Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Haruan (Snakehead, Sang Yee) Hunting at Permatang Pauh and Digging For Siput Remis (Shellfish) at Pantai Bersih Beach

I was looking forward to my fishing trip in my hometown, Butterworth but the rain spoiled some of my plans. I managed to cast for some haruan (snakehead, Sang Yee) but no bite. There are many of big haruans swimming around but I wonder why they are not taking my bait. Probably my kids are making too much noise. There pictures below shows me casting at a small swampy pond in Permatang Pauh near the Kulim Butterworth Highway. Yes, Permatang Pauh, where the mother of all elections was held and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won the parliment seat against Barisan National. A few party flags are still hanging to some lamp post; some torn and tattered. After a few fruitless cast, I decided to take my kids to the beach, Pantai Bersih (actually not so bersih) in Bagan Ajam to dig for Siput Remis ( A kind of shellfish that is smaller than the lala). The recent additions of a new highway and container port to this stretch of beach have robbed me of my childhood playground. The only reasonable beach left is the one after the Bagan Ajam toll, behind the highway rest area building. Siput Remis lives in sandy beaches and can be easily dug up. I have to use my hand to dig the siput as I did not have my siput digging equipment with me. I normally use the wantan mee seller sieve to scoop up the sand and then use the sea water to make the smaller pebbles drop through it by moving the sieve in circular motion. I used to catch bucket full of these siput when I was a kid. Anyway, after half and hour of digging, I managed to catch around 30 siputs and decided to head home because it was getting dark. I cooked the siput with garlic, soya sauce and sugar. Mmmmmmm, I love the taste; fresh and sweet! Casting for haruans. No bite....... The Bagan Ajam H'way Rest Area.....................Digging for siput remis with my kids Soaking it in salt water to get of the sands........Siput Remis, nice patterns on the shell Frying the siput until they open up....................Yummy, another dish to go with my dinner! The meat inside, small but tasty.........................Just like butterfly. Artwork for my daughter!

14 comments:

  1. i missed the ol days when the family goes out digging for shellfish. long time didnt have those....hmmmm, better go ask rachel to learn, but she so malas lah...

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  2. wow... get own fresh siput... not bad lor... hee hee....

    hmm.... the butterfly shell so cute la....

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  3. *slurrpp*
    one more plate of siput pleeze..

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  4. The siput looks delicious! Wah...your kids so big liao kah? See your pic...you look so young like teenager!!! LOL!!!

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  5. Calvin : Heh Heh, you can do all the digging and she collects all the shellfish lorr. LOL

    PTP : Ya, it makes cute art. The batik patterns on the shell is nice.

    misti : Sure, anytime but must help me to dig for the siput first. Ha Ha.

    STP : I am already old lorrr. Camera trick larr, I stand at the end so I look small and my children looks bigger because they are in front. ha ha.

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  6. when i was young my father used to take us to dig siput... miss that moment..

    p/s: no leftover cake for u.. :p
    but i can buy u one when i go back Msia.. keke.. :)

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  7. Arghhhh! So benci u lah, Pete! Now ur making me miss Penang! I used to dig out some remis at Pantai Bersih in Butterworth when I was a school brat! Each time i dig some out, sure got at least half kilos, and my mom would scold me for digging out remis again and getting dirty! She will cook sambal with the remis I caught. But the remis meat really less... I prefer lala more than remis. :-D

    Thinking back... I think I was quite tomboyish to be doing all these. Last time, when i was in high school, I even join the boys to fish out some ikan sembilang at the beach. :-D

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  8. kikey : Ya, I love digging siput too with my dad when I was young. Good old days.

    cleff : Ha Ha, I also go to school near Pantai Bersih for 5 yrs. You must be my junior. Fishing and digging for siput is nice.

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  9. During my childhood times, i used to dig for siput remis at the fishing village in teluk bahang and in tanjung tokong where Sri Pinang Tanjung luxury houses stand now.

    Looking back, it was such a wonderful time. Guess, I might go to Pantai Bersih one day.

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  10. Hah! Pete! Are you by any chance from Sek. Men. Tk Air Tawar? o.O That school damn near to the pantai, walk can arrive oredi LOL. I was from there. But now I heard, Pantai Bersih not so bersih anymore. pantai kotor liao leh!

    Yea, fishing and digging for siput is nice lah, can makan, but these days, the way girls fish and dig, really not like my time liao. :-P

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  11. Sam : Yes, I love the good old days of digging for siput.

    Cleff : I was in Datuk Onn. My school nearer to the beach lorr. Can go 'pat thor' there with my cute class mate leh. Ha Ha.

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  12. Ohh... Dato onn is just a few kilometre away, nearer to town in comparison to my school. LOL... Aiyo, really miss the good old days la... I miss catching crab too! darn it, now hungry liao. Eh, why so many Penangites wan? LOL.

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  13. Cleff : Wah lau leh, you go to catch crab too. I still have my crab traps, I thk somewhere in my storeroom. Do you know how to tie the crabs?

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