Langkawi Cable Car @ Oriental Village

Another attraction in Langkawi which I strongly recommend any visitors to the island is to take a ride up the mountains in the cable car. This is located at Oriental Village, which is at the upper northwest of Langkawi Island, near Pantai Kok. This cable car ride will take visitors all the way up to Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi’s second highest peak.

For Malaysians, just flash your MyKad and you only pay RM15 for adults. Unfortunately, for visitors outside the country, it's RM30 for the ride. At least I feel that I've gained for being a local tourist here. Fortunately, in our country, if you have money, everything also "Boleh" (meaning "can") as you can now pay an additional RM50 per person to enjoy the Express Lane if you don't want to queue. During the holidays, the queue can be very long and thus if you're feeling rich, take the Express Lane!

The view up here is really breathtaking. I didn't realise it at first as I thought it would be just another cable car ride. However, it turns out to be a really picturesque sight for me. I have wanted to do this long ago but I can't do it on my business trips and now that I'm on holiday, I'll need to take this ride at least once!

After climbing at a 42° angle for a few hundred feet, you can start snapping pictures of the rainforest below. Do look out for the Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls, which cascades down a grey rock face. There are 2 stops for the cable car ride. The 1st one is just after 600m, where there is an observatory deck for you to admire the view. You can choose to disembark here or just sit in the cable car until you reach the next station. If you disembark here, you will need to line up again for the ride to the 2nd station. I didn't stop at the 1st station as I know that the view from the peak is even more amazing.



This is the observatory deck of the peak. The best part is, there are two of these on each side to avoid crowding. The view is really magnificent and I've never seen Langkawi this beautiful. The view from atop is really different. You can also feel a drop in temperature. It's rather cool up there but you can still feel the sun.



For those with a good stamina, you can walk down a flight (or rather a few) of stairs which will bring you to a steel bridge suspended across Mount Mat Cincang and a neighbouring mountain. The view of this suspended bridge is already a sight to behold. I love the work of art. Walking across this bridge is a fantastic experience and it offers a different viewpoint of the island and sea towards the north.

I'm glad I can now strike this off my list of places to visit in Langkawi. It is a beautiful island and this cable car ride is really my recommended activity for any 1st time visitors to this island. And don't forget to bring your camera while you were here!

Opening Hours: 10am - 8pm
Address: Jalan Telaga Tujuh Teluk Burau, Langkawi, Kedah 07000
Tel: +(604) 959 4225

Rafii's @ Langkawi

Life has been too stressful lately and I needed a holiday. I've been to Langkawi quite often but it's all work trips and I have not had a chance to enjoy the island to the fullest. Now that I'm on a holiday, I will enjoy this time to the max!



If there's a place where you would sip a cocktail or down a glass of beer by the beach, it would be Rafii's place. It's a quaint shack with minimal deco but it's located right smack on the Pantai Cenang where you can sit at the beach chairs just in front of the bar and sip your drink while watching the sunset.



That's exactly what I did. I was there at around 5pm and I took a stroll along the beach. It's a very busy beach as it's public and this is where you can get all the watersports such as banana boats, jet ski and parasailing. There are also numerous budget inns here that face the beach.



There's nothing to shout about this place but certainly the price that you're going to pay for the alcohol here can be quite cheap. Imagine a glass of Carlsberg for only RM4?!! A bottle of Corona here costs only RM8. They do serve food as well which makes this place a perfect drinking spot.

I paid RM16 for this Mai Tai (super infused with alcohol!)

I really like this place and I certainly recommend those who wants a drink on Pantai Cenang to drop by. It's just located along the beach, somewhere in the centre and do look out for it as it's just a small place.


Hope you had a good weekend. I did!


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Not a hotel: Casa Fina Fine Homes @ Langkawi

I've always stayed at hotels everywhere I go mainly because it's safe, there's breakfast, room service, gym and swimming pool. Then, I realised, for all the service and facilities that I am paying, I only used the room as in the bed and the toilet! I don't call for room service, I don't need people to make my bed everyday and I don't even use the gym and the swimming pool.

So, for this business trip, I decide to stay somewhere near the beach in Langkawi which is of course on Pantai Cenang but I do not want to spend so much staying in a hotel as I will be out of the room from 9 to 6 and it's a complete waste of money. I chose Casa Fina Fine Homes after I saw the pictures on the internet. It looks like a new place to me and since the pictures look good and the price is right, why not give it a try?



