Go for Kasimani's homemade strawberry jam

A ripe strawberry

The signboard indicating you have reached the farm

I am not a big fan of strawberry jam but Kasimani's homemade strawberry jam is my favourite. It is different from commercial ones as most of the strawberry jams that are sold in the market have high sugar content. Once you try theirs, you will be hooked. In addition, I really enjoy eating strawberries from the jar. The jam is a little sweet and sour and it can only be kept for a few months. Once you open it, you need to refrigerate it and finish it soon.

The strawberry farm

Cacti for sale here

The place sells homemade strawberry jam, strawberry ice-cream, fresh strawberries in boxes and strawberry syrup. There is also a souvenir shop in case you need to do some last minute shopping for souvenirs. They are also selling potted plants, flowers and cacti. You can walk around the small strawberry farm but you are not supposed to pluck the strawberries.

Flowers for sale too

Cherry tomatoes 

Although this farm is small, it can be crowded especially on weekends and public holidays. Car park is limited.

My strawberry jam is in the plastic bag.

So, my advice is to just drop by this place and get their homemade strawberry jams.

Direction:

Kasimani's strawberry farm is situation opposite the Golf Course in Tanah Rata. If you are coming from Tanah Rata and as you are approaching the Golf Course (on your right), look out for signboard on your left and turn left as soon as you see Kasimani's strawberry farm signboard and follow the small road that leads to this place.

Afternoon Tea at Sungei Palas

Picture perfect Sungei Palas tea house and plantation

A visit to Cameron Highlands will not be complete if you do not visit the tea plantation. There are two brands of tea produced in Cameron Highlands, namely; Boh and Cameron Valley.

The icon of Boh Tea: Mr. Boh

Boh has two tea houses in Sungei Palas and Fairlie while Cameron Valley has three tea houses; two located between Ringlet and Tanah Rata and one located between Tringkap and Kampung Raja. All these tea houses have the magnificent view of the tea plantations. So far, I have been to only three of the tea houses: one in Sungei Palas, one located between Ringlet and Tanah Rata and another one located between Tringkap and Kampung Raja. If you are interested to walk among the tea bushes, I would suggest you to go to Cameron Valley tea houses because they are easier to climb. Most people who visit Sungei Palas do not venture into its tea plantation although it looks accessible. Maybe the reason is because it is located on a hill slope.

Wild flowers growing along the path up to the tea house

The road to Sungei Palas tea house and plantation is located after Equatorial Hotel and Butterfly Garden (if you are coming from Tanah Rata). There is a big signboard indicating the small road up the hill. It is quite challenging and the road is rather narrow. At some point, I would say only a car can pass through. Drivers driving up here need to be considerate and give way to the vehicles on the opposite lane. We had experienced before a school bus was coming from the other way! Gosh! Luckily, we managed to maneuver our small car through (phew!) 

The entrance of the tea house

Enjoy the tea bush walk (from the car park below the tea house)

However, the picturesque view of the tea plantation is worth enduring the journey up. If you would like to walk among the tea bushes, then you can park your car below the tea house. There is also a smaller parking area near to the tea house.

The entrance to the tea factory

First, when you are here, try to enquire for the tea factory tour. It is free of charge. Go to the back of the tea house (after the souvenir shop) to register yourself. Unfortunately, I still have not been on this tour because of  going there too late. So make sure you are early maybe before 3 p.m. They are closed on Monday.

A glimpse of the tea processing equipment

Too late... tea processing has completed, therefore workers are not seen here.

Next, you can order your choice of tea at the counter and also enjoy some snacks like cakes or scones. Then, just relax, sip your tea and enjoy the panoramic view of the tea plantation. To be honest, the place is a little noisy on weekend due to the crowd. Their teh tarik (literal translation is "pulled tea") with less sugar is  good but the blueberry scone with cream was just average.

Enjoy your afternoon tea here

Panoramic view of the plantation from the tea house

Tea and blueberry scone with cream

There is also a souvenir shop located in the tea house. After sipping your cup of tea, now you can buy and take them home. Other souvenirs sold there are like postcards, T-shirts and special design umbrellas. Well, the last two times we were there, it did rain...So, that explains why they are selling umbrellas as souvenirs.

