The Haven Resort and Residences, Ipoh

When I got the invitation with this subject heading, " An Invitation To Be Among The First To Review & Experience Perak's Best Eco Resort and Asia’s Luxury Retreat Of The Year, The Haven Ipoh!". needless to say I was rather excited.  For starters, Perak has to be my favourite state in Peninsular Malaysia, (Terengganu comes a close second), I love Eco Resorts, and who doesn't love luxury.  A quick seach on google showed an impressive collection of stunning vistas, of a place that looked like a forgotten lost world, with all the benefits of modern day living.

Ipoh is now highly accessible for the lazy driver, a train ride is a skip hop and jump, and with Uber in Ipoh now, it's even more convenient to hitch a ride from the train station to wherever.  I enjoyed my ride on the Platinum Train, (which comes with "food service" and non stop journey) and two hours later, KL seemed like a distant dream.  Mind you, Ipoh is just as hot, if not hotter than KL.

The staff of Haven were at hand to greet us at the station, and we were ferried to the resort.   Location wise, it's located after Tambun Lost World and Banjaran, if you're travelling in that direction towards Tanjung Rambutan.

Some interesting facts about THE HAVEN

- It's Perak's tallest and most luxurious resort Condotel
- It's operated by the Best Western INTERNATIONAL (not to be confused with the other local one) family chain of hotels, and is BWI's finest eco resort in Asia
- The centrepiece is an iconic 14 storey high, 280 million year old limestone outcrop named "ROCKHAVEN".

Rockhaven

- It is surrounded by tower karst hills, which is rare.
- The owners have gone to great pains to preserve the virgin rainforest within its grounds
- The natural 4 acre lake is constantly flowing and provides a stunning view for rooms with the lakeside view.
- The Haven is amongst the pioneers in Malaysia to harvest all availble renewable energy sources, like rainwater, solar power, windmill turbine.

- Do you see a Seahorse? Well, The Haven has specially designed and trademarked its own 60 metre seashorse shaped swimming pool

The Seahorse pool is actually divided into various sections, as they pride themselves for catering to 3 generations, ie, parents, children and grandparents.  The tail is the wading pool, whilst the main body is the main pool, and one of the sections is a jacuzzi.  The gorgeous see through glass really makes the pool quite unique....and when viewed from the opposite side of the property, it looks like a wonderful large aquarium.

Ideally, when staying here, one should have a car, because it is quite far from civilisation, even to get some basic stuff is not easy.  There is a shuttle service provided, but it's not gratis.  As we had not had lunch, we adventurously ventured out to seek out some food, but the scorching heat made us give up our food quest after 20 minutes.

The F&B outlet, Cuisines, does serve a comprehensive menu, but as we were going to be dining there at night, I thought I'd try something else, but ended up at Cuisines anyway and guzzled a couple of cold beers and burger.  (one burger).  More on the food later.

We had the honor of being briefed about the development, and the Founder, Mr Peter Chan was also present, and told us of the challenges faced during the development.  It was indeed a rather visionary and bold move to undertake a project of such proportions, but the site itself is remarkable, and whilst its arguable that such a site should not fall into the hands of a private owner, in many ways, it's better for the site to be within the control of a responsible owner, than being plundered and quarried as seems to be the fate of many limestone sites in the area.

The project consists of 3 blocks, A, B, and C, Acacia, Banyan and Cycas respectively, with the corresponding tree planted in front of each block.

The suites types comprise:
1 bedroom Lakeview Suite
2 bedroom Horizon View Suite
2+1 bedroom Lakeview Superior Suite
2+1 bedroom Lakeview Deluxe Suite
3 bedroom Lakeview Executive Suite
3 bedroom Lakeview Executive Deluxe Suite
3 bedroom Lakeview Premier Suite
3+1 bedroom Lakeview Ambassador Suite

We were taken on a brief tour to view the various configurations.  All the suites are amply spaced, most notably the one bedroom is huge!!!

One Bedroom

Room rates range from RM380 per room during low season, (Per room ya, not per suite), and is perfectly suitable for families, with facilites for light cooking such as instant noodles, (not full fledged gourmet meals).

CUISINES

Aptly named, Cuisines, for now the only F&B outlet, really does have a wide variety of cuisine.  From burgers to Ipoh Hor Fun.... a very multi talented chef they must have.

Dinner started with a middle eastern platter of Pita Bread served with Hummus, Baba Ganoush and Tabbouleh.  We noted the Pita bread was remarkably tender, unlike the hard commercial stuff you sometimes get.

An experimental bean curd skin wrapped dish that resembled Lobak but wasn't quite Lobak in the traditional sense.

