Bentong, situated in western of Pahang, was a town we chose to visit just before the Mooncake Festival last month. It is about an hour's drive from KL. Bentong is locally famous for its wonderful production of ginger, soya sauce and tofu puffs. One interesting thing about downtown Bentong that I noticed was, every other kopitiam served wantan noodles!
The famous Yuen Kee Kopitiam. In this kopitiam there is supposedly a stall selling Bentong's famous wantan noodles and another selling yong tau foo. When we arrived, we had to wait for a table and eventually shared a table with 2 young ladies. Again, I asked the girls whether this are the popular wantan noodles that people have been raving about. They confirmed it. We waited forever for the wantan noodles to arrive and when it finally did, I was not impressed. Not to want to be too quick in judgement, I mixed it up and tasted it. Yupp! It did not meet my standard AT ALL. The yong tau foo stall owner has an aggressive way of selling her product too. In order to purchase the young tau foo, a customer must first buy the chee cheong fun. Force sell. Wow. Again, the taste is not up to my standard. So I was disappointed especially when we waited like forever. Not a good start in Bentong!!!
Wantan noodles. It looks good because I am a damn good photographer (LOL!!!)
Yong Tau Foo
Street Art
Canopy bridge at Chamang Waterfall
Durian seller
Bentong is famous for its ginger and ginger products.
One thing I noticed about Bentong's street art, they are not the usual contemporary or cultural kind. They replicate most of the olden days advertisement. Classic!
Fishing spot
Bentong Hot Springs. Quite a long drive through the forest. Located right by the roadside. Extremely disappointed because the water was room temperature. Not at all a hotspring!
On our way back from the hotsprings, a tree fell across the road.
My waze showed me this....hehe!
I had to go the opposite way and drove through the forest to come out to the highway and re-entered Bentong again.
This grandmother was most sweet. She was passing me, then stopped in front of me, looked up at me and asked what was going on in Bentong Walk. I said I think it is Mooncake festivities. She happily said, "Oh ya, it is mooncake month" and slowly pushed her bike away. I yelled, "Take care Po Po (grandmother)." She answer, "Yau sam" (You have a heart). I looked at her as she walked slowly away, hoping she has a house to go home to.
Bentong Walk
Bentong ginger is fatter and spicier.
Bentong is also famous for its tofu puffs @ taufu pok. When I was reading Google, I thought the "tofu puffs" meants snacks like "curry puffs". I thought wow, I need to try them. When I saw that they were actually puffy "tofu pok" which have been deep fried in oil .....ARRRGGGHHHHHHH!
This time's Bentong Walk was special for the Mooncake Festival. The walk was filled with songs and dances. Performers were dressed in Chinese attire. Olden days games were place on the street. Lots of mooncakes for sale in addition to other foodstuff. It was very festive indeed.
For the parade
Chinese chess
Chinese snakes and ladders
A smart 4-legged cutie helped to man one of the mooncake stalls.
Dim sum galore
Mooncakes galore
This stall was set up by a husband and wife. The man in checked shirt is the husband and the lady in yellow is his wife. The man is the one who made all those mooncakes that are in the trays. We liked the authentic taste of them and he was happy to tell us about his many years of skill and favorite recipes.
Part of downtown Bentong
Kicap Soya Bentong @ Bentong Soya Sauce. I wanted so much to see the soya sauce factory. I hunted down the factory and went in. Nobody was around so I went into the factory part and explored myself. I know...I was asking for trouble. But, the minute I stepped into the factory part, I could smell the glorious smell of soya sauce. Sooooooo fragrant. Finally a kind lady politely shoo me out of the factory but she still was willing to tell us how they get the soya sauce done. We found out that she is the daughter-in-law of the boss!
These light brown soya beans mixed with flour are half done in fermentation. They at least need 6 months under the sun to complete the 1st round of fermentation.
These black soya beans are about 4-6 months under the sun.
The bottom part of the barrel (the black part) is the first round of raw soya sauce, yet to be cooked.
For cooking soya sauce.
Bottling soya sauce.
Kow Po is 40 years old. Famous for its homemade ice-cream with fresh milk.
Coconut and Chocolate ice-cream. Yummy!
Cendol with vanilla ice-cream.
Bentong Gallery tells people more about Mr Loke Yew and his achievements in Malaysia. There is an interesting museum, a cafe and a gift centre in the gallery.
Little church located at the end of Bentong Walk
Bentong Market on Sunday morning
Expensive anchovies
Relaxing at Chamang Waterfall. It is about 30 mins drive from the town area. The road was narrow and unfriendly but worth the drive.Beautiful waterfall. Strong currents from the top so that made it magnificent just to watch the water flow downwards.
Musang King is THE ONE!
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