This is one of the place that we visited when we were at Kota Bharu last week. It was called Tambatan Di Raja. At first, I thought this was a spelling mistake and It should have read Jambatan (Meaning bridge in Malay). But after checking with a colleague, he mentioned that Tambatan is an old Malay term for Jetty.

This place is where the Boats arrive for inspection. They are also currenty working on a 3 storey Immigration building. So the photos will show alot of constructions being going on.

Jetty Entrance

Jetty Entrance

There was also a boat at the Jetty at that moment. This place seemed to have a floating restaurant, but due to the construction works, it was closed that day.

Floating Restaurant

Boat at the Jetty

Below are the remaining photos that I took at that location. I guess in about 3-4 years time, this whole place would be developed.

Ridel Hotel, facing the River

River View

Tower for the Navigations

Canon

During my visit to Kota Bharu, dad took us to a cafe that was located opposite Marrybrown Kota Bharu. The place was simply known as Sim Gardens. The environment was quite nice, they had free Wireless (WiFi) access. Most of the that were at the cafe were college students. This is located in a town called the Pengkalan Chepa. Some of the other attractions around that area was the Pantai Timur super market, Pengkalan Chepa Pizza Hut and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, which explains the reason this place is flooded with College or University students.

Sim Gardens

The food there was not to expectation, according to my dad who was a regurlar to Sim Gardens, said that the food we had that night was not good. Probably it was done by a different cook. I ordered their Curry Mihoon, which costed RM6, and my mum had the Claypot Noodle, which was roughly RM8. Quite costly compared to KL, but with free WiFi and a good environment, we didn’t mind at all. They serve Ala Carte such as Prawn Mee, Fried Noodles, Pattaya Fried Rice and so on. This place is air-conditioned so it’s quite soothing. I don’t think you can smoke inside, though they had tables and chairs outside.

Curry Mihoon

Claypot Yee Mee

Soursop Ice Blended

Sim Gardens is very near the Kota Bharu airport, not more than 5 minutes drive away. For those who are heading to the heart of Kota Bharu, this can be a good stop for food. This area does not feature what kelantan is famous for, their unique food or rather their Kelantanese Delights.

The next few photos are of Sim Gardens Interior.

Fruit and Drink Bar

Interior Sim Gardens

Fish Pond

Sim Garden

Sim Garden Entrance

Overall, based on the first time visit, I rate this place 5 out of 10 for the food and 8 out of 10 for the enviroment.

I’ve been waiting for a long time to go to Kota Bharu to visit my dad and check out that town. My dad has been transfered to Kota Bharu Airport since last year for duty, he will be based there until he retires end of next year. My mum and I went to Kota Bharu on the 16th March till the 21st March 2010. Initially not knowing that place at all, and after a few colleague mentioned that there’s nothing much to do at Kota Bharu, got a little sad. But it wasn’t too bad when I was there.

The first few days we spend staying at my dad’s place, he rented a semi-D house all for himself. Houses there are cheap when compared to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

Kota Bharu, from my experience is very good for Food. Nasi Dagang, Mee Rebus, they all taste good. Slightly sweeter than what we get here in KL. Even their teh-tarik is extremely sweet.

On the 19th March, my dad took me to the airport tower where he works, the view from there was amazing, you could see the entire airport. I will write a separate blog for my experience in that tower.

Kota Bharu also seems to be famous for it’s traditional batik and wau (sort of a kite). A batik sarong can cost somewhere between RM9-RM16, depending on your bargaining skills.

We also had a chance to visit the tourist area where the Museums, Palaces and other attraction reside.

Kota Bharu is also good for their beaches. The one that I can remember was Pantai Cahaya Bulan. We went there at night and it was very windy. There are also many stalls opened there for late night supper. That area seems to be an area where it floods easily, the roads were wet.

I’ll let the photos speak for itself, enjoy.