Snap, crackle and pop!

Genting Trailblazer 2008!
Pulse-pounding combination of exciting adventure racing and intense trail running, the trailblazer has also been designed to raise awareness on the importance of rainforest conservation.

Highly recommended for those individuals who are full of BEANS and energy!
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After the mud has settled and the sweat and grime had dried... and the adrenaline dissipated... the hunger pangs began to set in;)

The nice thing about being in Peninsular Malaysia's largest state is, not only the lush tropical forests, cool mountain air, lakes and waterfalls nestling in the arms of mountain crevices, but also, the FOOD! Upon reaching the foot of Genting, we decided to venture a little further, to the foot of Bukit Tinggi, in search of some lunch.

This area is called Bukit Tinggi, Bentong and the streets are paved with stalls selling fresh produce and all sorts of interesting fruits.

Now this fruit we just could not resist buying.

This is the milk banana. Dark brown when unripe and it gets redder as it ripens. According to the lady, the milk banana is less sweet than its yellow counterpart. However, the milk banana is much more fragrant and is normally best eaten as cut slices, between bread! How nice. People who suffer from cramps after exercising or after strenuous activity, should add these little babies to their diet. Yellow or red, the high potassium in bananas helps prevent muscle cramping.

We love seeing holes in our greens! This means less insecticide... and we know that the less chemicals we put into our bodies, the better. Live long, live strong!

Baby ginger - the best type of ginger to pickle is the baby ginger because it is less tough than the old ginger. This is a bottle 'in the making' - the lady told us , 2 more days to go before it is done. She let us try some and we found it crunchy, warm and sweet with a slight sting/bite. Just nice if you ask me. I don't like the burn you get from old ginger - too fiery and pungent. Ginger incidentally, comes from the word stringa-vera which means body like a horn (antlers! you see my point...)

Ginger is also a diaphoretic - i.e. it makes the body hot. Because of this, medieval medicine men used it to fight the plague. How clever!

The Chinese mainly 'prescribe' this rhizome for 'fong' (wind)... but looking up the encyclopedia, we also found that ginger is good as an aphrodisiac (it is mentioned in the Karma sutra as being used to 'gain the affections of a woman'! ) Hmmm... now a days, you need to wine and dine your hot date and spend loads before they warm up to you... Next time, try the cheaper alternative of feeding her ginger instead:P

So, you don't need me to tell you EAT your GINGER, right, it's good for you!

Gingerly handling the baby ginger.

A ginger plant. Not for eating but for deco.

The Roselle (a species of hibiscus). This pretty red flower has many medicinal properties including some antihypertensive activity.

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Wow, the village really got us distracted. 2.30pm! We need to eat.

Restoran Makanan Laut Loong Sing! Famous for its fish and chinese-style cooking. 2.30pm and still crowded with patrons. Maybe people eat late here in Bukit Tinggi, huh?

Upon arrival, we are given dragon fruit enzyme to prime us for lunch. (Kidding - we were given samples to encourage us to buy, more like..). This tasted like a sweetened version of Toddy to me.. but apparently there is no alcohol in this drink (what a waste of time.. haha.. kidding).

Looking around the shop.. every table was eating either ,

THIS...
or,

THIS!

Therefore, it was no surprise that when ours came... it was fantastic! Crackling and crispy but not burnt. You can snap/cut right through the fish with the metal spoon. We ate the smaller bones, fins, head, tail... everything..!

Fish - RM22.50 (RM20 per kg. How affordable is that?)

Average tasting Hokkien mee.. not enough lard. However, it was still cheap for a huge plate.

Fried noodles - RM7.00

Deep fried caramelized bacon, done chinese style! The experience of biting into one of these, reminds me of the morning cereal tagline... "Snap, Crackle and POP!" Excellent.

Bacon - RM10.00

Finally, no meal is complete without the luscious, green greens! We love our greens, just under-cooked, with loads of garlic. This place does it just right.

Vege - RM5.00 for a (very) large plate.

All in all, a totally satisfying meal. Fresh, piping hot, delicious food at reasonable prices.

Gives new meaning to the word, Value for Money.

3.00pm and we are done eating. Now the arduous task of driving home to KL on a full stomach... Maybe we'll take a 5 min nap in the car before we head on home.. ;)

THE END.

Add:

Makanan Laut Loong Sing,

No. 97, Bukit Tinggi,

28750 Bentong,

Pahang.

Food:8/10

Service: slow (more than half an hour)

MSG levels: moderate

Salt levels: high

Advice: drink more water! (or beer, as the case may be.. )