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FireFlyz | 13
cycling journey kick-starts with a heavy
breakfast at Kopitiam Kita that’s located
in the Kota Bharu city centre, going all the
way to Tumpat before heading back to the
city centre on the last day – adjourning
the exploration with a visit to the Kota
Bharu Tourism Zone where HnH Tours’
office is located.
Day 1: Piece of Cake
Pumped up and excited, I made it for my
morning call – despite it being as early
as 8.30am – to meet up with Ammar,
my cycling guru cum guide from HnH
Tours, in Kopitiam Kita. Did I mention
that the journey kick-starts with a heavy
breakfast? And by heavy breakfast I
meant rice. Yes, rice! At 8.30 in the
morning. I had
Nasi Tumpang
, which
consists of layers of rice, omelette, meat
floss, chicken or shrimp curry and sweet
gravy packed in a cone-shaped banana
leaf – the ultimate energy booster for the
first leg of the journey.
After breakfast, it was time to start
cycling and our first destination was
the World War II Museum to check-out
some of the relics from the battlefield.
Amongst the collection was a battle tank,
a few olden-day transportation and even a
bunker that gives you the feel of what it’s
like to be out shooting in the battlefield.
Wanting to get in touch with a little
bit of culture, we made a quick stop at
a wooden hut where Pak Shafie, an ex-
perienced Wau maker, has been making
a living for the past decades – before
heading to our next food stop, Warung Pak
Mat in Medan Ikan Bakar (MIB).
Known in the Kelantanese dialect as
Pok
Mat
, Warung Pak Mat is famous for
Sup
Kepala Ikan
(fish head soup) and
Teh
Tarik Madu
. Unlike any other fish head
soup I’ve had, the one served at Warung
Pak Mat had bits and pieces of beef to
enhance the flavour. The sour and spicy
taste of the soup pairs deliciously with
plain rice and the fresh fish just elevates
the taste of the combination. Apart from
the fish head soup, you can also order
other dishes like fried chicken, curry and
gulai
(sweet gravy), just to name a few.
And to quench your thirst, the
Teh Tarik
Madu
is a must! Uniquely presented in
a glass topped with overflowing froth,
the perfectly balanced sweetness from
this pulled milk tea with honey will
definitely put a smile on any faces – just
like it did mine.
A satisfying lunch has been devoured,
we got back on the bikes and made our
way to witness batik making before head-
ing to the songket making centre, which
amazedme with the amazing skills shown
by the veterans. One of the songket weaver,
87-year-old Khadijah Omar, was the oldest
weaver at the centre with over 75 years of
experience. The songket is weaved using
cotton or silk threads and the designs are
often weaved-in using gold threads.
Before checking into the hotel, we made
a mandatory food stop for some local
snacks or
kuih,
nearby.
After that much food consumed for
the day, dinner seemed to have come too
soon as I was still quite stuffed when we
arrived at Captain T Restaurant …by bike
of course. Here, I was presented a lavish
seafood dinner with crabs, lobsters andmy
favourite deep fried calamari with salted
eggs highlighting the menu – the perfect
ending to a pleasant day.
87-year-old Khadijah Omar demonstrating her songket weaving skills
A staff at Warung Pak Mat preparing
the fish head soup
Lavish Seafood dinner at Captain T Restaurant