Part 1 Buying freshly caught  fishes in Sekinchang

When it comes to food, seafood often tops the list for many people. The allure of fresh seafood is irresistible. It’s the perfect excuse for an adventurous drive to the coast in search of freshly caught delicacies. Picture this: arriving in remote hamlets, waiting for the tide, and watching as fishermen return from the sea. Whatever they have caught is a treasure, and the prices are a fraction of what you’d pay in urban areas. What a charming idea from a bygone era!

Here are 2 pictures - how we did that. First one  - Joyce with the returning fisherman.

Having a good time checking on his catches for the day

That was the situation years ago, but let's return to the present. Today, with modern communication and more enterprising middlemen, the methods of transferring sea harvest to the market have changed significantly. However, many weekend visitors still head to the coast for an adventurous trip, seeking the experience of buying something fresh. Sekinchan town has become one such destination. It's remote enough and a good drive away from Kuala Lumpur, offering a chance to catch those traditional practices of buying directly from fishermen. I know of one particular spot right beside the pier, without any signage indicating its presence. In the past, my knowledge was historical, but now it has become the place where the crowds gather.

Crates of fishes submerged in ice. Looking at the stock, the quality and the prices they asked for, we left.

There were so many outlets in Sekinchang offering fresh produce. We stopped by the next. This one had prominent signage of a fish distributor

Same situation, the produce and prices were not tempting at all. The place looked better and also more organized  As a cursory of not leaving the town empty handed, we bought one fish.…

After having related what we did in Sekinchang, let's have a re-look at this fancy of buying fresh fishes. If you are serious about buying fishes, there is good size fish market in Kuala Selangor town itself. Good and plenty of choices. Modern and dedicated.

Second point, on the internet there is this fish distributor Sungei Yu is prominently placed. It has branches in Kuala Selangor and Tanjong Karang.

Overall, what I mentioned plus we also sighted the many stalls at tourist spots, there is no shortage of retail outlets, where we can get seafood products. This idea of near the sea, cutting away the layers of intermediaries and the gap of transport time, products offered in these coastal region should be better than those in urban KL. Not wrong and partly true. Now comes to another point.  Prices asked for at the coastal stalls are not at give away rates. They may be marginally cheaper but from what I see, it varies between slightly lower to comparative. So "no cheaper" concept.

The one point that I am concerned with is that almost all outlets are offering frozen products. In Kuala Selangor fish market, the fishes may be displayed in unfrozen state. The looks is more acceptable.

At the beginning of this page, we are dwelling on the topic of going down to the coast to get fresh seafood. Can we still do that? Freshly caught unrefrigerated fishes. Yes - at the restaurants, they tap the supply chain. They can offer you freshly caught or live products with the usual premium! If you are thinking of taking home some, then you need to have someone who is a local and knows the fishing community well. On "look out" basis, local could get these fresh produce, hijacked from the distributor or as personal favour.

Part 2 Flashes from Sekinchang

2011 June 14th

 A cute Fire Brigade station with no Fire Engine

2014 October 4th

We shared a banquet lunch in the headquarters of Hau Xiang Chi with compliments from Milton Ling and the Foouchow Association

 Headquarters of Hau Xiang Chi , Jalan Geraja You don't expect to see such building in Sekinchang

2017 June 18th

This is "THE" restaurant in Sekinchang. They have meat from Shark stir fried with spring onions and soup made from its bone

2017 June 18th

What is so interesting about padi planting?

2017 June 18th

The Three Musketeers

2017 June 18th

One more for the album

2017 June 18th

Top choice of tour bus operator/ So we tried their cooking too

2017 June 18th

We checked out the fruits farm. Here were the beautiful Jambu Air - Malay Rose Apple

Plenty of Lime trees with fruits

A tiny market for sampling and buying

A banner at the sea side

  2018 July 14th

The DJ Karaoke Group embark on a trip to Sekinchang. Bernard enjoyed the ambience

Never knew that they have such nice beach in Selangor State

Oh! The whole stretch of road lined with Kedongdong [ambarella]  trees, all bearing fruits. How to resist from harvesting some for ourselves

Cannot recall seeing this signage again on later trips

2019 March 29th

The boys trying out fresh coconut the region is famous for.

2017 June 18th

Hurray! We are inside a Padi field

2017 June 18th

Study!! Coming out loose

2017 June 18th

Oh! I couldn't believe that I could pluck a coconut by hand

2017 June 18th

Ended up in a nice upmarket restaurant to give my grandchildren a good treat

2017 June 18th

We were checking out the prices of sea food offered here

2024 April 18th

Old cronies with a yuppie backdrop

This is my latest find "Suang Le" restaurant perched on one of the remaining dilapidated building jutting out into the estuary

A straight but narrow driveway passed wooden shacks and then this signage

The seller who is also the Tongkang owner explained that fishes displayed for sales in urban area, through the processes of handling over are about 20-25 days old after being caught. The fishes they offer here are about 5 days old. The modus operandi of distributing their products had changed. Here they are doing mail order style. Through internet the produce from the sea could be home delivered to customers in PJ within the same day of ordering

My buddy from the kelana Jaya Swimming Group introduced to this outlet owner

Part 3 Away from the maddening crowd

Scene # 1  Long long road

Scene # 2  A big field to work on

Scene # 3  With inches to spare

Scene # 4  Long hot way

Scene # 5  Field of Ebgrets

Scene # 6  Tilting the land was also done in a mechanical qay

Scene # 7  Colony with a different kind of protection

Scene # 8  Pair of Kites

Scene # 9  Another group following

Scene # 10  Too much work with two nests

Scene # 11  You may catch a Hornbill here

Scene # 12  Burning the field

Scene # 13  Colony of Beaver's nest

Scene # 14  Insecticides?

Scene # 15  Sowing the seedlings

Scene # 16  Preparing the field

Scene # 17  Our birding kaki

Scene # 18  Follow the tractor

This page is now longer with the addition of "Part 2 & 3." My contacts suggested, "Let's take a look at your set of pictures." I haven't organized the pictures yet, but no problem—I'll quickly gather them, pick the most relevant ones, and here you have it: an almost impromptu page.

       With  Will  Will  Wander