Aman Rimba, A Gem A Stone's Throw Away From KL

The great thing about living in a developing country is, well, it's always developing. Which means we can look forward to new discoveries, new frontiers, new holiday destinations, etc. Of late, (as in the last few years), there seem to be a proliferation of private holiday villas springing up all over the place, and there is no longer a shortage of places to go if you needed a quick break.

When Pure Glutton invited me to check out Aman Rimba, in Janda Baik, I was thrilled, coz I love that area, and the nearby Bukit Tinggi hamlet where time stood still. After looking at the WEBSITE, I was even MORE excited at the thought of visiting.

The great thing about Janda Baik is how CLOSE it is to KL, with the superior network of highways. It took us around 40 minutes to get there. Janda Baik is a predominantly Malay Reserve enclave, located just after Genting Sempah, and seems to be a favourite locale for outward bound type camps, and places for motivational camps etc.


First things first...upon arrival, we were greeted by a DELICIOUS home cooked lunch. Dwellers can opt to include meals in their package, and they offer a wide range of cuisine, with a chef for the corresponding cuisine. For lunch, we had fare that had a Kelantanese bias, which was so totally appetizing that I think I ate my quota of rice for a week. The fresh ulams with the divine sambal belacan, and sambal machang. Machang is a quinine like fruit, very aromatic and fibrous, that makes a lovely chutney like sambal.


Ayam masak hitam, Pucuk Paku, Curry With brinjals and Assorted Vegetables, Mango Kerabu..all these dishes just cry out for rice!


The Machang Sambal.


We were then invited by the owners, Sabri and Wati, for a short briefing at the common area. What really wow-ed me, and I'm sure everyone there, was the inspirational story of this couple, who had taken under their wing 20 or so young children, and sponsored, and molded them to become fine adults, by way of education and exposure. The story can be found in their website, the YOUNG ACHIEVERS CLUB. Those blessed lucky Malaysian youth, regardless of color or creed, were "adopted" by this warm, generous and magnanimous couple, treated as their own, and endowed with the gifts imparted to them, have all grown up to be successful individuals. I remarked that Encik Sabri should be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Having a family of 20 or so children forced them to look for larger space for weekend getaways, so essentially that spawned the birth of Aman Rimba to its current day form.

Special mention is one of their foster children, obviously very entrepreneurial, has set up an online shopping without boundaries service online, whereby you can order almost anything from London, bringing Oxford street to your doorstep. Check out the website at www.shopship.com. IF YOU ORDER BEFORE 30th November 2011, shipping is free. Just in time for those Christmas presents!


The various individual villas had been added on gradually, though the main house, SIREH, was built for the Sabri family themselves. It is a gorgeous kampung style house, on stilts, with a generous living room, and to die for bedroom. Cumi & Ciki were the lucky residents of the day.


Sireh, the main villa of Aman Rimba....


Antique sewing machine adorn the Sireh house.



The grounds, sprawling over a few acres, are a perfect retreat. Aman, or tranquility and peace, is an apt descritpion of the place. A lone cockatoo chirps, "APA KHABAR?" everytime you walk past.


Melded into the foliage, are several public toilets called Luv A Tree ...


I missed it, because I was standing at a wrong angle, but the two black swans actually made a heart shape with their necks...how romantic is that. Actually, the cool mountainous weather of Aman Rimba coupled with the love that is in the air, it makes a great place for a honeymoon, or honeymoon like activities...unfortunately you cannot rent individual villas for a quickie getaway. Did I say quickie? I meant quick.





The Machang Tree....I imagine you can make really good chutneys and jams with this fragrant fruit.


Speaking of luck of the draw, we got the Kantan Villa, which is two huge semidetached villas, overlooking the pond...


Swans are monogamous, and mate for life, apparently. That white swan in the yonder was recently widowed. (All say awwwwwwwwww)....


The love ducks....


Behold, Kantan 1...


The very happy campers, with our generous steamboat and Korean BBQ spread.


Korean BBQ


Steamboat


A lovely breakfast of nasi lemak awaited us in the morning.


Me and the friendly staff and chef of Aman Rimba. The service is excellent, the staff conversant, helpful, and friendly.


Beyond the gates of Aman Rimba, a babbling brook runs parallel, and the more adventurous amongst us did go for a dip in the refreshing waters.




Actually, in rainy season, that babbling brook can be quite a screaming stream. Apparently the day before we arrived, it broke its banks and overflowed to the road.


The road less travelled......


The main "lobby" area, which is suitable for conferences, brainstorming sessions, etc. It is fully equipped with big screens, projectors, etc.


The adjoining plot of land which is now used to plant vegetables and herbs both for Aman Rimba, and for the owners' restaurant, Kelantan Delights.

Aman Rimba is really a paradise; although the price tag of RM5,500 per day might sound shocking, it can accommodate up to 20 people for that price, so it works out to about RM275/head, but if you go on weekdays, it could be cheaper. They actually can fit a maximum up to 30 people, but that would mean no privacy for the amorous...but suitable for families.


Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.. I wish I can go back to Aman Rimba soon.

Bukit Tinggi BBQ Restaurant, And Happy Deepavali

I love to go a wandering, along the mountain track, and as I go I lub to sing, my Ciki on my back. Valerie, Valeroo, Valle hahahhahahppy diwali, valeri, valeri, my Ciki on my back.

It's Deepavali, and what better way to celebrate, in true Malaysian style, but to go out and stuff our faces, although we were not invited to any open houses. Well, if no house is open to you, then we open our own.....

