Wandering back maybe 2km from the cybercafe to the hotel, this small somewhat ramshackle town specialises not only in fish but fabric - shops of fabric flowers and also the most incredible range of colours/ patterns of fabrics by the metre for sewing into clothes and curtains, bedding. NZ$8/metre the most expensive I've found, for exotic batik patterns, and silk to polyester its all here in the back of beyond.
Kathie knows why I decided to stay in Pontian and not visit the fishing village of Kukup. Here however over the river the same sights that I believe are somewhat sanitised for the Singapore tourist experience 20km away at Kukup.
Here, old wooden shacks, it appears to me, built over the tidal river. Are they inhabited? Clothes hung out indicate so. Adjust to the sight and pick out ramps, walkways, and seemingly tired little boats. The dwellings are wooden with corrugated iron roofs.
Back at the reclaimed sea front, a totally different experience. Wish you all had been here to share the evning with me. It was magical, 100%.
Firstly, the sun setting over the straits of Melaka, a gorgeous sight, soft colours of the sun behind clouds. People started to congregate, hawker stalls appeared, the sound system replaced the Moslem prayer calling with mood musak.
There seemed to be a connection between the 6 or so hawker stalls and the 'restaurants' across the road. Families were starting to sit at tables by the seafront as the sun went down.
A waitress approached and asked where was my friend the restaurant manager? " I saw you getting into the manager's car".
Secondly, see me pigging out on sate - 3 pieces each of chicken and beef, plus 3 pieces of otak-otak. Fits of laughter from the stallholders as I ask a waiter to write it down. Oh the satay was just delicious, and it was 24 cents a stick. The Otak-otak is a form of red fish, wrapped in coconut leaf pinned by two 3cm skewers. It was interesting but the chicken and meat was sublime. Well that was on the scale so far.
I said, you should have been here. If any of us are ever in Singapore, we should make the effort to spend a night in Pontian for the kai moana.
Had room for more, so I asked, what's going on with the Ikan bakar? What is this? I know ikan means fish. I show an interest as usual, someone finds someone to explain, it gets even better!
The fishermen sell their day's catch at the wetmarket. The stall holder man buys a range of fish. The diner chooses their fish and its a price per fish. The stallholder calls over a waitress who takes your fish across the road and it comes back in whatever meal you choose, paying extra for the well, extras. In my case, the cook came over and essentially I said, steam my fish (it was maybe 20cm long), plus veges, rice and I left it to her as I didn't really know what would eventuate.
What a day to have no camera: a separate bowl of rice as usual, the fish steamed with the vege in a sauce that was different in every mouthful. It is difficult to eat a whole fish,smothered in sauce and topped with vegies, in the dark.
The fish was just delicious, very meaty a real feed. (this on top of 9 sticks). Some mouthfuls of sauce not so to my liking - discovered why when in the dark what appeared to be spring onion was definately a shoot of lemongrass. Other parts of the sauce very gingery, and also I ate in error that hard green leaf I had at Malaysian Delights with Kathie.
Oh I was full and it was kapai! The fish itself cost MYR 15 ie $6 and the extras including fresh orange juice another MYR5 - $2!
The cook wrote in my notebook the fish is ikan siakap ( I think that means its steamed, not the species of fish), nasi puten (rice), sayira (vege) and freas orans (fresh oj), wow the entire meal experience was a treat and the location even more so.
ps if you can see a map below, I am at the CC on Jn Taib Utima and the hotel and the fish meal are on the square reclaimed area with the one-way arrows, saying 'Pontian Kechil'.
xx M
