Gua Kelam 1 (Kelam Cave 1)

The only path to the cave is via an eight-foot wide wooden suspension bridge. This bridge links Kaki Bukit to the Wan Tangga Valley, a valley on the opposite end of Gua Kelam. Back in 1935, an Englishman saw the water pathway as a brilliant method to transport tin ore from a mine located near the stream entrance through the underground cavern to Kaki Bukit.

Now, locals and tourists make their way through the cave via a brightly lit wooden walkway inside the cave. You can still find remnants of the tin mine operation within the cave. As you make your way through the cave, the whispers of a swirling dark subterranean stream, together with the squeaking bats and dripping water from the stalactites, form a concerto of natural sounds. It sounds a bit spooky, but adds to the mystery of a cave that was was once the home of Stone Age men.

Key Tips
It is best to get a guide to venture into the cave.

How to get there
By BusTake a bus going to Kaki Bukit at the Kangar's main bus station. Then, take a walk of 10 minutes. By RoadFrom the North-South (PLUS) Highway, take the exit via Changlun and take the Changlun-Kuala Perlis highway to Kangar. From Kangar, continue on route heading towards Padang Besar and you follow the signboard to Kaki Bukit or Wang Kelian.

Who to contact
For more information kindly contact the Perlis Forestry Office at +604-938 4466 . Alternatively you can also contact Tourism Malaysia Perlis Office at +604-978 1235/ 978 1213.

Accommodation Overview
Batu Pahat and the state capital of Kangar, offer 2 and 3-star accommodation.
To book travel packages, click here

Source: Tourism Malaysia

Little Cottage

Well I guess we had quite enough of Malay cuisines these days. How about some western twist? Welcome down to Little Cottage, where the Cottage is located along Burmah Road, very near to New World Park. They serve lunches and dinners. Lunch sets are really affordable, no kidding. Dinners here are romantic. Just watch your steps if you decide to sit upstairs, the flight of stairs seems to be tailored for the dainty-footed.

With the name Little Cottage, there must be some edge to make it look like one at least. The red and white chequered tablecloth and the cream coloured cushions are one of those little details that makes this place feel so homey.

The owner even took the trouble to put in some personal touch to the place. There is a little corner beside every table which has a different decor. It exudes a sense of cosiness, personality, and creativity. There use to be more little items as such in this place, mostly dainty wood carvings or clay miniatures. I guess some petty thieves reduced the owner's generosity to display his cute collectable items. I do recognize many of these items being bought from different countries because it is a rarity to be found here in Malaysia unless it is a souvenir given or self-made.
Its lunch time, so the both of us picked up a set lunch rather than going ala-carte. Its a 3 course meal for less than RM20, totally superb. First on is the soup of the day. Today, we're having sweet onion soup. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside after that...

Bread and butter to go with the soup

And her choice of the day would be fish and chips. The usual dory fish fillet, with tartar sauce consisting of pickled carrots and cucumbers (if my tastebuds weren't wrong). Unique tartar sauce, compared to those usually consisting of garlics and onions.

My choice of the day - Turkey ham! It used to be a whole chunk of grilled lean treated turkey meat. They changed the way the dish is done many moons ago by grounding the turkey ham into fine bits and compressing it into the size and shape of a french toast. The grilled pineapple topping finishes the dish nicely. Mashed potato and boiled vegetables as a side dish with tartar sauce for dippings.

Dessert of the day is Coconut pudding. A tinge too sweet for me, but the coconut fragrance is undeniably appetizing.

We washed our pallette with a cup of tea/coffee, rubbed our bellies and ended our meal with a satisfying grin. XD How is that for narration? A perfect place for quick, economical yet classy lunches indeed. Mm... I remember seeing a hot hunk waiter somewhere... Shall keep all the single ladies out there updated. *winks*

Contacts
http://www.oomph.com.my/index.php
96-A, Jalan Burmah, 10050 Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04-228 6218
Fax: 04 227 4452

Jemput3

Cute name isn't it? Jemput3~ We were actually poking fun at the name. "Jemput" means "invite" in Malay. Why is it called "Invite 3" anyway? Can't we just invite more? And coincidently, the tables in the area that we sat (which is quite similar to that of a traditional Malay house's verandah) has only 4 seats each. Well, that would mean a table for four, YOU and the other THREE that you have INVITED. Make sense doesn't it? Ya, I know I'm not making any business sense. Its a food blog, not an economic blog anyway. My perfect little excuse. XD

Although its only the two of us, we still do the things we do best... Picking tables fit for, erm, 6? No better reasons to pick the table except for the pretty decorations IN the table. A square block have been carved out from the wooden table. The space is then filled with sand and decorated with various seashells and lines of little lightbulbs. Ambiance makes the food look better. So do lighted tables, from beneath!

