Tanah Aina is about conquering new frontiers

Tanah Aina is about conquering new frontiers

Anyone who has been to Taman Negara would agree with me that Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya in Raub is nothing but a pampering holiday eco-resort, specially designed for families with younger children.

Despite being told that Tanah Aina is a beautiful place, we were initially hesitant to check it out. For nearly eight months, we had to battle with questions like,

“What about security issues? What about the mosquitoes and the leeches? What about snakes?”

The thought of leeches was enough to scare us from going jungle trekking. We also could not bear the thought of having children play in the waterfall where all sorts of natural disasters could happen at the spur of the moment.

We have heard of even adults drowning in waterfalls, when at the spur of the moment, there is a sudden rush of water coming from heavy rain up on the mountain.

To put it in another way, making the decision to just go and check it out was all about conquering new frontiers and overcoming fears of the unknown when dealing with one of the world’s oldest tropical rainforests.

That is why I admire the parents of 3-year-old Jaymee Ang. During our stay there, we met Dennis Ang and his wife, Jo who took Jaymee and her 5-year-old brother, Jayden to the camp. Apart from another younger baby, Jaymee was probably the youngest camper during our stay last weekend.

Let me tell you a little secret, but I believe you will laugh yourselves into stitches. What made us decide on this excursion was when my wife and I saw how excited the kids were when they saw some chicken running about freely as we drove into Eight Acres in Raub last year.

Eight Acres was more of a farm than a jungle resort, but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience ourselves; it was getting us one step closer to Mother Nature.

Great Experience

Personally, I prefer the concrete jungle than the tropical rainforests, but for the sake of the children’s exposure, we agreed to spend just one night at Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya.

The moment we arrived, I started to love the idea of being in the jungle. Just listening to the sound of birds chirping and crickets producing their sound at night was simply mesmerising. The sound from a nearby waterfall added to the untold beauty of Mother Nature herself.

I was beginning to enjoy the environment the moment we arrived at Tanah Aina. There was no traffic jam, no Internet connectivity and no distractions from phone calls and Whatsapp messages.

Friendly and courteous staff at the resort made the stay pleasant throughout the entire period. Strangely, but believe me, my biggest satisfaction was to be able to have a siesta beside the stream. There was nothing like feeling re-charged after my battle-worn body could hardly drag itself onto another flight of stairs.

On Day 1, the kids were complaining of boredom as it had been raining in the morning and they could not join any jungle trekking or water trekking activities. However, on Day 2, after a few hours out in the jungle, to our amusement, they told us that they loved the adventures they had had in the tropical rainforests.

The only thing that no one dared to attempt was the leap of faith, which was a plunge into the green emerald lagoon from a 6-metre high platform. I repeat: A free fall from some 19 feet (for those who are more familiar with the Imperial system) splashing right into the water!

With the safety vest and the guides always there to haul you up, in case you were about to drown yourself in the lagoon, yes, we knew it was safe – especially since hundreds, if not thousands of others, have done it before – yet none of us dared to take up the challenge.

The leeches? Yes, they will always be there, but the children were taught by the guide how to avoid being bitten by the leeches. They now know that apart from sucking our blood, leeches are not that harmful after all.

In fact, my son had done some research on his own before we went to Tanah Aina. He showed us (be prepared to cringe as you watch) a video clip on YouTube that taught him how to deal with the bite from 12 leeches.

For most parts of the jungle trekking, there were safety features that children and adults alike could depend on. At some spots, they have to learn to do their balancing acts but of course with some help from the jungle guides.

What I admire was the primitive looking chalet that we were staying in. It was simply beautiful and posh for a chalet in the middle of nowhere. Although it does not have attached bathrooms or toilets, the shared facilities are clean and as good as those in a five-star hotel.

It was like living in what I imagine to be a ‘mahligai’ (palace) during the ancient Malacca sultanate era. The interior decorations transformed the chalet into a posh little palace bedroom by the riverside. They also have dormitories for singles who wanted to camp out at the eco-resort.

The buffet lunch and dinner were all cooked in-house and we had all our meals just beside the river. Delam River is, in fact, the only Class 1 river left in Tras District Area.

Its water is crystal clear on most days but whenever it rains, the water is slightly murky, but not to be mistaken as being ‘dirty’ or ‘polluted’; or else, all the ikan kelah and tengas in the river would have died!

We had the mosquito repellent which was more than enough to keep the few mosquitoes away. As for snakes, none was spotted at Tanah Aina, except one which ironically crawled under my wife’s car when parked in Lorong Travels, Bangsar!

Best to Go in a Group

Coincidentally when stayed at Tanah Aina, a group of chief executive officers (CEOs) were also there. Led by their team leader, Quek Choo Teng of The Torch Adventure-based Learning Sdn Bhd, and her husband Dr H.N. Law, the CEOs came from all around the country to spend a weekend to draw out their plans for 2018.

