Pekan - Cuisine

Cuisine

Pekan offers a variety of delicious food. Being a Royal Town, Pekan enjoys the best kuih-muih (Malay delicacies) which are prepared by the same people or their descendants who used to prepare the same delicacies for the palace. Breakfast menu is aplenty to choose from. One particular novelty for breakfast is the 'roti naik' (a kind of bread similar to buns sold in supermarkets). This particular bread can only be found in very few places, Pekan being one of them. Other delicacies are nasi dagang, kuih bakar, ikan bakar (fresh grilled fish) and others.

Kampong Mengkasar is also well known of its Murtabak. It is a unique variant of the original Indian dish that can only be found in Pekan. The Murtabak Pekan was not started in Kampong Mengkasar, but it is available here throughout the year. Other murtabak outlets in Pekan, such as the Murtabak Mawar (also known as murtabak Sultan), are only available in the month of Ramadhan.

It is believed that the original Murtabak Pekan was started by an Indian Muslim Restaurant located at the second floor of the central market known as Restoran Salam in the early 1970s. It was one of the favorite dish of the late Sultan of Pahang (Sultan Abu Bakar) for breaking fast during the month of Ramadhan. Due to the great demands, more outlets start selling murtabak all over Pekan. Murtabak has since referred as the special dish of Pekan, and one should not pass Pekan without trying and appreciate its delicious taste.