East Coast Trip (Day 2)

Woke up quite early to get a head start on the day.

Headed to Kopitiam Kita, an extremely popular joint with the locals, for breakfast. The crowds there were astounding.

Where: Kopitiam Kita
4357-A Taman Desa Jaya
Jalan Pengkalan Chepa
15400 Kota Bharu.

Here, they have all the rice from almost every district in Kelantan. All packed in little packets & grouped according to district of origin.

Pretty cool presentation, but be fast. The packets practically fly out the window basket.

We picked the following:

Grabbed the last packet there was before taking this photo. Empty basket must mean this rice is popular, therefore it must be good.

Another rice that was the last packet in the basket.

After breakfast we headed for the Siti Khadijah market. This market is a landmark in Kota Bharu & only women sell fresh produce under the dome of the market’s atrium.

We bought keropok (fish crackers) here & some souvenirs.

Then it was time for lunch!

Where: U-Lang Corner.

Next, off to do some sightseeing at the following temples:

1) Sleeping Buddha
2) Sitting Buddha (found this by accident so considered as “bonus” attraction)

Then off to Pengkalan Kubor for duty-free shopping & for Thai goods.

Bought some chocolates & snacks before heading to another beach, Pantai Seri Tujoh.

There’s sand along this beach. Yay!

Had a picnic of keropok & chocolates here!

We headed back to the hotel to unwind and relax by the hotel’s pool before going for dinner.

Bought this much today!!!

And then it’s time for dinner.

Where: Kengsom Thai Restaurant

Then off to another branch of Hayaki for supper!!

After supper we drove about aimlessly & ended up back at the airport (it’s just a small town).

& saw people sitting in the middle of the road watching football 😳

End of Day 2.

East Coast Trip (Day 1)

*Long overdue post*

Our trip to Kelantan for food, sightseeing & shopping.

Behold, Android Kit Kat who replaced HY in photos as she was unfortunately unable to join us at the last minute.

Checked in at Subang Airport to board a Firefly flight to Kota Bharu. Flight got retimed, resulting in a 3 hour delay.

At the boarding gate.

In-flight refreshments. Compliments of Firefly Airlines.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Kota Bharu was to go and have our first meal.

We had: Nasi kukus (steamed rice) and nasi ulam (raw herb rice).

Where: Hayaki Kopitiam.
2880-G, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 15000 Kota Bahru, Kelantan

Nasi kukus (bottom, wrapped in paper) & nasi ulam (top). Both local specialties.

Close up of the nasi ulam.

Close up of the nasi kukus with spice-fried chicken.

Iced teas.

We checked into our hotel (which was just across the road from this Hayaki outlet) then headed out to the beach (Pantai Cahaya Bulan) for some sun.

This beach has no sand. Only rocks as erosion by the sea & waves has washed away most of the sandy shore.

Stopped for coconut juice & satar which we could buy from little cafes and stalls along the beach.

Coconuts.

Satar. Fish & grated coconut wrapped in banana leaf & grilled.

What satar looks like, unwrapped & fresh off the grill.

After the beach, we headed back to town to have dinner at the famous Yati Ayam Percik. They are famed for their nasi kerabu (another version of nasi ulam usually served with blue rice) but unfortunately they were out of blue rice when we got there so we settled for the white rice version (which, in my opinion, tastes exactly the same as the blue rice :P), and ayam percik (roast chicken served with a creamy sauce made from coconut milk and yellow ginger -kunyit-, among other ingredients). Both are also local specialties.

What: Nasi kerabu and ayam percik.

Where: Yati Ayam Percik
Jalan Long Yunus, 15200 Kota Bharu, Malaysia

Dinner. Yums!

Nasi kerabu. White rice instead of blue. Still yummy tho.

Ayam percik with lots of the creamy sauce.

Budu (fermented fish sauce that’s a Kelantan delicacy, staple).

Drinks. Sirap bandung (rose syrup with milk; aka goo leng peng) & asam jawa (tamarind) juice.

Ayam percik roasting on the grill. Kelantanese like their meats grilled.

After dinner we just drove around town and walked along the riverside before heading back to the hotel to call it a day. Full next day of shopping, sightseeing and eating.

Night view of Kota Bharu from the balcony of our 30th floor hotel room.

End of Day 1.