Tempoyak is mentioned in Hikayat Abdullah as a staple food for the people of Terengganu. When Abdullah Abdul Kadir visit Terengganu around the year 1836, he said that one of the favorite food of the local resident is Tempoyak. Based on Hikayat Abdullah, tempoyak is a food special to the ethnic Malays, and a specialty of the states of the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Temerloh in Pahang, Malaysia is known as the capital for "ikan patin" because of its fish farms and also its restaurants offering savoury "ikan patin masak tempoyak" (silver catfish cooked in fermented durian gravy).