Cameron Highlands, Malaysia: Strawberries, tea plantations and charcoal steamboat

Food bloggers go wild

One should always be adventurous when it comes to eating overseas.

We found a bounty of food to savour on our Malaysia trip. Luckily for us, millipedes were not one of them, even if Billy did appear keen.

On the fourth day of our trip we found ourselves departing Kuala Lumpur and heading 214km north to the Cameron Highlands.

At 1500m (5,000 feet) above sea level, the Cameron Highlands enjoy the coolest temperatures in Malaysia, with the mercury rarely rising above 25C. This is music to our ears, having struggled with 34C temperatures in Kuala Lumpur, and humidity hovering at 97 per cent.

We leave behind the skyscrapers and overpasses and find ourselves slowly ascending a winding road that snakes its way around lush mountain slopes and past steep cliffs with jagged marble quarries. The hillsides are a vivid green, and dotted throughout the landscape are strawberry plantations covered with plastic sheeting.

You can tell that life is different here. It's slower, and work is physical. We drive past workers' shacks and makeshift lodgings, gradually reaching Brinchang, the biggest town in the Cameron Highlands.

Restoran Sri Brinchang

We make an assessment of the main street of Brinchang. It's only a short stretch of shops and we all spot Starbucks immediately. Free wi-fi! It's the lifeblood of any twitching internet addict suffering from twitter and email withdrawal.

Sad but true.

We unanimously make a beeline for Restoran Sri Brinchang. It's conveniently located next door to Starbucks and definitely within wi-fi range. Yes, we may have whipped out our iPhones in a frenzy even before the menus were handed out.

Tandoori chicken in the tandoor

Mango lassi and teh tarik

Eventually even twitter addicts need food. We order a selection of dishes that arrive in a haphazard fashion straight from the kitchen.

Garlic naan RM2.50 (about AU$0.90)

Garlic naan is fresh from the tandoor, the edges slightly crispy. It's perfect for mopping up curry sauces.

Thali dishes

Chicken thali RM7 (about AU$2.50)

Billy's chicken thali has an element of ceremony, a glossy rectangle of banana leaf unfurled directly onto the table as a plate. A waiter doles out scoops of rice, chickpeas, vegetables and crackers, before returning with silver saucers of chicken curry and curry sauce. It's a feast for the eyes and the palate.

Ghee dosai RM1.80 (about AU$0.65)

Simon's ghee dosai is extra thin and crispy, whereas I've gone for the traditional paper dosai, a tunnel of delicate lentil crepe that is faintly sour from the specially fermented batter.

Paper dosai RM2 (about AU$0.70)

Mee goreng RM4 (about AU$1.40)

It's not unusual to find Malay dishes in Indian restaurants and Billy is determined to find the best mee goreng in all of Malaysia. The chewy yellow noodles are fried with a sweet soy sauce, mixed through with chicken and dressed with shallots and a squeeze of lime.

Chicken tikka RM7 (about AU$2.50)

We find room for chicken tikka, fillets of thigh that are tinged to the colour of ochre, a yoghurt marinade ensuring succulence within.

Mutton tikka RM8 (about AU$2.85)

Mutton tikka is a heavier dish, the chunks of dark meat swathed in a thick curry sauce.

Roti canai RM1 (about AU$0.35)

Minh's roti canai is a square of flaky pastry patterned with streaks of golden brown. At AU$0.35 it's ridiculously cheap too.

Restoran Sri Brinchang

Big Red Strawberry Farm

On the trail for strawberries

Is there a genetic code that explains the obsession by Asians to pick their own fruit?

I know that I love the idea, thrilled by the thought of hand-selecting the very best produce straight from the source.

The Cameron Highlands are a popular destination for holiday-goers, particularly domestic tourists, and pick-your-own fruit farms can be found throughout the area. We stopped at one of the largest ones, Big Red Strawberry Farm, trailing behind a busload of Chinese tourists.

Pick-your-own tomatoes

At Big Red Strawberry Farm you can pick your own tomatoes and strawberries, admire the rows and rows of hydroponically grown lettuces, quench your thirst with a cup of neon-green butterhead lettuce juice, and feast on all kinds of cakes and ice creams festooned with strawberries.

Cacti

Miniature pots of cacti are also in abundance, and up the back we discover an entire area littered with the types of coin-operated child rides you found outside supermarkets.

