Durian Feast At Kuala Lipis

Instead of golf, we headed to Kuala Lipis along with our spouses and children last Sunday at the invitation of fellow golf kaki, Nelson, to his family's fruit orchard for some durian 'hunting'.

Upon our arrival at 8.30 am, we were eager and excited to 'rough' ourselves up. Nelson cautioned that the heavy rainwall during the night would make the orchard grounds muddy and wet.

After slipping into our old golf shoes and sneakers, and rubbing extra generous portions of mosquito repellants from head to toe for 'protection', we were 'ready' to face the jungle.

Making sure our shoes are comfortable

All smiles and geared for adventure

Indeed the hilly terrains and off-road paths leading to the orchard is accessible only with 4x4 wheel drive vehicles.

Bumpy rides along mud tracks

Thankfully the weather was not hot but rather breezy with overcast skies. After a short drive through some steep slopes and narrow paths, we arrived at the orchard which covers several acres of hilly land.

Time to stretch the legs

After a short trek, we reached the orchard and were greeted with the sights of colourful rambutans hanging abundantly from the trees. We rejoiced at the sight of the myriad fruits waiting to be picked and like eager children, immediately went about plucking and eating the fruits that we come across.

The popular "Anak Sekolah" variety rambutans inviting to be plucked

Here I come...Shanice attempting a go at the rambutan tree

A cluster of 'Longkong' ready to be picked

Giant trunk of a matured durian tree

Aaah...the king of fruits

Earlier in the morning, Nelson's sister and brothers had collected 'some' durians and we were invited to join the makan.

Mouth watering kampung durians

Nelson choosing his favourite

Busy relishing the fruit offered by our gracious host

Simply irresistible!

Wah...Taste 'Super' lah!

Try this one...super taste lah

We had fun trying our hands at picking the mangosteen fruits and 'looking' for durians amongst the leaved covered grounds. Throughout, our host Nelson gave us a hands on guide on the various species of durians and fruit trees in the orchard.

Aha, gotcha! Wai Ching looking pleased with her 'catch'

'Come to me baby'...Peter seems to be saying

Jessica listening intently as Nelson shows :'This is how you "feel" a good mangosteen'

Ready to be picked

Palette of colours

Yes, I found my first one...

Why mine so small...wonders WK Lee

After some time 'scouring' the grounds for durians, it was already mid-day and most of us were visibly 'poofed' and tired but happy with the harvest. It's time to take a breather and gather our harvest to the cars.

Nelson clowning with his melon

Heave-ho, let's go...

This is 'hard work' for city folks!

Both of Nelson's brothers helping out with the load

The ladies with their 'catch'

Not bad after a morning round of orchard trekking

It's time to head back

Sorry, standing room only...

A good wash will be needed

We headed back to Nelson's place in town where we unload the 'goodies' and indulged in another round of durian tasting.

More servings of freshly opened durians

'This one's special...'

There's nothing like enjoying durians freshly picked from the orchard and I personally think that the kampung variety, with it's varied species and flavours, is simply the best. And believe me, durians that are eaten fresh from the orchard tastes especially different, when compared to those bought from the stalls in KL. There is no moist contents in the fruits and the taste's simply heavenly!

Thanks a million, Nelson, for your great hospitality and for graciously hosting all of us. We certainly had a fun time and enjoyed ourselves tremendously and hopefully, we'll look forward to another 'invitation' in the near future. ;-)

Palm Garden IOI Resort Revisited

Palm Garden IOI Golf Club, with its wide fairways and friendly course layouts, has always been a firm favourite with our kakis. It's other plus point is of course the close proximity to KL city where travelling here is a breeze.

Wide fairway with no rough

With no hazards and wide fairways beckoning, these guys just can't wait to BOMB away. And with overcast skies and gentle breeze blowing around the course, today's weather is perfect.

These guys are good . . .

Nelson

Charlie

Peter

Ng

One for the album...happy trio

Along the way, I soaked in the scenic landscape ...

pond with pink and white lilies

...whilst some kaki's prefer a leisurely puff or two

Stopping for a puff


....or enjoying a chat whilst waiting

Charlie and Ng

Some golfing "actions" captured....