Located on the main road of Pantai Cenang, right opposite of Langkawi Underwater World and just beside the Landcons Hotel, you can miss this place as it has a very big signage perched in front of a row of new shophouses.

Among the facilities or ammenities provided are toiletries such as toothbrush, shampoo and shower gel, some hangers for clothes, towels (both bath and hand towels), complimentary bottled water, tea and coffee, a fridge, cabel TV with channels like CNN and StarMovies and free WiFi. If you need a hairdryer or iron, you can always request from the reception.

They have a few room types. Mine is a deluxe with king size bed.

I found the facilities and ammenities are sufficient as they would even clean your room everyday. But one downside though, they only allow you to have 1 keycard and you would need that card to activate the switches and thus it gets a little too hot in the afternoon because the air cond could not be switched on when you're out.


They are around 30 rooms for rent. I paid RM138 for my room and that's the nett price. I find it very reasonable and most importantly, the place is clean and well-maintained.

Green and cosy!

I won't mind staying here again as it is nice and convenient. Taxis can easily be found just opposite the hotel at the Zon duty free shop. There were also many restaurants and shops along the main road. Access to the beach is about a 3-5mins walk to the opposite side. It's nice to find a nice place to stay!

Casa Fina Fine Homes

Lot 53, Persiaran Pantai Cenang,
Mukim Kedawang, Langkawi,
Kedah Darulaman,
07000 Langkawi,
Malaysia

Tel: +604 9533 555 /+60124344 991 /+60122516 338
Facebook Page
www.casafina.my

Dining at The Cliff @ Langkawi

After visiting Langkawi almost every month for the past half year, I am begining but slowly to like this island where breezy beaches greets you in the evenings. The dining scene here is getting more colourful with new additions to the already busy beach stretch of Pantai Cenang.

Although I do not have the privilege of strolling the sandy beaches in daytime due to the nature of work, once in a while I would leave the bustling Kuah Town in the evening to venture into Pantai Cenang which is located about 25 mins away.

If you want to catch the sunset at the beach, make yourself available at 6.45pm by the beach or better still be at The Cliff bar sipping a cocktail.







The Cliff is a new dining outlet situated just behind the Underwater World facing the beach front and perched on stilts. It has a dining area and a bar which has a 360 degrees view of the sea.

I was first introduced to this restaurant during the opening on 9th February by my customer whom is a friend of the owner. Boosting a classy dining concept, the interior design of this place is very tastefully done. In addition to that, I have never been to a restaurant opening buffet spread that includes grilled tiger prawns as one of its dishes and I remembered how that very night I only ate the tiger prawns and nothing else.


A friend of mine whom I got to know months ago is actually the GM of this place and he invited me to this restaurant for dinner earlier this week. Even though I was on a tight schedule, I would always squeeze some time to catch up with friends knowing that it would certainly be another wonderful evening as opposed to eating alone.

The restaurant serves various types of seafood from prawns, lobsters to fish and calamari. There are eastern and western cuisine on the menu and even something in between. What I liked most is the names of the dishes.

The Cliff Ceasar Salad (RM28)

The salad consists of grilled king prawn "percik" style with spices and romaine lettuce paired with croutons and beef bacon. This is such a luxurious appetiser because the grilled king prawn not only fills up the whole bowl, it tasted so fresh and aromatic too!

3 Sekawan (RM48)

Translated as "3 good friends", this dish consists of grilled baby octopus, deepfried garoupa fillets and a mini serving grilled baby lobster. The lobster that we had was filled with roe which is a delight to me because I am never afraid of cholesterol. The garoupa was crispy and best eaten by dipping it in a vinaigrette sauce served in the shot glass. The sauces paired with an invasion of peppercorns made the whole dish very interesting and tasty indeed.

Pulau Payar (RM58)

This is a deepfried garoupa with assam jawa madu (honey with tangy tamarind paste) with dried chillis served with pineapple sauce which is big enough for 2-3 people. I find the presentation very tasteful and the best thing is the flesh of the fish has been deepfried into strips, making it crispy on the outside and tender in the inside. Credits go to the chef for being creative with this dish.


Vegetarian Curry

This dish is not on the menu as I let the chef decides what I should eat that night. This is a briyani rice with cashew nuts and raisins accompanied with a bowl of vegetable curry. The flavourful curry is prepared to the Nyoya style of curries and decorated with fried poppadoms in strips. You might have to ask the chef if he would be putting this into his menu.



