Damai Laut Holiday Resort 3D2N Trip 20/07/2023 - 22/07/2023

My wife Soh Ai and I joined my former colleague Lim Soo Lian (when I worked at Angksa Jurutera Perunding S/B from May, 1982 till Oct., 1986) for a 3D2N stay at SGI Vacation Club @ Damai Laut Holiday Resort, Off Pangkor Island, Hala Damai 3, Jln. Damai Laut, Teluk Senangi (his Leisure Holiday time-sharing scheme) from Thursday, 20/07/2023 till Saturday, 22/07/2023.

I did the planning prior to the trip to visit places like Sitiawan, Kampung Koh, Lumut, Pulau Pangkor and Sekinchan (as we intended to travel using the coastal road or West Coast Expressway WCE highway using my car.

D1  Thusrday, 20/07/2023  (KL/Sitiawan)

8.10 am  Soo Lian arrived from Seremban and we went for breakfast at the nearby Restoran Sky 45.

8.45 am  We left for Rawang using the old road before turning to the coastal road..

It was noted from Waze that using the North-South Highway to Sitiawan is about 250 km (3 h 40m) whereas using the WCE highway (via E25 Latar Bestari Jaya) is 223 km (3 hr 11m). So we decided to use WCE to and from Damai Laut Resort, Perak.

The toll fares paid from SUKE/Batu Cave to Teluk Intan were 2xRM2.30 + 3xRM2.50 + RM2.90 = RM15.00.

11.40 am  Stopped by Petronas petrol station at Sungai Besar to pump petrol (RM36.75).

I had earlier planned to have lunch at Dindings Teahouse at Jalan Lumut, Taman Sitiawan and set that destination in Waze.  Somehow, at 1.05 pm we were guided by Waze to a different place before reaching Sitiawan town.  

I inquired a shop lady who was kind enough to recommend the more popular restaurant in Sitiawan town i.e. Lido Seafood Restoran (丽都海鲜酒家) at Jalan Mohamad, Sitiawan..  

1.40 pm  We had for lunch Red Wine Mee Sua (红酒面线 - 4人份RM38)，Hock Chew Fish Ball Soup (福州鱼丸 - 小RM14) , Hock Chew Spring Roll (福州春卷 - 小 RM14) and Chinese Tea (RM7) Total: RM73 at Lido Seafood Restoran. The Hock Chew noodle was very tasty.   

2.20 pm  We left the restaurant for sight-seeing.

2.45 pm  Arrived at Tua Pek Kong Temple & Guanyin Hall (品仙祠大伯公和观音堂) at Jalan Pasir Panjang, Kg. Pasir Panjang Laut, Sitiawan.

The Sitiawan Tua Pek Kong Temple is possibly the largest temple dedicated to the Chinese tutelary deity Tua Pek Kong in Malaysia. It is located by the sea, occupying a site that was formerly mangroves that have been cleared and reclaimed.

There are among other things: 48-foot-long Tua Pek Kong’s stone carvings, Guanyin’s stone, the Queen Mother’s stone, a total of 98 statues of Chinese deities of various sizes, a walkway that displays the Chinese lunar zodiac signs and etc..

There is also attractive landscaped garden with koi ponds, artificial rocks and many statues. A large seated Maitreya Buddha statue occupies pride of place in the center of the temple.

There are some shops and snack stalls built and offering Sitiawan’s local products such as Fuzhou noodles, pancakes, shrimp cakes, and chili sauce.

品仙祠大伯公庙及观音堂包括: 大伯公庙、观音堂、虎爷洞、大伯公石雕金身（48尺高）、观音菩萨、天后娘娘（妈祖）、大小不一的神像如：九天玄女、文官和武官、金童玉女、顺风耳千里眼、虎爷、十八罗汉、十二生肖、八仙下棋、四大金刚、姜太公、唐僧四师徒及二十四孝等，全部都是由中国进口。还有鱼池、龟池、假花果山、人造瀑布和红树林公园等。

3.15 pm  In view of the hot weather, I took a bowl of blended fruit ice (红毛榴莲冰沙 RM12) and peach gum dessert soup (桃胶糖水 RM8) at the snack stall before departure.   

4.05 pm  Left for Kampung Koh.  Visited the Cultural Lane (甘文阁后街 / 文化街 壁画巷).  The wall paintings there are really not very impressive.  After a brief stay, we left for Damai Laut Holdiay Resort.

5.20 pm  Reached Damai Laut Holiday Resort.  There are all together 18 road humps on the road leading to the Resort and one has to drive slowly,

5.30 pm  Checked into our 2-bedroom apartment at Grd Fl of Block A.

6.40 pm. We took for dinner the CP brand ready frozen Kampung Fried Rice / Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang (each pack RM10) plus one bottle of mineral water (RM1) at the Resort’s Recreation & Snack Bar.

7.45 pm  Adjourned to our room.

10.00 pm  Hit the sack.