Attempting a delicate chip

Blasting out from the sand

Before we knew it, we ran out of holes and it's game over for the kakis. WK Lee took us to a place in Puchong where we had great Chinese food.








tucking in the food

Steamed fish, curry and hello: "tambah nasi"

And finally, settling any outstanding 'bills and debts' before our captain plans for next week's action.

It's kira time...

Caddy Blues

Walk into any golf clubs today and you'll find that you have to fork out more on green fees, F & B charges and buggy rental fees. If that's not bad news enough, some clubs have resorted to 'insisting' that caddies are also compulsory!

Now this issue of 'forcing' golfers to engage the services of caddies (mostly female foreigners from a neighbouring country) is really an annoyance, an outrage and a turnoff! Let me explain why. It's an annoyance because these clubs would insist that I engage their caddies although I don't need one and I don't want one. It's an outrage because if I don't hire the caddy I cannot play in their club. Its a turnoff because I am confronting with unprincipled business practices.

What on earth must the golf club management be thinking? To generate more revenue for the club is one thing, but where are their business ethics? And lest they are arrogant and ignorant to know, unhappy customers will shift their business elsewhere! Regular golfing kakis will try to avoid coming back to play in such clubs.

As for the services of these foreign caddies, I can only say one thing - I am not getting value. I am not expecting that they measure up to Steve Williams caliber (Tiger's caddy), but it seems that these caddies are only good at wiping your golf balls. I mean, isn't that a crazy way to spend unnecessarily! Not only are their services below par, I have encountered many that lacked experience, are poorly trained or lacked interest in their job.

If these clubs persists in such tactics, one thing look certain though : pretty soon their caddies will have to work on the greens and fairways to avoid being idle!

I'll Be Back...

Wow, after some months off it's become kind of 'rusty' for me to post some articles. Any way, I'll be back to continue on my golfing tales with my golf kakis' soon....

Impian Golf & Country Club

We decided to visit Impian Golf & Country Club this week after a short break during the CNY celebrations. Located in Kajang, IGCC is considered one of the better maintained and scenic courses in the Klang Valley. Playing to some 6120 metres from the blue tee, it is on average, a medium length course.

Arriving at the club house at 8.00am we find that the 'crowd' was conspicuously absent, perhaps due to the ongoing CNY festivity.

After the usual pre-match photo session, it's 'business' as usual. All of us were hoping for some New Year 'angpows' today!

Smiling for the camera

We were required to secure the services of a female caddy and it seems nowadays the insistence of most clubs to have one to accompany a flight.

Dr Lim teeing off

We started from the first nine known as 'Golden Nine' followed by the 'Negara Nine'. Surprisingly despite the current hot and dry season the weather was balmy and not hot. Good weather notwithstanding, my game just couldn't 'click' today after a 2 weeks lay-off. I was beginning to hope I won't have to give away 'big' angpows to my kaki's today!

WK Lee with his 'ballerina' style

The thing I enjoy about IGCC is the course layout and abundant beautiful trees and scenic views. Sited on a hill top, one can also have a good view of surrounding housing estates.

Hole #12 - A scenic par 3 166m

Hole # 9 - Beautiful house by the pond

Most of the fairways are quite wide and straight, though undulating because of the hilly terrain.

Wide fairways

It is always enjoyable to putt on the well maintained fast greens at IGCC.

Dr Lim putting for dough

Peter 'going' for it

WK Lee waiting for his turn

We finished the game at around noon and the big winner today was Dr Lim, who garnered the bulk of the ang pows....a very good start for him in the year of the rat. He was gracious and generous enough to belanja us a sumptious lunch in Kajang town later.

Restoran Loke Yun Ampang

Being one of the most popular local food, chicken rice shops and stalls can be found at almost every corner of everywhere. But to savour good chicken rice dishes may be a challenge.

My wife and I decided to have lunch today at one of the more established chicken rice shop which is in Ampang. Established in the sense that the 2nd generation proprietor is now involved and running this shop. Located in the heart of Ampang town along Jalan Besar where old pre-war shops still stands, you can't miss the shop which is adorned with 2 giant Chinese lanterns.

