Our Small Town Cafe Visit

There were two reasons why we ended up dining in this restaurant. First, this place was just behind Heritage Hotel (since we were staying there) and secondly, we had a late dinner (around 8 p.m.). Since it was late, we did not want to drive to Brinchang for dinner and had to face with parking woe due to crowd and night market on a Saturday night.

The cafe looks cozy

How to get to the Small Town Restaurant (Tanah Rata): If you are coming from Brinchang to Tanah Rata, follow the signboard to go to Cameronian Inn. Drive until you pass Cameronian Inn (on your left) and go on until you will see Small-Town Restaurant on your right (ground floor of Taman Royal Lily apartment). You can park your car in the compound.

Well, the place looked cozy and clean. As it was getting late, there were more and more patrons. Some patrons ended up sharing table (for those long tables for 8).

The interior

The thick menu

You will need some time to go through the year-book thick menu like what we experienced if you had no idea what to eat. Okay, maybe I was a bit exaggerating about the thick menu. However, the good thing was they had a wide selection of oriental and western food.

They had set lunch and dinner at a reasonable price but the choices of the set were limited. Or you can try the ala-carte.

Hot lemon tea

Hot teh tarik

We ordered a set dinner that included a bowl of mushroom soup with two pieces of garlic bread and chicken chop topped  with cheese sauce. We also ordered a  fusion set of fried rice and chicken chop in garlic sauce.

Mushroom soup with two pieces of garlic bread

The verdict: The food taste could have been better. The mushroom soup with garlic bread was the best compared to the rest of the dishes. The chicken chop with garlic sauce was better than the one with cheese sauce. The one with cheese sauce tasted bland although it was a chef-recommended dish in the menu.The fried rice was dry and a little hard and not fragrant at all. 

Chicken chop topped with cheese sauce

Fried rice with chicken chop in garlic sauce

The service: The waiters were efficient and attentive. However, it was a long wait for our main course to be served (about 30 minutes or so).

So, that was our dinner. We also noticed that other patrons ordered food in soup bowls. Maybe that could be a better choice.

Lunch at the riverside restaurant: Restaurant Tepi Sungai Chong Kee

For some time now, our trips to Cameron Highlands have been scheduled for places we have never visited before. So, the idea of having our lunch by the riverside was one of them. However, this is not one of those fine dining. So, do not expect too much.

The restaurant 

Restoran Tepi Sungai Chong Kee (translation in English: Chong Kee Riverside Restaurant) (located in Tringkap) is more of a coffee shop than a restaurant. The river is actually a stream. Before you reach this eating place, you will see the stream on your left (if you are driving from Simpang Pulai). Then, try to slow down your car because you are approaching the restaurant.

The shack behind the restaurant and the stream next to it

A good thing is they serve late lunch. We reached there about 2.30p.m. and luckily, they still served lunch. We ordered stir-fried qing long cai, stewed pork with salted fish, stir-fried white cabbage and two glasses of honey chrysanthemum.

Stir-fried qing long cai

Stewed pork with salted fish

The verdict: we loved the food despite they were quite oily. Try the stew pork with salted fish. It was delicious but the sliced pork could be a bit too oily. If you have not tried the local Cameron Highlands vegetable; qing long cai, try them too. The best part is their honey chrysanthemum drink. At a glance, the two glasses looked like orange juice. Yes, they looked a little milky. But they are really honey chrysanthemum (not the diluted version). In total, we paid RM40 and the plate of qing long cai cost RM15 (which I took note).

Stir-fried white cabbage

The honey chrysanthemum

Overall, the place is just a stop in case you need late lunch before you reach Brinchang. If you are a health-conscious bunch, you may want to think again before coming here. Anyway, it is worth a try for delicious food.

Second visit to Uncle Chow's Kopitiam

The first visit to Uncle Chow's Kopitiam was very impressive so we could not wait to go back again. We love the curry laksa and it is mouth-watering when thinking of it. Curry laksa is actually KL style of food and you can get it here at Uncle Chow's. I guess this has to do with the the origin of the lady boss. She is from KL and Penang (Peranakan).  She has passion in cooking and all the food in the restaurant is cooked by her. You can also order nyonya kuih (cakes/ delicacies) from here. They are home-made.

Nyonya kuih (home-made)

This time, we also ordered Penang Laksa. The amount was quite generous and filling as my lunch. It was served with the shrimp paste (otak udang) and a half key lime (limau kasturi). The soup was thick and authentic as it is made of fish (without bones). It was spicy and sour. However, I find it to be a little too sour for me. (Anyway, it was supposed to be sour.)

Penang laksa and my teh tarik

Well, the main purpose of this visit was to savor the curry laksa, It was good. Did I mention before that it has also a piece of chicken in it? We again ordered the koay teow curry laksa because we enjoyed slurping the smooth koay teow. It was simply delicious.

Curry laksa and teh tarik ice

For further reading, you can go to my previous post on Breakfast at Uncle Chow's Kopitiam.

The certifications awarded to Uncle Chow's Kopitiam.