The famous Ipoh Curry Mee...  Which had a satisfyingly thick coconutty broth, although missing the one MUST HAVE ingredient in my opinion, SEE HUM. (Cockles).

Wat Tan Hor, (Flat rice noodles with eggy gravy), which was very tasty, and comparable to the ones you'd get at the "Tai Chow"s, with sufficient "Wok Hei".

Chicken Charsiu Rice - This was a nice surprise, the Charsiu style marinade, with the fluffy delicious chicken rice, is definitely something I can eat repeatedly.

And for dessert, their signature Pisang Goreng, with is has delightfully light batter, and has a clean crisp taste, obviously fried in fresh oil.

As night falls, the view becomes even more spectacular, with Rockhaven lighted up, likea stage with the spotlight on  the main star.  We were there on a weeknight, so the night lighting was kept to a minimum, but I've seen pictures of the place fully lit at night and it looks spectacular.

 Photo courtesy of press kit

Photo courtesy of press kit

As a new day dawned, it was time for breakfast at Cuisines. 

Breakfast - A comprehensive buffet spread, most importantly with egg station, to get your freshly made egg in whatever form, and the most crucial Malaysian must have, NASI LEMAK.  Steaming hot from the cauldron, the fragrant aroma of our favourite staple wafted through the air.

After breakfast, a morning stroll around the grounds, to check out the flora and fauna...

So tranquil...I'm sure it's a stark contrast to school holidays where the peaceful silence is pierced with the cacophony of humans revelling in a good time..

The early bird gets the worm, so they say...

For the uninitiated, there's lots to do in Ipoh, as we discovered, after we finished our time at The Haven, and the Haven staff very kindly brought us on a looksie looksie tour of the surrounding area.  The itinerary originally was to cover Ipoh town, but having been there so many times, it was unanimously agreed that it would be better to check out the sights nearer to the hotel, ....from the hotel, on the horizon view, in yonder, one could see a temple perched on a hill, which was interesting.

From the temple, you could see the three towers of the Haven...albeit rather Hazily...

In Bercham, a Thai type temple, with a host of Buddhas, in all shapes and sizes...

An interesting visit to the Masjid Muhammadiah, a Chinese mosque, which was built by Chinese Muslims, as a reminder that the faith transcends all ethnic backgrounds and does not belong to any one race.
  
And finally the famous Perak Temple, nestled in the huge limestone caves.

For more information, call
BEST WESTERN PREMIER THE HAVEN
05-2209000
or email reservations@bestwesternhaven.com.my

Postcards From Perak

Sigh, how quickly the school holidays go by. Soon it will be back to school as we sing that tune from Abba, "Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning, Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile" (slipping through my fingers). Actually, truth be told, I hardly ever see them off with schoolbag in hand, at least not the older ones in primary school. I mean, school starts at 7.30am. I am still in the Delta phase of my sleep cycle.

Anyway, since times are bad, we decided this holiday to stimulate the local economy, and go Cuti Cuti Malaysia. We decided to check out the western seaboard of the Silver State.

Bidor Breakfast Stop. No journey up north is complete without the stop at the famous Duck Noodle place in Bidor. Yes, it IS overated and a tad overpriced, but hey, traditions become increasingly expensive to maintain....look at the price of turkeys at Christmas and Abalone at Chinese New Year. Fortunately, even though pricey, the food is quite good. Check out the delightful bakery along the same row, which boasts a variety of minature edible animals.

With all due respect, (digressing a bit), I find it peculiar, the chinese brand of vegetarianism, which seeks to imitate all living things in the menu. Vegetarian duck, charsiu, etc... however, it does result in a much more varied and interesting menu, as opposed to tofu burgers....

The drive to Lumut from Bidor is pleasant enough. A welcome break from Highway driving, and not too truck infested. A friend (Khaw Tai Tai) had told us before that the Damai Laut Resort was in the middle of nowhere, and I see now she was not exaggerating. The nearest shop is probably the distance from KL to Kajang. Well, maybe not that far, but felt like it.

Swiss Garden Damai Laut Resort.


There's something indescribably satisfying bonding with nature. Sipping beers under a coconut tree, watching the kids build sandcastles, and kicking them down. Life is a little like that huh.

I'm sure the turtle sanctuary is a very well kept secret. There are signboards along the Lumut Pantai Remis trunk road, which go, PUSAT PENGURUSAN PENYU, 2km, followed by 1km, and suddenly, NOTHING. Unless you were psychic, and had the turtle sense to know where to turn, you would never find it. Those signboards show distances to a junction, which lead to the place, but the actual place is like another 7km from the turn off. Typical Malaysian signboards. Even after you turn, you'd be wondering, "I don't see any sea in sight....are these condo living turtles or what?"

