Just shy of two hours away from Melaka, Batu Pahat was like a second home to me during my employment in an audit firm in Melaka. With many of our clients based in Batu Pahat, I ended up travelling to Batu Pahat and spending most of my weekdays there. From Otak Bun to Tonic Soup, I’ve tried many of the delicious local delicacies there but after moving to Singapore 5 years ago, I’ve never once stepped foot into this lovely town.
When Max Mountain Club (MMC) organised a hike to Bukit Payung in Batu Pahat, I decided it would be the perfect time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit this place.
Fun Fact: The origin of the name “Batu Pahat”
The town acquired the name Batu Pahat, which means "chiselled rock" (Batu = Rock, Pahat = Chisel), from the quarries near the estuary. There are multiple theories as to the origin of this name. In around 1456, the Siamese army, led by Admiral Awi Di Chu, camped in Batu Pahat before attacking Malacca. Legend has it that the invading Siamese troops were chiselling rocks at a rocky spot in the coastal village of Kampung Minyak Beku, in hope to get fresh water during their retreat from the Melaka troops. Today, the ancient well can still be found in Minyak Beku, though little was done to maintain this ancient landmark which gives name to the town. For the town's centennial celebration in the early '90s, a quaint monument depicting a floating hand chiselling a rock was set up in the town square.
The name “Batu Pahat” stuck with the locals and since then replaced the former name of Bandar Penggaram, which means “town of salt-makers” (Bandar = town, Penggaram = salt-maker). The previous name was also interestingly originated from the salted fish production in the olden days. Once the town’s main economy, the main activity has shifted to textile and garment exporter.
Enough of history lesson for the day? Time to take a trip down memory lane with me!
Glutton Street (贪吃街)
Since some of us had to work half day on a Saturday, we only managed to reach Batu Pahat around 3.30pm. Our main agenda is to hike Bukit Payung the next day, so we only allocated the evening for a visit to the famous Chong Long Gong Temple. But you can definitely reach here in the morning to see and eat more.
Our first stop after checking in to our homestay is Glutton Street. I used to come here whenever I was on business trip to audit clients in Batu Pahat. Back then, one particular food I would always buy was the fried glutinous rice cake (炸年糕). The glutinous rice cake is sandwiched between a slice of yam and sweet potato being dipped into batter and deep fried to golden brown, the same way my mom used to do when I was a kid. Though I couldn’t remember the taste of this particular stall, I remember it was delicious and I would only drive here after dinner to buy a few pieces.
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| Fried Nian Gao |
Upon my recommendation, we bought a whole lot of them that afternoon, along with some fried banana fritters. Unfortunately, it somehow doesn’t taste as good as I remembered. Has my taste bud changed or has the quality dropped?
The guys who were a lot hungrier than we do also ended up eating claypot chicken rice on the same street. Taste wise, also not that impressive.
How to get there:
Address: Jalan Pengkai, Kampung Pegawai, 83000 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
Operating hours: 8am to 10pm
Segenting Chong Long Gong Temple (石文丁崇龙宫大伯公庙)
After satisfying the guys’ stomach, our next stop was Segenting Chong Long Gong Temple, a very famous temple in the fishing village of Segenting (石文丁). Segenting is located in Pantai Minyak Beku, which is about 8km away (about 20-minute drive) from the center of the town.
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| Fruit rojak next to the car park. Taste mediocre |
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| The same stall also sells tapioca crackers drizzled with soy sauce and chili sauce |
As the name of the temple suggest, the main deity housed in the temple is Fu De Zheng God (福德正神) or Tua Pek Kong (大伯公), the Earth Deity worshipped by Chinese folks in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In ancient time, Chinese Folks pray to Earth God for the abundance of crops, grains, and healthy livestocks. In this modern era, Earth God is prayed for prosperity, wealth, safety and happiness, therefore revered as one of the Chinese Gods of Prosperity. Other deities worshipped here includes Goddess of Birth (注生娘娘), Nezha The Marshal of Central Altar (中坛元帅), Goddess Guan Yin (观音娘娘), Goddess of the Sea (妈祖), Dragon Sea Emperor (海龙王), God of Fortune (财神爷), and Earth Store Bodhisattva (地藏王菩萨).
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| Chong Long Temple |
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| God of Fortune (财神爷) |
Since in the past, Segenting is a fishing village where most locals are fishermen, it is believed that this temple was built to worship the deity for blessing the safe return from the sea and good harvest for fishermen. Interestingly, the temple was said to be unaffected during the 2007 flood even though it is located just right next to the sea. The locals thus believed that the deities had protected the area from the flood.
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| God of Fortune (财神爷) |
The temple is extremely famous and is no stranger to local people and those who frequent Batu Pahat. Somehow when a local is to guide their friends around, this is surely one of the place of interest. In fact, 9 years ago when I first visited Batu Pahat, my housemate (a local) brought us to this temple as well. Yupe, you read this right! I’ve been here before. You see, I didn’t say this is a trip down memory lane for no reason.
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| Fu Ling Pavilion (福灵亭) |
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| Deities being worshipped at second floor and a giant-size turtle |
So, what exactly made this temple popular? Surely, not the unimpressive building structure! The main star of this temple is actually the giant arapaima fishes. In the 1990s, words started spreading that anyone who managed to stroke the giant arapaima from head to tail will strike lottery, and the Chinese communities go crazy over the idea.
