Gohtong Jaya – a good place to stop for food on the way to and from Genting Highlands

For those on a road trip to Genting Highlands, a stopover for food at Gohtong Jaya is highly recommended. Gohtong Jaya is a small town at the foothills of Genting Highlands, about 5 km before Resorts World Genting, located on the peak.Row of shophouses offering good and cheap local food at Gohtong Jaya. A perfect place to stop by for lunch before driving up to Genting Highlands.

This small town was erected and named after Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Genting Group. It houses several shops, apartments and more importantly, a row of restaurants offering good and cheap local food. 

On our way to Genting Highlands, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Restoran Chuan Kie. This is one of the more popular restaurants in Gohtong Jaya.

Many celebrities who visited or performed in Resorts World Genting apparently ate at the Chuan Kie Restaurant, as evidenced by the numerous photos displayed on the walls of the restaurant. 

This restaurant is so popular that they had opened a new branch along the same row of shophouses. We went to the new branch for lunch as it was bigger and less crowded.

The four persons in my travel group shared the following dishes:

Fried pork belly slices in special sauce.

The fried pork belly slices is the restaurant’s signature dish. It seemed that everyone ordered this dish at this restaurant. The pork slices were deep fried till crispy (like bacon) and then coated with a sweet sauce. Highly recommended.

Stir-fried bee hoon (rice noodles) with bean sprouts, prawns, onions, and garnishing.

We also like the stir-fried rice noodles, where we could taste the char, smoky flavour of the hot Chinese frying pan or wok.

Triple steamed eggs served in shallow pan. The steamed egg is silky smooth and quite delicious to eat on its own.

Tofu with minced pork, chye por (pickled vegetables) and spring onions.

The salty tasting chye por balances well with the tofu. Personally I found this dish a little too salty for my personal liking but most people will like this dish.

Stir-fried French beans that are crunchy and sweet.

After our stay at Genting Highlands, we actually returned to Gohtong Jaya on our way home and ate at Restoran Chuan Kie again. This time, we went to the main restaurant instead of their branch.

Once again, we ordered their signature fried pork belly slices in special sauce and stir-fried been hoon since we enjoyed these dishes very much when we ate their branch on our way to Genting Highlands.

These are some of the other dishes to try at this restaurant.

Stir fried Tian Qi leaves (田七菜) with chopped garlic. 

The stir fried Tian Qi leaves (田七菜) tasted quite good with smooth slippery texture when stirred fried in this manner. Tian Qi, also known as Notoginseng, are valued for their pharmaceutical qualities, especially for the blood and circulation.

Fresh Tian Qi leaves are not commonly sold back home, so it was a good idea to try this dish at Gohtong Jaya. I saw fresh Tien Chi leaves being sold in the several provision shops in Gohtong Jaya and it was tempting to buy some to bring home.

Petai with sambal, chopped onions and crispy fried Ikan Bilies (Dried Anchovies).

Petai, also known as Stink beans or Bitter beans, are widely consumed in Southeast Asia. They are supposed to be good for the health but I find them too bitter. My travelling companion, who likes to eat petai, told me they would make the urine stink, hence the nickname.

The restaurant also offers some exotic meat like ostrich. We ordered the ostrich with spring onions.

Stir fried ostrich with spring onions.

The meat of the ostrich was tough, like low quality beef. So, it may be better off to eat stir fried beef with spring onions instead.

Other simple and tasty dishes include the home made braised tofu with Enoki mushrooms and the stir-fried bee hoon (rice noodles).

Stir-fried bee hoon (rice noodles) = top left. Cut red or green chillies and chopped garlic (top right). Home made braised tofu with Enoki mushrooms – bottom.

The stir-fried bee hoon (rice noodles) is even more delicious when garnished with red or green chillies and chopped garlic that are placed on each table.

Overall, our meals at Restoran Chuan Kie has been value for money and met our expectations. We will be back, if we were to pass this way again. There are other similar Chinese restaurants offering cheap and good food in this small town as well.

Gohtong Jaya is also an excellent place to buy local produces like the Bentong ginger and of course the seasonal local fruits like the Musang King or Mao Shan Wang durians, which are grown in the plantations nearby. 

