Fresh produce... direct from source to kitchen. Something not all of us, especially city dwellers, can have easy access to.
Growing your own vegetables may be possible, but then again, how many varieties can one grow?
Rearing animals? I'm very sure your urban neighbours won't take too kindly to clucking chickens, bleeting goats etc etc ETC! (psst... I'm talking about the "smell"!)
Hah! Now, if you know your way around the city where you live, it is still possible to source for fresh produce.
Fresh seafood, for instance.... one of the places KL city folks go to would be to Kuala Selangor (about an hour's drive away via the new highways). You can dine there at the many restaurants available and buy fresh seafood home. The fishmongers even have ice ready to pack the "goodies" for you.
Fresh vegetables?... Cameron Highlands is a little too far (and tiring!) for a day's outing from KL. But wait a minute! Now we have a little of Cameron Highlands brought to us.... at Gohtong Jaya.
Recently some friends and I went on such an outing, to Gohtong Jaya. Just less than an hour's drive away from the city, Gohtong Jaya is (about) midway between the Karak Highway and Genting Highlands (top).
We had lunch at one of the many restaurants there, visited a vegetable farm, where we selected the kind of vegetables we wanted before it was harvested direct off the land for us. (How more fresh can fresh get?)
We went to the Strawberry Farm where a Mushroom Farm is also located. We walked passed a number of little shops where one could browse for souvenirs or other foodstuff.
On our way home, we stopped at a hydroponics farm which also sold vegetables brought in fresh daily from Cameron Highlands!
By the roadside, along Karak Highway, we spied Orang Asli youths selling Petai by the bunches. Haggling with them was fun and we bought all 6 bunches left!
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| We had 4 dishes for lunch. This one is Braised Pork & Yam slices. |
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| Dish number 2 is Pork with Dried Chilis & Salted Fish. |
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Stir fried Sweet Potato Leaves with Garlic.
(One of my favourite veges. Just love the texture.) |
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| Steamed Tilapia Fish in Ginger/Garlic Sauce. |
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| Looking at the Strawberry Farm from the bed of roses above. |
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| Walking through the Mushroom Farm. |
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| Abalone Mushrooms - Simply love these! The mushroom is succulent and "meaty". Does not become soggy like Oyster Mushrooms. Stir fried with bell peppers.... yummy! |
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| The vegetable farm where we chose what we wanted. |
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Watercress (Sai Yong Choy)
before harvesting |
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| Kai Lan (harvested) |
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| Romaine Lettuce (harvested) |
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The famous Bentong Ginger
(available from the shops in Gohtong Jaya) |
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| Hydroponics Farm |
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| Fresh tomatoes from Cameron Highlands |
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| Fresh bell peppers - just look at the colours! |
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| Bought to take home! |
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| Reminds you of a rose, doesn't it? |
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| Some of what we got from the Orang Asli youths! |
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| Made soup with some of the watercress I bought. |
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Sambal Udang Petai;
with the petai from the Orang Asli youths and
fresh prawns from Kuala Selangor. |
Within the compound of the Strawberry Farm, we saw the signage indicating LAVENDER and we followed the signs to it.
These were what we saw.
It was a fun day for the four of us. The air was cool and fresh.....The food we had for lunch was delicious..... Lots of greenery all around us.
I look forward to our next outing, In Search Of......
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