Malaysia road trip - Day 8 (Kuantan town - Desaru)

We only spent two nights in Kuantan, and on our third day, we checked out from AC Hotel Kuantan at 9.30am and made our way to Desaru, Johor. Before hitting the road, we stopped by Restaurant Singrena for breakfast. I ordered the dry hor fun with fish balls and assorted yong tau fu, while my partner had the curry noodles. The yong tau fu was self-service, though the trays were placed quite far inside the display, which made it a little awkward to reach in and pick what we wanted. For drinks, we had teh ice with less sugar. The sweetness level was just right, with a slight bitterness and a hint of sourness. It was strong and rich, leaving a slightly dry aftertaste on the tongue.

My dry kuey teow had a slightly sour taste from the sauce, which wasn't really to my liking. It tasted better after I mixed in some of my partner’s curry broth. As for the curry noodles, they were just so-so and nothing particularly memorable. The highlight for me was definitely the fish balls and the fish paste in the yong tau fu. They had a nice texture and were flavourful, making them the best part of the meal. Overall, it was just an average breakfast stop before our long drive to Desaru.

(Total bill - RM 32)

Restoran Singrena

Assorted yong tau fu    

Teh ice - RM 3

Chili sauce

Curry noodles

Dry hor fun

Assorted yong tau fu

Address:

Restoran Singrena

2618-2620, Jalan Alor Akar,

Taman Ruby,

25250 Kuantan,

Pahang

Tel: +6016 - 950 2630

Opening hours: 7.30am to 3.30pm. Closed on Tuesday

I decided to head back to Kula Cakes to take away their mango cheesecake and pavlova so we could enjoy them in the car on the way to Desaru. They have a QR code system where you can scan and order in advance, then collect later. However, when I arrived, the takeaway counter queue was actually moving faster than the online orders. I placed my online order at 10.35am but only got it around 11.15am. Luckily, I checked with the counter staff, and she kindly helped to expedite the order, otherwise I’m not sure how much longer I would’ve had to wait. Next time, it’s probably better to just queue at the takeaway counter instead of ordering online.

Once we collected the cakes, we continued our drive to Desaru. While my partner was driving, I was already digging into them in the car. The pavlova was good. The strawberries weren’t too sour, and the fresh cream was light and pleasant. The base was crispy and slightly sweet, pairing well with the cream. The mango cheesecake was served frozen, tasting more like ice cream. The base was like soft cookies, which made it quite enjoyable. The mango had a mild tang, while the mango sauce was sweeter, balancing it out nicely overall.

The road then led us past Pekan around 12pm, which is Najib’s hometown. Not long after, we continued into Nenasi. I took over the driving from 12.40pm to 1.40pm, and again from 3.20pm to 4.05pm. It was raining during parts of the journey. We finally reached Desaru at around 4.30pm, and the long drive was finally over.

(Total - RM 24.40)

Pavlova - RM 13.50

Mango cheesecake - RM 10.90

Address:
Kula Cakes
96, Jalan Besar,

25000 Kuantan,

Pahang

Tel: +6017 - 971 1396

Opening hours: 10am to 6pm

On our way to Four Points by Sheraton Desaru, we stopped for a late lunch at Nur Tahara Restaurant. We ordered beef curry biryani, chicken tandoori, and a bottle of drinking water. The biryani was a bit spicy, but the rice was fluffy. The beef was slightly tough, while the chicken was fresh and well marinated. Overall, it was quite good and enjoyable. We checked in at 5.30pm, rested for a while, and headed out again for dinner at 8.30pm.

(Total bill - RM 34)

Nur Tahara Restaurant

Drinking water - RM 2

Chicken tandoori - RM 12

Biryani beef curry rice - RM 20

Biryani rice

Address:
Nur Tahara Restaurant
No117, Jalan Kempas 1,

Taman Desaru Utama,

81900 Bandar Penawar,

Johor Darul Ta'zim

We decided to have a simple dinner and ended up at Restoran Ehsan Jaya, where we had Maggi goreng with fried chicken. The Maggi goreng was okay, but they added bird’s eye chili, so there were a lot of chili seeds in the noodles, which I didn’t really like. The fried chicken, however, was fresh and juicy. The iced Milo without sugar was quite light, not very rich in flavour. Overall, it was just so-so.

After that, we went back to the hotel and I continued working from 10.30pm to 12.30am. Later, when my partner returned from his evening walk, I noticed a strange smell. At first, I assumed it was coming from his socks or shoes after a long walk, so I checked them briefly. To my surprise, there was dog poo stuck underneath his shoe. Apparently, he had stepped on it while walking downstairs at the shop lot!

The moment he realised, he got really frustrated and started swearing and pacing around the room, trying to process what had happened. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter watching his reaction. After calming down a bit, he went downstairs to the parking area to clean his shoe properly instead of dealing with it in the room. Earlier in the evening around 7pm, he also had another unlucky incident when bird droppings fell onto his head during his walk. It was a long, tiring day of travel, work, and small misfortunes, but we eventually settled into Desaru and ended the night quietly back at the hotel.

(Total bill - RM 26)

Restoran Ehsan Jaya

Maggi goreng with fried chicken

Maggi goreng with fried chicken

Iced milo without sugar

Address:

Restoran Ehsan Jaya

1, Jalan Cengal 2,

Taman Desaru Utama,

82200 Bandar Penawar,

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Opening hours: 24 hours