The lights are basically just lightbulbs, but with a twist. Jemput3 actually ripped the paper/cloth cover off a traditional Chinese tanglung (lantern) and made it a decorative piece for the lonely lightbulb. Many more details that we came across while walking around in Jemput3 (yes, the place is open air and rather spacious with beautiful landscaping), one of it is a little bridge connecting the front part of Jemput3 where the entrance is, with the inner part of the dine where the rest of the seats are.

Well what can I say, it was a pretty dark night. The lightings in Jemput3 are mostly dim except for those in the kitchen and behind the cashier counter (in case they give an RM50 change for a RM50 meal). As you can (roughly) see, there is a cosy little hut with flowy curtains. Beneath it is a pond with carps swimming around in it, and beside it, a piece of artificial miniature waterfall. The cosy little hut is also a dining area, with a low table and woven mats as seats... Ah, just like the olden days in Malaysia. Rather Zen don't you think?

The theme of Jemput3 is basically traditional Malay, with the oh-so-P.Ramlee little ponds, huts and pebbled paths. However, the menu do offer some basic western cuisines, some as entree (eg: fish and chips) and some as appetizers (calamari rings). The drinks however are rather creative. That includes their names...

mermaid n rainbow
Guess who's who.

The rainbow consist of mango juice, kiwi juice and orange juice to top it off. The mermaid is a regular strawberry soda topped with a scoop of icecream - an island for the mermaid to take a breather if she's sick of the pink ocean. Who knows?

Well, as the mermaid's icecream island melts away, my rainbow got quite confusing as well after approximately 10 minutes. *LaughDieMe* Still delicious nonetheless! It took me quite a long time and a number of brain-freezes to finish the whole drink. Its not small, mind you.

Nasi Goreng Special Jemput3

This is my order for the day. Was starving when my meal reaches me. They probably expect us to loiter around the place, admire the little details and happily chit chat before they are suppose to serve the food. Erm, not much of a talker when I'm starving. Need to reserve my energy to hold my fork and spoon you know.

This, my dears, is a slightly spicy nasi goreng (fried rice) topped with a mata kerbau (bull's eye). cough*friedegg*cough

And we have some fried chicken wings, cuts of fresh raw crunchy vegetables and some crispy fish keropoks (crackers). I love love love the keropoks. Wonder if they bought it from Kelantan... Sedap la wei~!

Verdict: Good dish in a good portion. It didn't fill me up to the brim and yet left me thoroughly satisfied. I understood the reason having raw vegetables instead of any cooked or pickled ones, because the sweetness and freshness of the raw crunchy vegetables balance up the taste of the fried rice and other side dishes which tilts more to the salty side.

Nasi lemak temasik

When you go to a diner who portrays to serve Malay cuisines, their nasi lemak should ALWAYS be put to the test. This nasi lemak temasik is one of the most original nasi lemak around, judging from the ingredients. Side dishes for the nasi lemak are sambal ikan bilis, half a hard-boiled egg, rendang kambing and a fried chicken wing (the awkward one out).

Verdict: I'm a rendang lover, and this rendang is satisfactory I would say. Not exactly the best I had, but because my best rendang is not for sale (gotta love thy neighbours...especially when they're great cooks), I would say this rendang is pretty good. I came from a small town dominated by Malays, so having this dish from Penang, and finding its taste to be like those at home is in fact a pleasant surprise.