To find out more about enjoying durians and mangosteens in Malaysia, check out this post: Enjoying the King and Queen of Fruits at Genting Highlands.  

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Visit to Chin Swee Caves Temple at Genting Highlands

29 July 2019

Chin Swee Caves Temple is a religious site located on a scenic location that is 4,600 feet above sea level and just beneath the peak of Genting Highlands where the Resorts World Genting is located.

Access to Chin Swee Temple from Resorts World Genting

Most visitors to Resorts World Genting would use the Awana Skyway cable car and alight at Chin Swee Caves Station. There are connecting escalators to take visitors down to the temple.

Since we had our rental car, we drove down from Genting Highlands to the temple. The drive took only a few minutes. Entrance to the temple site is free of charge and there are free car parking spaces within the temple site and along the road leading up to Resorts World Genting.

What we did at the temple

The first place we visited at the site was the 9-storey pagoda. It is worthwhile to take the spiral stairs to the top of the pagoda to get a nice overview of the temple site. Many small images of the Buddha lined the walls inside the pagoda. Little swifts could be seen nesting on the ceilings of the pagodas as well.
Obviously, the best view is at the topmost level. We could see the tiny cable cars in operation leading from the peak down to the Genting Premium Outlet.

What I like the most was the views of the temple site with clouds rolling in from behind. It made me feel like I am in heaven looking down on the tiny mortals beings.

View of the temple from the pagoda.

 
Coming down from the top of pagoda, we joined the mortal beings at the temple’s main square. Here, a statue and memorial of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder of Genting Highlands could be seen.

Statue of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong at Chin Swee Caves Temple.

Chin Swee Caves Temple’s main square also houses several prayer halls for devotees to pray and meditate during their visit. The prayer halls were quite attractive and colourful.

Statues of Buddha, Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) and Luohans are among the attractions around Chin Swee Caves Temple.

A row of luohans at the Chin Swee Caves Temple. The Pindola or taming tiger luohan is in the foreground.

Statues of many Luohans or Arhats lined the wall along the path leading to the giant statue of Buddha. In Buddhism, the Arhats are original followers of Gautama Buddha. They have attained the four stages of enlightenment, are free of worldly cravings and are charged to protect the Buddhist faith.

15-metre tall statue of Buddha with the swastika symbol on his chest.

I overhead a local tourist guide explaining the meaning of the swastika symbol on the chest of the huge Buddha.

“The horizontal line unites light and darkness, while the perpendicular line symbolically connects heaven and earth. These two combined, form a cross representing the universe in harmony beyond the limits of time and space.”

On the hill slope facing the temple’s main square is the Journey to Enlightenment or 10 Chambers of Hell. This is one of the most unique and interesting things to see at Chin Swee Caves Temple.

Entrance to the 10 Chambers of Hell, also known as Journey to Enlightenment.

The 10 Chambers of Hell or Journey to Enlightenment is based loosely on Buddhist concept of Naraka and traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife. It depicts a subterranean maze with various chambers, to which souls are taken after death to atone for the sins they committed when they were alive.

I remember seeing a similar exhibit in Singapore’s Haw Par Villa when I was a kid. The gruesome scenes depicting the punishments that bad people would receive in hell was enough to make me be a good boy during my growing days.

I will only share what happens at the First and Last Chamber of Hell. The punishments depicted in Chamber Two to Nine could be quite gruesome for some people and I will leave you to find out it for yourselves….. I mean when you visit Chin Swee Cave Temple!

The First Chamber of Hell, also known as Registration Office, is where the King Qin Quang (or Qin Quang Wang) conducts preliminary trials. After death, each person is judged according to his deeds in his past life.

A good person with no misdeeds would be sent for rebirth in the Heavenly realm while a person who has done equally virtuous and evil deeds will be sent to Tenth Chamber of Hell for rebirth back into this world. Those who has seriously committed unwholesome deeds and done more evil than good will be sent to the relevant chambers (Chambers Two to Nine) for punishment.

Experiencing the 10 Chambers of Hell, also known as Journey to Enlightenment.

After serving their sentences or punishments in the other chambers, the prisoners are sent to the Tenth Chamber.

The controller at the Tenth Chamber, also known as King Zhuan Lun, will determine whether the prisoners will be reborn rich or poor, male or female and so on, based on the merits and demerits of their past actions. 

