There are a few August babies in the group, including myself and this week was a rarity, whereby all the babies were in Kuala Lumpur at once. Usually, everyone is scattered all over the world. So, to mark this occurrence – we all decided to head on out of town for a day trip.

All of us agreed on heading up to Genting Highlands. I suppose with everyone regularly heading out of the country for work, spending our birthday locally, especially at a spot where we can relive our childhood is exciting albeit a lil nostalgic. Rather than drive up straight, we opted to take a slight detour as we did a year ago and drop by Hock Lay on the way.

Day Trip : Hock Lay Restaurant @ Ulu Yam – Tom Yum in a Coconut. – is known for serving their flavorful Tom Yum in a coconut and is about 50 minutes away from KL and 45 minutes from Genting Highland. It is a common route used to head to Genting, so you guys do not need to worry about having to go out of your way by stopping at Ulu Yam.

Fast forward 2 hours hours and a few “tom yum in coconuts” later, we got into our cars, fully geared up to head to Genting when we saw the World of Phalaenopsis signage by the roadside. Its an Orkid Farm/Garden located 5 minutes away from Hock Lay.

Ooooo man, I’m glad we dropped by. It was beautiful, charming, peaceful and really enjoyable. Soooo totally worth it to pay this farm a visit. Definitely wouldn’t come across something like this in the city. Lots of greens, yay!!

** You can Waze to the location and when you are nearby, look out for the signboards that will lead you here. It is located within an ol’ school housing area. Just take it easy and enjoy the slow drive.

Plenty of parking available. They have a few sheds/ covered car parks for visitors and if that is fully occupied, you can simply park by the roadside.

There was NO ENTRY FEE during our time of visit.

Beautiful, ey???

That is not all …. they have a cafe in the midst of all these greens too. How awesome is that?

As mentioned previously. It sure was a difference experience. A refreshing change. Picturesque indeed.

Their Menu is rather limited but whatever they have is yummy. They offer Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang, Fried Mee Hoon with Chicken Rendang, Curry Mee, Bread & Toast, a few cakes and waffles.

Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang, 12.90 ringgit + Mee Hoon with Chicken Rendang, 12.90 ringgit + Carrot Cake, 12.90 + Herbal Tea, 14.90

Burp! Nice and tasty!

Both the Nasi Lemak and Mee Hoon was yummy. The Chicken Rendang is a side order, it does not come with the dish but for both dishes – do order the chicken. It makes it even better as a whole. I truly loved the chicken. It literally dropped of the bone without any effort. Soft, chewy and flavorful. Yum!

The Carrot Cake was good too. The taste of carrot was evident, not too sweet, plenty of nuts in it and some cinnamon for garnish. The cream cheese was moist and thick with just the right amount of sweetness. Loved it.

The Herbal Tea here was da bomb! You’d get quite a lot of it for 14.90 ringgit. Between the 5 of us, there were plenty to go around. It was not bitter, it didn’t have a peculiar taste. What is was was rather pleasing and easy to drink.

*** This cafe is mostly busy on WEEKENDS and so, they do not take in reservations then, walk ins only. On WEEKDAYS, they are not as busy and so, you’d most probably be able to get a table simply by walking in but if you want to reserve, they do take reservations. Call them at 03-6075 1133.

….. and oooh, they have a separate section for private seating as well.

So yea, if you guys are free and in the mood to take a short drive out of town – about 50 minutes to an hour and experience something different, then do pay this orchid farm a visit. Spend some time feasting you eyes on these beautiful orchids and perhaps even indulge in some food at they cafe. After that, you could always head back to KL or spend another 50 minutes driving up to Genting Highlands.