Ipoh - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur [5 Days 4 Nights Trip] - Summarised Itinerary

I am back from my hols! 

As part of the agreement with a very dear friend (yes Kon, that's you), i would post a summarised itinerary of this trip before diving into the details, which would likely take months! I would link this post accordingly once i am done with the individual entries. 

Day One 

- Singapore to Ipoh

[10.00 pm the previous day] 

Took the crappy coach from Golden Mile Complex.

[5.00 am]

Reached Ipoh at an ungodly, inhumane hour; i slept for at most two hours! Loitered a while in the Amanjaya Bus Terminal before deciding to take the RM30 cab to the hotel. As expected, hotel would not allow THAT early a check-in.

[6.50 am]

Proceeded to have dim sum in the nearby Ming Court and walked to Nam Heong for white coffee. Toured the Old Town area, including the historical Ipoh Railway Station.

[12.00 noon] 

We finally checked in to the cozy French Hotel! Had a great rest for three hours before a shopping / dinner session in Ipoh Parade shopping centre.

[6.00 pm] 

Went back to the boutique hotel; mom was mesmerised with the Taiwanese dramas spoken in Hokkien.

Day Two 

- Ipoh

[6.00 am] 

Time to wake up! Not willingly though. Had dim sum at another highly acclaimed restaurant; Foh San.

[8.30 am] 

Start of our 8-hour day tour that brought us to the haunted Kellie's Castle, five impressive cave-temples that included Sam Poh Tong (Cavern of Triple Gems), Kek Lok Tong (Cavern of Ultimate Bliss), Ling Sen Tong (Cavern of the Immortals), Nan Tian Tong (Cavern of the Southern Heaven) and Kwan Yin Tong (Cavern of Guanyin).

The tour contained food elements, as usual, which are considered as main draws for the small city. Lunch was at a famous roast duck restaurant (Sun Yeong Wai) and there were visits to the super nice Funny Mountain (for the soya milk and beancurd) and Sin Eng Heong (kaya puffs).

[6.00 pm]

Dinner at the well-known Lou Wang for their signature beansprouts and steamed chicken! 

[8.00 pm] 

Chilled out with the parents in Jose & Deli Eatery (located in French Hotel).

Day Three 

- Ipoh to Cameron Highlands

[7.30 am] 

Out of the hotel. Breakfast was at Sin Yoon Loong for a serving of toast and a cup of unsatisfying white coffee.

[10.00 am] 

Departed Ipoh via a private transport to Cameron Highlands!

[12.00 noon] 

Reached Brinchang and proceeded to check in to Rosa Passadena Hotel, successfully. A simple lunch followed by a self visit to Big Red Strawberry Farm.

[2.30 pm] 

Left for our Agro Delight Tour (part 1, part 2, part 3) where we were brought to a number of farms like watercress, vegetables, cactus, hydroponics and even chrysanthemums! The screw-loose guide from Titiwangsa Tours even took us to a restricted area with a spectacular view of the town! A Halal steamboat dinner concluded the tour.

[8.00 pm] 

Visited Brinchang's bustling night market before retiring for the night.

Day Four 

- Cameron Highlands to Kuala Lumpur

[6.00 am] 

Woke up early for the hotel buffet breakfast! It was okay but i thought it would be more relaxing to have a serving of hot roti canai from the roadside restaurant in that cool highland weather.

[8.00 am] 

A mini van from Kang Tours and Travel picked us up from the hotel where we shall travel to Kuala Lumpur! 

[11.15 am] 

Arrived in the capital of Malaysia! Despite a few hiccups, we managed to check in to Times Square Service Suites. As usual, reviews of the three accommodations i stayed in the past few days would be posted in due course.

[12 noon] 

Stopovers in Kenaga Wholesale City, Petaling Street and Bukit Bintang and finally had a most fantastic hokkien mee in KL.

[10.30 pm] 

Finally done with shopping! 

Day Five

- Kuala Lumpur to Singapore

[6.00 am] 

Unsurprisingly, i was once again pulled out from bed as both parents were already awake! Filled up our tummies with fish soup for mom and roti canai for dad and myself.

