Food

Food in Tioman is overpriced and expensive. Despite being a island destination that gets visited and passed by countless fishing boats from the surrounding South China Sea, seafood is the most ridiculously priced cuisine in Tioman, the cost being higher than eating the same menu items in the highest townships on the mainland, such as Cameron Highlands which is 1,500 meters high and hundreds of miles away from the nearest coast.

The popularity of Pulau Tioman as a tourist destination has caused the cost of dining in restaurants to skyrocket through the roof. Even at their cheapest, the prices match at least what you pay for in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur, which is ludicrous considering that Tioman is a countryside village surrounded by bounty from the sea!

Chicken and other kinds of poultry seem to be extremely expensive, but this is understandable since they don't raise their own hens in Tioman, but get their supplies from the mainland. Beef appears to be cheaper on the menu, and this can be attributed to the fact that Tioman has large herds of cows, being pastured mostly in Paya and Juara.

Most restaurants have no qualms charging crazy prices for simple fish or squid dishes, and this is reflected in the menus Add to this the lacklustre styles of cooking and poor quality of service, and what you get is a mediocre place for dining called Tioman. What happened to exciting and vibrant dining in a tropical island setting? Take for example Langkawi and Pangkor, two islands brimming with delicious food and fantastic restaurants. Food in restaurants is not made to be tasty or special on Tioman, but simply a means for fellowship among tourists and visitors, or to get nutrition with a little salt and spice. If you're on a budget, it's better just getting packaged convenience food straight from the sundry shop. This is why all sundry shops and mini markets in Tioman are well stocked with dozens of instant noodle brands, biscuits, cookies and duty free beer.

Most visitors and tourists in Tioman may actually prefer eating in their rooms than wasting their vacation money on vapid dishes and flaccid meat that seem to be a distinct feature of every restaurant in town. Malay food is overwhelmingly the main cuisine in Tioman, reflecting the island's demographics. You can find many Malay restaurants or cafes in every village, but they do present their own take of continental and western food for the benefit of international guests. Some have gone further and learned valuable cooking arts of the Japanese and Koreans, to cater for these tourist markets. An interesting phenomenom is that most restaurants also have a double standard to charging customers - Islanders get a 'kampung' price, which means the actual cost for villagers, while tourists are slit by the throat and led to the slaughter (Perhaps an overly exaggerated hyperbole, but you get the point).

Chinese cuisine can be found in sparring doses, but mostly such restaurants are located in Tekek and Genting. Again, they are poor simulacrums of the oriental cooking arts, compared to the generous portions of the mainland. Chinese seafood is extremely overpriced, but if you want something with less oil, sweetness and sugary coatings, then this is the other option. The cheapest Chinese restaurant (which is still no where what you would consider reasonable back on the mainland) in Tioman seems to be Sarang Seafood in Tekek, located a few doors away from the Alice Happy sundry shop near Barbura Resort. The menu prices look at least reasonable when compared to other competitors in Tekek, while the boss of the shop is a jovial man who will greet courteously without trying to scramble you in like a trader in Chinatown.

Notice that taste and quality of the food is not an issue, as dining everywhere in Tioman ranks less than average. If you happen to stay in one of the luxury resorts like Berjaya Tioman, then wolf down the complimentary buffet breakfast in the morning so you can survive on chips and beer for the rest of the day. You'll save up a lot of money this way, while freeing up your evenings for relaxing strolls around the villages. Some of the chalets and resorts also provide breakfast, so if it's free flow of coffee and toast, then by all means, feast on it! If you're planning a first time trip to Tioman, it helps to be aware of what you're going to eat and what you're going to cough up through the nose (and wallet). If you're the budget traveller with a strong sense of survival, then bring your own food in the luggage.