Souvenir shop lined up with packets of tea

Overall, this is a good place for afternoon tea and snacks while enjoying the fresh air up in the tea hill.

Metal furnace door

Pick your own mushrooms at S Corner

The cute strawberry landmark of S Corner

S Corner Central Market is located at a slope that resembles an 's'. I guess that is how it was named.  It is located at Kea Farm, Cameron Highlands. At first, we were not very interested as the things sold here looked quite the same as  in the night market or other souvenir shops. 

Entrance of S Corner

The board indicating the types of available mushrooms

However, as we approached the last section of this market place, there was this colourful thing and there were many people taking photos. This is the organic mushroom section. To add to our excitement of picking our own strawberries or harvesting our own vegetables in Cameron Highlands, now we can choose and pick our own mushrooms. Sounds fun, huh? We thought of picking our own mushrooms but we were a little not so adventurous of eating those colourful mushrooms. So far, I have only come across white, brown, grey or black mushrooms and have eaten them. So, we were a bit taken aback by the colourful and beautiful mushrooms. In the end, we only took photos of the mushrooms. If you do not want to pick your own mushrooms, you can also buy the readily packed mushrooms from this section.

Rows of colourful mushrooms

Pink mushrooms

Lingzhi mushroom

Look at the size of this mushroom

Rows of grey mushrooms

This place is worth visiting as you do not get to go into a mushroom farm every day. Besides, there is also a section for you to pick your own strawberries. Car parks are available in front of the building.

Yellow mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms

It also comes in different shades of brown.

Peace and quiet at Sam Poh Temple

The Sam Poh Temple is located in Brinchang after Hotel Titiwangsa. There is a big signboard to show you the direction.You would not miss it as it is also visible from the road beneath it. Yes, the temple has a commanding position on a hill top. The road up to the temple is a little steep. Car parks are available in front of the temple.

Outside of the temple

The first prayer hall facing the main entrance

The temple is quite big with two prayer halls. For the first prayer hall, you can wear your shoes in. However, for the second one, you are required to remove your footwear. If you wish to pray, jossticks are available at the entrance of the second hall. You just need to drop your donation in the box in exchange for the jossstick.

The guardian lion golden statue

At the foyer between the two prayer halls, there are marble chairs for you to rest and enjoy some peace before leaving. Although photographs are not prohibited in the prayer halls, we did not take any as to show our respect.

In the compound of the temple (near the entrance) is a koi fish pond. There were also two stools next to the pond for you to sit and play with the koi. The fish may look hungry but you are not supposed to feed them (as said in the signboard).

Koi fish

Overall, the place is very well-kept.

Cameron Organic Farm Visit

Looking down from the farm

What else to do in Cameron Highlands? Would you love to visit an organic vegetable farm? Yes, we love to and we did that the last trip there. We were really eager to visit one as we had never stepped into any farms in our lives. I wrote to Mr. Lee Ong Sing (the Managing Director of Cameron Organic Produce) and we got his reply within two weeks. The farm tour was free of charge and he was more than happy to share his knowledge with us. He stressed that he was doing this because he wanted more people to know about organic vegetable farming and how organic vegetables can boost our health. In addition, it can also help to reduce global warming as less animal food is needed to feed the poultry.

The farm was located after the Sam Poh Temple in Brinchang. The road leading to the farm was a little steep and small. He actually led us there in his car.

A short introduction of Cameron Organic Produce (COP): This company was started by a group of Cameron Highlands farmers and Mr. Lee is also a farmer. They got together and marketed their organic vegetables under this brand; COP. Yes, you can get this brand of organic vegetables even in Penang and also other states in Malaysia. They wanted to sell their vegetables directly to their customers instead of through middlemen.

Mr Lee showing us the banner of the program where he learned how to make organic compost 

The organic certification from Malaysia costs them RM10,000 and this certification is only valid in Malaysia. He told us that he learned how to make compost from a Japanese Professor some time ago. He needed the compost to plant vegetables. The compost was made up of all natural stuff such as sugar cane waste/fibre, long grasses (lalang), vegetable waste, melon, enzyme and rice bran. The compost would be ready to use only after three months. He needed to turn them over every week. We had the chance to touch and feel the compost. Don't worry, it was not smelly at all as we had imagined. Surprisingly, it felt warm.

