We had a family outing to Sekinchan for seafood. The big question was, is it worth the drive estimated about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on the route/speed.
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| Restauran Guan Seng Long |
I was excited as we had a chance to use the new Rawang-Ijok highway which opened 2 days earlier and it was free. Journey to Sekinchan messed up big time, many wrong turns that led to some old road through Batu Arang and Batang Berjuntai and finally Kuala Selangor via Kg. Kuantan. It brought back very old memories of our cousins who once lived there and for the sister who once teached in this far-away land of Kuala Selangor.
Finally we arrived, about 2 ½ hours later – hungry!
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| Baby Shark Soup of a different kind |
Our starter was this soup, looked mild but was unique – salted vegetable and baby shark. Yes! These Sekinchan people really know how to serve baby sharks. This was not the normal stir-fry baby shark, it came in a soup, sliced and cooked with salted vegetables and ginger. Very nice taste – loved it.
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| Roasted Duck |
Next dish came out fairly fast – I suspect they were waiting for us to arrive and quickly rolled out the roasted duck prepared earlier, the only meat dish for the night. I am not sure if it was roasted or braised, but did not have the 'duck flavour' or the 'fragrance' that I am accustomed to, therefore I was disappointed.
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| Oyster Omelette |
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Next came the Oyster Omelette (
oh chien) which again was disappointing. I guess having tasted the best in Melaka and Penang makes you have high expectation and this did not come close. It was stiff and rather overcooked.
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| Steamed Prawns |
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Then rolled in the steamed prawns – came with a thin slice of steamed egg white in the middle. A quick taste of the gravy woke everyone up. Yes, things were starting to look up. The prawns were fresh and crunchy and the chef kept it simple and you could just taste the freshness of these prawns. Now that, was worth the drive!
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| Vegetable | |
Next came the vegetable – only one for the night – someone said it was called the 'oil vegetable' and grown locally. It was fresh and certainly tasty.
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| Sharks' Fin Soup |
Then came the sharks fin soup (sorry all you activist reading this, I did not order, I just ate) – it was very thick and nice – lots of crab meat and shark fins, but somehow it did not have that taste I was looking for. I should have brought a bottle of brandy and lit the soup up for old times sake. Perhaps the next time!
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| Steamed Fish - Pomfret |
This was followed by the steamed Golden Pomfret – something we tasted just a week earlier from the same caterers. This was fantastic! Simple steamed fish that you can taste the freshness of the fish and it leaves that nice after-taste in your mouth. Delicious and consistent on two occasions I can vouch for.
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| Mantis Prawns |
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Next up fried mantis prawns, coated with salted egg. I am no big fan of mantis prawns as I find it to be kind of tasteless. Normally, the batter gives it 'taste'. In this case, it did not help much and was kinda mushy. It only reinforced my earlier believe, never order this - waste of money.
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| Fried Baby Squid |
Was immediately followed by another fried dish, fried baby squids. This was oily and I guess the 'oiliness' made it mushy and did not bring out the taste. Not healthy and not recommended. Maybe, the full sized squids would have been a better choice?
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| Kam Heong Mud Crabs |
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Our finale was
kam heong mud crabs. The crabs was small, the preparation was mediocre and the result was disappointing. For a seafood restaurant, this crab dish certainly let us down – I expected more. Also, overall MSG and salt level was on the high side as I was very thirsty all the way back home.
On the way back, we found the 'lost highway' (LATAR Expressway) just out of Ijok and believe me - Ijok to Rawang (south) was only about 20 minutes, before we knew it, we were on the North South highway from Rawang heading into KL.
On the whole, it was an interesting outing, not so much the food, but the journey down memory lane coupled with food – that was a good way to end a long week.
In short, let me recommend a drive down your own memory lane, wherever you frequent in your younger days that time passed it by – organise a family outing there and couple it with a local dinner. The dinner don't have to be great, added bonus if you have a fantastic dinner, but the outing itself will certainly be memorable. Mine was! Got to thank big bro for this outing.
One of the nephews suggested an outing to Bukit Kayu Hitam next week. Any takers?
Restoran Guan Seng Loong,
No. 73, Lrg 3, Bagan Sekinchan,
45400 Sekinchan,
Selangor
Tel: 03-3241 0494
