Author: Kimberly Low

Sisters before Misters getaway to Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat in Hulu Langat

I struggled with blogging about this place at first because I just love it so much and I wanted to keep it to myself and friends.

It would pain me if this place became too difficult to book (like the other more well-known retreats) and worse, if the price went up too much (like the other more well-known retreats).

But as my hubs put it, I should never hoard and should always share the love.

And so, here it is…my review of Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat in Hulu Langat.

# – The Aman Dusun’s Riverview House.

For a first-timer, it might be slightly difficult to locate Aman Dusun as it’s neither on Waze nor Garmin. What I did was search for “IKBN Dusun Tua” on Waze and it took us to this yellow metal bridge on Batu 16 road, where an Aman Dusun staff subsequently met with us and directed us to the retreat.

If you haven’t asked for someone to meet up with you, please turn immediately left after crossing the bridge onto a smaller kampung road and just keep going straight till you reach the Aman Dusun goat’s farm.

Sin Loo who only joined us a bit later asked me while I was giving her directions, “Go straight? How to go straight? It’s a winding road with many left and right turns???”. I told her to just follow her instinct and she made it so I figure you will too hahaha.

# – The yellow metal bridge on Batu 16.

Hardly an hour drive from Petaling Jaya, Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat is a true hidden gem.

While the main business of Aman Dusun is a privately funded goat’s farm producing the most delicious goat’s milk I have ever tasted, the owners have also built two beautiful houses right by the river that runs through their 4 acres land.

They are the Riverview House and the Blue House, we picked the former as it has a private pool and accommodates a smaller group.

# – The goat’s farm. By the way, we bought like a dozen bottles of goat’s milk when we left cause they were so tasty! Surprisingly light and odourless. Owner said this is due to the special breed of goats they have.

The Riverview House sleeps 7 comfortably, with 3 bathrooms and has a fully functional kitchen. All the bedrooms come equipped with air-conditioners. Oh yeah, did I mention the pool?

# – The living room.

# – The kitchen.

# – One of the bedrooms.

We wasted no time in kicking off our slippers and began our holiday!

# – Photo nicked from Celine.

# – Hot Celine.

# – Yummy noodles with scallops and sausages cooked by Jayna.

# – Me!

# – Holiday!

# – A hammock was already provided but Sin Loo brought out another one cause she’s well prepared like that :)

# – Sin Loo.

# – I can do this everyday.

# – Everydayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

# – Baby durian.

# – Swing on the property.

# – River.

# – Posers.

# – Serious discussion….not!

# – Midnight cheese platter time!

# – Breakfast was provided by Aman Dusun, a sumptuous spread of curries, roti canai, deep fried bananas and we added some of the fruits we brought from home.

This place is perfect for some quiet bonding with friends and family. The surrounding is peaceful and quiet with only the sounds of the pool’s water fountain and insects to accompany us.

Needless to say, Aman Dusun has completely shot up to the top of my staycation spot list due to its location, facilities and sheer gorgeousness.

Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat
Lot 1173, Batu 16
Dusun Tua
43100, Hulu Langat
Selangor
Tel: 012-3950503 (Ris)
Fax: 03-42513545
Website: https://glamgoat.com/

Jersey Boys live in Malaysia – we saw them!

The Jersey Boys musical was in Kuala Lumpur recently between 15th and 27th April 2014. The hubs and I managed to catch one of the shows and we were completely blown away!

Needless to say, the singing and the music were flawless. I expected it to be good, of course, since Jersey Boys has been performed over 3000 times and is now the 14th longest running show on Broadway. It has been seen by over 18 million adoring fans! Now plus me and hubs :)

# – Yay, Jersey Boys!

Thanks to Milestone Production Sdn Bhd, we were able to enjoy Jersey Boys at our very own Istana Budaya. It is a musical based on the true story of the meteoric rise to stardom of one of the most successful bands in American pop music history – Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

# – The real Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

Featuring the band’s 60’s American pop worldwide hits, Jersey Boys details the inspiring journey of The Four Seasons from humble New Jersey to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records globally – all before they hit thirty!

