Strawberry delights @ Big Red Strawberry Farm

What comes to mind when you think of Camerons? Tea, vegetables, flowers (ok forget flowers for the moment, they are not edible)..... strawberries!!!!!

Strawberries thrive in the cool highland weather in Camerons. Along the road from Brinchang up to Equatorial where we stayed, we encountered many strawberry farms. The farms here seem to have caught up with the concept of self picking' or 'self plucking' as some advertised it.

Tourist buses are parked along the road as whole gaggle of tourists poured out and trooped into the farms for a varocious bout of shopping and camwhoring.

I guess we were no different. We joined the throng at the Big Red Strawberry Farm. Coincidentally, A found out that it is owned by her old schoolmate. Hmm... why we got no discount one?

Big Red Strawberry Farm grows strawberries and lettuce hydroponically. The whole area covers 4 acres. The farm is clean and well organised if not somewhat clinical looking.

But the treat that we looked forward to was the cafe at the farm. Strawberry juice, strawberry smoothie, strawberry icecream, strawberries with cream, waffle with strawberries, strawberry muffin, scones with strawberry jam.........etc etc......I wish we could try them all.
The strawberry juice was a steal at RM3.90 cup. I absolutely adore strawberries and cream. It was one of my favourite during summers when I lived in UK. This cafe served the concoction with a drizzle of syrup and piped whipped cream. While the strawberries are juicy enough, I didn't like it with whipped cream, it tastes like eating air. Strawberries must be served with thick fresh cream but *sigh* I guess we don't get that luxury in Malaysia.

Finally, we managed to sample some scones in Camerons. The scones were lightly heated and had a nice crumbly texture. They were very generous with the strawberry jam. It would have been nice to have fresh cream, but I guess whipped cream is as good as it gets.

We went away quite satisfied with our strawberry fix.

Big Red Strawberry Farm

Located in Brinchang town. Same location as Cactus Valley. From the main road, turn into road where Star Regency is located. Take a right at the junction and go in about 200 metres. Admission is free.

Steaming it up @ O.K. Tuck, Brinchang

I can't think of anything better then tucking into a steamboat dinner as a nice tummy filler on a cold rainy night. So we ambled over to O.K Tuck for dinner. It is located next to 'Hotlink' corner shop on the old main road of Brinchang. Oh, by the way, do drop by the 'Hotlink' shop if you need to top up on your pre-paid card or to purchase some sports attire. Heh.. yes they have them there, Nike no less!

There are many restaurants in Brinchang offering steamboat, but beware, some have been known to be quite unscrupulous in ripping off tourists. It is advisable to ask for the price before you order. Some restaurants have 'local prices and out of town prices'.
O.K. Tuck charges RM15 per head for their steam boat. Quite reasonable but that is the 'local price'. We had choice of two types of soups - clear and tom yam. I do like the spicy and piquant tom yam soup but the taste can be quite overpowering. I prefer dipping the ingredients in the clear soup especially when if the ingredients are fresh. The steam boat set was quite the standard fare; fish balls, fried bean curd sheet, chicken, prawns, squid, some sort of crunchy seaweed, mushrooms and lots of vegetables. With farms in abundance in Camerons, not suprisingly the vegetables and mushrooms were very fresh.

You can give this restaurant a try if you are in Brinchang. They do serve ala carte meals but I'm not sure about the quality or the price. As always, if you are from out of town, ask for the menu with price or risk being a 'sui yee' (taken for a ride).

O.K.Tuck Restaurant

26, Jalan Besar, Brinchang, 39100 Cameron Highlands, Pahang
Tel: 05-491 2380. Business hours: 11.30am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Have a Cuppa @ Boh Tea Centre, Sungai Palas

During a particularly stressful period at work, I needed to get away for a short break just to maintain some sanity. So, I roped in my partner in crime, A, for an overnight trip. She needed very little urging; soon we were putting along happily heading towards Cameron Highlands on a Friday morning.

Foremost on our minds was ‘what shall we eat there?’ We are not called Makan Sisters for nothing! High on our list of 'must try' at Camerons was to have tea at The Boh Tea Centre Sungai Palas. While driving up the winding path to the Tea Centre, I had visions of sitting down to a nice cuppa with warm buttery scones lathered with fresh cream and strawberry jam.

Well, the tea was nice enough. We ordered the best that they had - the Palas Supreme. We were advised to drink it without adding any milk. The Palas Supreme was very fragrant and it pours out into a clear amber liquid. Best sipped at a leisurely pace to allow the 'kam' after taste linger on your palatte.

The scones were a different story altogether. By the time we got to the centre, it was quite late. All they had left was 2 pieces of dry looking scones served with tiny packets of jam at the deli counter. In my books, scones must be eaten with fresh cream, no two ways about it. The rest of the offerings - sandwiches and cakes did not look appetising either, so we gave food a miss. While the food at the cafe was left wanting, the view did not disappoint. It was beautiful! The cafe was built jutting out from the hillside and overhangs the tea plantation. It looks out to a vista of rolling hills with green tufted rows of tea bushes. We managed to snag a table at the balcony and spent a laidback afternoon enjoying the breeze in our faces and feasting on the breath taking view while sipping tea. A pleasant afternoon indeed.

Sungai Palas Boh Tea Centre Jalan Gunung Brinchang, Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. Tel : 605 - 4962096. Open daily – except Monday – from 9 am to 4:30 pm.