1. Hiang Sik Water Food Restaurant

Being familiar with the bounty from the sea, from deep-sea garoupa to fruit de mers, I love my seafood and the highly nuanced flavors that burst forth. As I was sitting back in the car travelling to Parit Buntar for work with my parents, I casually browsed through the net to find the traditional food of the locals. To my surprise, a small village of Bagan Samak was listed for tasty seafood. Being perplexed at the idea of a palm oil village chock full of seafood restaurants, I decided to make my way there.

On the list was a restaurant named Hiang Sik Water Food. Even the name water food piqued my foodie curiosity. Just about 15 minutes drive from Parit Buntar, this Chinese village of Bagan Samak had many restaurants with the subject of Water Food arising. What was this water food exactly? My hunger pangs and curiosity were getting the better of me.

Upon reaching the location as stated by the GPS, I was still a little wary as the signboard was attached to the roof of the house. My doubts were assuaged when I saw tables and chairs arranged for dining by the side of the house. Before stepping into the dining area, you will be greeted by two Chinese newspaper cuttings, which though yellowed, displayed pictures of the restaurant's famous dishes, fish and udang galah (freshwater prawns as big as your palm).

Without further ado, me and my mum proceeded to see the fresh produce on offer and place our orders as we were famished by then. The kitchen is open to customers and you can see how the udang galah and Goby fish are caught in front of your eyes and prepared to your liking.

This is elderly cook is also the owner and waiter of the restaurant - talk about multitasking!

As soon as the customer was served, the cook sat down at our table to take orders. According to him, customers from as far as Singapore and Taiwan have come to his restaurant to savor the simple delicacies he has to offer. With all the hype on sustainable food, you actually can see that the produce in his restaurant is sustainable as the fish and prawns are caught wild, not bred, and all his vegetables are farmed behind his home, pesticide-free, harvested and cooked on the spot. The most important part was I got to know what water food meant! Water food roughly translated from Mandarin meant freshwater food, so the restaurant specialized in fish and prawns caught from the rivers and lakes.

 Although written in Chinese, the cook gladly told us that this write-up was how he started and his passion to only serve the best.

The restaurant's famous vegetable dish, stir-fried sweet potato leaves, harvested by the cook himself from his garden!

 Udang galah scampering in the water.

Goby fish (also known as ikan hantu or ikan ubi) is a highly prized fish within the Chinese community, with a whopping price tag of RM140/kg. According to Chinese legends, this fish is a reincarnation of those who have sinned in their past lives. Eating this fish is supposed to clear all your karma. Even the face upon closer perusal looks somewhat human. Ermmmm, I will just make a pass on this fish....

Upon the cook's recommendation we ordered Udang Galah Curry, Buttered Udang Galah, Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Leaves and Squid Fried in Salted Egg accompanied by white rice and Amla Drink.

 What can I do when I see all this glorious food? Chow down!

From top, clockwise: Udang Galah Curry, Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Leaves, Squid Fried in Salted Egg and Buttered Udang Galah.

While waiting for the food, we sipped on the Amla Drink. Amla or Indian Gooseberry is said to have control blood sugar levels in the body. The green drink came in a bottle with asam boi (preserved tamarind) pieces at the bottom. Refreshing, with a tinge of bitterness at the back of the palate, it actually stimulated our appetite for the main meal.

The first dish to arrive was the Udang Galah Curry. Thick dark curry paste coated every inch of the prawns with smatterings of curry leaves. The highly aromatic curry was a spicy melange of Baba's Prawn Curry Powder blended with lengkuas, ginger, garlic and onions, then roasted in oil to get the sticky curry paste. The prawns were sweet and succulent till the head and we licked and munched through every last drop of this dish.

The Stir-Fried Potato Leaves had a very distinctive taste with the vegetable being extremely firm to the bite and sweet. Lashings of fermented bean paste (taucu), garlic and red chillies were added to enhance the natural flavors of the chlorophyll-rich sweet potato leaves. Really tasty, even the sauce can be poured onto the rice and eaten, without being too salty or overpowering.

For those with a sweet and savory tooth, you will love the Buttered Udang Galah. The prawns are first fried then tossed in a gooey sauce of butter, egg and sugar that coats the prawns completely. It's one dish that will make stars circle your head as you euphorically lick the sauce from your fingers.

The last dish was the Squid Fried in Salted Egg. I found it a tad too hard for my liking though the squid was fresh. The cook amicably told us that he was more adept at cooking freshwater produce than seafood. Maybe that explained why this dish was not really on my Favorite List.

The bill for three people was RM115. It is quite reasonable as we ate almost a kilogram of freshwater prawns and even squid till we couldn't breathe. FAIR WARNING: If you are going to travel long distance after your meal you may feel sightly drowsy as freshwater prawns have a form of chemical in their heads where when consumed makes you drowsy. So call it a night in Kerian or Bukit Merah.  Highly recommended to those who want to get your hands on some real good Chinese-style home cooked food.