SPECIAL EDITION post coming up right now! So, this is gonna be a lengthy post for sure!
So, on Labor Day, a group of us decided to go makan at Pulau Aman, a small island off the coast of Bukit Tambun, Penang. The seafood at Pulau Aman is famous for its freshness and price. People always tell us that this is one of the MUST GO places in Penang because it's really cheap and nice and fresh and all that. So, what better day to go than on a public holiday, right?
WRONG! There were so many people! Let's not go there yet. We will start off with how to get to this island first.
You've gotta drive towards Tambun and you'll find the Pulau Aman signboard. OR you can always type "Batu Musang Jetty" in Waze like what we did. Hah. We went in three separate cars. We left Penang at around 11am and reached the jetty at about 1145am. Quite a short journey.
This is how the jetty looks like. Kompleks Jeti Batu Musang.
Walk till the end of the jetty to purchase your tickets. Two ways is RM6. Funny place to sell tickets hah.
Just a very short (10-15 minutes) journey from the jetty to the island.
Once you're on the island, you'll notice villages everywhere and a small school.
Then, you'll see the "floating restaurant"
So, this is how it goes. First, you'll need to BUY the fresh seafood here (at the entrance part of the mini bridge) and then bring them into the restaurant for them to cook for you. Yes, that's a lot of people lining up to get their hands on those freshies!
When it was our turn, there were nothing left so we had to wait for the next boat to come.
And when it did, they only have prawn mantis. No prawns, no crabs, no nothing else. That is RM50 for one prawn mantis. It's huge!
We obviously took the normal ones. And since there were nothing left, we bought 5kg of prawn mantis. Haha. Crazy huh. 5kg for 10 people!
Welcome to the floating restaurant at Pulau Aman.
It must be really good seeing that people are waiting for tables. It's either that or they have very limited tables. We worked as a team. Half went to wait for tables and another half went to select the seafood.
You must be wondering if that's all that we're gonna eat.
Nope. The seafood is like the main course and the side dishes (which are carbs) are fried rice and mee udangs. They have mee goreng udang as well. Everything the restaurant serves comes with prawns. So, we all ordered mee udangs and our main course was the prawn mantis!
Drinks: Teh O Ais Limau (Iced Lemon/Lime Tea) - RM8/jug (we ordered 4 jugs)
He says: I like this ILT! But there's traces of colouring in there.
She says: Not too bad. BUT THE COLORING HOW!?! Sorry, minus points for me in that. Thumbs down.
Andrew says: We were all too thirsty, and it was there to quench our thirst, but it was a good mix compared to the normal mamaks.
Beverly says: Thirsty? Absolutely refreshing to the max! :) just perfect. Wasn't too sweet, nor was it diluted.
Vanessa says: Very nice! maybe because I was too thirsty so it tasted superbly good.
Eulene says: The drink was quite refreshing. It's always nice when the sun is blazing hot.
Leroy says: Thirst quenched!
Ben says: The tea was mixed perfectly with the lemon and lime. Great refreshing taste.
Nicholas says: Just nice. Not too sweet, not too sour.
Justin says: Definitely better than mamak's or other malay joints.
Joshua says: Better than mamak's teh o limau ice.
Nasi Goreng Udang (Fried Rice with Prawns) - RM6
He says: Not so good. The rice is like super big and there is not enough taste to it.
She says: To me, it tasted more like salt and pepper fried rice. He can cook a better fried rice than this.
Andrew says: I actually like this better than the mee udang whch I think was supposed to be famous at Pulau Aman. The way its fried that every mouth is burst with a very fragrant flavor.
Beverly says: I thought it was ok-ok? Nothing fancy about it :) but still good.
Vanessa says: Just like any typical fried rice to me. All the fried rice taste the same to me. Teehee.
Eulene says: I'd give this 5/10. It isn't the typical chinese or malay fried rice. Something different about this rice is the curry powder taste in it :)
Leroy says: Not bad. Better than any fried rice I could cook at the moment.
Ben says: I think the fried rice is pretty flavorful. The huge prawns are an added plus.
Nicholas says: Not bad but it wasn't really that special to me. Just another typical fried rice.
Justin says: The vegetables were pretty nicely fried. I'll definitely order this if it was in our local mamak store.
Joshua says: It's nice partly because I was hungry, but no biggie about it.