“Here, they will have no distractions from urgent phone calls, or feel the need to respond to in-coming short messages services or emails,” Quek explains.

“Besides preparing them mentally, the jungle and water trekking also prepare them physically to face the challenges in 2018.”

Quek says she has brought groups of corporate people for short seminars, including those from Singapore.

“So far, most people have found the place conducive for such workshops,” she added.

When she brought her extended family together for a reunion last year, everyone enjoyed the environment, the activities and the adventures.

Among the activities include the Morning Walk (7am), Waterfall Trekking and Leap of Faith (2.30pm), Video Save Our Rainforest (9pm) and Night Walk (9.30pm).

Suggestions:

During the school holidays, it would be great for a few families to come together for at least a night’s stay here to allow their children to experience what it is living in the tropical rainforests. The dry season is a better time to visit Tanah Aina.

Expatriates who have never experienced living in the tropical rainforests will find this a great experience. Honeymooners do stay here for their honeymoon, as I could observe from the way a young couple spoke to each other.

After the brief stay at Tanah Aina, I suggest you drive to Raub town to enjoy their well-known Ratha Raub Curry Fish head. Kow Po Coffee Shop in Bentong is the other stop to enjoy the famous Bentong ice-cream.

Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya eco-resort is located at No. 8, Jalan Tras, 27600 Raub, Pahang.

Tel:  016 609 0493 (Ms. Juliet), 016 215 9252 (Ms. Hannah) or 016 216 9252 (Mr, Haidhar) 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Website: www.tanahaina.com

About Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eg4w4y66Fo

Waze: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.68059&lon=101.83249

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/wu75eT6xyDN2

Oh Raub, your original fish head curry is still mesmerising…

Oh Raub, your original fish head curry is still mesmerising…

No one can ride into the little town of Raub without noticing a corner shop painted in bright orange that has since become the humble beginning of this famous Ratha Raub Fish Head Curry.

It is located some 31 kilometres from Bentong heading northwest toward Lebuhraya Kuala Lumpur – Gua Musang.

Along this stretch of roads, there are a number of durian plantations; therefore, expect to stop by the roadside to pick up some durians or eat what you can on the spot, if you are a durian lover but reserve some room for the savoury Indian dishes at Ratha Raub.

This is the place where Malaysians of all races come together to enjoy the town’s specialty delicacies.

Originally from Kelantan, its owner, M Rathakrishnan settled down here in Raub and started his own restaurant in 1982. His fish head curry and chicken curry soon became his two main signature dishes that attracted both locals and domestic tourists.

When we arrived there after an overnight’s stay at the beautiful eco-resort of Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya in Raub, it was already 1pm. I suspect most of the people here are domestic tourists from all over the country.

Although the journey was another 17km away from Tanah Aina, it was worth the trip because the curry fish head was simply delicious. It was spicy, yet it tasted great. I strongly recommend this delicacy which has made Ratha Raub so famous. The curry chicken is just as good.

Surprisingly, the curry used for the squid was different in taste compared to the fish head and chicken curry. It is less spicy and tastes slightly sweeter, perhaps to cater to younger children.

With the main dishes, I was hardly interested in their pickled vegetables initially until my son tried it and told me it tasted really good.

When met in person, the man himself told me that he has good news. Today, after 35 years, Ratha Raub is touted to make waves in Shanghai with its first batch of curry paste being exported to Shanghai, China.

“So far, the order has been successful,” Ratha said. “We hope to fulfil this first order soon and going for more orders.”

If the curry paste takes off in China, this is a proof that Malaysian cuisines especially a small town like Raub can become well-known overseas even in China, especially in a metropolitan like Shanghai.

The secret of his success? “We quality control our products very strictly,” he says. “There is a difference between chilli imported from China and those from India,” he explains. “Although they are from the same stock, perhaps it is the soil that makes the Indian chilli a lot hotter than those produced in China. This is why we are always very strict with the raw ingredients.”

The legacy of 35 years created by Ratha since 1982 will continue for many years to come

Restoran Ratha Raub is located at No 82, Jalan Tun Razak, 27600 Raub, Pahang.

Tel: 09-356 1651

Business hours: 7:00 AM – 11:30 PM

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restoranratha/

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/HTnwBU8xx7B2

Waze location:
https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.79133&lon=101.85732

The ice cream bell still rings in Bentong

The ice cream bell still rings in Bentong

Anyone who has visited Bentong will know that there is a coffee shop that is more famous for its ice cream than what its signboard suggests.

After all, who would not have a natural craving for some good ice cream, ais batu campur (ABC) and cendol especially when they have heard so much about the popularity of Kow Po Coffee Shop in Bentong?

