Ipoh/Cameron Highlands Jun 2014 (Day 2)

Continued from Day 1.

The next day, all of us woke up bright and early for breakfast (actually we were awakened by the kiddo). Breakfast was served at Brasserie'85 restaurant, it was quite crowded and we had to wait for about 10 mins before we were ushered to our table. Nothing to shout about, spread was reasonable enough for a fulfilling breakfast.

Stations serving freshly prepared roti canai, eggs and noodles.

Porridge and condiments.

Bread and pastry section.

Salad section. Surprised that the selection of vegetables was limited since Cameron Highlands is a haven for fresh vegetables?

The usual hot food section like sausages, hash brown, baked beans, nasi lemak etc.

Cereal and milk.

Fresh and canned fruits.

After breakfast, we explored the grounds of the resort for a while.

Found a playground and the kiddo immediately took to it.

We had to stop him as it rained the night before and the slides were all wet.

 We then set off for our highlight of the trip, strawberry picking!

Alas, all the strawberry farms were closed for picking! We went to about 4 to 5 farms and all told us that due to peak period and poor weather, there weren't enough for self-picking. Some of them would be opened in a few days' time but we were leaving the next day! The kiddo was super disappointed. Managed to find a farm that would be opened the next day so we promised to bring him there the first thing in the morning before we check-out.

We then proceeded to a few vegetable farms and bought some vegetables at the Kea Farm Market.

Lots of fresh vegetables at the Kea Farm Market that we couldn't resist! Could only get those hardy root vegetables since we still have 3 more days of holiday.

Found many stalls selling sea coconut drink (both at the Kea Farm Market and night market). Curious, I thought sea coconut is found at the seaside area, or does it also grow in the mountains??

Next we proceeded to Lavender Garden, which is the newest attraction at Cameron Highlands.

And most popular as well, judging from the continuous large number of visitors. There was an admission charge of RM5 per adult and RM3 per child.

Upon entrance, we could see a large plot of colourful flowers but they were not lavenders. Looked like lavender but not :( Probably not the season?

Never mind, bought lavender soft-serve to console myself. Tasted so-so.

 Besides flowers, many novelty things for photo-taking like this car.

 

Not sure what those box-houses are for, each is labelled with different themes like health, friendship etc.

Love-locks for couples to pronounce their love for each other?

Quite a number of quaint looking decor.

Not sure if the teddy bear is part of the signage or somebody dropped it and it was conveniently placed there?

Saw a glimpse of hope for strawberry picking and we quickly made our way towards the area.

Unfortunately, the strawberry self-pick area was closed too.

We did see some ripened strawberries but I guessed not enough for the crowd.

There's also an area for self-pick gerbera.

By the time we were done with Lavender Garden, it was lunch time. Since the farm is near Tringkap and we really enjoyed our lunch there the previous day, decided to lunch there again.

Besides roast meats, many other dishes were available too.

Pork rib and peanut soup, very tasty!

Roast chicken as the kiddo requested for it.

Sweet and sour pork, not bad.

Ordered the same vegetable as all of us liked it, think it's called local mountain vegetables.

Deep fried bitter gourd with salted egg yolk. Totally love this dish, the bitter gourd was light and crispy; not bitter at all, slightly salty and fragrant with the salted egg yolk. Must cooking this one of these days.

Ordered the stir-fried watercress again as we couldn't get enough of it. Local watercress is very tender and sweet but not exported as it's highly perishable.

After the sumptuous lunch, we visited a few other farms and shops and returned to the resort to rest in the late afternoon.

I decided to check-out the Mandrayu Spa while hubby took a nap and kiddo went to the playground with both grandmas.

Had a soothing massage at the outdoor pavilion. Love the experience as the air was cool and crispy, and it felt so serene hearing birds chirping as I enjoyed the massage.

This was the indoor massage room.

Returned to the room and enjoyed some fresh strawberries and tomatoes. Bliss!

For dinner, we decided to try the western grill at the resort. The meats were cooked using this smoke cooker.

Had to wait for a very long time :( Luckily the weather was quite nice and we were seating alfresco.

Hubby and I had tenderloin, both mums had chicken chop and the kiddo had fish. Quite tasty.

After dinner, we went to the night market again since didn't manage to stay long. But the kiddo fell asleep, so hubby and I stayed in the car with him while both mums went ahead for their shopping. They returned after 45 mins and we returned to the resort for the night.

Stay tuned for Day 3 of our trip.