Steaming hot organic steamboat at Cameron Organic Produce

Since it is cool at Cameron Highlands, having steamboat is strongly recommended especially at night when the temperature lowers. Just imagine, sipping hot chicken soup with organic vegetables. Wow, they are so tempting and healthy. Steamboat is a Chinese cuisine whereby basically you are given raw ingredients like vegetables, chicken slices, prawns, fish balls, cuttlefish and etc. to be cooked in the steamboat pot. The exciting part is you get to choose what you want to eat first and put it into the pot. The pot is usually filled with chicken soup. Some restaurants that I came across allowed customers to have tom yam soup. However, Cameron Organic Produce serves two types: chicken soup or vegetable soup. They serve organic and charcoal steamboat. This is their specialty.

Organic steamboat for two (Outdoor seating)

Cameron Organic Produce is a registered organic shop and they sell organic vegetables around Malaysia. So, rest assured the vegetables they serve in their restaurant are organic. It is located just opposite Public Bank and Hotel Rosa Passadena, Brinchang. They serve lunch and dinner. Parking is in the vicinity. The plus side is this restaurant is a 5-minute walk to the night market. So, after dinner, you can stroll around the night market.

Since it is only a small shop lot, they also spread their tables at the corridor. However, I would say in total there are only about ten tables. Their organic steamboat set per person is RM 20 nett. It is very affordable. You can order the normal set or the vegetarian set. We have not ordered the vegetarian set before. For the normal set, it includes chicken slices, prawns, fish ball, meat balls, crab sticks, mushrooms, tofu, cuttlefish, 10 types of vegetables, an egg, and organic "bee hoon".

It is cooking! Let's eat!

They do not take reservation. So to avoid disappointment (especially dinner time), go there before 7 p.m. Another thing is try the organic lime juice. It is good!

Breakfast at Uncle Chow's Kopitiam

A place with nice ambience

Hungry? Looking for breakfast? Well, try out this place in Tanah Rata. Uncle Chow's Kopitiam is located in Taman Royal Lily (apartment). This place is run by a couple, to be exact Uncle Chow and his wife. Uncle Chow is very friendly and he makes you feel at home. Basically, he chats with all his customers.

This place has the concept of a modern coffee shop. It is very clean (including the washroom) and cozy.  However, if there are a lot of customers, then it can be a bit noisy.

The open-kitchen concept

We ordered nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan / screw-pine leaves and served with dishes),  curry laksa (with koay teow) and teh tarik (literal translation "pulled tea" to give the milk tea bubbly taste).

Nasi lemak (RM8.90)

The banana-leaf nasi lemak was delicious. It was served with papadum, half hard-boiled egg, fried anchovies with peanuts, chilli gravy, a piece of fried chicken and some pieces of cut cucumbers. Everything was fine except the the peanut was rancid though.

Curry Laksa (RM 8.90)

You get to choose whether noodle, beehoon or koay teow curry laksa. We asked for koay teow and it was proven a wise choice. The koay teow was indeed Ipoh's standard; very smooth and tasty. The spiciness level was still alright with us as we do not eat very spicy food. We will definitely come and try this again the next time we are in Cameron Highlands.

Simply marvelous, the teh tarik

Last but not least, the teh tarik was simply very good. We loved the bubbly feel when we drank it. It was not too sweet as we had requested. Well, other than what I have tried here, there are also other items on the menu that are worth trying. This place is a must visit.

Water Cress Valley Restaurant at Tringkap, Cameron Highlands

Green vegetables near the entrance

This place had caught my attention some time ago. Only during the recent trip to Cameron Highlands, I went to check out this restaurant. Well, it is quite popular if you judge by the amount of patrons they have. 

The entrance to the restaurant

1. Have your lunch /dinner here

Their specialty is water cress. They stir fry water cress as a dish. You can order water cress herbal drink. Besides, they also serve charcoal steamboat and other Chinese ala-carte dishes. They also grow their own passion fruits and cherry tomatoes. Thumbs up to their blended passion fruit juice. It is a must-try!

The stir-fried watercress was good but the fried chicken wings were too oily and the fried noodle was just average.

Watercress herbal tea

Blended passion fruit juice

Stir-fried watercress with garlic

This fried noodle was just average

Fried chicken wings

2. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the farm 

The best part of all is the fantastic view from the restaurant. I strongly recommend to go to this place for lunch (instead of dinner) so that you can really see the view. You can eat your lunch and enjoy the view of vegetable farm. Most of the vegetables in the farm are watercress. 

The fantastic view of the vegetable farm

3. Buy watercress and organic cherry tomatoes

On your way out, you can also buy their organic cherry tomatoes and watercress at the counter. (My advice is to buy them only if you are on your way home. Otherwise, you will need to think on how to keep them while you go sightseeing in Cameron Highlands.)

4. Stroll around the vegetable farm

You can also go to the farm below the dining deck. I think there is an entrance fee to enter their farm.

5. Pluck your own vegetables home
You can also buy your own vegetables home.

Green vegetables for sale

We would come back again for the passion fruit juice and the nice view. Maybe next time we would try their charcoal steamboat.