Sungei Lembing Trip – Part 4

Do we still have room for dinner? Of course we do! This IS after all a FOOD and Photography outing.

By the time you read this, I should be in the bus on the way to scale another mountain. This time to Sungei Lembing in Pahang, Malaysia, where food has been promised to be much better but let’s not jump the gun. Back to Mount Bromo. Day 2…

With Xing Asia’s trip, one can be sure that good food would be available as long as Michael Lee is around. Michael used to be a chef and naturally possess snobbier tastebuds. He usually scouts around the town/city for what he thinks would meet his clients’ taste requirements before listing the eateries in his itineraries. And him being a master in street photography also gave us the edge of getting useful tips by picking his brains during coffee breaks.

After a pre-tasting session of Lembing’s notorious Roasted Pork (1kg) and making sure we had ample supply by taking away another 2 kilos of the local delight, we head off to Pollock View Resort where we would freshen up and rest a bit before the big climb at 2am!

Before dinner began, some of the more gungho friends went with Michael into the tin mine tunnel. I was still sick and didn’t want to risk any infection as I had scraped my ankle earlier and there could be lesions which might not be seen with naked eyes. Charlene, my room mate, went and told me it was beautiful inside.

There are several entrances to the tin mine tunnel and this is one of them.
It is located within our canteen area in Pollock View Resort, in between the Refreshments and the BBQ as shown in the following 2 photos.

Refreshments like hot drinks were available throughout the whole stay.
Cold drinks were served during dinner and some of the cooked dishes were already prepared.
We only had to wait for the rest to come back from the tunnel and the BBQ to be ready.

A jovial aunty doing the BBQ for us while we waited for rest.
She kept saying, “start eating first, cold already not nice.”

Fat juicy wings which the aunty took care not to let them burnt.

Fruit Salad.

Wild Boar Curry

Vegetarian Fried Rice

Vegetarian Beehoon

BBQ Squid with the most citrusy spicy home-made paste.
There’s a BBQ fish with the same rempah (spicy paste) but I was too lazy to take further pictures.

I asked Benny to contribute food pics for my blog which he, dutifully as a friend, did and so I have Fish!

And grilled Sweet Potatoes, too! :D

Hmmm… If this was Penguin Pictures meaning Benny’s and Benny’s in this pic, who’s the photographer?
And if you’re vigilant enough to notice something behind my ear, it’s not dirt!
It’s my 2014 birthday present to self which I will blog later :p

Just next to the bbq chicken wings were the most tender home-made Bak Kwa (aka Dragon’s Meat).

The famed Bak Kwa touted to be tastier than those sold in Singapore.
Benny said they weren’t charred enough but the taste was heavenly!

After dinner, Michael took us on a mini tour around Sungei Lembing. There’s the tin mining museum, the wooden suspension bridge that seemed treacherous to me but the locals just zipped by on their motorbikes without any hesitations. There’s much more but I was too tired to absorb most of what he’d said. I was trying my best to keep awake. Almost 24 hours without sleep by now.

As Michael showed us where we (not all climbed Bukit Panorama) were supposed to go on foot in a few hour’s time, I was already envisioning the sunrise in my drowsy mind.
Ah, the springless mattress supported by timber frames felt luxurious.
I woke up half an hour later than I’d set the alarm. I had allowed it to snooze twice!
Desmond was knocking at our door.
“Charlene, wake up… It’s 2am”.
“Omg!!!”

According to Michael, Pollock View Resort was strategically chosen as it is near the town’s market where we would be having breakfast the next day, as well as the foothill of Panorama Hill where would be climbing later in the wee hours. It is also one of the better, if not the best, lodging known for titillating sustenance and service in this area. The rooms were of decent size with clean sheets and hot showers. Towels and toiletries are provided.

Pollock View Resort
Address: AB/51, Pollock Creek, 26200 Sungai Lembing,
Malaysia.
Tel: +6019 987 4737

Happy eating, traveling and bonding :D

Our photography outing was lead by Michael Lee of Xing Asia (亚洲行). You may contact him at: info@xing-asia.com or visit their website: http://www.xing-asia.com/

Xing Asia provides exceptional value and authentic experience for like-minded people to experience Asia through photography.

Photos with Penguin Pictures watermarks are courtesy of Benny Ng.