Gerai Masakan Melayu-Warisan Selera, Jalan Air Panas

I absolutely heart Malay food, not the tomyam kacukan but the authentic kampung cooking. The deliciously fragrant herbs like serai, bunga kantan, daun kesum, daun kunyit..etc and drenched in thick coconut milk. I love the lemaks, the rendangs, the masak merah and the grilled stuffed fish in banana leaves. I love the pucuk paku, the ikan keli, the sweet sour pineapples, the pungent belacan and ikan masin...wow..it gets me drooling each time.

And right in the middle of Pengkalan Hulu town, i discovered a really gem of a food stall at the medan food court. The first stall on the right as you enter via the bakery entrance. I believe it is called Warisan Selera.





On weekdays and especially Fridays, the place will be crowded with government servants of all levels and the rest of the town. Their selection of dishes are awesome. You practically can get whatever you crave for. But you have to be early. You gotta be there by 12 to get to the prime selection. Food will disappear very fast.

Pricing is very competitive but for food using such fresh ingredients and that rich, you will willingly pay premium price anytime

My early school days in Kroh

Tadika with the Siamese teacher.m Practically babies and in the age of innocence.


Sekolah Kebangsaan Kroh. A bit wiser but still wide eyed and in wonderment.


Sekolah Menengah Tun Saban, Kroh. Reality is setting in, life is not all about rainbows and butterflies.

Belukar Semang, Pengkalan Hulu

Post Hari Raya Haji, we decided to take a long drive into Tasek and came across these nature's miracles. Perfect picnic spots, you call it. With these sceneries, what else can you wish for.

Restoran Huang Chao, Pengkalan Hulu

In the good old town of Pengkalan Hulu (Kroh)...


A new restaurant has come to sprout...


Ah Seng, an old ex classmate and his brother have decided to go all foodie with his brother..


What are friends for if you dont back one another up...and so we were there last week..


And mind it, the opinion is totally unprejudiced.. for the food was really good. A bubbling claypot of tofu and vegetables...


Mixed vege.. generously done..


Greens... how i like them.. lightly sauteed in garlic.


Big prawns in belacan sauce.. my favourite dish for the night..


Chicken is black soya sauce and dried red chillies..sauce was super moorish..


Good job Ah Seng ah!

Best Malay food stall in Pengkalan Hulu

Stay tuned for the bestest of Malay kampung food in Pengkalan Hulu. I am not kidding. Their ikan panggangs, rendangs and masak lemak-the best in the world! And im not getting paid to say this either!!! The most richest, aromatic using the best ingredients, they know their stuff! Im compiling pictures and info. Just a hint, it is at the medan selera near the bus station and right across the road from the bakery, look out for the lunch time crowd and a nice old gentleman, a retired policeman at the cashiers!

Restaurant Cheun Fong, Pengkalan Hulu

One of the few remaining original wooden shophouses in Pengkalan Hulu, weatherbeaten but still standing. The British requirement for high ceilings are evident in these old buildings but i always wondered why the attics though.

See the Siamese shop next door, well.. it was my kindergarten nearly 35 years ago. The old teacher still resides there, by the way.

Food preparations vary according to locations, period, that especially is Chinese food. While in KL for a mixed vege you might get a stir fry of cauliflower, broccoli, young corn, carrots, lettuce and some good quality seafood... in a small town you might just have to settle for a combination of basic mustard greens and chinese lettuce with occasional sad looking prawns past it's freshness dates camouflaged in heavily starched and MSG sauce, yes, rather dreary. And ask for Hokkein mee expecting to satisfy your craving for those big noodles version loaded with lard, crispy porkskin, seafood and work hei (fiery 'breath' of the wok that gives your food the smoky flavour) only to end up with the usual yellow mee off the packet version with a few miserable chicken or pork pieces thrown in lacking in all the good seasonings and special sauces yet having to pay premium price.

And no thanks to economic downturn when food serving portions (even KFC reduced its chicken piece sizes) started getting smaller and finally compromise on quality as well, I've had my share of bad experiences and i sort of gave up expecting too much after a while. Till i discovered there was some hope after all, in the form of this understated Chinese coffee shop called Restoran Chuen Fong located at the only traffic light junction in Pengkalan Hulu town, a stone throw away from Hotel Hilltowne.

Ah... finally .. a Hokkein mee worthy of its name.


Here is a chicken only version, but you can opt for the more luxurious pork and seafood version except i was abstaining from pork that day but sumptuous nevertheless. Load it up with their special belacan sauce, super kick lor. Make sure you ask for it.


Of course, you can't order Hokkein Mee and not have Kungfu Chow... that's the Cantonese Kuay Teow (fried noodles) swimming in egg sauce. As you can see, it is real egg sauce and not the watered down starchy version of some 'cheating' food outlets who thinks a customer can't make out the difference between an egg sauce and a tapioca sauce.


And some people,not me coz i really can't understand our Asian fixation on rice, but e.g. my kid and you know who you are can't survive without their daily intake of that starchy stuff. Yes, fried rice it is then. A small serving will do. The rice is done perfectly.


And what else to wash it all down, the oil and the cholestrol, but the good old Chinese Tea. There is also a good black soybean drink that i usually order, it is rich and refreshing. My tummy is satiated.

Note : The restaurant opens for business after 11am and closes at 11pm. Prices are very reasonable. The only minuspoint, the cook sometimes goes on leave for a few days every month.

