Right after camping and whitewater rafting at Sg. Sedim, Kulim, my next destination was this famous and secluded restaurant deep inside Kulim. Many of you might have heard of it, largely because it has been promoted on TV by Jason a.k.a “Axian” of the food program called “Taste With Jason” on Astro AEC.
Yes, I am a big fan of Axian and I would definitely try the food he recommended in his program whenever I have the chance. No matter how far he goes, if I so happen to pass by, I won’t miss my chance to verify his recommendations. Previously was of course the Tanjuang Tualang Fresh Water Lobster/Prawns food post (gonna post a second update, COMING SOON!).
Why is this place so special? It must be really special which drives me all the way from KL to eat in this “ulu kampung” area right? If you are wondering why, Desmond-t is going to tell you that simply because their dish is super-FRESH and most of all - cooked to perfection!
Let’s head to the Restaurant Kolam Ikan.
When you see this small road with shady oil palms, you’re right at the doorstep. Plenty of places to park, but still, the more cars you see, the longer you’ll have to wait for a seat because the restaurant itself does not accomodate more than 25 tables I guess.
From there, you can see a few huge ponds full with fishes around the shops with watchdogs keeping away unwanted visitors like snakes and so on. If you are unable to find a seat at the moment, fret not, feel free to roam around the village and enjoy the picturesque beauty of the fishing pond.
Opps, you can spot Wanster camwhoring on the bridge.
The restaurant is rather cozy, an ordinary village restaurant. You’ll reckon that the business indeed grown from a small scale to now - mass production of dishes, 6 days per week, with almost a fullhouse crowd daily.
This place is well renowned for its fresh water fishes. It’s so fresh that they serve fishes which has been bred in their ponds just behind the shop. I personally would rate the food a whopping 9.5 on a 10 points scale! Why? The reason is simple.
Normally, when you eat fresh water fish at any ordinary restaurants, there will be a “fishy scent” from the fish that renders it “not fresh”. LOL I don’t know how to rephrase “chow choe” in Hokkien to a proper English - perhaps it is called “hanyir” in Malay. Yeah, fresh water fish tends to be like that, but the chef managed to choose the freshest fish and skillfully cooked in such a way that the scent is minimized and it tastes extraordinary tantalizing and fresh!
Even Axian verified the freshness of the dishes!
Not much food choices we actually had there. It’s all a fishy affair. Fish, fish and fish only they have there. Plus some simple vegetables. It’s evitable that whenever there is fish, there will be hell lots of flies. That’s the only problem that might drive the small group of people away from going to this shop. The candle-lit table did somehow help to a lil’ to keep the flies away.
Here you go. Dish 1, Deep Fried “Fei Chow Yu” with sweet & sour Thai sauce. RM 19.
Dish 2, “Pat Tin” Fish partly fried and steamed with soy sauce. RM 48.
Dish 3, “Pak Sok Kung” Fish “Cheng Choey” a.k.a steamed with soy sauce. RM 52.
Overall, for 6 pax, the bill summed at RM143 together with the 12 bowls of rice and another “Yau Mak” vegetable and also herbal tea for everyone. I’d say it’s rather cheap considering the size of the 3 fishes! You’ll never find a price like this in the city, am I right?
After we finished our sumptuous meal, I bumped into this small pond! OMG, it’s where the Pak Sok Kong fish came from! Part of them are already in my tummy!… Ugh, they are bred with the fresh water right from the clean stream. No wonder they tastes to good!
Below are the details. The restaurant is closed on Mondays, with business hours from 11.30 am till 6pm. Contact number is 013 4379606 for reservation.
Most importantly, dogs are not allowed to enter after 7pm till 7am in the morning! LOL I wonder their dogs know how to read this notice.
If you are in Kulim, I’m sure you can ask any of the local folks and they would direct you to this place. Pretty easy to locate actually, it’s just one straight road after taking a left turn approaching Infineon factory in Kulim Hi-Tech Park. There will be a signboard on your right after about 3 minutes drive, pretty much close to a petrol station and a few shop houses. After that, just follow the signboard and explore the single lane muddy terrain. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED MAP!
Yet another highly recommended food review - brought to you by desmond-t.com
Entries (RSS)
Wah..! the foods looks o tasty.. I wonder when I can go there.. hehhehe. Nice blog!!
