PETALING JAYA, July 13 — Food. The first thing that comes to most people’s mind when they are in Seremban.
I’ve been in the town on more than one occasion but never really had a chance to explore its cuisine.
Many colleagues of mine — from Seremban obviously — always tell me good things about the food, and after spending a whole day eating there, it is safe to conclude that they were not lying.
The journey
I took off from Klang at 7am, taking a slow drive with the Mazda CX5 2.2 Diesel, with a cup of black coffee and Wham!’s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and other tracks from the 1980s.
The two-hour drive along the 85-kilometre route was quite perfect — good music, great car and a pleasant view.
The trunk road took me through Telok Panglima Garang, Jenjarom, Banting and Labu before I arrived in Seremban.
Pasar Besar Seremban
A conversation with someone who grew up in Seremban will end up with “Pasar Besar Seremban is a must go” and so I started my visit there.
I made a beeline to the Seremban Beef Noodle stall and ordered its signature dish.
Rarely do I get attracted to a stall overhyped by many foodies but the slices of beef and sauce hit all the right notes.
The starchy sauce, sesame seeds, peanuts and other toppings ensured the flavor stood out from the rest of the beef noodles I’ve tried and it only cost RM10 with extra beef.
I also sampled the second most ordered dish at this stall — the beef noodle soup, and it was good.
Next on my list was the Hioong Kee Mee Hoon Sotong and I knew it would be good from the delicious aroma wafting from the stall as I approached it.
The noodles were fried just right with the braised pork slices, cuttlefish and vegetables... and all it cost was RM6.
A bowl of cendol wrapped up my breakfast stop at the Pasar Basar Seremban; I managed to squeeze in three meals and a dessert for just below RM20.
It was beginning to look like another affordable trip, especially with the 2.2 Diesel CX5 giving me about 15 kilometres per litre.
Port Dickson
I decided to take a 45-minute drive to Port Dickson for a better feel of the Mazda CX5’s abilities to turn, brake and handle tight corners and roads.
It handled perfectly, and got me to the beach in good time.
Port Dickson is one of those places which I used to visit as a kid and nothing much has changed since then.
It offered a beautiful view and a couple of Instagram-worthy shots.
I even managed a short jog on the beach which made me hungry so I went to Yun Long Seafood Restaurant for lunch.
There I ordered two of my usual dishes at every Chinese restaurant I visit – a Chinese-style fried rice and a plate of Cantonese fried noodles which cost RM15.
It was satisfying, and afterwards I made my way back to Seremban.
Back to the land of food
I lost my way on the journey home and ended up on Jalan Seng Meng Lee where I found Restoran Yi Poh.
A quick Google check told me that it was home to the yi poh noodles so I decided to give it a try.
The dish of noodles greased in lard and dark sauce was topped by minced pork and a few pieces of char siew. Not bad.
It was 3pm by the time I was done. But just a stone’s throw away was a place known for its Siew Pow – Siew Pow Master.
I love my pastries and the place lived up to its name.
From tarts to kaya puffs and doughnuts and pows, they had everything. The price was also very affordable.
The drive back
The drive to Seremban and Port Dickson was really worth it from a culinary standpoint.
There was no music blasting from the speakers of the Mazda CX5 this time around — just road traffic updates.
But after the day I had, a little traffic jam was not going to get me down.