The compost (close-up view)

The shed where the he made the compost

We also saw the nursery where young vegetables were grown before they were moved to the big farm. The young vegetables would remain in the nursery for about 20 days.

The nursery

The nursery was on a lower and flat ground. Then, we climbed up the slope and there was the vegetable farm. There were some vegetables which could only be found in Cameron Highlands. Okay, I am not sure of their English names but they looked like in the photos below. So, make sure you order these vegetables where you are in any of the Chinese restaurants there. Yes, they taste good. There was also the dragon beard vegetable (chayote) which you can only find in Cameron Highlands. Try this too!

This is the vegetable that you should try!

The dragon beard vegetable

The thing about organic vegetables is that you can eat them straight from the plant. Mr. Lee plucked the Japanese cucumber and let us try. It was sweet and juicy. We also saw a worker harvesting the vegetables. Wow! It sure looked easy. In less than five minutes, he had harvested a lot (as in the photo).

The Japanese cucumber that we tasted

Harvesting vegetables

Later, he went on to show us the stream where he got the water for the vegetables. We walked to another section of the farm where he wanted to show us how he made the organic fertilizer. So, that's why their vegetables are definitely safe to eat.

The stream: the water supply for the farm

The formula to make the organic fertilizer: molasses, chicken droppings, fish waste, soya waste, charcoal, corn waste, enzyme with the compost. It would take ten days for it to be ready to use. He also needed to turn them over on daily basis.

Organic fertilizer making in progress

If the oil in the bottle solidifies, then the fertilizer is ready to be used (as it  is cold enough)

He also talked about some of the challenges he faced as an organic farmer.
a. As he was not using pesticides for the vegetables, he used other ways such as crop rotation on the same plot of land to prevent pests. The number of pests will eventually reduce as they may not like certain vegetables. He also combined planting two types of crop together. This will also hinder the attack of pest.

Do you notice there are two types of vegetables planted together? This is to reduce pests. 

b. He also needed to handle customer complaint of his vegetables. He had received complaints such as the vegetables had no worm holes (Yes, funny complaint!) or the vegetables were yellowish (The truth is they are yellowish because of lack of sunshine in the rainy season).

c. Organic farming does not receive much support from the government.

d. Financially, the organic farmers are not very well-off even though the organic vegetables are sold three times more expensive than the non-organics.

e. Do you know that the farmers work very hard throughout the night to pack the vegetables and deliver them to shops and markets by dawn? Kudos to them!

Finally, we reached the most beautiful part of the organic farm where we could see all the more mature vegetables. We also learned that one acre of land to set up the facility cost RM250,000 and those lands have TOL status. The farmers need to pay the rent yearly.

The farm 

In short, this visit is very educational and indeed eye-opening. Go and see for yourself. You can easily call Mr Lee and make an appointment to visit his farm. His mobile phone number can be located in Cameron Organic Produce website (http://www.cameronorganic.com.my/contact-us).

Avant Chocolate

The place looks tempting.

I thought this is a chocolate factory where you can make your own chocolate. However, it is not. It is located in Kampung Raja, before you reach Brinchang. You may want to consider going to this place on your way home if you were to buy their chocolates (just in case they melt).

Window with flowers (European style)

Life-size wall poster of London

I have checked their official website but could not get much information about this place. This place brings back the old memories of the chocolate factory that I have visited in Switzerland. What excites me is the decor of this place. You get to take photos of the famous London red phone booth in the shop. Other than that, they have a range of strawberry chocolates which are beautifully packed and good to buy as souvenirs.

Inside the shop and the red phone booth

The next portion of this building has an eatery where you can get food like spaghetti, fish and chips, strawberry desserts and some light snacks. So, it is a good place for lunch or tea before you continue to drive home. The back part of the building is a strawberry farm. There are also pay toilets here.

Order your food at the counter

A place to relax and have your meals

Strawberries grown so high up