[10.00 pm] 

Checked out from the service suite and we continued our shopping spree while dad took care of the numerous luggage we had.

[12.00 noon] 

Boarded Transtar First Class Solitaire, where i fully expected to be impressed .

[4.10 pm] 

Home sweet home! 

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Click the following for details:
Day One - Singapore > Ipoh
Day Two - Ipoh 
Day Three - Ipoh > Cameron Highlands
Day Four > Cameron Highlands > Kuala Lumpur
Day Five > Kuala Lumpur > Singapore

iPhone 5 Charging Cable Is Not Working?

Like many iPhone users, i shunned original cables due to their exorbitant pricing and opted for third party charging cables which came in many lengths, numerous colours at dirt cheap prices (put it this way, cheap enough for me to buy five or six in one online purchase).

In recent months however, i would get the above error message on my desktop whenever i plug in the lightning cable to my iPhone 5 and this would only happen after a few successful uses. I was confused and thought this had something to do with that particular batch i bought. 

Sadly, this was not the case. 

Apple, the big brother, has managed to render third party charging cables useless via a software update for iPhone devices (not sure if this is the case with ipod and ipads)! You might be able to utilise the cables for a longer period of time via power socket charging (don't plug it to your computer for charging or data sync) but remember to keep your fingers crossed.

It was frustrating for me as my original cable was spoilt and i depended heavily on my mobile for work, personal and entertainment. I don't have a choice but to do exactly what the Apple executives would like me to do; buy the original cable.

This original piece cost me S$28! 

I could buy more than ten of this online! 

A Trip to Ipoh, Cameron Highlands & Kuala Lumpur!

By the time this was published, i should have arrived in Ipoh after enduring a coach ride of over ten hours and in the midst of seeking out good food for breakfast in this supposedly gastronomic city in Malaysia!  

Two nights stay in the capital of Perak and i would be on the way to the nearby highlands to breath in cool, crisp air untainted by urban pollution. Be assured; i have covered so much on cameron highlands that i am not expecting many posts to be generated because of this trip.

A night stay in Brinchang (a small town in Cameron Highlands) and off we go to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia where the tallest twin towers in the world dazzle visitors over and over again! 

As with my other overseas trips, posts have been scheduled to be published in this blog and you can look forward to new blog entries in the few days that i am away.

Enjoy and take care!! 

^_^

Albert Centre Fried Carrot Cake (源记正宗菜头粿) - Black and White @ Bugis [Singapore]

Our intention was simple; have the famous bak png (meat rice) and off we go to our next round of makan!

Simple yet without the bloody luck to have our way; the stall was closed! 

We chose the next best alternative based on the length of queue - fried carrot cake! p.s the basis may not be the most accurate given that individual taste buds differ. 

Again, I'm just not a white carrot cake person! My aim was only to attack the eggs and nothing else! 

The Great Kon made the correct decision by asking for extra black sauce as that delectable sweetness was obvious from the very first bite. 

Pity there's nothing that's as good beside that saccharine-ness. The sweetness was a bit overwhelming without the wok hei presence and the Gang of Four kinda ignored the dish after a few mouthfuls. 

:(

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Location

270, Queen Street, Stall #01-59,

Albert Centre Market And Food Centre 

(near to Bugis Village and the famous Guanyin temple)

Price

S$3 each

Tan's Tu Tu Coconut Cake [陈家"嘟嘟"糕] @ Block 449, Clementi Avenue 3

I shall spare all of you the torture of reading a long history of the origins for tutu cake in Singapore as i thought the above information sheet has aptly summarised the important points.

The process of making tutu cakes might seem simple for amateurs; maybe a bit of repetitions but didn't appear to have the complications required to cook, for example, a plate of chilli crab.

If only things are indeed that easy - imagine having to do hundreds or maybe thousands of them every day by hand and keeping in mind that you must strike a balance of that initial scoop of rice flour on the mould; not too much (this would reduce the proportion of fillings) and not too little (the tiny cake, once steamed, would break apart even with a light touch).

Furthermore, the steamer was set to a high temperature that would definitely leave a few marks on a newbie's hands! And for an impatient person like me, the haste to churn out as many tutu cakes as possible would likely mean a high chance of screwing things up big time! 

