Bidor Transit
Armed with a local travel magazine on Saturday, we went on a two & a half hours’ drive from PJ up the North-South Expressway to the riverine townships along Hilir Perak (the valley along the Perak River leading to the Straights of Melaka). Driving through the towns of Bidor-Teluk Intan-Hutan Melintang & Bagan Datoh, our objective was to seek out some good makan places and to stop by the quint fishing villages near the coast. We exited from the expressway into Bidor, the transit town to Teluk Intan via a trunk road that is lined with several miles of plantations (rubber, palm oil & banana) on both sides. Bidor is a quiet industrial town that had gone past the tin boom days. It’s known for some delicasies such as the duck noodles and chinese biscuits “sek kei ma” and “kai chai beng” but the town was just a pass through for us as we had in mind another destination for lunch…read on for yummy details.
A man browsing the showcase of an antique shop inside Kompleks Menara Condong.
We arrived at Teluk Intan (also known by its colonial name, Teluk Anson) and stopped first to take a look at the curious pagoda-like clock tower that is telling the wrong time. The leaning tower is really not much of a spectacle but it is ancient and it does tilt. Erected in year 1885 by a Chinese tradesman, Leong Choon Cheong, to commemorate his mother (so we heard), its unconventional angle became apparent about four years after construction. There are several small emporiums in the vicinity and the locals come here to shop thus making the locality pretty much the centre of town.
Glutton Square
A row of hawker stalls near Jalan Ah Cheong, where we had our first meal in Teluk Intan. We tried out some local favourites such as chu cheong fun, a new rendition (to me at least) of curry mee and char siew glutinous & yellow ginger rice. The Phua Chu Kang look alike (note the yellow clogs) was one of the friendly hawkers who made sure we get around town and try the best the locals have to offer. He was penning down the names of some famous eateries in the area to keep us well fed for the rest of the day. His wife though, was a little extreme in her show of kindness. She volunteered her teenage daughter to ride with us as some sort of local guide. We declined and in jest said we would put her daughter up for sale but really I was quite amazed by the amount of trust she had in us, some strangers from KL.
Fishermen return to dock with the day’s catch.
Townships of Hilir Perak