The grilled king prawn. One of the must haves!

It was indeed a satisying meal although I didn't drink any wines that night. I was so stuffed to the brim that I hardly had any space for desserts! But I did tell Francis that I would definitely come back to try some desserts which seemed really appetising from the description in the menu.

This is Chef Khairul whom have been working previously with Four Seasons and other 5 star hotels. He is now heading the kitchen at The Cliff with 8 team members. He's a nice young chap whom is really passionate about the art of culinary. As a night cap, I had a cup of tea instead of my usual whisky but it's perfectly alright to stay off alcohol once in a while. I had a good time and Francis was so kind that he didn't allow me to pay for dinner.

While at the restaurant, make sure you pay a visit to the toilet and be awed at the beautiful carvings at the wash basins.

The Cliff Restaurant & Bar
Lot 63 & 40, Jalan Pantai Chenang,
07000 Pulau Langkawi, Kedah.
+604-9533228
the cliff888@gmail.com

Weng Fung Restaurant @ Langkawi

The last time I wrote about this restaurant in Langkawi was here. It was during my first trip to Langkawi with the new job in August and I went there for lunch. Ever since, I have actually been going back a few times for lunch during these few months and without fail, I will order a mantis prawn religiously every visit.

I went there for lunch on the first day for my market visit trip and as usual, I ordered my steamed mantis prawn with egg. After having paid the bill, the boss of the restaurant showed me a gigantic prawn. It was so big and it was a foot long!



I told myself, I will come back the next day to eat this prawn and which I did! My friend was laughing at me when he saw this picture. He asked me if I actually carry the measuring tape along everywhere I go. I didn't and that measuring tape was not mine!

Look, it's bigger than my hand!

I would suppose that the best way to savour the prawn is by steaming. That way, you can taste the freshness of the meat. I opted for ginger, wolfberry and mushrooms to be steamed together with the gigantic Tiger prawn.

After it had been steamed, the prawn actually shrunk in size. It didn't need much effort to separate the meat from the shell. The taste - fresh and succulent. You can also taste the sweetness of the meat. This is really a fresh prawn and I'm very happy about it. The price is RM150 for 1 kg and what I just had is just RM42.

The dish above is actually the "Foo Yong" omelette. What I didn't know that the version in Langkawi is very much different from the version in KL or elsewhere. The one in Langkawi is cooked with shredded cabbage, carrots and spring onion. The egg is all scrambled up with the vegetables whereas the ones in KL is actually spring onions, chilli and shrimps cooked in a perfect omelette.

The clams cooked spicy style is also very nice. They do not do the "Kam Heong" style here but this version is done with bean paste and spices with lemongrass. It's very interesting and something different from the cooking in the mainland.

Cool down with a Pandan Coconut!

Overall, I am very satisfied with the meals here and will continue to come back and patronise this outlet for lunch. This meal is less than RM100. Very good value indeed!

Weng Fung Restaurant
(opposite Langkawi Saga)
26, Kompleks Cayman,
Jalan Penarak, Kuah,
07000 Langkawi,Kedah.
Tel: +604-9666287 Hp: +6012-4783448

Business hour: 11.30am - 3.30pm and 6.00pm to 10.30pm

Hamachi Japanese Restaurant @ Langkawi

The story begins like this... during my first business trip visit to Langkawi, my distributor took me to this Telaga Harbour Park to have a look and I instantly fell in love with this place. There's a strip of restaurants here and the previously I've blogged about one of the outlets here which is The Loaf. So, during the first visit, I told Chef Goh that I would return to try his restaurant on my next visit - which I did! This is my 2nd time having dinner at this place.

Night & Day

There are in fact about 6-7 restaurants here including a Tapas place, Italian restaurant, Chinese restaurant, a Russian restaurant and The Loaf which serves western and local cuisine. All the restaurants have an indoor and alfresco dining that overlooks the yatching marina.

The perfect setting for a whisky & cigar!

The liquor here is so cheap that it'll be a sin not to drink! Everytime I'm in Langkawi, I had to pay a visit to the liquor shop to buy a bottle and even the lady in the shop had recognised me by my 3rd visit! Having dinner alone is really boring and thus I asked the chef to join me. During my recent visit, he asked me if I am ok with eating "workers' food" which is food that he & his workers will be having for dinner and I said why not?!! So I had a sweet and sour fish and a grilled sambal fish that night in a Japanese restaurant!

