Hi guys,
Long time no see huh! This time i will bring you guys a blog post that is very unique than usual blog post, which im going to blog about FOOD.
Are you excited already?
Have u guys ever heard of Kluang before? like Kluang Station restaurant maybe? Its kinda popular in KL.
So please allow me to bring you to discover more about Kluang, i bet you will be surprised as it is another food's heaven, other than Malacca and Penang.
Okay, so the story starts from....... here.
Kluang – Small in Size but Big in Charm
This
is a late one, but as the saying goes ‘Better late than never’.
Last
month, I was offered a weekend getaway to Kluang. Where, you say? Kluang is
both a town and district located in the middle of the Johor state (in case you’re wondering, my geography
sucks; I know this because of Wikipedia). The population of the district is
more than 250,000 while the town itself has over 145,000 residents (again, Wikipedia). The name Kluang is
derived from the Malay word ‘keluang’ which
is a type of flying fox or fruit bat that can be found in large numbers in the
district in the olden days but are now virtually extinct (don’t you just love Wikipedia?).
Alright,
enough about the facts. As I was saying, I had the opportunity to spend a
weekend in Kluang, and I must say I’m pleased that I got the chance. Who knew
there were so many things to do and good food to eat? So, without further ado, here’s
what went down during my time there.
Kluang Mall & Kluang Food Street
The
first stop we made was Kluang Mall where we were whisked to the food court -
Kluang Food Street - at the lower ground floor. I love nostalgic old-school
designs and that was exactly what the food court looked like.
Nostalgia is in everything, from the stools
to the floors to the stalls
It
was designed with the intention of recreating the coffee shop setting from the
colonial days of Malaysia and it has succeeded in that. Although the range of
food on offer is limited for a food court, those that are available are
delicious. I’ve been told that the beef noodles is a crowd favourite here and
from what I gather from the compliments my travel mates who tried the dish, it
is absolutely wonderful. However, as someone who doesn’t particularly fancy
meat, I opted for the Hakka ‘lui char’
which is definitely one of the better ones I’ve had.
Kluang Mall during its annual GetUp! Event in
2013
Credit: Kluang Mall
After
lunch, we were brought on a short tour around the mall by the management (the same peeps who organised the trip –
thank you!). At first glance, the mall didn’t leave me with much of an
impression. Being in the city for most of my life has left me immune to such
shopping malls that grow like mushrooms in our backyard. However, I saw it in a
different light when I realised that malls like this are hard to come by in
small towns. Unlike us city folks, people in small towns do not have the luxury
of popping into a modern shopping mall anytime they want. Brands that are
household names to us are simply out of their reach.
Kluang
Mall changed that by bringing in big city brands to the people. Case in point;
the Starbucks joint located at the mall’s entrance is the first (and so far,
only) one to come to town. Other outlets that are a fixture in cities who have
set up shop here are Hush Puppies, Giordano, Secret Recipe and Sakae Sushi,
just to name a few.
Thanks
to the tour, I gained a new appreciation of the comforts of living in the city
and an admiration for the people behind Kluang Mall who sincerely want the best
for their town and are working hard towards improving it. Also, it doesn’t hurt
that the range of retail brands are my kind of brands!
Website: www.kluangmall.com
Address: Jalan Rambutan, 86000
Kluang, Johor.
Merdeka Hotel
After
the mall, we checked in to the hotel where we stayed for a night. Although it
was built in 1963, the hotel underwent refurbishments in 2014 so the place
looks new. My main requirements for a good hotel is cleanliness and comfort and
the hotel fulfils both criteria, and a little bit more. The lobby itself
presents a lot of photo opportunities, and us bloggers started snapping away from
the time we checked in right up until we were shown our rooms (we couldn’t resist, bloggers being
bloggers).
The lobby oozing with classy elegance
Hmmm…wonder if this gramophone works
This phone works…I checked
Feel free to sit on one of these chairs and
imagine that you’re a socialite…if you don’t mind people throwing weird stares
your way
The
rooms were not as fancy, but the designs were sleek and contemporary and that
was enough for me.
Basic, clean and comfy…it's all I need
My
only grouse was that there could be better utilisation of space in the room.
The room I was assigned in looked sparse with just twin beds, a dresser, a
wardrobe and a single-seat sofa. My opinion? It would’ve looked so much better
if they had fit in a couch and a coffee table and maybe, even a work table.
Website: www.merdekahotel.com
Address: 30, Jalan Mengkibol, 86000
Kluang, Johor.
Tong Huat Confectionary
We
were brought around to a tau sar pneah factory
and shop in town, where we got an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the
shop’s signature biscuits are made. It was quite an experience to see the work
and skill that go into making those small little biscuits.
Each biscuit is handmade
Special
mention goes out to the shop owner. As the head of the family, he shouldered
the responsibility of carrying on the family tradition of making tau sar pneah. It was heartening to see
him patiently explaining the steps and answering our queries. We even got to sample
the biscuits and picked up a few packets before we left.
The owner himself carrying a tray of
freshly-baked tau sar pneah out the oven
Address: No. 28 & 30, Jalan
Cantik, 86000 Kluang, Johor.
UK Farm
The huge signboard greeting all visitors
UK
Farm is not named after the country but the name of the owner itself. The farm
is allegedly one of the largest goat and sheep farm in Malaysia and holds
organised tours and overnight stays for interested parties. We were taken on a
tour around the farm where we were given the chance to feed the goats and give
milk to the calves and also take pictures with them. This was one of the
highlights of the trip for me because it’s not every day I get the chance to
see how goats are fed and milked, especially when you’re a city gal.