Here, the prisoners are given a cup of magic tea which, upon drinking, make them forget their past life. They are finally reincarnated into one of the six realms.

Depicting reincarnation into one of the six realms. Depending on the prisoner's past life, he would be reborn either as a human or an animal.

Other attractions at Chin Swee Caves Temple are exhibits depicting scenes and characters from Chinese mythology and literature such as the Journey to the West (Chinese: 西遊記).
The Journey to the West is one of the four classics of Chinese literature published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty. The novel is based on the actual 7th-century pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuan Zang (602–664) to India in search of sacred texts. The Ming dynasty novel adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention.

The Bodhisattva Guan Yin provided the monk (referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel) with three protectors who agreed to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Monkey King (Sun Wukong), Pigsy (Zhu Bajie) and Sandy (Sha Wujing), together with a dragon prince who acts as Sanzang’s steed, a white horse.

Monkey King (Sun Wukong), Pigsy (Zhu Bajie) and Sandy (Sha Wujing), together with a dragon prince who acts as Sanzang’s steed, a white horse.

Monkey King (Sun Wukong).

Plenty of photo opportunities at Chin Swee Caves Temple.

Overall, Chin Swee Caves Temple is worth seeing while visiting Resorts World Genting. Learn a bit about Buddhism, Chinese folklore and culture and enjoy the cool weather and scenic views at the same time.

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Enjoying the King and Queen of Fruits at Genting Highlands

28 and 29 July 2019

One of the highlights of my trip to Resorts World Genting was eating durians, also known as the “King of Fruits” in South East Asia.  There are many varieties of the large and thorny fruit. They can be distinguished by the different shapes, sizes, colour of husks and colour of flesh that ranges from pale yellow to red.

Baskets full of “Musang King” durians.

Durians emit a unique smell that some find pungent and foul smelling while others find nice. It is like cheese. Some people find the smell of cheese disgusting and revolting while others loved it. It is hard to describe the smell and taste of durians. So, one got to try it to find out. Fortunately, the four persons in my travelling group love durians.

Although durians are common in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, I would say the durians from Malaysia are the best. It is no surprise that Malaysia is one of the dominating durian exporters in the world. 
Malaysia has some of the best varieties of durians and once a while, new varieties are discovered or cultivated. Currently, the Musang King durian is the most popular variety. Musang King has other names like Rajah Kunyit or Mao Shan Wang (loosely translated from Chinese - Cat Mountain King).

July is one of the best times to visit Genting Highlands as it is the peak season for the Musang King durians that are actually grown in plantations near Genting.

We had our first durian even before reaching Resorts World Genting. On our drive to Resorts World Genting from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we stopped by Gohtong Jaya, a small town located on the foothills of Genting Highlands for lunch. Many fruit stalls could be seen in Gohtong Jaya, offering Musang King durians at competitive prices.

Choosing our durians. We bought 2 durians weighing 4.7 kg in total at 50 MYR per kg.

The durians are typically sold based on the weight of the entire fruit with shell and all. It costs about 50 to 60 MYR per kg, with guarantee that the durian would be “fit for use”. This means the seller would take back the durian if it is too ripe (watery flesh) or not ripe enough (flesh is hard like a potato). It is good to confirm that the vendor is offering the guarantee for the price quoted before opening the durian.

At some places, durians sellers pre-opened the durian fruit, removed the seeds from the husks and packed the fleshy yellow seeds in plastic or Styrofoam boxes. It is not advisable to consume such durians since there is no guarantee of freshness nor assurance that you are actually getting the variety of the durian you paid for.

The Musang King durian is one of the most expensive varieties because of its superior taste and demand. Some unscrupulous vendors may pass off cheaper varieties as the Musang King to the uninitiated. To ensure that you get the real thing, look at the fruit’s bottom to find the distinctive brown star-shape marking. It is good that the internet provides plenty of information and guides on how to identify or even select the best durians. Fortunately, my travelling companion is an expert in choosing durians so we left the task to him.

After selecting our durians, we sat at the stools and tables by the stall to enjoy the fruit. Disposable plastic gloves are provided so we don’t end up with messy fingers. The durians are finger licking good so I don’t bother with the gloves.