Glenfiddich 15 was found to quite a nice drink. It's matured in three types of casks (traditional American bourbon, Portuguese sherry and new oak) and is married in a large Solera vat, made of Oregon pine. It has a full and fruity nose, with delicate honey and vanilla notes. Very elegant and smooth too. I think I easily had more than 5 glasses that night. After that, I was still feeling a bit peckish and so I ordered somemore dishes.

Chicken meatballs during my 1st visit...
Although I was surprised why this is served at a Japanese place, it's actually quite a nice snack when having drinks!

Baked Salmon in foil with tangerine & ginger sauce

The salmon came with the teppanyakki set and has fire surrounding the foil to keep the fish warm. The salmon absorbs the flavours well. Fascinating.

Sushi Pizza
He called this sushi pizza because of the various colours. Even Datuk Azhar Mansor ordered this for takeaway when I was having mine. But to me, I still prefer those in KL.

Grilled Ribeye

I was dissatisfied with the yakitori beef which was too dry and I asked if he could make a beef dish off the menu. I wanted the beef to be grilled to a medium and lightly salted and with some garlic. The chef had to grill this himself to make sure that it's exactly what I wanted. It turned out very well and it was tender and delicious.

After the beef, I was quite contented and full and thus proceed to more drinking. Then, he asked me if I would like to join his other group of customers whom is running a shrimp farm in Langkawi and I said "why not?" since I was drinking alone, why not get some company. There were 5 of them and they were there for dinner. In the end, I ended up having another round of dinner with them!

Shrimps with salad
They supplied these shrimps and insist that I tried them. It was really fresh and succulent although they are not really that big.

After that, we had a few more dishes and one of them is an interesting dish which looked like fried onion but it was actually shredded carrots. I asked if they used a machine to shred the carrots because it was really fine and the chef told me that he does it mannually. As usual, I won't believe it until I see it and so he was very willing to demonstrate.

Don't play play...
He could really slice the carrot so thinly! The knife was so sharp that it chipped my nail when I was trying to shred the carrots!

The dinner ended at midnight and then they took me to Sun bar for some partying till 3am! It was really a nice evening as I do not expect to make some friends in Langkawi this way. Now I won't be so bored anymore. It's really a bummer to be dining alone!

Prices are pretty much like the KL standard. Teppanyakki sets starts from RM25-30, and dishes range from RM5. You can even order a Lobster and prawn sashimi here which are according to the seasonal prices. Honestly this is not the best Japanese restaurant compared to KL standards but this is pretty good if you want to have Japanese food on the island with a nice ambiance like this.

Hamachi Japanese Restaurant
A-3 & A-4, Perdana Quay,
Telaga Harbour Park, Pantai Kok,
07000 Langkawi, Kedah,
Malaysia.
Tel/Fax: +604-959 2332 E: hamachi.langkawi@gmail.com

Chef Goh +6019 488 3268

Bon Ton Resort @ Langkawi

Bon Ton Resort

One of the best kept secret of accommodation in the main island of the Langkawi archipelago has to be the Bon Ton Resort, run by an Australian called Narelle. It's just 10-15 mins drive from the airport and 5 minutes from the main beach of Pantai Cenang. This place is a jewel because you can now stay in one of the 8 villas of the 19th century Malay houses on stilts, all individually designed and built on the 100 year old coconut plantation.

This is one of the more unique stays in Langkawi compared to most of the hotels that are situated by the beach. Well, who needs a beach when you can have egrets, herons and the odd sea-eagle, the view of the peak of Mount Mat Cincang on the horizon and the most perfect sunset?


Since this is an exclusive boutique hotel, don't expect prices to be cheap but at least what you'll pay here will be a fraction of what you'll have to pay at Four Seasons in Langkawi. Prices start from RM500/night for a small villa to RM1300/night for the biggest villa for up to 5 people.



The Nam restaurant is also another charm of this resort. It has an idyllic and idiosyncratic setting while serving one of the island's best food, be it eastern or western cuisine. I heard from my distributor that sometimes wine dinners are carried out here too. Be prepared to pay somewhere between RM50 to RM100 for a meal.

One thing about this place is that there are really quite a number of cats here. All the cats are very well-fed too! When I first passed by this place, I asked myself, who would want to stay at a plantation and overlooking the paddy field?!! Then I found out, most of them who stayed at this resort are foreigners and I guess a paddy field is really something different and unique to them. Maybe I should build a resort at a cocoa plantation next! haha...