Our ongoing Perakian jalan jalan (and brother in law's GPS) led us to Pantai Remis fishing village. Very exotic.

Pantai Remis Fishing Village

Okay, now for the food part of the journey. Despite being located in the boondocks, the resort menu did not look appetising, not to mention, expensive, and with an entourage of 12, it made sense to suffer the ride out to civilisation.

We headed for a supposedly famous place in Pantai Remis for dinner, but of course, as arse luck would have it, it was CLOSED!!!! So we picked another aircond joint along the road, called Kok Kuen or something like that.

Marmite Chicken, was good. After foraging for food for some time, anything would taste good I reckon.


Mantis Shrimp, one of the supposed specialties of this area. I personally do not have any particular affinity with mantis shrimps. Give me good old big prawns any day. But it was flavourful enough, and the sauce went well with rice.


Steamed Sea Prawns, which were fresh, but rather non descript.


Deep Sea Grouper, which initially they said they didn't have, when they were trying to flog off a Pomfret, but when the Pomfret was snapped up, they miraculously had a grouper afterall. Disappointing, to say the least.


Fried err...meen seen? Not my favourite noodle of choice. My preferences are Yellow Noodle, Kueh Teow, Mee Hoon (the thin kind, not the fat one), followed by the "dan lain lain" in that order.

Our next adventure, lunch after the turtle sanctuary, on day two (the hotel breakfast buffet is largely forgettable), was this coffee shop in the Pantai Remis fishing village. This is one meal I will NEVER forget. I have never seen that many flies in one location before, it was absolutely revolting, even by my nonchalant standards. It probably made the Fly Plague of Egypt look like summer's picnic by Manly Beach. However, I thought it might a good trial in "toughening the kids"...and if they could escape this adventure diarrhoea free, then I have trained them well. I have always been scornful of overprotective parents who refuse to let their kids eat coffee shop food, etc....unless there's a specific allergy, I reckon kids should be exposed to as much different foods as possible.

Despite no covering, the flies were not attracted to these.




Note the solo fly on the plastic sheet. It was probably in transit.


The food however, was rather good. My pork noodles was yummy, and piping hot, thus warding off any threat of cholera.


The char kueh teow, fried by a damn hip uncle who spoke fluent english, and wore sunglasses, was also rather good.

Check out the flies hovering around the rim of the finished glass of milo. Actually, what really gave me the shudders was entering the toilet, and seeing the main mothership of flies.....brrrrr...... verdict, the kids, including my 2½ yr old toddler, emerged pretty unscathed, thankfully.

Moving back to civilisation, Ipoh. Dinner at Soon Fatt.... opposite was a kopitiam with a lady selling apam, with a long queue. I had to have it of course.

We're probably funding her kids education in Harvard or Oxford I tell you. The profit margin must be exorbitant. Kosong some more.


Delicious claypot tofu, which is a staple for the kids. Whenever in doubt, order rice and taufu, and you won't go wrong. Pretty low maintenance. I have trained them well.


More tofu. What a treat for them!!! Two varieties!!! Silken smooth, it really is a very good dish.


I think these were marmite ribs. Or guineess ribs. Very tasty, and the meat tender and succulent.




Lovely greens that were finished in a jiffy.



The highlight was this pomfret from the fishing village, bought earlier and brought to the restaurant. Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication, they only brought ONE fish to the restaurant. Pity, it was superbly fresh....sigh, it was like foreplay ....without ....you know.


Ginger chicken. I absolutely LOVE the gingery gravy. Give me this dish everyday, I don't mind.

Breakfast the following day, pork noodles at some kopitiam, also in the vicinity of Soon Fatt. I forget the name, but the dim sum is pretty good too.

Much as I love the aroma and taste of Ipoh White Coffee, I think the concept of "Kurang Manis" is not readily grasped by Malaysians in general, of all races.

What would a trip to Ipoh be without the requisite Ipoh Hor Fun. The folks opted for Nam Heong this time. I personally prefer Thean Chun. I found the stock a bit too sweet, literally.

Nothing like the aroma of freshly baked pastries. Charsiu sow and egg tarts.




It's my 3rd trip to Ipoh this year, and I still haven't tried the famous egg tarts from Sim Mee Market. Drat.

And across the road from Nam Heong, Sin Yin Loong Coffee shop, I think its called, more Ipoh White Coffee and the must have caramel custard.

Being Perak born, I naturally have an affinity for the TOMB. (Town of My Birth). Actually, I was born in Taiping. Okay, State of My Birth.

There's a lot more to see and do, and eat I'm sure. I can't wait to check it out again in the next school holiday. I want to visit Kelly's Castle, The charcoal factory, the tin mining dredge, etc etc.