Contacts
www.jemputree.com
04-228 6607 / 012-242 5331
64 Jalan Chow Thye, Off Jalan Burmah, Penang

Time

Tues-Sat: 12.00pm - 3.00 pm | 5.30 pm - 2.00 am
Sun : 5.00 pm - 2.00 am

MaiCafe

Happy New Year!! A new year, a new place to visit of course. Ah... These are the time of the year where we put the diet resolutions aside till all the festivities are over. This would be the beginning of it, and trust me, the up and coming Chinese New Year would not be the end of it (because it is suppose to last a month!). I doubt there will ever be an end to the food hunt we're on. Our taste-buds are just born to savour good food. Well, even if we found out its not as good as expected, we'll just be honest with you. *winks*

So before the clock strikes twelve and we all turn one year older in a couple of hours, stepping into 2009 - the year of the Ox, we gathered a few old high school mates for a little outing/gathering. Too much to catch up with, too little time.

Our destination this time? MaiCafe!! I know, the name is quite punny... MaiCafe... MyCafe... It reads the same anyway. ^.^ "Mai" in the northern Malaysian accent means "come". Cafe means cafe-lah.

The entrance to MaiCafe. Its actually located next to a vast green paddy field. They do serve lunches too, so it would be a relaxing sight looking out to the endless ocean of greenery. When night falls, the paddy fields are not quite visible unless you're several feet away from it, or perhaps when you find yourself in it.

The ceilings are pretty high, definitely good for ventilation (its open space anyway). The entire restaurant has traditional Malay touch to it, decorated mostly with teak wood and pots of fresh plants. The dim lighting enhances the cosy feeling, its just like dining in a Malay home with a modern edge.

You would expect a wholesome Malay menu to have such beautiful ambiance as a compliment. You're in for a surprise. There are several typical Malay dishes like fried rice and noodles in the menu, but they also serve a variety of western cuisine. We practically had enough of Malaysian cuisine that day, so we're in for an adventure. Wonder how their interpretation of chicken prepared the western way would taste like...
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Cheesy Chicken. I have no idea why, but it just sound so tempting when we first saw it on the menu. Its the most eye catching dish in the page. Tender chicken drumstick, slightly marinated, coated with a crispy breadcrumb crust and overflowed with CHEESE~ This was the first dish to arrive, and I am thoroughly surprised with their food presentation! The dish is served in a classy triangular plate, on top of crunchy fresh vegetables in the midst of a pool of CHEESE. Don't mind my cheese frenzy... I just have this thing for CHEESE.

Verdict: The dish is satisfactory. I myself am a picky eater. The others would say that the dish is pretty good, but I think that they could do it better if only the cheese they use are more salty than sweet. The only appropriate sweetness for this dish should be from the freshness of the white meat itself and the fresh vegetables, not the coating nor the cheese.

Ah, pretty pretty spaghetti aglo olio. Now THIS is a dish that I do enjoy. The pasta is salted just to the right note, and it retains its bounce despite being tender. I think the entire dish is simple yet sophisticated. The chef had the sweets to chuck in a combination of green, yellow and red capsicums to flavour and brighten up the dish.

Verdict: I like this dish though it is simple. Even the portion is just right for ladies. Served in a cute round-edged square plate. Cuteness!

Ahah! This is MINE. Fried chicken with mushroom sauce. It is dished out the same way the Cheesy Chicken was, but doubled up on the sauce. There is the sorta sauteed mushroom sauce (the darker overflowing one) and the pool of creamy mushroom sauce surrounding the crispy, slightly spicy chicken.

Verdict: The first bite was tantalizing. The forth onwards... rather dull. The breadcrumb coating is just way too sweet for my taste. It leaves the palette numb with sweetness rather than savoury tastes by the end of the meal.

One of our drinks for the day. Fruit juice... a combination of banana and mango. Well, tropical fruits come in abundance here. What more to say?

Erm, chocolate anyone? *grins*

Just for munches. Crispy golden french fries with chilli sauce for dipping. Do I need to say more? Its just regular fries. Haha!

My conclusion for MaiCafe would be, love the ambiance, nice place to hang out during noons and evenings. Compliments to the chef for putting in the heart and effort to decorate the dishes in such a proper manner. It is something I least expect from a smalltown restaurant. A pleasant surprise indeed. The food is passable, but I'm happy paying for the ambiance, warm services and to have good company to share it with.

Journey UpNorth

Journey UpNorth is not all about the food only. Its about the food, the fireworks on the taste buds, and the joy of sharing glorious food with friends, family and strangers. Plus, who says glorious food need to have glorious prices to pair?

Now its time for a food hunt in the northern region of peninsular Malaysia. Well, food in Malaysia do make the travel worth all the while. Stay tuned!!