All the way from Bolehwood.......

Yeah, so, further to my previous post, and wishing for a woodfire oven, and wondering where to get supply of firewood, well, apparently even in this equatorial heat, people do stock up firewood. Perhaps for those cold monsoon nights, when TNB grids blackout.

Alilfatmonkey, with his surprisingly impressive knowledge of High Hill and its surrounds, (the one in Pahang, not Klang), brought us, ie, me, the ahpa, Cumi & Ciki, the fellow monkeys, to a delightful little getaway, nestled in the luscious verdant virgin tropical rainforests, in the sleepy town of Bukit Tinggi for a delightful lunch.


A rather odd name, for what is basically a Chinese restaurant. I've learnt that these days, a name doesn't belie the contents. Hakka Republic is anything BUT hakka, and KFC is anything BUT chicken. As in real chicken.

The first thing that hits you is the LARVERLLY interior decor of the place. Upside down umbrellas line the ceiling of the place, rows and rows of used wine bottles, ....all lend a certain rustic charm. The surrounding gardens are all well vegetated, with passion fruit, vegetables, ....land as fertile as a roman catholic woman not allowed to use contraception.





OOOh, competition time. Guess who's silhouette this is???? The prize, well, a clap from me. (A clap, not "THE clap")


Lately, we have been rediscovering our chinaman roots, and have been taking to drinking beer with ice cubes. JC Jacobsen would turn in his grave.


This snapshot is of particular significance, coz apparently it is the basis of an upcoming competition on Ciki's blog.


Monkey had forewarned us that food will take forever to arrive, and that the chef, his uncle, was exceedingly grumpy. So we brought along our monopoly sets, knitting needles and wool, expecting to kill time, but LO AND BEHOLD, within 10 minutes, voila, nourishment time.


Wu Li Wu Li something something rice. Now, I tell you, if I never believed in the old adage, don't judge a book by its cover, I am a believer now, yeah, hallelujah. AMAZING!!!! So simple, but SOOOO GOOOD. Bits of crispy pork, in a lovely broth that is both tasty and healthy. Vegetables galore, peppers, pumpkin, like a chinese paella so to speak. I could eat this very often. Such comfort food. And only RM12.





Their signature salt baked tilapia, from both angles. Tilapia is kinda hit and miss sometimes, with that muddy taste, though I notice that quality all around seems to be getting better, as I think restaurants these days let the tilapias have a spa holiday in clean waters for about a week before doing them in. Lovely firm sweet flesh, falling off the bone. And stuffed in the fish is a lot of other goodies too, like onions, garlic, etc, which the very stern manager "instructed" us to eat.


This is another amazing dish. Hoi Sin pou. Seafood pot. Trust the Chinks to be so ingenious. A multi layered steamer, whcih collects the juices from the steamed seafood, which is made into a FABULOUS vegetable and mushroom soup. The seafood was amazingly fresh, although there was no sea in sight. Hallo, we're in the middle of the hinterland, .....did they have a secret wardrobe like in Narnia, that opened out to the blue ocean for fresh seafood? The prawns were sweet, and springy, cooked perfectly. The crabs, though a bit of a pain to eat, were also very sweet and fresh. AND THE LALAS!, oooh lala. Plump (monkey spelt his PLUM) and succulent...
RM80 for that pot of goodness. Well, not cheap, but worth it.


Fantastic Rack of Lamb!!!! Who'd have thought. Previously the purview of the mat sallehs, this fler in the jungles of Malaysia can do it so well, and with homemade fresh mint sauce too. It was seriously good. Tender, not lamby, and the skin, caramelised and crispy. Almost as good as pig. RM80 .... a bit steep la.


Ah, the Peking Duck of Seafood. Ie, they use the soup for another dish, just like they use the duck meat for another dish. Aren't my analogies brilliant. The vegetables were fresh, but I think they added too much salt to the soup. Natural flavour would have been perfect.

After stuffing ourselves stupid at lunch, Monkey brought us to this secret hideaway that he discovered. Isn't it gorgeous. I had to restrain myself from breaking out into song....specifically, THE HEEELLLS ARE ALIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF MUZZZZZIKKKK.....

Our secret holiday home. Want to know where it is, ask monkey.


The garden of eden is dotted with all kinds of strange foliage. Can anyone identify this fruit? Is it HAW?


Monkeys on their pseudo holiday. Bad enough we were trespassing, go and soak feet into people's pool some more.


Cumi was trying to make his own rainbows.

He even walks on water! Wow, this is paradise.


An amazing range of flora and fauna. Check out the Rouge Dragonfly.


Ah, nothing warms the entrails of an AhPa than to see such happy children, leaping with joy!

After the stopover at the Good Widow, we adjourned to the quaint hamlet of Bukit Tinggie which is hustling and bustling with activity. I am sure I used to traverse this road in my distant youth, when I followed my dad to Kuantan for Ching Ming on the old road, in the days before touch and go and PLUS concessionaires. It's amazing that it is still such a hive of activity.


Roselle fruit. Supposed to make good jams, and extract. Bought a kilo. Must try to make.


Thick FAT bananas, in such glorious hues of red.


As if we hadn't eaten enough, we decided to have the famous thinly sliced sweet and sour pork for dessert.

Well, FINALLY I had been included in those epic Cumi&Ciki ronda ronda Malaysia food trails. I have finally lived. What a fun day it was, and I cant wait to do it again!!!! Where to next!