It is not only the children, but the adults too enjoy the ice cream here because it is both smooth and silky. What is important is that the ice cream tastes fresh and there is a good variety of flavours to choose from.

They have about ten flavours which include chocolate, pandan, peanuts, coffee, coconut, banana, strawberry and vanilla. If the family is in a hurry, they can also stop by to ask for ice cream on the cone. Each scoop is RM4.

Whenever we come here, we usually go for the Jumbo which is shared out with the whole family, but on my own I would take either their Cendol Kow Po Special (RM5.00), which comes with red beans, ice cream, cendol and attap seeds, or their ABC Ice Kacang Kow Po Special (RM5.00).
The history goes that a Teo Chew man, the late Tan Soon Chuan relocated from Alor Setar to Bentong in the early 1950s. He started the special homemade ice cream business in 1956.

Because business was good, his son Tan Kow Po, now 83, and his wife soon joined the business; before long, he became known as the “Bentong Uncle Ice Cream”.

Most young children in this town have grown up loving his ice cream, which was a rare treat in those early years. To have an ice cream in the 1950s was a luxury that not every child could have.

Image via GoBentong.com
Through word of mouth, soon people from outside of Bentong also stopped by this shop on their trip to the East Coast. This was prior to the development of the East Coast Highway.

Although the traffic has been diverted from Bentong town, most people still make a detour here to just enjoy the ice cream. Last year, they celebrated their 60th anniversary in business.

When we went there two weeks ago at about 3pm, it was initially very quiet and we thought we were the only customers there. We were of course wondering why we were the ones there.

After about 15 minutes, for some reasons, guests just flocked in; before long, the whole place was already packed with people.

From whence they came is a big question mark but I am not surprised that with durians as the biggest attraction to Bentong these days, people come here for both the durians and the ice cream, which is nothing but a perfect combination.

Read my simple analysis of Kow Po’s marketing success formula here.

Kow Po Coffee Shop is located at No 2 Bentong Heights, 28700 Bentong, Pahang.

Tel:  09-222 1258 / 016-931 0391

Business hours: 10am to 7pm every day

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kow-Pow-Ice-Cream-Bentong/155123184564368

Google Map:  https://goo.gl/maps/kjUydWgk4ns

Waze location:  https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.52262&lon=101.91081

Let me tell you one little secret about Bentong ice cream

Let me tell you one little secret about Bentong ice cream

Anyone who has patronised Kow Pow Coffee Shop in Bentong will realise that they have a right marketing formula for success.

Although some may say that the ice cream is pricey for a small town, from the marketing point of view, they have got all three other P’s correct.

Besides the product, location (place) and customer loyalty (mainly domestic tourists), there is also a fast turnover of guests. There is also a lack of competition; after all, people come to Bentong, they are looking for something local that is cheap and nice.

Image via TripAdvisor

Unlike the commercially factory-produced ice creams, here the ice cream is manufactured in small batches using fresh ingredients every day. This helps them to sustain just for the day’s business.

This is important as most customers can feel the freshness of the ingredients that they use; for that reason, they come back for more, bringing their friends along. Cleanliness is also very important when patrons bring their expatriate friends. The word of mouth spreads:

“Whenever you go to Bentong, go for their ice cream.”

The downside is that some of the locals start to boycott the place because they find the prices becoming too steep for them; this is why anyone in the restaurant business must always learn to be appreciative of local support as well. Sometimes, I boycott certain restaurants because of the attitude of its owners or staff, which shows the importance of People in the marketing equation.

Like in Penang, Gurney Drive has become the place for tourists, but domestic tourists like me are avoiding such places because we know the place has become too artificially commercialised. A lack of local fans also show that something may not be right with the prices or the attitude of the hawkers there.

But until there is a stronger competitor, with the right pricing for equally good ice cream and its proprietors are more people friendly, business can only grow stronger for Kow Po Coffee Shop.

Besides me giving them media publicity in most English dailies that I was writing for as a part time writer in the past, there are other newspapers and food bloggers who have given them the boost.

Word of mouth is very important in the food and beverage business. After the articles appear, people will check out the place. When they like it, they will tell others about it (like the ant scout telling its friends where the sweet stuff is) and soon people will follow the crowd.

Today, aided by social media, word of mouth can spread very fast for the better or for the worse. It is a challenge that every restaurant operator faces to ensure that they have their four (some say five) P’s correct – Product, Price, People and Place.

Even I am drawn to this coffee shop every time my family make a trip to Bukit Tinggi or Genting Highlands even if we have to drive another 15 km to Bentong, or like on this occasion after a night’s stay at the beautiful eco-resort of Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya in Raub.