# – During the performance (picture nicked from Jersey Boys’ FB).

When hits such as “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, and “Oh, What a Night” were sung…well, lets just say if I weren’t pregnant, I would have gotten up and shaken my tail feather.

When “Fallen Angel” came on, I cried like a sobbering fool – damn hormones!

Jersey Boys is the winner of 54 major awards including the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album. Contrary to belief, it is not a tribute band but a full-scale Broadway musical that tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons through each of the four members’ perspectives.

The Four Seasons are played by Grant Almirall (Chicago, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Frankie Valli; Daniel Buys (Boys in the Photograph, Mamma Mia!) as Tommy DeVito; Kenneth Meyer (Boys in the Photograph, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Bob Gaudio and television star Emmanuel Castis (Scandal, Isidingo, season 4 winner of Strictly Come Dancing) as Nick Massi with Jaco van Rensburg (Showboat, Chicago, Grease) playing Frankie Valli at certain performances.

# – The dashing Four Seasons in Jersey Boys (picture nicked from Jersey Boys’ FB).

The three leading female characters, fondly dubbed, the “Jersey Girls” are played by Carmen Pretorius (Footloose!, Mamma Mia, Cabaret), Taryn-Lee Hudson (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Kidz Rock, Let the Good Times Roll) and Kirsten Murphy-Rossiter (Some Like it Vrot, Grease, M-Net’s Crimes Uncovered).

I really hope Milestone Production Sdn Bhd will bring in even more international musical acts to our shores! Can I suggest “We Will Rock You” next, pretty please?

Han Woo Ri – new Korean barbecue restaurant in Damansara Uptown

We recently had dinner at this newly opened Korean restaurant in Damansara Uptown/Damansara Utama and we were very pleased with it. Located on the same row as Pot & Bone, there’s ample parking space by the restaurant.

# – Han Woo Ri in Damansara Uptown.

Upon entering the premise, we noticed some smokiness from the bbq grill but it wasn’t incredibly unpleasant.

# – The grill on every table.

The menu was average, pretty much the same things you could find in most Korean restaurants in Klang Valley.

Upon sitting down, we were served a bowl of complimentary fermented soybean paste soup each and a plate of pickled sliced onions as well as other condiments.

# – Complimentary soup and pickled slide onions.

# – Condiments – a sweetish sauce I can’t recognise, bean paste and sesame oil with salt.

For the barbeque, we ordered slices of rib eye, marinated pork neck and thinly sliced beef. Customary side dishes or banchan were served too.

# – The staff did the grilling of the meats. In picture are the thinly sliced beef (cha dol bagi) with all the banchan.

# – Marinated pork neck (yang nyum mok sal) – fresh, fatty and tender.

# – Sliced rib eye (gal bi sal). Check out the marbling!

We really enjoyed the barbecue. The pork neck and rib eye especially, were fatty and tender but slightly crisp on the edges thanks to the skilled staff who did the grilling.

We also ordered a dol sot bibimbab and kimchijigae (which came with a bowl of rice).

# – Dol sot bibimbap – lovely though could do with more red pepper paste/gochujang. In hindsight, I should have asked for more gochujang.

# – Kimchijigae – good depths of flavour with abundance of meat, glass noodles, sprouts and tofu. Belly warming!

The thing that really stood out for me at this restaurant was the service. It was impeccable!

All the staff were keen and had smiles on their faces – quite a rare sight in Malaysian restaurants really. And they asked us at least 3 times whether we would like to replenish any side dish.

Our dinner ended with complimentary slices of watermelon and traditional Korean rice drinks (my favourite!).

# – Rice drink and fruit.

And the most important part, the prices. Well, it’s not particularly cheap or expensive. As with most of the decent Korean joints in town, prepare to pay a bit more for the bbq beef range while the other stuff are perfectly affordable. If you want to try the restaurant out without paying too much first, I suggest going during lunch time as they have very reasonably priced lunch set menus.

Han Woo Ri – Korean BBQ Restaurant
34G, Jalan SS21/62,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Mon – Sun: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Tel: +603-7731 3357