Alv0808’s last blog post..Auntie..does Santa Clause Exist?
desmond-t: Yeah, drooling already right hehe..Thanks for visiting my blog!
wah I didn’t know got such hidden treasure at Kulim. Is a nice place to be, will go there to check there out
desmond-t: It is indeed a hidden gem of Kulim. You gotta be there and I’ll wait for your editor’s review k?
desmond, the food looks yummy! i love fish too… but too far to go lah!
kristie’s last blog post..You Are My Destiny
desmond-t: Hmm, if there’s a will, there’s always a way! hehehe
Looks like an interesting spot, but the thing is, I dislike fresh water fish, sea water fish is da best!
desmond-t: Gallivanter, you gotta try it for yourself. It’s one of a kind, cos the chef really changed my perception on fresh water fish! I used to have the same thinking like you, but not anymore hehe
TQ for dropping by my blog.
I have been to a restaurant some years back, not sure that is the one you recommended, the price is really cheap. For a table of 10 with 8 big dishes only cost us about RM120.00. I really have no idea how to go now.
molly’s last blog post..I Am What I am
desmond-t: Hmm…high chances it is the same one LOL thanks for commenting!
Oh! I’m sure if I go there and eat, I will like it! Cos I love to eat fish! And the fresher the better! Nice blog you have here! And thanks for dropping by my blog. Btw, sorry about my post. I didn’t intentionally want you to decipher it - for some reason, it appears as webding font to some people. But if you care to just copy the post and paste onto MS Word, and change the font, you will be able to read it : )
foongpc’s last blog post..Dear Santa
desmond-t: very special decipher style blog post. hehe thanks for commenting here!
High tech. complete with map. hahahaha.
The fish looks super damn yummy!
desmond-t: Bro, nice leh… next time u got any makan trip, tag me along k? hehe
Wahhh.. Looks interesting. And the restaurant, full house wor.. But sadly though, I do not eat ikan air tawar.. I just can’t. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the smell or something. But even if it’s not so hanyir, it also has to do with the taste. It tastes different. t doesn’t go well with my taste buds. But the photo you take makes it look tempting. Maybe if I have the time, I’d visit the place, but the restaurant, I’ll pass.
LIZZIE’s last blog post...::Wow! Another Tag::.
desmond-t: Oh…what a pity.. never mind… Next time I post more other type of seafood k? Just for you… Will notify you later on!
bo tarpau for us also..ceh
desmond-t: If tarpau 4 u adee, sure hanyir gila adeee when reach Penang…u want?
hmmm…looks yummy. i like fish. i love shrimps and prawns more, though.
cheska’s last blog post..quitting
desmond-t: Hmm, you’ll like my future post of Prawns in Tanjung Tualang..coming up…should be around mid-January 2009
Desmond,
I eat at this place quite frequently. Some additional info to add in:-
- The place (the small town before entering the estate road) is called Sungai Kob, instead of Mahang. Mahang is still quite a distance a way.
- The secret behind for getting rid of the “chow tor be” is to move fished from still water pond to streaming (running water) pond. Leave them there for at least a week. Additional, cooking ingredients also help to cover/remove the “chow tor be”
- If you like, spicy, sour style; next time try their steam Siam Style. That’s my top favorite dish, double thumbs-up.
- You have interpreted the sign differently. It is trying to warn “Beware of Dogs”, & “No Entrance at 7pm~7am”.
- Further up from Sg Kob towards the direction to Sg Sedim, right before arriving Karangan town; following a sign board says Kemunting Lake View Restaurant; you may reach another good place for fresh water fishes. The eating place is inside fruits Dusun, with a floating platform built on lake. It has more choices of dishes (several type of veges, egg, bean curd, suar-tu-bak, deer meat, chui-ke, etc), for those not very “fishy” persons.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
desmond-t: Well, first of all, I’m glad to have received such a positive comment. Yet another food enthusiast and you are very welcomed here. Since you have been there many times, I’m sure you have plenty of ideas and my apologies for rather any less accurate information regarding the map, I’m a newbie still hehe.
If I get the chance to go again, I’ll definitely try out the Lake View Restaurant since you highly recommended it!
Anyway, the “Beware the dogs” sign was meant as a joke, LOL. Don’t take it so seriously LOL.
Cheers, and merry Xmas!