The Musang King durian is known for its thick, golden yellow flesh and small seeds. The bitter sweet flesh is sticky with creamy texture and little or no fibres.

After eating the “heaty” durians or king of fruits, it is a good practice to also eat some “cooling” mangosteens, also known as the queen of fruits to balance the yin and yang in our diet.

The purple coloured mangosteen is a fruit that is native to South East Asia. The tennis ball sized mangosteens have an inedible and hard exterior. A gentle squeeze would crack the shell to reveal soft, tangy and sweet fleshy segments resembling those of a mandarin orange. Some larger segments have an inedible bitter tasting seed in the middle.

Soft white flesh of the mangosteen inside the purple hard shell. You can tell the mangosteen is fresh by its pure snow-white flesh.

The durian vendor at Gohtong Jaya also sells freshly harvested mangosteens at competitive prices. We bought a dozen for only 18 MYR.

Annual Genting Durian Festival

We had our second durian feast the following day when we were at Resorts World Genting.

Every year, Resorts World Genting would hold its Durian Festival where many premium grade varieties of durians grown all over Malaysia will be available at one place. This includes varieties like Musang King, XO, Tekka, Udang Merah (Red Prawn), D24 and Black Thorn

For 2019, the festival ran from 25 May to 16 Sep 2019, 12 PM to 10 PM, at the Genting Grand outdoor car park on level 16.

This is the perfect opportunity to try various varieties of Malaysia’s best durians at one place. It was here that we sampled the Black Thorn durian for the first time.

This rare variety of durian originates from and is successfully cultivated in only a few plantations near Penang. Hence the Black Thorn durians are not readily available and very expensive. 

Most of the stalls at the Genting Durian Festival sells pre-packed Black Thorn durians. We managed to find one stall at the Genting Durian Festival selling the fresh Black Thorn durian fruit for 80 MYR per kg. In comparison, the Musang King is sold at 58 MYR per kg at Genting (slightly more expensive at the hilltop location of Genting Highlands compared to Gohtong Jaya).

The black thorn durian could be recognized by a tiny black thorn that protrudes from the bottom of the fruit.  Another signature mark is a thick core with a rust-coloured “drain” or line running down the middle of the opened fruit.

The flesh of the Black Thorn durian with its rosy, orange hue.

In terms of taste, the Black Thorn was slightly better than the Musang King. Sweet, flavourful and no fibres. The Black Thorn could be the durian that dethrones the Musang King in terms of taste but its availability and higher price is a show-stopper.

We also ate the D24 durian. The D24 durian was a very popular variety before being overthrown by the Musang King durian. The D24 is much cheaper as a result.
The first D24 durian that was opened was rejected by us for being hard and under-ripe. The seller took it back and replaces it with another.

This D24 durian that was not ripe enough, as shown by the pale colour and hard texture of flesh.

The second D24 was perfectly ripe with softer flesh and deeper yellow colour like all good D24 durians should be.

The D24 that we ate and pay for. Perfectly ripe with softer and more yellowish flesh.

It terms of taste, the D24 is more fibrous. Compared to “non-branded” durians, the D24 is good. But it loses out significantly when compared to the Musang King or the Black Thorn. It also comes with much larger seeds.

Once again, we bought some mangosteens from the durian stall to eat with the durians. The seller removed the shell from the mangosteen so expertly that the white fresh was presented like a bouquet.

Mangosteen with the purple shell removed, exposing the soft succulent white fresh.

Overall, we enjoyed our durian and mangosteen feasts very much during our trip to Genting Highlands in Malaysia. Eating the King and Queen of Fruits is certainly a highlight of any trip to Malaysia. 

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Langkawi Island Day 1 – Cenang Beach

12 January 2011

My son had completed his basic military training as part of the compulsory National Service and had a short break before he was to be posted to his new unit. So, we planned this short 3-day trip for rest and relaxation to Pulau Langkawi (or Langkawi Island), located off the west coast of West Malaysia.

We flew in via Malaysia Airline flight from Singapore, with a brief stopover in Penang and checked into The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa.  We were given a sea-facing room with a nice view of the sea and islands of the coast.

