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In fact we wanted to tour around Bidor, but after checking with a local, there is nothing to see and do in Bidor except nearby Sungkai Hot Springs.

After having our breakfast at Pun Chun Restaurant, we headed to Sungkai Hot Springs – which its official name is Sungai Klah Hot Springs Park.

I didn’t know about this place until I met a neighbor who was born in Sungkai some time ago. He was the one who introduced this attraction to me. At first I thought this was just like other hot springs where you could enjoy the dips in the streams or pools in a natural setting.

It took us about half an hour to reach the park from Bidor (just follow the signs, heading south). After exiting from the main road, you have to drive on village road for about 15 minutes before you reach the entrance to the park. I must say that the road here is nicely done for the most part of it.

Upon reaching the park, I was shocked to find out that visitors had to pay an entrance fee. When I entered the park, only then I came to realize that the park had two sections: one was hot pools while the other was cold. There was no one there to explain to me how I should walk about in the resort. Not even a brochure. I had to find my way around by asking the resort stuff or visitors there.

There are many hot spring pools. Each serves a different purpose. One of them is the biggest and you can actually swim in it – the water here is lukewarm. It is also the most crowded pool. There are other smaller pools where you can dip your feet, wash your hands and face. There is even one reserved for those who want to have boiled eggs for lunch!

Beware when you dip your feet as the temperature in some pools can be as high as 60 degrees Celsius – or even higher. You don’t want your feet to be cooked.

After playing in the hot pools, J and K insisted to go to the cold pool, the one you can find in any theme park. I understand that the water for this pool comes from the streams in the mountains nearby. That explains why the water is cold. There are slides and fountains too.

Sungai Klah Hot Spring Resort in Sungkai can be very crowded on weekends.

Sungai Klah Hot Springs Park
36000 Sungkai
Perak
Malaysia
Operating hours: 8am – 10pm daily
Entrance Fees: RM10 for adults, RM8 for children (2-11 years)
For reservation of private pool or more information, call 05-438 8801 or 03-2697 9772

Note: This is the second article of Family Weekend Getaway: A Road Trip To Lumut series.

Next: Teluk Intan – Clock Tower and Food Hunt

We took about 35 minutes to travel from Bidor to Teluk Intan. Once we reached the town, formerly known as Teluk Anson, at about 1.30pm, the first thing we looked for was its most famous landmark: Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan. As it is located in a square, you won’t miss it as its top is obviously seen among low-rise buildings from a distance.

At this hour, the weather was very hot and we took a quick tour of the Teluk Intan clock tower – which was built in 1885. We were only allowed to climb up to three floors.

Since we had not had our lunch, we were looking for a place to fill up our stomachs. We wanted to try the well-know Teluk Intan chee cheong fun. But unfortunately, based on my research notes, the famous Teluk Intan chee cheong fun is only available in the evening. It was then confirmed by a local shop assistant near the clock tower. To make it worse, it seemed that our chances were slim to get a proper lunch at this time of the day.

Tiger Head Brand Heong Peah

Another agenda on my list was looking for the popular heong peah cap harimau (Tiger Head brand biscuits). The shop assistant explained to me how to get to the biscuits shop which was not very far from the clock tower. It is actually located at the end of the road.

Sin Joo Cheong Confectionary
830-D Jalan Mak Intan,
36000 Teluk Intan
Perak
Malaysia
Telephone: 05-622 2472

Rojak Ah Chai

After buying some biscuits for own consumption and as gifts for friends, we continued our search for food. While we were touring around the town aimlessly, I saw the popular Ah Chai Rojak Stall as mentioned by one Teluk Intan blogger. It is located behind San Min School and next to the wet market. The rojak stall is a modest stall with some wooden shacks. If you are not careful, you will miss it. When we were there, there were only a handful of customers there.

Since we had no other food, we took rojak (mixed fruits in dark sticky prawn paste) for lunch though it was usually meant for snack. I find the rojak okay and not as good as what I expected. I prefer rojak with a stronger taste.

K didn’t find the rojak appetizing and we had to get something for him before he threw tantrum, we quickly headed to Teluk Intan’s Glutton Square for some hawker food. Not many stalls were open then. By accident (I saw a lady carrying some yu tiao) I found a stall selling yu tiao and ham chin peng – also in Glutton Square.

Note: This is the third article of Family Weekend Getaway: A Road Trip To Lumut series.

Next: Homestay at Mulberry Historical Homestay, Lumut

After loading our bags and two kids, my wife and I started the journey to Bidor at about 7 am. It took us about 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Bidor from Shah Alam via North South Expressway.

Bidor is a small town south of Tapah, east of Changkat Jong, and north of Slim River. There is one main road cutting through two rows of pre-war shops, and it is aptly called Jalan Besar (main road in Bahasa Malaysia). It is also where the famous Pun Chun Restaurant is located, somewhere in the middle part of the main road.

We reached the restaurant about 8.30 am. It was not that crowded at that time. But when we left, the whole restaurant was almost packed with people.

Pun Chun Duck Drumstick Noodles

We ordered the well-known duck drumstick (thigh) noodle, dry and soup. The restaurant is very proud of the home-made noodles and the duck thigh is boiled with some Chinese herbs for hours. The duck herbal soup was excellent. I find the noodles were a little soggy and the dried noodle was too salty as compared to what I had in Pun Chun’s Kota Kemuning branch. However, the drumstick was still as tender and delicious.

With recommendations from some bloggers, we also ordered woo kok (yam paste with meat) and sui kau. Woo kok has lived up to its fame as it is tasty and the fillings are generous.

Besides noodles, Pun Chun is also popular for its chicken biscuits (kai chai peng in Cantonese) and shat kek ma (a sweet snack made from egg, flour, and molasses). We did not buy any as we can get this easily back home at Pun Chun’s Kota Kemuning branch.

Pun Chun Restaurant
38-40 Jalan Besar, Bidor,
35500 Perak.
Telephone: 05-434 1554
Opening hours: early morning to 10pm, daily

Kota Kemuning Branch
10, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla AC 31/AC,
Kota Kemuning,
40460, Shah Alam
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
Telephone: 017-7701121, 019-3206773
Opening hours: 6.30am to 4pm, daily

Seedless Guavas and Other Local Fruits

You can’t leave Bidor without getting some seedless guavas, which is another specialty of this small town. They are sweet and crunchy. After checking with an old uncle who served us at Pun Chun Restaurant, he recommended the third fruit shop from the restaurant. Wife noticed that the fruits from this shop (called Long San?) were fresh. We bought some guavas at RM5 per kilogram. Alternatively, you will find some fruit stalls outside Pun Chun Restaurant. After checking, the prices for guavas are the same at these stalls. If you are not a guava person, you can get other fruits like pomeloes or mangoes.

Note: This is the first article of Family Weekend Getaway: A Road Trip To Lumut series.

Next: Hot and Cold Dips in Sungkai Hot Springs

Right before school holidays ended, I took the family to Lumut last weekend.

The original idea was only Segari Turtle Conservation Centre. To make it even more worth our time, the trip had grown to include Bidor, Sungkai, Teluk Intan, Seri Manjung, and Sitiawan – though we didn’t include Sungkai and Seri Manjung initially. These two places were added as and when we went along about the trip.

While I might be a little biased to focus too much on food, I did not want to neglect the need to include other interesting sites for the kids.

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