Malaysia Travel and Tour Information Portal

Just try one spoonful and you’ll be hooked on this gorgeous tiramisu, writes PEGGY LOH
Ask any gourmet in johor Baru where the best tiramisu can be found and you’d be told Café Café. For over eight years, the café has been serving excellent Italian cuisine and has an exceptionally large following for this irresistible melt-in-your-mouth dessert.
“we use ingredients from italy,” explains restaurateur wong wui leong.
Beginning with a passion for its aromatic coffee, Wong grew to love all things Italian. And while he shops, cooks and runs the café, he admits that dessert items, especially the tiramisu, is left to his wife, Siew Chin.

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Its newly-renovated, exquisitely furnished rooms are designed with the comfort of travelers in mind

Whether it’s leisure or business, the Hotel Grand Continental Kuantan’s central location makes it convenient for travelers to move about in the toen or to surrounding areas including the famous Teluk Cempedak Beach and Cherating Beach.
The hotel’s eye-catching colours of sparkling yellow and maroon make it stand out from most other buildings in the heart of Kuantan. This urban retreat offers 200 guest rooms and suites.

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Don’t just holiday on the beach. Holiday over the sea in a bungalow built on stilts at the Berjaya Langkawi Beach & Spa Resort
It’s time to pack up the children for a short break this mid-year school holiday starting August 19. Where can you go to where every member of the family can have lots of fun?
Think an island of legends, emerald sea, sun-kissed beaches and tranquil ancient rainforests and Langkawi will come to mind.
Now where on the island can you soak up so much natural beauty, relax and enjoy some private time with your loved ones?

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Have you made plans for the coming school holidays? No? just take a look at what the Mutiara Hotels & Resorts has to offer-the solitude of a serene lake, fun on a private beach and trips into a 130-million-year-old rainforest and the vibrant attractions of an urban jungle.
There’s a choice of Mutiara Pedu Lake in Pedu, Kedah, Mutiara Burau Bay in Langkawi, Mutiara Taman Negara in Pahang and Mutiara Johor Baru. Each is unique in its location, promising a different scenery and experience.
Mutiara Pedu Lake is tucked in a remote part of Kedah. This 75 sq km man-made lake has two islands. Charming wooden chalets of Kedah-Thai influence extend on stilts over the shimmering waters. It’s a perfect place for a peaceful holiday or if you prefer, you can participate in many activities including cruising on the lake, fishing trekking in the jungle or climbing up Gunung Fakir Terbang near the Malaysian-Thai border.

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Do nothing or everything that’s fun. Whatever you decide, there’s a place for you to do it during the coming school holidays
The school holidays will be here soon. Mark Aug 19-27 in your calendar as a time for  bringing the whole family out for a much-needed midyear break. It’ll be a time spent on bonding, having fun and doing things together away from home.

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It is always interesting to take the kampong route to get to small towns, especially when your traveling companion is a friend from abroad. This is the best way to get in touch with the life of the people.

When I went to Port Dickson recently, I filled up with PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, before hitting the North South Highway. We stopped to do some shopping at Nilai, after which I took a detour to Jln Salak Tinggi, Sepang, passed KL International Airport and re-entered Negeri Sembilan at Bukit Pelanduk.

My Japanese friend was amazed to see the large variety of fruits sold so cheaply along the kampong roads. There were rambutans, mangosteens and durians, especially along the Salak Tinggi stretch. Getting a kampong durian for less than RM2 was definitely a bargain.

It was really a  pleasant drive too as we ate some of the fruit along the way. It was the first durian my friend had tasted. Though he thought it tasted good, he said the smell was too strong for him to really enjoy it.

At Nilai, he was surprised that we could buy four metres of cloth for as little as RM5. Nilai is the new educational hub. There are colleges, golf courses and new housing estates that offer super deals.

The town is peaceful and full of greenery. The streets are generally well planned and are lined with palm trees and flowering plants in giant pots.

Port Dickson, of course, offers some of the best beaches for a short holiday. When we reached PD, the petrol indicator of our Proton Waja 1.6 showed only a quarter of the PETRONAS PRIMAX 3 used, which worked out to only 15sen per kilometer.

Wow! With such savings on fuel,  we decided to drive further along the coastal road to take in the scenery by the sea.-by JOHN TIONG

A temple buried for three decades by a mudslide will find a new lease of life, writes DIANA YEOH
A BANDONED and forgotten for 32 years ago, Da Seng Ngan Buddhist Temple was resurrected when a group of devotees from the Ipoh Benevolent Society accidentally came across it. The temple is located along Jalan Gopeng, next to Sam Poh Tong Caves.
The devotees regularly release fish into ponds and they found the temple when they were looking for more ponds.
Excavation works were then carried out and over 100 pieces of artefacts were uncovered in and around the abandoned temple.
These include incense burner stands, porcelain plates, cups, bowls, copper prayer items, bells and gongs, candle stands, ancestors plaques, lamps, a bronze Buddha statue and porcelain God of war statue.
These are believed to have been made during the Chinese Yuen Dynasty (1426-1435). Among the many interesting items is a century-egg urn which has become crystal-like.
The temple was “lost” when a major landslide covered the temple in earth and mud. Society president Loke Yee Fatt said the society will carry out more excavation works costing RM1 million to restore the temple.
“It will take three months and artefacts will be displayed. We will also renovate the existing halls and rooms formed by the natural stalagmites and stalactites.”
The temple area is 90 metres wide, and the arch of the main entrance is 15 metres by 18 metres. This structure will remain intact. Ever since the temple was rediscovered, Buddhist devotees, locals and tourists have come to view it and devotees have put up a box to collect donations.
The society’s members will continue to look for more artefacts as well as the remains of any monk who might have been trapped in the mudslide.

The center of Kuala Lumpur’s original Chinatown. Petaling Street maintains much of its traditional atmosphere, particularly at night when vendors spread their wares out on the street. While it is possible to purchase anything from gems and incense to toys and t-shirts here, enjoying the night market is really a matter of just wandering about and enjoying its sights, sounds, and energy.

Located at Jalan Tun Razak. The blue-roofed building was inspired by a tengkolok, the traditional Malay headgear, and songtet, a richly-designed brocade fabric. The library is a very recent addition to Kuala Lumpur, having opened only in 1992. The extensive holdings include a collection of publications on Malaysia by Malaysian authors as well as ancient Malay manuscripts. Open: 1Oam-5pm (Sat-Sun), Closed on Monday.

Fifty years ago this site was occupied by a wet market. Today, the art-deco structure of the Central Market is a centre for the display and development of Malaysian culture, arts and crafts. There are many performances, demonstrations, and activities offered here, including batik painting, fortune telling, shadow puppet plays, glass blowing, dance classes, art classes, and many others. The building won the Coronation Architecture Design Award in 1953.