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| Goddess of the Sea (妈祖) |
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| Visitors trying to stroke arapaima fishes |
One thing to note is that the fish pond at the Goddess of Sea Statue only contain small arapaima fishes. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t find the big ones here. Just walk towards Chong Long Gong, and behind is the stairway through a man-made cave towards the second floor. The giant arapaimas are in the pond next to Thien Hou Hall (天后殿). This pond is enclosed and fenced, probably to prevent theft, so visitors can only put one arm’s in for touching the fishes. If you really wish to stroke them, do it once and refrain from harassing them way too much.
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| Thien Hou Hall (天后殿) |
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| View from Thien Hou Hall (天后殿) |
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| View of Fu Ling Pavilion (福灵亭) from Thien Hou Hall (天后殿) |
So, how has the temple changed? From my vague memory and the shabby-looking old photos I posted on Facebook, the temple didn’t seem to change a bit from my last visit 9 years ago, except new paint job on some of the statues, and I also noticed the big gigantic arapaima I once saw is no longer there. I hope it didn’t die but is released instead.
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| Taking a photo at the same spot 9 years ago |
How to get there:
Address: 81, Kampung Segenting, Batu Pahat, 83030 Bandar Penggaram, Johor, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Lover’s Bridge (情人桥)
Not far away from the temple within walking distance, lies a jetty where a bridge extends all the way to the sea. Originally a fishing pier where fishermen catch varieties of seafood, the bridge became known as The Lovers’ Bridge after becoming a date-place for lovers who come for a stroll around sunset.
Some said if a guy and a girl take a walk along the bridge they would fall in love with each other. Though I don’t believe in the saying, which is definitely a marketing gimmick, the place is indeed a breathtaking spot for beautiful sunset. The once wooden bridge had now converted into a lime bridge but retaining its wooden deck, hence it is pretty solid and safe yet at the same time offering a nostalgic ambience for you photograph.
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| Lover's Bridge |
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| Walking on the bridge together, will we fall in love? Hahaha |
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| Love this shot! |
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| Sunset |
It measures approximately 80m long, and as you walked till the end, it seems like you are at world’s end. We stayed there until sunset and as we have Vambly with us, we managed to get some pretty nice panorama shot from this photo enthusiast. Thanks for the lovely photo!
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| Walking to world's end? |
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| Perfect sunset |
How to get there:
Address: 95, TL SG 43, Kg Segenting Minyak Beku, 83000 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
Steamboat Dinner
Not far away from the temple, about 15min drive away, is a popular steamboat restaurant – Yong’s Steamboat. The name in Chinese literally translates to “Swimming Pool Steamboat Restaurant” which is aptly inspired by the swimming pool next to the restaurant.
We drove all the way there only to be told that they are fully booked that night. Ahhh… the importance of making reservation on weekend! Yong’s is well known among the locals for their fresh tasty food (I remember coming here during one of my business trip many many years ago, and it was indeed pretty good), so if you are really keen to come here on weekend, do remember to make a reservation beforehand.
How to get there:
Address: No. 2m/s, Jalan Minyak Beku, 8300 Batu Pahat
Operating hours: 5pm to 12.30pm
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| Liong Kee Steamboat |
In the end, Fenny made a call to her Batu Pahat friends to find out other steamboat places in town, and we ended up at Riverside Foodcourt, where we found a steamboat place within – Liong Kee Steamboat. Though not as good as Yong’s (from my vague memory), Liong Kee is considered decent for its price. Overall, we spent about RM30 per pax.
How to get there:
Address: No. 16, Jalan Shah Bandar, Kampung Pegawai, Johor, 83000 Batu Pahat, Malaysia
Operating hours: unknown
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Segenting Fishing Village is definitely during the late evening, as the sunset view from the Lover’s Bridge is simply outstanding at that hour. Allow yourselves around 2 hours for both the temple and the bridge, so arriving there before 5.30pm is recommended. I remembered coming here pretty late 9 years ago, and my friends and I actually missed the sunset at the bridge.
Other Interesting Temples Nearby
Batu Pahat surprising has a total of more than 300 Chinese Temples (what?!) which were built since the 1980s. So, if temples hunting is your thing, do check out the other temples in town. From what I heard/read, the blessings from the temples’ divine are said to be very effective! Beside Chong Long Gong which is for fortune and prosperity, two other interesting temples are:
2. For Love – Si Hai Long Wang Temple 四海龙王大伯公庙 (look for the deity of love – Yue Lao 月老)
If there is anything you have been silently wishing for and all the wishing-upon-the-shooting-star attempt hadn’t quite work out, you know where to go next! *wink*
Epilogue
This trip to Batu Pahat reminded me so much of the days back in university and when I was working at Melaka. Back then, I first stepped into Batu Pahat, along with my housemates, and this temple was one of the place we visited.
Though I did have a personal blog back then, I never documented that visit, probably because we didn’t snap any nice-looking photos to begin with. Fast forward few year later, I graduated from university and started working in an audit firm in Melaka, and Batu Pahat was one of the places I travelled often for outstation audit engagement. I lost count of the number of times I have driven down to Batu Pahat, and the local delicacies my clients and colleagues had brought me to. The only thing I remembered was Han Kee’s otak bun (which we didn’t go this time around), Swee Kee Soup (which we went the next day, see here), Yong’s steamboat (which we missed this round) and of course, the fried nian gao (which forever tasted better in my memory). Sadly, I didn’t document other local food I’ve tried previously, but hopefully, I’ll make a return to Batu Pahat sometime soon, and come up with a food guide for any of you who intend to pay a visit.
Here’s to hoping my next visit to Batu Pahat isn’t another 5 years later. *sweatgrinning*
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-Thanks for reading-
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