THE quest for a good bowl of mee udang had led me and my wife Michelle to Kampung Nakhoda Omar near Sabak Bernam, Selangor.
We were curious about this coastal village and decided to make a detour during a road trip to the northern-most tip of Selangor recently.
Our findings were really interesting.
When we made an unscheduled stop at a Petronas station near Jalan Sungai Air Tawar, I asked the cashier about the tourist attractions at Bagan Nakhoda Omar.
She said the area was known for its mee udang (prawn noodles).
For me, the benchmark for this dish is in Kuala Sepetang, Perak.
“Encik cuba la mee udang kat pantai tu. Orang ramai datang pun hendak makan itu saja” (Why not try the prawn noodles as it is a sought-after dish by many visitors),” she said.
A fisherman who was filling up his container with diesel confirmed this.
Tastes decent: Zaiton’s “Mee UdangSpecial”.
We told them that we came all the way from Subang Jaya and was greeted with a smile.
Learning about the makan place in a fishing village really made my day.
We punched in a search on our GPS and gave this place a try.
Bagan Nakhoda Omar is a recreational area near a river-mouth. As it sits on mangrove flats, you can see plenty of birds there.
Facing the sea was a large hawker centre and the first thing we noticed was “Zaiton Laksa Pantai”.
This was the place mentioned by the fisherman we met at the petrol station earlier.
Without hesitation, I ordered a plate of Mee Udang Special.
It came after a brief wait and at RM4.50 a plate, I cannot complain about the generous serving.
The only thing missing here are the large prawns.
We found that the size of the crustaceans served were below par, compared to the dish served at Mee Udang Mak Jah in Kuala Lumpur.
Nevertheless, the taste was not disappointing.
Michelle loved the rich-flavoured shrimp broth that was used in the gravy.
As for the overall quality, I would rate Zaiton’s mee udang a five out of 10 on the Samo-scale.
Opening hours for this makan place is from 11am to 4pm daily.
And to all you gearheads out there, the GPS coordinates are: N 03 46.015, E 100 52.377.
