Food

Fortunately, Port Dickson does live up to its reputation as a good eating place. Despite the tourists and commercialisation, food in Port Dickson is quite delicious and famous. Since it's a beachside destination, most of the cuisine found here revolves around seafood. Chinese restaurants and Malay hawker stalls line the entire stretch of Jalan Pantai along the coastline, all the way from town to Tanjung Tuan.

The best place for food is found in the Teluk Kemang area, which lies between the 5th to 10th mile. Several famous Chinese seafood restaurants can be found lining the main road here, either among the shophouses or located within their own plot of land. Diners can order fresh fish, crabs, prawns, squid, mussels and oysters cooked in a variety of oriental styles. Visitors from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are a most fastidious lot when it comes to food, and each have their own restaurants in Port Dickson to swear about.

The general style of dining is open-air, spilling out on to the roads but sheltered by plastic roofs. Generally, you can also find other good places to eat which are similiar in style around Bagan Pinang, Tanjung Tuan and the main town area. Hawkers stalls in Port Dickson are dominated by the Malay style of cooking and cuisine. These can be found along Jalan Pantai but mostly concentrated in popular beach areas. Open mostly during the day, these hawker stalls serve traditional cuisine and snacks.

Most famous among the hawker fare is 'Ikan Bakar', which is grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves. Also, try out the traditional satay dish, which are meat skewers roasted over hot coals. Then there's a wide range of traditional snacks such as prawn crackers, fruity drinks and sweet pastries. If you're willing to travel further down south for some good Malay food, you can visit Pasir Panjang which is about 35 km away from Port Dickson. The grilled fish here is quite famous and cheaper. Also, keep your eyes peeled for local fruits, often sold from make shift stalls along the road side. These tropical fruits are grown in Negeri Sembilan, of where there are many orchards and plantations.

If you're here for the first time, the locals eat this fruit called 'Durian', which is a large thorny fruit that consists of yellowish flesh inside. Durians have a pungent odour that may or may not appeal to you, depending on your taste. There are safer fruits to try, such as mangoes, mangosteens, starfruits, guavas and 'rambutans', a hairy fruit that grows in bunches which is absolutely sweet in taste and soft in texture. Always remember to bargain at any of these stalls in order to get a good price for fruits.