The past Labor Day 2010, my sis organized a trip to Pulau Aman. I totally don't have any idea what this island all about, but just knew that it do abound with Mantis shrimp (濑尿虾).
This is the jetty for visitors to take the boat to Pulau Aman. Two way ticket cost RM6 per person.
If you turn your head back from the jetty, you can actually see this view. Due to we went there during Public Holiday, we can see a lot of Malays actually bring a lot of food, personal belonging to this island for picnic, or maybe stay there for few days.
Another view from Jetty. I can see a Malay couple that actually enjoy the natural scenery on the big rock. I need to salute to the couple as the weather is really hot, and I wondering how they can sitting there for long period. Wouldn't they get sunburn?
Here is the boat that bring us to Pulau Aman. Yea, not as big as i thought, but there are 3-4 boats in total. I think is only for Public Holiday special arrangement as they expecting an influx of visitors will 'flood' the Pulau Aman.
See! We're the only chinese family in the boat. The boat mostly filled with Malays, and I hardly see Indian visit this island.
When I queue up in the boat, I can see there are a lot of small fishing boat beside us. As you can see, there are some 'low-class' fish left over under the sun. They want to make it as a salted-fish?
This is the sea ebbs period, when you walk on the wooden bridge, you can smell the salty-mud smell. I can said, that isn't stinky smell, but is a natural fisherman village smell.
Nowadays, most of the 'kampung' house in Pulau Aman already upgraded to 'half-brick' house. The credit should go to Penang state government. :-)
However, the traditional Malay "Stilt House" still available in this island.
This is the art of the nature. This much different in any other place in Penang Island.
A pair of 'fish' (sorry I don't know the scientific name) swimming along the seaside. They're just lovely and enjoy themselves so much in front of me.
This is Pandan Coconut which is just get it from the coconut tree upon request. It is so fresh, sweet and very suitable for us to have it under the melting environment. Surprisingly, it is just cost us RM2 per Pandan Coconut. In Penang Island, market price is around RM3 - RM4 each.
See, all the fresh Mantis shrimp (濑尿虾) from the sea. RM2 each. If you were to buy 20 and above, it cost RM1.50 each. It is very fresh, and worth. 2 thumbs up!!
Floating Restaurant of Pulau Aman, is the biggest supplier of the fresh Mantis shrimp (濑尿虾), fish (depends on season), and crab. You can chose the fresh seafood that you want, make payment, and bring it to the restaurant to cook.
This is nice. Although it just a steam crab, but you taste the real taste of crab, because this is really FRESH.
This what we came for - steam Mantis shrimp. You need to use the scissor provided by the restaurant to cut the both sideway, and the back-end. Then, your tongue will taste the fresh Mantis shrimp that you ever eat.
The owner of the Floating Restaurant. I suspect he is the head of the village as well. He seems monopolize the marine product's trades in Pulau Aman. He can easily have bad temper if customer not queue up, or not follow his instruction; I saw him scolding one of the fisherman like hell when he don't like the offered price, then he will just ask them to go back to their mama's house. One thing that makes me admire him was his ability to group the Mantis Shrimp according to the nuances of their size, and pay accordingly to the fisherman.
Almost all visitors will 'ta-bao' at least a beg of the Mantis Shrimps from this "floating restaurant". The lovely couple still talk about the Mantis Shrimps with the arm entwined, and towards to the jetty.