I admit it would not be the job for me. That's why i am always thankful for the existence of decades-old hawkers with numerous awards and accolades who continue to offer us good food using traditional recipe; like the Tan's Family Tu Tu Coconut Cake!

With a history of over eighty long years, i am not sure how traditional or modern this has become. As i mentioned many times in this blog, authenticity is nothing if you don't like it at first bite!

But, i absolutely ADORE these little bundles of delightful kueh! 

The perfectly steamed cakes came in two types of fillings; the crushed peanuts which were traditionally used although i would prefer them better in pancakes (mian jian kueh). Nonetheless, take a bite, compare it with their competitors and you would realise the peanuts were not as sweet and tasted surprisingly light. 

Coconut filling is the one that makes my knees go weak! Instead of frying the coconut shreds with plain sugar like many stalls nowadays, the tan's family maintained having theirs stir-fried with gula melaka! And boy were they lavish with the yummy coconut shreds! 

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Location

Block 449, #01-211, 

Clementi Avenue 3

Price

S$3 for 5 pieces

Opening Hours

3pm to 9.30pm

Any enquiry can be directed to tans.tutu@gmail.com or 9737-2469

Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup (正文志記豬什湯大王) - Truly The King @ Foch Road (Near Lavender Food Square)

I am not a fan of pig organ soup, otherwise known as zhu zha tang or 猪杂汤 since i don't enjoy eating any kind of internal organs except for foie gras!

But when the Great Kon proposed having a light supper in a very notable stall at Lavender selling (in his opinion) the best pig organ soup in Singapore, i got very curious. 

Because i have never heard about it despite its close proximity to Lavender Food Square, which i often frequent. 

Taking up quite a number of shops in the traditional shophouse buildings in that area, cheng mun chee kee offered only two stalls; one for drinks and the other for pig organs soup. This kind of strategy would never be sustainable in the long run if the food is not of a high standard.

The above was the supper for four of us! I think the word "light" is used very liberally in Kon's dictionary! How am i supposed to get my weight to below 60 kilograms if light refers to having such a heavy meal!?!!?!?

Luo Han Zai

南乳罗汉斋

My only comparison with this was the canned based luohan zai that my mom always buys from the supermarkets for the days she takes only vegetarian. The one above came sweet, crunchy without that disgusting chemical taste and pungency i often get from the canned version. Still not my cup of tea though. 

Meat w Chestnuts n Salted Fish

马蹄咸鱼蒸肉饼

Are you one of those food wasters who love pork buns but would ruthlessly throw away the edible bun and attack only the moist and juicy meat? 

I guarantee you would like the above steamed meat with chestnuts and salted fish! Notwithstanding the weird combination and the harder texture, it was as delicious as a good meat bun should be, without the sinful guilt i regularly get from ingesting too much fattening pork! 

Loving it is an understatement although i do have to caution you readers that you would have to prepare for that unfortunate scenario of biting into a piece of salted fish! Maybe i should not generalise; the above message is specifically for those who dislike salted fish. Like me.

Pork Balls Soup 

肉丸子汤

In the past, when i was almost a 0% vegetable eater, the kind of soups i drank must be meat based. One of them happened to be the pork balls soup. Normally, the taste would not deviate much from one stall to another. 

This was just different; the noticeably salted vegetables based broth was masterly boiled to have a light consistency that was not overly salty! The above revelation might disappoint absolute meat eaters who are looking forward to a robust, porky bowl of soup. 

However, nothing's lost yet. 

Not when you throw these terrific meat balls into your mouth! They were so amazing; they put all other meat balls sold in other places to shame! Till now, i could not fathom how the meatballs can be so soft, so tender, so q, so juicy and yet so good! 

To put it crudely, they are simply the balls of perfect satisfaction! 

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Location

24 Foch Road

Map

As above

Operating Hours

9am to 5am

Closed on Mondays

p.s. the website listed (www.chengmuncheekee.com) is no longer available

Price

Luo Han Zai - S$3

Meat w Chestnuts n Salted Fish - S$3

Pork Balls Soup (big)- S$6

Plain Rice - S$0.50