A huge goat and a hundred-year-old tree that
gives you good luck if you kiss it (yes, I did kiss it)
This is how we got around the farm, in this
stylish ride
Meal time
Thanks to modern times, farmers no longer
have to milk goats using their hands; in fact, they use a machine that pumps
the milk right out the goats
Pretty asses in a row (couldn’t resist,
please excuse the bad pun)
Achievement unlocked: feeding milk to a calf
Of
course, there are other things to see beside goats at the farm. There’s a
mushroom farm where we get to see how mushrooms are grown and there’s an orang asli village where I got to climb
up a tree house. It was quite a nerve-wracking experience for me as the
structure seemed flimsy and unsafe. It’s hard to imagine that this is the home
of a whole family of orang asli.
This is how mushrooms are grown
Entrance of the Orang Asli Kampung
Achievement unlocked: climbing a treehouse
(so scary!)
A wishing tree; you’re supposed to write your
wish on paper, place it in a pouch and throw it so that it gets hooked on the
tree
A closer look; those colourful pouches hold
people’s wishes
Website: www.ukfarm.com.my
Address: Projek Pertanian Moden
Kluang,, KM13 Jalan Batu Pahat, Kluang, 8, 86000 Kluang, Johor.
Barney’s Restaurant
As I
mentioned, I’m not really into meat and that leaves me very picky with my food
because it’s hard to find good non-meat dishes. But Chef Barney manages to dish
up both meat and non-meat dishes that tantalise the taste buds, as you can see
from the pictures below (that said, I
must apologise for the lack of pictures and captions as I was so caught up in
eating that I missed Chef Barney’s introduction the dishes). It’s obvious he’s
a master of his craft and the detail that he puts in makes me appreciate the
food even more. At one point in the night, he wheeled out a huge chunk of beef
so that we can see him slicing the meat. Obviously, Chef Barney loves a good
show and we were definitely an appreciative audience!
Address: No 5 & 6, Jalan Yayasan, 86000 Kluang, Johor.
Nineteen Eighties Music Bar Café
After
the hearty (read: sinful) dinner, it
was time to unwind with drinks and we were all bundled up in a van to head to a
nearby bar. As the name suggests, this bar is set in the 1980s. It’s located on
the upper floor of a row of shop houses but as soon as I started climbing up
the stairs, out came the camera. There were a lot of vintage knick-knacks that
went nicely with the interior décor to recreate the era. It really felt as if
we went back in time. Unfortunately, the entirely place was packed and we were
unable to get any seats. We had to retreat to the hotel terrace for the drinks
session instead (where we still had a
good time), but I believe this is all the more reason for me to return to
Kluang some other time.
The exterior
The staircase leading up to the second floor
where 1980s is located
Definitely not your ordinary wall decorations
Website: www.the1980s.com.my
Address: 2nd Floor, No. 36 & 38,
Jalan Duku, 86000 Kluang, Johor.
Kluang Rail Coffee
Charcoal-grilled
roti kaya. Packets of nasi lemak and mee siam in just the right portion. Aromatic coffee and tea. What
more can I say? After all, this is the original Kluang Railway Station. The
best breakfast ever. Period.
Uncle hard at work
Each pack of nasi lemak and mee siam comes in
small portions so you get to try a few packets without feeling overstuffed
Charcoal-grilled roti bakar
Website: www.kluangrailcoffee.com.my
Address: Stesen Keretapi,
86000 Kluang, Johor.
Gunung Lambak
Let
me clarify; Gunung Lambak is a mountain,
not a hill. So what I initially thought would be a relaxed walk turned into a
full-on hike. We weren’t exactly the fittest bunch (save one or two of us) so some of us had our tongues hanging out of
our mouths while we climbed. I must admit that I enjoyed it though. It felt
good to sweat, knowing that I’ve had a good morning exercise, especially after
all the delicious food I’ve been wolfing down since the trip started. We didn’t
make it all the way to the top, only stopping for a (mandatory) group picture at the halfway point so I’m not sure if I
would survive the whole trail but I would definitely love to try some day.
The trail up; this is what I meant when I said full-on hike
Address: Gunung
Lambak Recreational Forest, 86000 Kluang, Johor
Restoran Ikan Asam Pedas
This
unassuming Chinese restaurant was our last food adventure before we left. It offers
the typical Chinese dishes, which tasted really good (especially the sambal sotong) but one dish that really got me
going for second, third, fourth (you get
the picture) helpings is the steamed egg. It had a smooth texture to it and
the taste was really delicious. I was surprised to find out that it costs only
RM3. Now that’s an economic meal right there.
Some of the dishes that we had; the sambal
sotong at the forefront is really good
Address: No 83 & 85, Jalan Lim
Swee Sim, Johor, 86000 Kluang
Zenxin Organic Park
As
the biggest organic farm in Peninsular Malaysia, we were taken on a tour around
the farm where we were introduced to the different types of plants and their
uses (some also had healing properties).
We also got the chance to play with the rabbits in their enclosure. My advice
to those of you who want to pay a visit is to check ahead first when manure day
is. We were there on manure day and the smell can be quite overwhelming at
times, particularly when the wind blows.
The park overlooks a man-made lake
One of the many trails in the park
Website: www.zenxin.com.my
Address: Plot 47A & 47B, Batu 9, Jalan Batu
Pahat, 86000 Kluang, Johor.
Conclusion?
I truly enjoyed myself. It was just the break I needed to get away from work
and recharge myself. It also opened my eyes to the many wonderful places that
Malaysia has to offer. I’m definitely going back for round 2.
How to get there by car:
Take the Ayer Hitam exit on the North-South highway going south. The town is
located about 25 minutes away from the exit. Proper signage will guide you
easily to the town centre.
By the way, Ms Joann Lee is a guest author in my blog.
See you guys soon,
Muacks, Silviana.