Cacti

Cacti

We shamelessly souvenir photos of ourselves posing behind giant strawberry cut-outs, and peer over the fence at the rows of strawberry pots with hopeful anticipation. The fruits are few and far between however, and with the threat of a moonsonal thunderstorm imminent, we hightail it back to the car instead.

Pick-your-own strawberries

Cameron Valley Tea House (Bharat Tea Plantation)

We head to a tea plantation instead, seeking refuge from the rain by stopping at Cameron Valley Tea House for a cup of tea.

Admiring the view

The tea plantations are a sight to behold. The Bharat Tea Plantation is the second largest producer of tea in Malaysia with over 1,600 acres of planting area.

Cameron Valley Classic tea RM12

(about AU$4.30) for teapot serving 4 cups

The green maze of tea leaf bushels is mesmerising and calming. The view is spectacular, particularly when clouds of mist roll in over the valley.

Mist in the Cameron Highlands

Bharat Tea Plantations owns four tea houses in the area, and after finishing our cups of tea we make our way down the road to another Cameron Valley Tea House. From this second tea house we are able to walk down a path and explore the tea plantation itself. It's here that we find the millipede and a few Bollywood-inspired moves as well.

Tea leaves with their distinctive jagged edge

Two scones with jam and cream RM12 (about AU$4.30)

And what is tea without scones? We relax in the panoramic cafe with a Devonshire tea. The scones are a little dry and the cream is from an aerosol can, but we don't care. The view is more than enough, especially as we sip on tea that was perhaps grown in the plantation right before our eyes.

Cameron Valley Classic tea RM12

(about AU$4.30) for teapot serving 4 cups

View from the Cameron Valley Tea House

Kok Lim Strawberry Farm

Strawberry pots

Our hunt for strawberries continues. We stop at a small farm only to discover it doesn't allow self-picking. We strike it lucky at our third stop: Kok Lim Self Plucking Strawberry Farm.

Strawberries

The greenhouse holds row upon row of strawberry plantings. We follow the steps to discover a seemingly neverending terrace that extends down the hillside. There's no entrance fee here but each pair that enter the plucking area must exit with at least half a kilogram of strawberries priced at RM20 (AU$7.15). Surplus strawberries are charged at RM40/kg.

The perfect strawberry?

Skips of delight turn into steps of anxiousness. We find plenty of strawberries but the quest for perfection leads to moments of deliberation over the ideal size, colour and shape that will ensure maximum flavour.

It's plenty of fun though - like an Easter Egg hunt but healthier for you!

Restoran Highlands

DIY table setting

The nights are cooler in the Cameron Highlands, not cold but cool enough for the lure of steamboat.

Charcoal steamboat is the regional specialty here, and we head to Restoran Highlands, one of the few restaurants in the area to offer this dish.

Charcoal steamboat

We have barely sat down before the dishes start arriving. Platters of fish balls, tofu, crab claws, jellyfish, fish, chicken, noodles, eggs, vegetables and prawns are dispensed to our table. The centrepiece is the steamboat vessel, heated by charcoal that adds a subtle smoky flavour to the meat.

Fishballs, tofu, crab claws and egg

Fish fillets

Steamboat

We throw in everything all at once. The bubbling soup cooks everything quickly and we fish around with chopsticks and ladles to find our buried treasure. Vegetables rapidly turn to a vivid green, strips of chicken are juicy and a motley collection of fishballs soak up the clear sweet broth.

We throw in the noodles toward the end, curls of egg noodle and spidery lengths of rice vermicelli that provide a final burst of carbohydrate satiation. It's help-yourself, convivial, casual dining at its best.

Digging in

And later that night? Karaoke. But if you're expecting photos of that, you're livin' on a prayer.

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Cameron Highlands morning markets)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)

View Larger Map

Restoran Sri Brinchang
25 Main Road, Tanah Rata, 39000
Cameron Highlands
Tel: +60 (05) 491 5982

Big Red Strawberry Farm
Brinchang (next to Cactus Valley), Cameron Highlands
Pahang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (05) 491 3327
Opening hours: Open 7 days 8.30am-5.30pm

Cameron Valley Tea House
15-16 Main Road, Tanah Rata 39007
Cameron Highlands, Pahano Darul Makmur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (05) 491 1133

Kok Lim Strawberry Farm
Brinchang, 39100
Cameron Highlands, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (05) 491 4481

Restoran Highlands
29 Jalan Besar, Brinchang 39100
Cameron Highlands,‎ Tanah Rata‎ Pahang, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (05) 491 1309

> Read the next Malaysia 2010 post (Cameron Highlands morning markets)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)