Cari Kepah @ D' Bayan Mud Flats in Penang

I had nothing much to do before dinner so I went down to the beach to see activities there. At the beach there were people bending and digging on the mud flats. Most were families--mothers with young children and fathers. Some were still in their work clothes. They were very absorbed in their digging activities. I asked one of the men to show me his catch and asked him what it was that he was digging. He replied "Kepah". I asked how do the people eat it and his wife replied, "Boil it with serai and salt and dip it in sauce". I asked whether it is worth digging for kepah here and she replied "Yes, especially on weekdays as there are many more people on weekends. I asked him for the price of kepah at the local market but the man said he doesn't know.

Where the sewage meets the sea...

... kepah grows aplenty.

Even kids help out their mothers to dig for kepah.

Little mounds of dug mud on the mud flats.

Mud flats and sandbank.

Digging on the sandbank at low tide.

... with Pulau Jerejak in the background.

Start in the centre and scoop 2-3 inches deep in a circular manner. Expand the periphery with your legs wide apart till you feel like falling in the mud. Then pull out the kepah.

Kepah from the mud flats..., a delicacy of the local Malays on Penang island.