marmite was something we ate with porridge or drank as a soup (just add marmite to a bowl of warm water and TA-DA, you have a bowl of soup!)  and marmite on its own had what I’ll call a foul taste – salty and yuckie. But what makes a dish of marmite chicken so popular is the fact that apart from marmite, this dish is made more palatable by the use of honey in it. You know the marmite-honey combination makes a very delectable dish…but then credit is always given to the marmite, hence the name marmite chicken!!!

 

Another fish – ikan jebong. Well, I don’t know why but I can’t seem to get enough of ikan jebong whenever I go to Kuantan. I like the spicy sauce, which went well with the fish and rice.

 

Address : B52-54 Jalan Tanjung Api

25050 Kuantan

Cash terms only