Kediaman Abu Nur, Pengkalan Hulu

A hunt for a catfish farm into the suburbs of Kg Simpang Pulai in Pengkalan Hulu led instead to this establishment tucked amongst the streams and hills, Kediaman Abu Nur.

The building was impressive and i thought probably Abu Nur was a pioneer in this historical town. And then i spotted a lone young girl sitting over an hedge and asked her if she knew of the fish farm.. she said, "i dont know, you could ask my guardian." No one else was in sight. I wondered what she meant by her guardian. Then i decided to ask around and realised it was an orphanage that doubled as an old folks home. A quick search on net actually found website. www.abunur.net. A Muslim based organisation, it was founded in 2002 on a two acre land and is now home for about 20 young girls.

(pic: ummahaid)

Pengkalan Hulu, Golf Course

Ok, i dont play golf but 30 years ago, it was a grand meadow overlooking an army camp. It was an open land where you could take long walks and school cross country runs used to go over it. Beautiful. But now it has been cordoned off into a golf course. Nine holes apparently is a big deal. Anyway here are some early morn pics. But i guess it may attract low profiled golfers who want a time out from busy cities.

Old Folks of Kroh

He is 80. A retired police (forest) officer. He was a sergeant major in PPH. He came to this town a few decades ago and settled here. Never married. Lives alone. He eats only strict vegetarian diet, mainly juices. He meditates. He prays. He says he is a Brahmin. In his younger days, he taught bhajans and prayers to neighbourhood children including my aunts. After his retirement, he did little odd jobs e.g. grass-cutting even at midnight. He used to cover himself in thick clothing, with a head-torch and go about his business. He used to cycle 20 miles daily to Baling , uphill and downhill, to buy fresh milk and supply to locals. Now he is too frail to cycle so he drags this little ice-box with him 6.30am to the local bus station and catches the first bus to a town half an hour away.

















From the main road, he walks 3 miles in to a Pejabat Pertanian to buy the milk. Then he walks another 3 miles back to the main road and waits at the bus stop to catch the bus back home. If he misses the bus, he has to wait another 2 hours. Back home, he loads the ice box on his old bicycle and pushes the bicycle around town to distribute to his loyal, old time customers. Hot sun or rain doesn't stop him. By the time he is finished, it is around 10pm. Nearly fifteen hours of work, all for a mere $15 profit a day. Why he does it we don't know but he does it with passion and mindful presence. And he is contented with his simple life and he is an inspiration.

Please meet good ole Uncle Karunagaran!

Kroh Bites

Another Kroh's best.

This is the best Kuih Siput or Biskut Siput (Shellfish) ever, not the bland-but-for-the-MSG, overpriced version you find in petrol kiosks along Malaysian highways. .

I (and very soon everyone at home too) was having this reguarly for 3 months before i tracked down the elusive person who was supplying this.

A nice Malay lady with her young children meticulously and painstakingly roll teeny weeny bits of spiced dough over a siput mould into hot oil in their humble wooden house in Kg. Selarong. For livelihood, she makes kuehs and cycles all over town to distribute them to small shops and restaurants.




This product, especially, sells like hot cakes. It is perfectly spiced, not oily at all, a great comfort snack and everyone (secretly and selfishly) wants it to stay that way.. hence the poor lady might not see commercialisation too soon.

Only warning is, be careful, once you start munching on these spicy little buggers, there is no stopping. Highly highly addictive



Now this is Biskut Tiram. Tiram means oyster. I discovered this gem of a snack in the same Malay grocery shop in my small neighbourhood i normally go to pick up one or two urgent stuff. Apparently a policeman's wife enjoys making these titbits for sale. But for RM1 for a 150gm packet, i wonder what's her profit margin coz the snack is made of stringy pastry like dough rolled and fried which itself is a tedious job and then coated with milk powder (now at least RM8.60 per 300gm) mixed with icing sugar, that is. Maybe she just loves sharing. copyrights reserved.

Interesting Residents

For city dwellers used to skyscrapers and endless traffic of vehicles on the road, Pengkalan Hulu is sure a sight! Cows , goats, chickens even iguanas or two, occasionaly foxes, snakes and myriad of birds chirping busily away amist people carrying out their living.. it sure is a respite to have nature nearby instead.

Like this brave young bull who decided to walk up 6 inches away from my windscreen and looked directly into my camera lenses. Very curious creature.



Mr Loba Loba seemed an apt nickname for him, i dont know why.


Guess what he is eyeing? A ripe aromatic temptation of a fresh fallen durian and the only thing that was keeping him away was the car i had parked in between!

Restoran Terapung, Taman Tasik Pengkalan Hulu

By the banks of that century old lake formed by stomping elephants that belonged to a Siamese king, now sits a restaurant..that almost floats on it.


It is a Malay restaurant and opens in the evenings late into the nights..



..all tinged in green.. and you know not why.


Hey, even your satay may look green..


And that mee basah.. is really not that bad.


Sit a while and the place grows on you..


Call it rustic charm..the open air..the old tree that grows through planks ..


Or that lazy sunset over the hills.. if you are in time for it..


Or the dark waters you know that lurks below the wooden planks..occasional tortoise, pythons and iguanas taking a peek at you.. welcome to Restoran Terapung, Taman Tasik Pengkalan Hulu.



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