Would really love to try the food here the next time I'm down in Langkawi.

Bon Ton Restaurant & Resort
Pantai Cenang, 07000 Langkawi
Malaysia
Email: info@bontonresort.com.my

Office: 604 955 1688 (10:30am - 6:00pm GMT+8)
Fax: 604 955 4791

Nam Restaurant:
604 955 6787 / 3643 (11:00am - 11:00pm GMT+8)

Chenang Boat Quay @ Langkawi

There are actually many nice undiscovered places in Langkawi if you don't really know this island well enough. I thought coming to Langkawi was just to enjoy the beaches, buy tax free chocolates, liquor and tobacco but there were quite some nice places to hang out.

This place is a little secluded and it's probably out of the way of the normal tourist route but I tell you, the view here is just different.

It doesn't look very promising from the outside but once you stepped into the premise, it brings you to a total new atmosphere and view! When I walked in, I was surprised how a simple looking place like this can be such a darling!

I like the white-washed pillars and unobstructed view.

See how the colours are put into use? This is looking good!

I could have a mojito here and enjoy the sunset...

This place actually serves tapas. There are also other dishes like pizzas and pastas available. At 7pm, they also demonstrates how they make the buffalo mozarella. I've yet to try the food here but I told the boss, Alex, that I would return during my next trip to Langkawi!

Dining and Bar

They do have another tapas outlet at Telaga Harbour Park at Pantai Kok.


Chenang Boat Quay
Jetty Pelancongan Chenang
Tel: +6012-3294094
email: alexsigi@yahoo.com
(close to Bon Ton & next to Pelangi)
12 noon to 12 midnight (closed on Tuesdays)

Sang Thai Seafood Restaurant @ Langkawi

I can't believe that even in a small island like Langkawi, there's actually a nice place to have Thai food. As I was told, there were quite a number of Thai people in Langkawi. Although this place is predominantly Malay but there's an influx of Thai people due to the proximity of the island to the Thai border. Many of the Thai women were married to the locals and therefore don't be surprised that they are able to speak Thai, Hokkien, Mandarin and also Malay!

This Sang Thai Seafood Restaurant that my distributor took me to is just beside the Wonderland Seafood Restaurant whom many would be familiar with. There are not many places to eat in Langkawi but they certainly didn't disappoint either.

This place is not air-conditioned and it's beside a river

I think I find it rather amusing that in a duty free island like this, the first drink I ordered was a coconut and not a beer! The coconut, at RM4.50 each could actually get me a bottle of Hoegaarden here, can you jolly believe it?

Prawns sashimi (RM16/200g)

One of the dishes to try here is the prawns served sashimi style. The raw prawns are peeled and laid on a bed of shredded cabbage and garlic. One is supposed to dip the raw prawns into the bowl of sauce consisting of sesame seeds, chilli, garlic, soya sauce and vinegar which is an alternative to wasabi. I find this very nice and I thought I would get a stomach upset eating this but I didn't!

Steamed fish Thai Style (RM22.50/450g)

The steamed fish was very good too. They also provide an extra bowl of sauce for you to refill when the sauce dries up in the pot because the charcoal keeps the sauce boiling at all times. I liked how they serve the fish and this way, the dish would not get cold easily. The sauce is sweet and sour which whets the appetite for more white rice!

Kerabu (RM12)

The Kerabu consisting of fresh squids, prawns, sea weeds, tomatoes, onions and sweet & sour with spicy sauce makes a very nice appetiser as well. You can actually taste that the ingredients are very fresh because the prawns and squids are succulent.

Stir-fry vegetables with Salted Fish (RM8)

This is a very common dish in Thai cuisine. Usually the ones I get in KL are the ones that you hardly can taste the salted fish but this one is just perfect. You can actually see and taste the salted fish bits. Absolutely delicious.

A dinner for two costs us RM68.50 which I think wasn't too expensive considering we had 3 plates of dishes with fresh seafood. If you ask me, I would definitely come back but it'll be for dinner because the place is quite warm.

Sang Thai Seafood Restaurant
No.204 & 205, Pusat Dagangan Kelana Mas,
Jalan Persiaran Mutiara,
07000 Kuah, Langkawi, Kedah.
Tel: +6012-4762329