Distance and time from BSL to Sitiawan

Lido Seafood Restaurant at Sitiawan

Red Wine Mee Sua (famous Fuchow dish)

Hock Chew Fish Ball Soup

Hock Chew Spring Roll

From Pekan Sitiawan to Tua Pek Kong Temple

Arrival at Tua Pek Kong Temple & Guanyin Hall on Jalan Pasir Panjang in the Manjung district of Perak  

"Journey to the West" by the Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang and his 3 guardian disciples - Monkey, Pig and Sandy

Strait of Malacca at the background

The colossus of Tua Pek Kong

Snack and souvenir shops

Pond of stone dragons

Fu Lu Shou (trio of the 3 stars of Prosperity, Status & Longevity) and Guan Di colossi

Pagoda

God of Fortune

Maitreya or the Laughing Buddha

Dragon tunnel with panels illustrating scenes from the 10 Chambers of Hell

Landscaped garden and koi pond with statues and artificial rocks

Peach Gum Dessert Soup

Four-Faced Buddha or Erawan Buddha

Kampung Koh Cultural Lane

Mural lane

SGI Vacation Club @ Damai Laut Holiday Resort 

Checking-in at the Resort reception 

Block A

Master bedroom

Second bedroom

Living Hall

Dining Table

External view of Damai Laut Resort

Ready frozen food (RM10 or RM12 per pack)

Warning sign at the window.  

D2  Friday, 21/07/2023  (Lumut/Pulau Pangkor)

8.00 am  Had a light breakfast of bread and oatmeal drink.

8.15 am  Walked with Soo Lian to the the nearby Double Tree by Hilton Damai Laut, a total distance of about 4 km.  It was a good exercise in the morning. This had replaced my original plan of swimming..

9.45 am  Left for Lumut which is 28 km away or 37 min. drive.

10.45 am  Parked our car at Medan Tempat Letak Kereta Bertingkat near Lumut Jetty.   

10.45 am  Bought a return ticket of RM20 for the 11.30 am ferry.

11.45 am  Ferry departed for Pangkor Jetty. The journey took 30-45 min.  

12.15 pm  Reached Pulau Pangkor.  We didn’t plan to rent a car to drive around as we didn’t stay overnight in the island. Just a half-day visit and the main objective was to have a seafood meal and buy some local products.

12.40 pm  It was quite difficult to find a Chinese restaurant which was open for bussiness.  After some walking, we finally found Pangkor Seafood Cuisine (邦咯海鲜料理) at 279A, Jalan Pasir Bogak, Pangkor.

We had Teochew-style Steamed White Snapper Fish (潮州蒸白枣鱼 RM56), Steamed Prawns  (清蒸虾 RM35) and Vegetable (炒时菜 RM15) plus 3 bowls of rice (RM6). Total RM120.   A chat with the restaurant boss told us that they treat tourists and locals with equal pricing.

1.50 pm  After lunch, we walked around Pekan Pangkor and visited a few duty free shops.  Only chocolates and perfumes are duty-free items, and liquor and cigarettes are not duty-free and not even sold here.

I bought a piece of Milka Haxzelnut Chocolate (100g RM5.50) at Laris Duty Free Pangkor, Ferrero Bar Chocolate (RM10.80) and Spain Sugar-free Chocolate C-Trapa NSA Stevia Noir  (RM5.90) at Sun Duty Free.  The following items were bought from Pangkor Special Corner at Jalan Besar: Lock Pur Perfumes (2 for RM50). Satay ikan (RM9.90), Udang Kering and Ikan Bilis (total RM69).

3.35 pm  We took the ferry from Pangkor Jetty back to Lumut Jetty.

4.15 pm  After returning to Lumut, I received WhatsApp messages from my friend Stanley Ong (who hailed from Sitiawan) suggesting to buy Hock Chew Gong Pian (福州光饼) in Sitiawan and dine at a food court of local speciality near Kampung Koh.  

As Stanley couldn’t provide the exact name of the Gong Pian shop and the food court, we drove around and had difficulty in locating the places.  I later realized he meant the popular Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian (曾家福州光饼) , but the shop closes at 5.30pm daily.  The food  court he meant was Four Square Food Court (四方食阁) but it was also closed at 4.00pm daily.

6.00pm  We found Sitiawan Bak Kut Teh Pasir Penambang and had our dinner of Pork Trotter Vinegar (猪脚醋 RM16), Steamed Fishes (蒸甘榜鱼 RM16), Sprouts (芽菜 RM10) , 3 bowls of rice (RM3.90) and Chinese tea (RM1.80).  Total RM51.70.

6.35 pm  After dinner and on the way back to Damai Laut Resort, we stopped by Aeon Seri Manjung for a while.  I bought a pair of TARRIE shoe for RM189 (very happy about that because I wanted to buy a pair of new shoes lately) and Soh Ai bought a can of Carlberg Gree (RM7.50) and another Guiness Stout (RM7.70).

7.30 pm  Returned to our Resort. It was a second tiring day!