After lunch at the hotel, we took a taxi from our hotel to Cenang Beach, located on the west coast of Langkawi. There were many beach activities and sport for the active persons like para-sailing or jetski. But no high-adrenaline sea sport for us. We just wanted to relax and watch the sunset. For me, it was also an opportunity for shooting some photos.

We watched the para-sailing operators in action, launching and recovering the parachutes from the beach. Some of the para-sailors flew solo and some flew in tandem.

We took a slow walk down the beach. Cenang beach has fine white sand, plus broken sea shells, and stretches over a kilometer from one end to the other. Many luxury resorts, hotels, guest houses and restaurants are located on this stretch of the beach.

Even a Tree House!

We settled down on the sand to watch the sunset and also the planes from the nearby Langkawi airport.

Once darkness set in, we headed to a seafood restaurant for this. Eating seafood is a must at Langkawi Island.

A treat for the young soldier. This is definitely many times better than army food.

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Langkawi Island Day 2 – Stardust Adventure Cruise (Part 1)

13 January 2011

I booked the Stardust Adventure Day cruise through the Internet while planning our trip to Langkawi. A van picked us up from our hotel in the morning. After rounding up a few other participants from the nearby hotels near Kuah town, it brought us to a jetty, located by a mangrove swamp. Other vans had also been picking the other cruise members from other parts of Langkawi. We were then introduced to the crew and also the other participants. Quite a sizeable group from all over the world.

A speedboat took us through the mangrove swamp and made a stop at the floating fish “farm” located at the wider part of the river.

Langkawi - fish farm on Kilim river.

The farm was not actually for big scale fish farming but rather more like a floating aquarium showcasing many varieties of local fish and sea creatures.

Langkawi Stardust Cruise - sting ray coming to the handler.

We could touch or hand feed stingrays. The stingray was pretty tame and would come to the keeper to be fed.

Daniel held a horse-shoe crab (aka king crab in South East Asia).

One could also just look at the whoppers on display.

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There was also an interesting exhibition of the shooting abilities of the Archer Fish. This is a fish that has the ability to shoot a jet of water from its mouth to knock down insects near the water to its doom. It can also leap out of the water to catch its prey.

Here is a sequence of shots showing the archer fish leaping out of the water to take food from a hand.

After the farm, the speedboat took us to the sailing boat. This was our first view of the boat that will take us out to sea.

Once on the sailing boat, it was time for the sun-tan lotion and finding a spot on the deck to enjoy the sun, sea and scenery. We were actually cruising within the Kilim Geoforest Park with its steep limestone cliffs, mangrove forest below and circling sea eagles above.

As we leave the Kilim river and head out to the Andaman Sea, a sign “Kilim Geoforest Park” could be seen. 

The sail was deployed and it was time to feel the wind in the face, listen to the sound of the waves gently rocking against the boat and take in the sights of the Andaman Sea and the outlying islets. We were actually going so close to the Thai border that our mobile phone were now picking up the Thailand phone service providers’ network although we were still in Malaysian waters. Some Thai-style fishing boats or sampans could be seen.

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The crew was ever eager to hand out ice cold beer, wine and other drinks. The boom net was lowered at the side of the boat and some of the folks jumped in. You could either jump in from the front of the moving boat and try to catch the net as it sails pass.

If you missed the boat, it would be “bye bye to you” as the sailing boat could not stop. A safer way was to go down to the net through the step ladder. Once you were on the net, the crew would throw you an ice-cold beer.

Don’t under-estimate the force of the water on your back and make sure your shorts or swim wear are well tied! Else, it would be “bye bye shorts”.

All too soon, it was time to break for a buffet lunch. The boat was anchored and we could enjoy this view while taking our lunch.

Many activities were available after lunch as we stayed anchored for quite some time. I went for a dip in the sea.

Had to be wary of jelly fish the size of a football.  Thankfully, not many of these jellyfishes.

Some of the folks took the kayak to explore a sea cave. This was a tunnel sea cave where they went in at one end, and appeared round the cliff on the other side.

My son entertained himself with a Sony Playstation Portable while his mum took an after-lunch nap.

Part 2 of the tour continued after lunch - with a cave exploration, visiting of a hidden lagoon and watching the sea eagles feeding in the Kilim river.

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