Kuala Selangor Revisited

This was our second visit to Kuala Selangor. Our first experience was for lunch and some fresh fish. We were back for the same reasons. We took the same route and ended in the same locality - at Pasir Penambang. We went back to the same fishing settlement by the Kuala Selangor river, to the same row of restaurants built at the bank of the river. 

The restaurant we picked this time was right next to the one we ate in during the previous visit. It was the second shop in the row. Makanan Laut Hai Ung (海運海鮮樓) is also a big set up. Like its neighbor, it is partly built on stilts into the the bank of the river. 

We picked a table at the water edge. It was a very pleasant feeling sitting by the nice clean river for a relaxing lunch. The place was cool in spite of the noon sun. There was a constant breeze from river.

The coconut prelude to the meal was most refreshing. 

Our first dish was the steamed pomfret. Rather unusual, considering that steaming of fish normally take a bit of time and would not usually be the first to be served. The fish was good-sized and steamed in a light soy sauce. It was fresh to the superlative - like it was just scooped from the sea. Absolutely delicious and worthwhile.

Next came the fried mee hoon. It was done with fresh crabs. The noodles were very flavorful with the freshness of the crabs to match. 

The oyster omelet was served in a hot dish. This is not one of my favorite dishes. Still I had a good serving of it. The oysters, like the fish and crabs, were very fresh. It made the dish a lot more pleasant for me.

This was la-la (clams) in superior soup. Again, no problem with freshness. The la-las were of reasonably good size. The soup was very sweet with lots and ginger for flavor.

Then, a plate of mundane obligatory green.

The mantis prawns were perhaps the highlight of the meal. They were steamed  in a clear sauce with the normal egg white as the base. I more or less acquired the art of eating mantis prawns, peeling the bottom shell to get to the meat. We each had 2 of the shrimps. That was definitely was not enough for me. 

The nice breeze perhaps fanned our hunger. We wanted more. So we ordered 2 additional dishes. But they did not turn out to be great. The first of these two was the seafood noodles, which was mediocre at best. Very unspectacular.

So was the prawns. They were blanched. Blanching of prawns should never be over done. If done right, these very fresh prawns would be juicy and succulent. But they were not. I think they were rather over-boiled and turned out a little hard and rubbery. 

Still, all in all it was a great meal. The environment was pleasant. The seafoods were super fresh. The cooking was reasonable. There was nothing much else we could ask for in that hot Sunday afternoon.