2 giant Chinese lanterns hanging atop

As soon as we took our seat, the waitress promptly came and take our order. We ordered their chicken dish for 2 persons with a plate of Tau Geh as accompaniment. The chef looked busy chopping the chicken in front of the shop. In fact customers began to stream into the shop in droves as it was lunch time.

The chef busy chopping away

Customers eagerly waiting

Our dishes arrived after a 15 minutes wait. We were given 2 big bowls of clear chicken soup in Chinese cabbage to go with the chicken rice. It has a nice light flavour without any hint of aji no moto added.

Chicken soup served in big bowl

The rice was served in a plate and you can immediately smell its aroma the moment it was on the table. Only quality Jasmine rice is used.

Rice served in generous portion

The chicken dish looked generous for 2 persons. Chopped in bite size pieces it certainly looked delicious. Light soya sauce is added for flavour with just the right amount of oil.

Yummy...

The taugeh was fresh and crunchy to bite. Since it wasn't stirred fried, only light soya sauce and little oil is added.

Fresh taugeh sprinkled with onion

Being my first time at this eatery, I must say the dishes are good and delicious. Overall you get good value as the price of the chicken is Rm 11.00 and the taugeh (small portion) is Rm 5.00 The rice at Rm 1.00 a plate is very reasonable. My only gripe is that you need to wait a while especially if the crowd is large.

Restoran Loke Yun is open daily from 8.30am to 3.00pm and from 5.30pm to 8.00pm.

The adress: 158 Jalan Besar, Ampang. Selangor. Tel: 03-4291 9884

Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Club

Having endured the heat these past weeks, today's venue is certainly a much welcomed respite. The weather at Awana is usually sunny but cool. But we didn't forsee that the weather this morning will be foggy and damp instead of sunshine. Upon our arrival, the thick fog that enveloped the club and surrounding area gave us the impression we're in some foreign country. It's a 360 degrees change indeed. I am already imagining myself to be somewhere in China!

All smiles...

In fact the thickish fog became a 'problem' as we couldn't see the fairway ahead. Luckily the caddy were able to 'guide' and 'direct' us as to where to aim. Now this is very unusual for we normally take visibility for granted whenever we tee off.

Waiting for the flight in front to clear...

Our captain about to fire away into the misty fairway

Helpful caddy to 'guide' us in the fog

We could only guess where our ball is going to land when we hit our drivers. Even from the fairway, we could not see the green! Imagine having to hit your second shot into a target you can't see. All these seems so surreal. It's certainly a strain on my eyesight.

Where's the green?

Depending on the wind direction, occasionally the fog will clear slightly leaving us a glimpse of the fairway or green. The fun bit is when you thought you hit a good shot but later found that the ball's not in the fairway. Fortunately the fog tapered off by noon and this brought some relief and normalcy back into our game.

WK Lee teeing off...

Followed by Brian...

Playing to a par 71, Awana's total distance is 6117 from the blue marker. Hilly and lined with trees, the course is very scenic and appealing to the eye. And senses! Blessed with cool highland air, you can understand why it is such a popular course with the golfing tourist.

Scenic hole # 5, par 5

After the usual hacking and labouring for 3 plus hours, we didn't break into any sweat! Tired yes, but certainly not from heat exhaustion. By now we have already built up a healthy appetite... it's makan time.

Lounge area in the changing room



How's that for vanity?

After a quick shower, we head to Gohtong Jaya for lunch. There is no shortage of Chinese restaurants here.

Cepat order...."What to eat eh?"

Lagi cepat habis makan! Finished in record time...



Relaks lah...have a cigar...& durian



D24...very big, only Rm 28



Mmmm.....delicious. Syiok syiok



I want also...

Fogs aside, Awana is certainly a fun course especially with the cool crisp air the main factor. I feel rejuvenated and look forward to another round here in the near future.

With the Lunar New Year celebration falling next week, we'll be taking a short break from golf.

Till then, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO MY GOLF KAKI'S. GONG XI FA CAI!