When someone mentions Bentong, Pahang, there is a high chance that ginger would slip into the sentence, especially if you are a food enthusiast. The sleepy town, located in the Western part of Pahang, is synonymous with the rhizome that is more pungent, spicer and pricier than ordinary ginger.
During my previous trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang by land, we stopped over at Bentong town for a half-day visit, where we went shopping, ate durians, desserts and desserts, and tasted some of the local delicacies for lunch.
Bentong Town is a small town on the western side of Pahang, the largest state in Malaya. It’s about 80 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur and an hour’s drive from the federal capital.
Bentong district, which is about 1,831 hectares, boasts two of the most famous holiday resorts: the Genting Highlands Resort and the Berjaya Hills French-themed Resort — Colmar Tropicale.
Bentong is famous for a few local products, including ginger, durians, Taufu Pok (fried bean curd), and soy sauce.
According to history, Bentong was built around the confluence of the Repas and Perting rivers, and at its core was a bustling market. When tin was discovered in both rivers, a ridge was built by tin miners and it was called Ban Untung, which translates to ‘Profitable Ridge’.
Eventually, as with many words, Ban Untung was shortened to Bentong, which stuck.
Bentong Ginger
Walking around the town, I could see the Bentong gingers and related products on sale almost everywhere — on the roadside hawker stalls, in the wet market, in various shops, and even outside the coffee shops. Thus, Bentong is also known as the Ginger Town.
A wide selection of ginger products, either as spices, food flavouring, or herbal medicine, are produced from the Bentong ginger, which is said to be of higher quality, more spicy, and with a stronger aroma as it is grown in the highlands with fertile soil and cooler temperatures in the Bukit Tinggi and Genting Highlands areas. Thus, Bentong ginger is also known as the “King of Ginger.”
According to the Michelin Guide, the Agriculture Bureau of Pahang certified Bentong Ginger as one of Pahang’s Geographical Indications in 2015. The certification is a symbol attached to products that have specific geographical origins.
Gingers everywhere
Ginger tea, ginger powder, ginger honey enzyme, dried honey ginger snack, ginger candies, ginger and lemongrass essential oil, ginger foot bath, and other ginger-flavoured dried fruits snacks, ginger sugar syrup, ginger brown sugar cubes, and so on are all popular among tourists and locals alike.
I was surprised to find out that ginger is also incorporated as an ingredient into the food (as spices or flavouring) and drinks (like ginger tea) that are sold in the food shops.
The bowl of noodles that I ordered from the food shop came with a spoonful of ginger paste placed on a Chinese tablespoon for me to add according to my taste.
The “yong tau fu” (stuffed bean curd) is also stuffed with minced meat spiced with ginger. In the dish of steamed fish, stir-fried chicken, and fried vegetables, no doubt, julienned ginger was added to spice up the taste.
At the popular shop named “Taufu Auntie Mok,” the bean curd jelly being prepared also had a mild taste of ginger; as ginger sugar was added, so was the ice cream (with ginger flavour) on top of the “ais kacang.”
The shop also sells a wide variety of products made from the Bentong ginger.
Benefits of ginger
According to a report from Johns Hopkins Medicine, gingerol, a nutrient from the ginger root that has medicinal properties, can improve indigestion, relieve nausea, improve respiratory conditions, and the like.
Ginger also contains substances with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Thus, ginger is
traditionally regarded as a health food.
I also visited a shop named “Mr Bentong,” which according to the owner, Hafiz Oon, a Chinese Muslim, is the largest Bentong Ginger supplier in the country, selling all sorts of products made from ginger, including ginger-flavoured snacks, fresh ginger, and ginger seedlings.
Among the signature products are several types of ginger enzymes, like Ginger Honey Enzyme and Ginger Enzyme Original. Others are ginger oil, ginger juice, ginger tea and the like. These products are promoted as health foods with the slogan “Ada Minum, Ada Sihat.”
These products are also being sold online through social media platforms.
The shop is located at 61, Jalan Chui Yin, in Bentong Town.
So next time, if you happen to pass by Bentong, you can stop-over at Mr Bentong to shop for some ginger-related products or other local products as gifts to bring home for your family members, relatives and friends.