Mee Udang (Prawn Mee) - RM6
He says: Mee Udang. The legendary mee udang!?!?! No. Doesn't taste good at all for me. "Maybe its a public holiday, thats why."
She says: This one is worse than the fried rice. The "kuah" is like soup. SO DILUTED. Not spicy. No prawn flavour whatsoever. Praws are fresh however. It's just a huge dissappointment seeing that everyone talks about its mee udang! BIG NO FOR ME.
Andrew says: It's just okay for me. I had better ones in Penang.
Beverly says: Wasn't really a fan of it, but the prawns were awesome :)
Vanessa says: It was okay, not the best tho. Definitely tried better ones.
Eulene says: Mee udang was not bad, the gravy was quite good. Could have been better if it was a lil more spicy.
Leroy says: Not too bad.
Ben says: I like the soup with the blend of spices and the sweetness of the prawns.
Nicholas says: It was good. But the portion was abit small for me. Well, everything is small for me :) Haha.
Justin says: This tasted like a mee soup/bihun soup which I always eat. Pretty good. Prawns weren't 100% fresh though. 90%-95% maybe?
Joshua says: It was alright though the noodle is not properly steamed or cooked so there's a weird taste.
Steamed Prawn Mantis (5kg - 38pieces) - RM250
He says: Its my first time eating this. And I love it! Fresh and sweet inside.
She says: LOVE THIS ONE TO THE CORE. Such natural sweetness as you bite on those meat. We had fun peeling/cut the prawns. I love sucking on the juice as you peel it open. Very sweet and fresh!
Andrew says: Totally not a fan of seafood but this really taste good, even the slimy ones.
Beverly says: Totally worth it. Sweet naturally and so fresh! :)
Vanessa says: It's pretty good. Glad that I tried this one for the first time. Fun thing was definitely peeling the shells. Challenging but painful. Lol.
Eulene says: I'm allergic to prawns. Haha.
Leroy says: Nice... Just not enough meat?
Ben says: It is extremely fresh. The way it is cooked sllow us to taste it naturally. The meat is succulent and sweet.
Nicholas says: Fresh. Cheap. Sweet.
Justin says: It was about RM6 for 1. Completely fresh. Just steamed only so it had the natural sweetness.
Joshua says: It was okay at first, but got the "jilak" feeling after the 3rd one.
Seafood Lunch at Pulau Aman, Penang
Location: 120 Pulau Aman, 14100 Simpang Ampat, Penang
Price: Slightly pricey.
Ratings:
His rating: 3/10
Her rating: 4/10
Andrew's rating: 6.5/10
Beverly's rating: 7/10
Vanessa's rating: 7/10
Eulene's rating: 6/10
Leroy's rating: 7/10
Ben's rating: 7/10
Nicholas's rating: 7/10
Justin's rating: 6/10
Joshua's rating: 6/10
From left: Andrew, Beverly, Vanessa, He, She, Eulene, Leroy, Ben, Nicholas, Justin and Joshua.
It was only rm1.50 for one same size mantis prawn 4 years back... the price increased so much after the place has became a tourist attration.
ReplyDeleteI would say one should visit this place those who want to eat seafood!!those who are visiting they can enjoy fresh and delicious seafood in waterside!!!amazing view with cheap cost food!!!!enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSo delicious dishes. You have given an interesting information about fresh seafood.
ReplyDeleteIt was famous because of the cheap seafood once upon a time, 4-5 years ago. It was only RM1.50 or Rm2 for a mantis prawn same size like what you guys got at RM6.57 per piece and you guys are saying cheap? It's full of tourist now that's what made them so expensive now and the owners and the son are so arrogant nowadays.
ReplyDeleteThe place more to commercial already and quality is getting down....
ReplyDeleteI agree that they are arrogant and the place has now been too commercialize so it's not "CHEAP" as claim by most people moreover the food is just SO SO. Those that have never been there and want to go just for the experience, make sure that you go as early as possible otherwise you'll be dissapointed. Trust me there won't be return trip after you've been there,
ReplyDeleteCatalysts found in the muscle tissues start to separate the substance, which over a short measure of time can extraordinarily risk the nature of the fish. Once the breakdown is started there is no procedure to turn around it. Fish and Seafood
ReplyDelete