After Dark in Chukai: Night Markets, Market Mornings and Kemaman Street Food

In Chukai, the market never really closes. It simply changes address.

Kemaman keeps time by its markets. The Kemaman Municipal Council publishes a schedule of night and weekly markets that reaches into almost every corner of the district, from Geliga and Kuala Kemaman to Kerteh, Kijal, Kemasik, Air Putih and Binjai. On almost any evening, somewhere in Kemaman, someone is lighting a charcoal grill and stacking keropok beside a wok. For visitors, Chukai is the place to begin, with a market morning and a night market on the same trip.

Morning: Pasar Besar Chukai

The day starts at Pasar Besar Chukai, the town’s main covered market on Jalan Sulaimani, run under the municipal council. It is a working market rather than a showpiece: fruit sellers line the roadside with whatever is in season, from rambutan to durian, while inside you will find the morning’s fish, freshly slaughtered chicken, herbs and vegetables, with a food court behind. Look out for jars of tempoyak (fermented durian), budu (the fermented anchovy sauce of the East Coast) and sos bilis, the building blocks of Terengganu home cooking.

Come, above all, for the kuih. Pasar Besar Chukai is known for two Terengganu specialities that are hard to find outside the state. Kuih bekang is a soft, airy cake of rice flour and egg cooked in a mould, served with a sweet palm sugar syrup or a rich coconut sauce. Qasidah is a rose-shaped sweet of flour, coconut milk, egg, pandan and ghee, finished with fried shallots. Traders have told reporters that customers drive from as far as Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru for them. Arrive early: the best trays are gone long before lunch.

Evening: The Pasar Malam Circuit

As the heat lifts, the action moves to the night markets. In town, the council lists Jalan Padang in Taman Bandar Chukai as the main site, run with the local hawkers’ and petty traders’ association, with trading on Thursday evenings and a morning market on Fridays. Published schedules differ on the other days, so check the council’s latest list or ask at your hotel. Other regular sites include the ground beside Masjid Geliga, the road in front of the Geliga police station, and, further north, Jalan Padang Lapangan Terbang in Kerteh.

What to eat? Start where Terengganu starts: keropok lekor, the chewy fish-and-sago sausage, fried to order and eaten from a paper bag with sweet chilli sauce. Then look for the smoke. Kemaman’s own satar, spiced fish and coconut grilled in a banana-leaf pyramid, sits beside skewers of satay, wedges of murtabak, folded apam balik pancakes and parcels of rice for tomorrow’s breakfast. Wash it all down with a bag of iced drink from the big jars traders call air balang.

The first rule of the pasar malam: walk the whole market once before you buy anything. The second rule: nobody ever follows the first rule.

Beyond Chukai: A Market Every Night

Staying elsewhere in the district? You will rarely be far from a market. A community-run Kemaman directory lists evening markets at Kampung Ibok in Kijal on Saturdays, at Simpang 4 in Kemasik on Fridays, in Air Putih on Fridays, on Jalan Kampung Tok Kapur in Binjai on Sundays and at the Rumah Murah estate in Kuala Kemaman, close to the fishing harbour, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Village markets are smaller and gentler than the town’s, often with a single satar grill and a queue of neighbours catching up on the week. Days do change, so treat the list as a starting point and ask locally.

Riverside: The Waterfront Night Market

Chukai’s newest after-dark address is the riverside. In 2025 a Waterfront Night Market was launched at the town’s waterfront, promoted as running on Friday and Saturday evenings from late afternoon until midnight, with street food, mocktails, coffee and plenty of spots for photographs by the water. It is not yet on the council’s official list of night markets, so confirm it is running before you plan an evening around it. If it is, combine it with a sunset walk along the Kemaman Waterfront.

Seasonal Bazaars

During Ramadan, the rhythm changes. Bazaars appear in the late afternoon across Malaysia, Kemaman included, selling everything needed to break the fast at sunset, from grilled chicken to rainbow-coloured kuih. They are a joy to visit, Muslim or not; simply be discreet about eating in public during fasting hours.

How to Shop Like a Local

• Go early for the market, late for the grill. Kuih sells out by mid-morning; satar and satay are best after dusk.
• Watch the queue. The longest line of locals is a better guide than any review.
• Ask before you photograph a trader or their stall. Most will say yes, and smile.
• Remember the Friday weekend. Terengganu rests on Friday and Saturday, and some stalls keep different days.
• Mind the weather. Heavy monsoon rain between November and March can cancel an open-air market at short notice.

For the dishes that belong to the daytime, from Hai Peng’s kaya toast to Kijal’s lemang, follow our Kemaman food trail. Then come back to Chukai after dark, find the smoke, and order one more stick than you need.

Which Kemaman night market has the best keropok lekor? Make your case in the comments below.

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