Coconut, fish curry and mosques of the world

We cling on to our seats as the car twists and turns through the riverside villages just outside Kuala Terengganu. Bang, our driver, seems to be enjoying every moment. He speeds up a little bit, cornering almost like Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Malaysia is in the grip of Formula 1 excitement during our journey along Malaysia’s eastern coastline, and our driver is in the spirit of the race. Just before Bang races the six of us into the chequered flag - or more likely, somebody’s chicken pen  his F1 ambitions are somewhat dampened. The cause? A large sign that reads: “Beware of Coconut!”

“The coconut is very important to the Malaysian. You are not supposed to damage their coconuts even if you don’t mean to,” says the driver, carefully taking the corner so he doesn’t leave even the tiniest scratch on the palm.

“Many of us, especially people in Terengganu, believe that we come from the coconut.

“When our baby was born, we planted one coconut palm. A second palm was planted for the birth of our second child. And when the baby has his first hair cut, the parents put the hair he was born with into the coconut shell and float it on the sea.”

When I travelled in the Philippines a few years ago, the Filipinos told me they came from bamboo, an anthropological tale that charmed me. Now, I find myself being equally as charmed by the coconut tradition.

Terengganu, a sultanate, has been on trade routes since ancient times. A stone monument discovered in Kuala Berang, which dates back to 1303 and is inscribed in Jawi, proves that Islam reached Terengganu in the early 14th Century. The coastal town, known as Trangkanu to the Thais, was under Siam rule in the 19th century before being transferred to Great Britain. Terengganu became a member of the Federation of Malaysia in 1948 and is probably the richest state in Malaysia, thanks to its productive oil wells.

“If we travel around the countryside, you might find some locals still speak Thai,” says Katherine, our guide.

We don’t have time to visit any Thaispeaking communities, as our trip is limited to Kuala Terengganu - the capital of Terengganu state - and its environs. Nestled at the mouth of Terengganu river, the city has a population of 400,000 people (and, one assumes, at least that many coconut palms). The city is a pleasant blend of fishing town and conservative Muslim society, and visitors will eat lot of fish and visit many mosques.

We head out from the town centre and Bang, now driving more conservatively, pulls in at a fishing village. Terengganu is famous for keropok lekor, a crispy rice flatcake, which is made from dough and pounded fish. It’s a popular snack that goes very well with beer. We munch happily as we watch the fishing boats unload impressive catches of mackerel and sardines.

“This is the country’s best,” says Bang, handing me a fishcake.

Walking along the slippery quay, we see local people drying pink bars of something that looks very much like soap but smells like fish.

“It’s kapi, shrimp paste,” says Katherine.

Back home in Thailand, our mothers keep kapi in a jar. Here, in Terengganu, locals prefer it sundried on a plate.

After the backstage tour of Terengganu’s food industry, we round a corner and enter the local restaurant. The small building, with more than 20 food trays stacked on one side, is packed.

“Come sit, have a drink”, says the owner, a gentleman in his 50s, as he ushers us to a table stacked with barbecued mackerel, grilled fishcakes wrapped in banana leaf, budu (salty anchovy sauce), chilli paste and spicy cuttlefish �" everything tasting sensational.

Lunch is followed by a visit to some of Terengganu’s finest mosques. The coastal state is sometimes known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman, meaning “Abode of Faith”, suggesting the locals take their faith seriously. Boys and girls never hang around together at the beach after 6pm, otherwise they have serious problems with the religious police.

Built on a floating platform at the mouth of the river is the beautiful white Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque . Based on an idea of the late Sultan, local folklore has it that it was built by a lovelorn prince.

If you want to visit many mosques at once, then head to the Islamic Civilisation Park. Built on a 23hectare site on the Terengganu River estuary, the landmark is the first Islamic edutainment theme park in Malaysia - if not the world and is home to 21 replicas of famous mosques and Islamic monuments, among them the Masjidil Haram of Mecca, the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria, and the Central Mosque of Pattani at once.

Kuala Terengganu might be a Muslim city but the Chinese and Indian are also here. In Chinatown, we have dinner at Golden Dragon - a Chinese restaurant now being run by the third generation of the family. We order sweet stir-fried prawn, sweet pork, steamed fish, fried vegetables with dried fish and mango salad topped with dried squid. Oily, sweetie and yummy! Then, we trudge along the tiny path through Chinatown for a glimpse of the old Sino-Portuguese mansions, and wind down with cups of hot tea at an Indian snack shop.

In fact, Terengganu has much more to share with visitors than fish curry and mosques. This coastal state draws weekenders for lazy sundrenched days on the Perhentian Islands, 19 kilometres off shore, and scuba diving off the Pulau Redang seascape. Unfortunately, we have too little time to see more of Terengganu on this occasion, as we’re also in Malaysia for the Formula One race at the Sepang International Circuit. But having sampled the fare, we guarantee we’ll be back.

IF YOU GO

Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia offer half a dozen flights between Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur every day. Flight time is just one hour.