Done with Strawberries

Just arrived from the downhill drive from Gohtong. Had a nice time over there, and managed to get the stock of fireworks as well - they stock plenty of them high quality hand thrown 'pop-pop' poppers that were my boys favorite, and my maids' scourge since they were the ones needing to do the sweeping after! We virtually cleared the stock from the stall!

All together, we managed to collect something like 400 grams of strawberries. Mainly it was Irfan's effort as Idlan was too picky - pun intended. After stopping for lunch - the boys had some nice hot spicy fries and unfortunately I couldn't join them being Ramadhan - we headed to buy some fresh vegetables and flowers within the compound of the farm. They were certainly fresh and since we arrived in the morning, the produce had only just arrived. The corn cobs certainly looked great.

Irfan also picked up photography with my LX-3 and was happy snapping away. At least from now on, I would get my photos taken. Not just me taking photos of others. On the way down, Anita stopped to buy some fish-head curry for iftar. Sadly, I was never into fish-head, unless it was prepared in a broth, Japanese style!

Now that I was home, it was time to get the photos sorted. I took something like 200 snaps. I could have taken more, but the place was getting too crowded by the time we were about to leave. More details of the farm can be read on my previous visits here and here. The farm website can be surfed here. More photo of the trip can be seen here as well at my photoblog.

Return to Strawberry Park

We returned to Goh Tong last Tuesday, a public holiday for the Federal Territories. Luckily, due to what I thought was a miscalculation, UMMC was labelled as Kuala Lumpur even though it was Selangor right across the street. Until a few years back, Selangor had more holidays than KL - including Thaipusam which used to be a Selangor-only affair. Now, it was almost even, and Tuesday was one of those days when my Facebook updates were greeted with dismay by my Selangor friends. As the boys were on a week long holidays for the Chinese New Year, we decided that some strawberry picking might be in order. So off we went.

The traffic up was smooth and we took my Mum-in-law along. We got there before lunchtime and the boys excitedly jumped out of the van and began picking the strawberries, armed with a pair of scissors and a cute little plastic basket.

As I mentioned in the previous entries, the Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm is a nice little place in Gohtong, halfway up Genting. Children can freely walk the row of hydrophonically planted strawberries and pluck them from the stalks. It was a novelty in Malaysia due to our warm clime, and previously one can only enjoy strawberry picking in Cameron Highlands. Since the Omar was only 39 minutes from our house, I wondered why we did not come her more often. Once picked, the basket weighed and the price for the pickings was RM6 per 100g. Trust me, it was easy to end up with 500g.

The boys picked ip a basket each. The rows of strawberry plants were just nicely planted at a height where the boys can just cut the stall with their scissors. Self-restrain was redivided needed. I ended up in the end paying close to RM70 for all the strawberries. But judging form how excited the boys were, it was worth it. They then had some ice-cream - Irfan went for a strawberry ice-cream, while my Mum walked around at the mushroom farm just next door.

We had lunch at the local Seri Malaysia Hotel right across the street from the farm. There was also a chocolate factory there but we were too hungry for lunch to bother stopping. The strawberry feast continued later in the day when we reached home, with double-cream this time. Unfortunately, the pickings were already starting to soften by the time we reach home. Apparently, the strawberry needed eating within 24 hours of picking, otherwise they can go off. We did not have a problem with that whatsoever!

The strawberry farm is only 45 minutes from central KL, via the Karak Highway off Gombak. Just follow the signpost to Genting Highlands and turn off at Gohtong Jaya town. The farm will be right at the of the street, opposite the Gohtong Sports Complex. There were many signpost to direct you to it. Parking can be a problem during peak season, but the setup was children friendly and certainly, it was easy to maneuver prams ad trolleys around there. Apart from the strawberry and mushroom farms, there were also a small orchid, cactus and vegetable nurseries, as well as nice cafe and restaurants. There were also stalls selling memorabilias and tidbits. Clean restroom and toilets were also available. Definitely a nice outing for the family!

Strawberries at Gohtong

Idlan recovered sufficiently from a mini asthma attack he had the evening before. The weather was unfortunately rather gloomy, threatening to rain. There went our plan for Sunway Lagoon out of the window. Instead, why not take a drive up to Gohtong for a touch of strawberry picking. One of my friend Faz went there a couple of months back and had plenty to say about the place. I decided to gve it a go. Oh boy, was it not a hit with my boys especially Irfan?

The drive up was painless enough even though our new maid was prone to car sick. The boys could not stop chatting and they must be thinking I was kidding when I said they will be able to pick up the strawberries themselves. To reach there, I just took the Karak Highway, paid my RM5 toll and took the turn up towards Genting. A good 10 minutes climb and we reached Gohtong Jaya, a small township almost halfway up Genting. That was also the downhill terminal for the cable car ride up to Genting. They were closed for servicing for the month though, and will be opened again in time for Raya.

My parents-in-law used to drive up there once a month for a spot of fish head curry. Therefore it was not a town alien to us. However, the last time I was there was a good 2 years ago, well before the farm was opened. Right at the edge of the township, near the turn for the cable car station, you will see a sign for a left turn towards ‘Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm’. The farm was right in front of some apartment building and a sport complex. There were no designated parking however, so you can either park further down at the Gohtong shops or by the side of the road.

Strawberry picking - a rapidly acquired skill!Idlan happy with his lot - all 500g of them

Entrance was free, but you obviously had to pay for strawberries you picked. It wet us back RM8 per 100g, but the fruits were really fresh. The boys were given a pair of scissors and a rattan basket, and off they went. The strawberry were grown hydroponically, and arranged in neat rows with the fruits coming down waist high, just nice for children to scissor off the stalk and pick them up. After 15 minutes running around, the boys finally gave up and wanted to take the strawberry home. They took it to cashier and got them weigh. Before I knew it, RM100 was gone. They picked up more than 1 kg of strawberries in the end!

Entering the stalls and stands with our pickings.... orchids .......... cacti ........... and fresh green vegetables.Everything was clean and organised, and strawberry was not the only attractions at the farm. There were also cactus, orchids and fresh vegetables. Right at the very end were a warehouse full of mushrooms, grown in stacks of bottles - another attraction to the farm. There were also shops and stalls selling gifts, food and local produce. Since it was not a public holiday, we were free to mingle without a big crowd. After done with the shopping, we went to a chocolate factory right round the corner. It was hardly a factory - a converted shoplot which sells chocolates, complete with demonstration of how the chocolates was prepared. Another RM100 later and off we went.

Lastly the mushroom farm ........ with mushroom grown in bottles We then had a quick drive to the cable car station - that was when we found out that it was closed for maintenance. Puan Anita then had this crazy idea that we should drive up to Genting …. Which will be the subject of the next entry …….