Taking a walk with Soo Lian

From Damai Laut Resort to Double Tree by Hilton

We initially made a mistake and walked in the wrong direction towards nowhere

Double Tree by Hilton

A view of the Straits of Malacca

From Damai Laut Resort to Lumut Jetty

Lumut Jetty

Time schedule of ferry

On board of the ferry

Pangkor jetty

Pekan Pangkor

Our seafood lunch in Pangkor Island

Steamed prawns

Taking ferry from Pangkor Island to return to Lumut

Visited Four Square Food Court (intended to have dinner) but found all stalls closed

Dinner at this simply found restaurant 

Items bought from Pulau Pangkor duty-free shop

D3  Saturday, 22/07/2023  (Sitiawan/Sekinchan/Kuala Selangor/KL)

8.35 am  Checked out from the Resort.

9.20 am  Arrived at Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian (曾家福州光饼) at Lorong Tok Perdana, Taman Tok Perdana (a corner shop behind Wisma Ganda).  There were already around 10 persons queuing up before the shop officially opens at 9.30 am.  But the baking of Gong Pian had already started as we arrived.

Gong Pian (or Kompia, Kompiang, Kong Paeng) is a traditional Foochow saucer-like biscuit which is chewy, crispy and tasty when hot.  There are 2 types of Gong Pian, i.e. plain/onions RM1.50 each and BBQ pork meat/char siew RM3.00 each.

Stanley messaged me that every customer is allowed to buy 10 pieces only because of the high demand. But I managed to buy 40 pieces (20 onions, 20 pork) without any problem after I mentioned there were 3 of us wanting to buy. I bought at about 9.50 am after queuing behind 6 persons or so. The total cost was 20 xRM1.50 + 20 x RM3.00 = RM90.00.

(Later, I gave away 20 pieces of these Gong Pian to Stanley Ong as they are his favourite food, 6 pieces to Soo Lian and 4 to my neighbour)..

10.00 am  We had breakfast at Four Square Food Court, Jalan Raja Omar, Kampung Koh which was not far away.  I took Dried Wantan Noodles (RM5.50) and a cup of Kopi-O (RM1.70). The Gong Pian was tried there and tasted nice as it was still warm.  (The same in the late afternoon had to be bitten like a rock!)

10.30 am   Left Sitiawan.

12.10 pm  Artived at Jalan Tali Air 5, Sekinchan where there were few places that could be visited.

First stop was Paddy Gallery (适耕庄稻米展览馆) and Pearl Rice Garden (林贸易米乐坊).  We didn’t visit the Gallery (admission fee RM5 per person) but bought the following items from the Rice Market - PLS Marketing: 1 pack Healthy Brown Rice (养生糙米 2 kg RM8.20), 1 pack Basmati Sella Indian (印度蒸谷米 2 kg RM20.00), 1 pack Bihun Kasar (手工米粉RM11.50) , 1 pack Shrimp Cracker (虾饼RM11.00) and 1 bottle Asam Limau (金桔RM19.00).  Total RM69.70.

12.30 pm  We patronized Ah Ma House (阿嬷的家) where I bought a tin of Kuih Kapit (machine made egg waffle,  RM25), Full Meal Fruits & Nuts (RM23), Passion Fruits Sea Bird Nest Candy (RM8) and Whale Sun Brand SEaweed (RM5). Total RM71.

12.55 pm  As we were not hungry, we didn’t go for lunch in Sekinchan.  We stopped by Sekinchan KAYAPO (加椰婆) at Pekan Sekinchan and took Cendol (煎蕊3xRM5), Lobak (卤肉2 pcs RM15.20), Chai Kueh (韭菜糕 2 pcs RM4.00).  Total RM26.60,  We also bought 2 packs of Ramen (each RM7.00) before leaving.

1.45 pm  Stopped by Shell petrol station at Tanjung Karung to pump petrol (RM67.66).

As it was still early to go back to KL, we decided to proceed to Kuala Selangor to buy some seafood products.

2.15 pm  Arrived at Jalan Penambang, Kuala Selangor at the estuary of the Selangor River (which drains into the Straits of Malacca). What a pleasant surprise to meet Yong Yew Khoon and his 8 SGM members (joining a one-day trip) at Perniagaan Hasil Laut Jin Xiang (锦乡海产贸易行)!

2.40 pm   I bought a variety of seafood snacks amounting to RM66 before departure,

4.30 pm  Returned home.  It is calculated that I spent a total of RM874.55 for this trip.

A pose with Soo Lian after checking out

Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian

Long queue of customers before the shop opens at 9.30am

Prices of Gong Pian and other foodstuff

Visit of Four Square Food Court at Kampung Court for a second time for breakfast

My wantan noodles for RM5 only 

Gong Pian with onion filling (smaller one) and with minced meat

Visiting Sekinchan

Sekinchan Paddy Gallery / Pearl Rice Garden 

Ah Ma House at Sekinchan

Products sold at Ah Ma House 

Sekinchan town

Sekinchan KAYAPO

Cendol (RM5)

Lobak (RM7.60) and Chai Kueh (RM4.00)

Kuala Selangor 

Visiting marine products shops at Kuala Selangor

Coincidental encounter with buddy Yong Yew Khoon

Items bought from Rice Market - PLS Marketing, Sekinchan 

Items bought from Ah Ma House, Sekinchan

Items bought from Jin Xiang, Kuala Selangor

Items bought from Jin Xiang, Kuala Selangor