Ipoh-Cherating Day 2-3: Cameron Highlands Boh Tea & Ipoh Parade

DAY 2

After breakfast that morning, we started our journey at around 10.30am to Boh Tea Centre (Sungei Palas) on Cameron Highlands.

Although we would be visiting the Sungei Palas part of the large Boh Tea Estate for this trip, the roads to get there were just as narrow and complex as the last time we visited Boh Tea in 2016! Be warned, you'd require above-average driving skills to navigate these roads!

Winding roads to Boh Tea Centre

Case in point, the photo below taken by the sister-in-law demonstrates just how tight the space between our car and the oncoming full-sized bus was!

Not for the faint-hearted! 😅

We arrived at a packed carpark and somehow managed to find lots to park our cars. We then followed the throng of visitors to a flight of stairs that will eventually lead us to the restaurant.

It's quite a climb as you can see

You can even spot the carpark from the top!

Boh Tea Centre Sungei Palas address:
Brinchang, 39100 Brinchang, Pahang, Malaysia

Super crowded restaurant!

It was so crowded that we almost couldn't find a table to fit all 12 of us, much less a table with a view. We finally found a table for 10, just in time for the food! 😋

Cakes, macarons and pastries

The pastries and soups were good but the big winner to me was the teh (milk tea)! I loved it so much that I finished mine rather quickly and gladly helped my Mum-in-law finish hers! 😝

After our meal, we headed to the lookout to take photos with the lovely scenery.

Group photo by a fellow visitor

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My only gripe was having to endure the horribly dirty toilets due to the crowds! Thankfully I managed to find one relatively clean toilet to use! 😖

Otherwise it was a good experience! We left the same way we came, through the narrow winding roads!

We headed to Cameron Highlands Organic Produce Steamboat Restaurant for lunch. We last visited in 2022 and loved it so much that we're back! It's one of the reasons we keep going back to Cameron Highlands! 😄

Cameron Highlands Steamboat

Farm to table fresh! Super delicious 😋

After lunch, we checked Google Maps for improvements to the traffic congestion that we had observed on the opposite side of the road when we drove to our lunch venue. Google Map estimated a minimum 2-hour jam on the sole road back to Ipoh (the same road that we took this morning)! 😖

We originally planned to visit the new Hobbiton Village but were forced to give it a miss as it was located on the congested route. Instead, we drove in the opposite direction towards Tapah. It was a longer route but at least we wouldn't be stuck in traffic.

The journey was extremely winding (even more than the route to Ipoh)! Many family members experienced motion sickness as a result! 😵‍💫 Thankfully, the Littlest and I don't suffer from kinetosis! 😶

After more than an hour of cornering sharp bends, we finally reached the bottom of the mountain! By now, I needed to go to the toilet urgently but had to wait until the next R&R, which was at least 15 minutes away! 🥴

To make matters worse, it started to rain cats and dogs! I had to wear my raincoat to exit the car because the wind was too strong for an umbrella! In fact, the wind was so strong that when I entered one of the toilet cubicles, I saw a fallen tile (presumably from the ceiling) sticking out from the toilet bowl! I couldn't believe my eyes! 😲😱

Despite feeling the rain on my body, I did what I had to do, while fervently praying that no other tiles would fall off and hit someone! It was a crazy experience I'd never forget!

By the time we arrived at Mad Ramen, the rain had stopped and we were famished.

Mad Ramen Bar address:
3, Jalan Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

We couldn't wait to tuck into a nice warm bowl of ramen 🍜 yum! 😋

We ended the day with a warm shower and a good night's sleep. It was a long day! 😴

DAY 3

We woke up late this morning as it was our chill day in Ipoh. We had a simple breakfast while the little kids swim in the pool.

At lunch time, we headed back to Tuck Kee Restaurant because we loved it when we ate it 2 days ago!

This fried omelette looked deceivingly ordinary but was so amazing that all that was left of it was an empty plate!

We ordered a lot more food this time because it was our last roast meat meal in Ipoh!

After lunch, we headed to Ipoh Parade for shopping and a movie. The Hubby and I decided to bring all the kids to watch Garfield The Movie at Golden Screens Cinema (GSC).

Excited for the movie 🍿

Before other movie goers streamed into the theatre

The movie was so boring that the Hubby and I fell asleep! Lucky the ticket was cheap (around $3-4 per person) so we didn't lugi much. It's too bad that Insight Out 2 wasn't out then.

When it was time for dinner, we headed to Durbar at FMS (stands for Federated Malay States). Located in Ipoh Old Town, the restaurant is believed to be the oldest bar in Malaysia!

Durbar at FMS address:
2, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

The staff led us to a private room at the top of the stairs because of our large group.

Mushroom soup and fried rice

Chicken cutlet and steak

Fish

One of the staff who was older than my Mum-in-law shared with us about the history of the restaurant and details of the food. We enjoyed the fantastic service and food!

We ended the night with a final swim in our private pool!