After a short drive to Raub to try out the famous Ratha Raub’s original fish head curry, we checked out Kow Po Coffee Shop, which is located just beside Hong Leong Bank (or opposite the Bentong bus station).

Keeping to just one shop also means that the shop is always packed during peak hours but the number of customers at any one point in time is manageable by the number of staff working.

Most people, especially those from outstation, will tend to flock to an eatery which looks packed than one that is empty. This is why after nearly 20 years of watching their business grow, I have decided not only to write about their ice cream, but make a simple analysis that will provide some good insights for other restauranteurs.

Click here to read about Kow Po Coffee Shop and what it has to offer.

A good Milligram for young and old alike

A good Milligram for young and old alike

Although the façade did not suggest it to be an eatery, Milligram Coffee and Eatery at Taman Mayang (just behind the old Mayang Plaza) is a nice, cosy little place for a good meal.

Or, in the afternoon, instead of having a siesta, it is a good place to hang out for a cup of coffee and some deserts with family or friends. Unlike most indie cafes, this one is different because you can feel their creative juices here. There is even a drink called Obama.

Its owner and co-founder, Robbie Kwong picked the name because they wanted a name that is short and sweet.

“A lot of guests misunderstood a café as either too much of a coffee place or too much of an eating place; here, Milligram Coffee and Eatery adopts a hybrid concept of comfort food and specialty coffees,” he says.

Besides serving artisan coffee, Robbie’s team of young and enthusiastic attendants, barista and chefs concoct new beverages, prepare meals and serve the dishes to guests with a lot of passion. Some of their signature dishes appeal to the appetite of both the young and the older folks too.

For example, we love their New Age Chicken Chop (RM22.25) which is basically a plate of Pan Seared Chicken Chop with assorted sauteed vegetables on carrot puree and black pepper sauce. All three children who joined us in the food tasting said they loved the chicken chop. I personally tasted it and I would also give it the thumbs-up.

Their Pork Bacon Pasta Carbonara (RM22.25) is also recommended. It is cheesy and creamy, and the kids simply fell in love with it.

Older kids with good appetites generally love their Mother Porker Burger (RM26.50) served with Zuchinni fries because it is generally filling enough.

According to Robbie, it is people with the passion that can make a difference to the food here.

“We have a myriad of cooks in the team, three full timers and two part timers currently, all of them which have zero experience prior to joining Milligram,” he elaborates.

“Although they have never attended any culinary courses, we firmly believe in one thing – if you have the passion, you can cook. We always believe the core of our cuisines revolves around comfort food, more like home cooked meals with pork, of course!”

When Milligram was first set up in December 2014 by Robbie and his wife, Trincy, who was working in the banking industry before joining Milligram full time, they had in mind of serving comfort food. Robbie himself was a graphic designer prior to starting Milligram.

This explains why he enjoys serving artisan coffee. Although the place is just a simple eatery with no posh decorations, it has a nice ambience to it that makes guests feel comfortable to dine with their family and friends.

I strongly recommend families, especially those with younger children, to check out their food here.

“We wanted it to be a place which can bring good memories of our childhood days, when we used to have our burgers at the fast food outlets,” Robbie explains. “We want our adult patrons to feel young again, when they eat here; hence, we have names like the Hulk and Lazy Pig to spice up the day.”

The connoisseurs, on the other hand, will be able to tell that the beverages and the meals here are prepared with a lot of passion.

The Hulk (conjuring the image of The Hulk starring, Edward Norton as scientist Bruce Banner who was desperately looking for a solution to reverse the gamma radiation that transformed him into The Hulk in the 2008 Science thriller) is a mixture of coffee and green tea.

“We have fans who like the way the Hulk is concocted so much that we are doing well with this drink,” he said. “Others prefer the classic Expresso, Cappuccino or Latte.”

I tried to discourage the children from ordering their orange juice with lime, thinking that it is too common and there is nothing much to write about it. However, to my surprise, on one sip, I think Robbie and his team have got it to near perfection – it is simply refreshing especially on a hot afternoon. This is something that you must try!

I asked Robbie about the Lazy Pig (RM27) and how it came about. All I can remember was when we were young, we used to call our siblings by such nicknames.

“It is a signature dish which is basically the pork shoulder topped with cheese,” Robbie explains.

Again, being more health conscious these days, my personal choice is the Milli Salad (RM16.95), which comes with raddichio, orange slices, romaine, red oak, jap cucumber cherry tomatoes top with vinaigrette and parmesan sprinkle, but I get to taste a little of every dish served.

Milligram Coffee and Eatery is located at No. 8, Jalan SS26/4, Taman Mayang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, 47301 Selangor

Tel: 03-7497 4358

Business hours: 11AM–11PM (7 days a week)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milligramcoffee/

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/NPx941VyUP52

Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.11659&lon=101.60488