Day Trip : Zul Highway Cafe @ Bentong, Pahang - A hidden gem (Halal)

If you guys are in the mood for a change of scenary, a drive out of town … this could be it. Zul Highway Cafe was suggested to me by one of our biker friends. He is part of a convoy of touring bikes that rides up north regularly. Naturally there are many ways to head there and whenever they end up on the Karak Highway, he and his gang makes it a point to stop at this cafe for lunch. Zul Highway Cafe is located along the highway and is a one hour drive from KL. As we had some time to spare for the day, off we went.

It was a nice, smooth and peaceful drive. Due to the flood, there was less people on the road. You wont really see the devastation of it until you are nearing Bentong. The highway is a 2 way road but after a certain point one way was closed off. There were roadworks going on at several spots, mostly due to the flood and sinkholes. On the remaining one way, they have opened a contra lane.

With less cars on the road, the limited lanes were not an issue, no traffic jam.

Some of the devastation of the flood was evident by the highway too. I am lucky in the sense that I’ve never experience flood before. Whenever I hear about it, I sympathize and help however I can but never really understanding the severity off it.

…. and then you see this.

Areas filled with rubbish, with crap hanging on fences, a good indication of how high the water levels were. Scary.

.. you’d also see many relief efforts and aides, like this one.

It sure was an eye opening trip so far.

Anyways, soon enough, we reached our intended destination.

First, you’d see this beautiful wooden house, which operates as a homestay. As you drive in, past the homestay, you’d see the cafe.

It is nestled in greens. Greens everywhere, nature. It feels nice, a feast to the city eyes.

Here, there are 2 seating areas. You guys can choose between the usual restaurant seating or something with a bit more privacy, a lil more romantic 😈

The usual restaurant setting

A more private setting, surrounded by a curtain of plants, nature.

I like this cafe. For a city kid like me, these out of town trips is what I look forward to and to discover hidden gems like this along the way, sure made my day.

The owner, Mr. Zul was extremely friendly. He makes an effort to get to know his customers. As a former banker turned restaurant owner, he is knowledgeable and well versed in the latest happenings. He told us his experience with the flood. Being stuck where he was with no means of communication, water cut and etc. Luckily, where he was located, floods didnt hit him. I think it was due to the slightly elevated land he was on. The area surrounding this cafe though, wasn’t as lucky.

Business certainly was affected. Most of his customers are regulars living nearby and I was told that many were affected during the flood, with many hanging off their rooftops while waiting for helps. His meat supplier has also stopped supplying at the moment which meant that many items on the Menu isnt available.

Nasi Lemak + Roti Bakar

** I cant recall the price of the items 😅

To be honest, when I initially found out that there were only 2 items available to eat, I was a tad dissappointed but since we were already here, might as well make the most of it, right?

The Nasi Lemak was delicious. Simple, homecooked style. The sambal was a little spicy with plenty of flavor. There was kacang, cucumber, fried anchovies with a fried egg. Yes, we enjoyed it … ended up ordering another plate of it.

After eating, we spent a good half an hour chatting with Mr. Zul and then said our goodbyes and left. I really hope things get back to usual for this cafe because food was good and the setting was awesome.

Would I head back here? I certainly would. I look forward to dropping by again in the near future.