Tag Archives: Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang

The Germans visit Malaysia Part 1

Posted on November 11, 2019 by alchemyrider

In October 2018 a group of R@SKLs had a wonderful time cycling in Germany. Thanks to excellent arrangements made by Ralf from Hong Kong, and Marc and some of his friends in Germany.

Being polite Malaysians, the grateful R@SKLs invited the Germans to visit Malaysia. To their surprise, the Germans accepted the invitation!

Not only that, they booked flights and would arrive in Kuala Lumpur on 1^st November 2019 for a ten-day stay.

After several discussions over teh tarik, thosai and roti canai which began in mid-September, we had a plan. Which was a good thing because Marc, Patrik, Matthias and Dieter did board their flight from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur.

We didn’t realise it at the time, but this photograph was a clue, or more accurately a warning of what the next ten days would entail.

Day 1

Ralf had arrived one day earlier, and together with Chee Leong and Pai was on hand to welcome the others to Malaysia.

Their first stop after leaving the airport was Pegasus Cycles. CK and Danial reassembled their bicycles. Bike cases were loaded onto a truck and shipped to Penang.

You should already be getting a sense of the logistics required for our plan to work smoothly.

Getting bicycles assembled was important. More important was to introduce our guests to an essential part of Malaysian culture. Food.

TH took them across the road to the Grand Imperial restaurant in Plaza Damas for a dim sum lunch.

After lunch, we took the guys to the Hyatt House hotel, which was home for the next four nights. They soon discovered the infinity pool.

The last logistical piece for the day was to load the now-assembled bikes into Amy’s truck. Amy would take the bikes to the start of our Saturday ride.

Day 2

We picked up the Germans at 6:30 am from their hotel and drove to Bandar Rimbayu. Our ride through the kampung roads to Bukit Jugra started at 7:30 am.

It wasn’t long before there was a puncture.

A stop after 14km was a bit sooner than expected.

There was another mechanical problem soon after that, so we had another wait at the 7-Eleven in Jenjarom. Fortunately, that was the last forced stop for the day.

The highlight of this ride, or lowlight, depending upon your point of view, was the climb up Bukit Jugra to the lighthouse.

We spent twenty minutes enjoying the view over the Langat River. Then it was time for food at our favourite Jugra ride restaurant.

After a meal of rice, fish and vegetables we pedalled back the way we had come.

After crossing the Langat River we stopped at Cendol & AC Santan Sawit Ross. It was time to introduce our German visitors to cendol.

The guys made a few new friends.

Everyone finished the ride safely. Back at Mont Kiara, the guys demonstrated an essential part of German culture. Beer.

Heng Keng kindly hosted dinner at his home. Complete with roast suckling pig.

Day 3

The first and third Sunday of each month is KL Car Free Morning. Roads in the city centre are closed from 7:00 am to 9:00 am. It seemed like a good idea to do a city ride.

CK and Danial mapped out a 35km route which would take us past some city landmarks.

The Germans rode the short distance from their hotel to Pegasus Cycles, where about twenty other cyclists were waiting.

We rode from Pegasus Cycles to Damansara Heights.

Then we stopped at the main entrance to the National Palace, which is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia.

Our next stop was at the top of the climb up Changkat Tunku, which is popularly known s Mayor’s Hill. There is a good view overlooking the city.

We rode back down Changkt Tunku and into the Lake Gardens. The Tugu Negara (National Monument) is there.

We then rolled through Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). To the left is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which used to house the British colonial government offices.

Next on the itinerary was the KL Tower. It is a 421 metres tall communications tower. It is the 7th tallest freestanding tower in the world.

The last landmark we visited was the PETRONAS Twin Towers.

We had ridden about 25km. It was time for thosai, roti canai and fried noodles with chicken. All washed down with fresh coconut water.

Dieter was suspicious of the fresh coconut 😆.

We finished the ride well before noon. To keep the Germans entertained, Pai took them to Batu Caves that afternoon.

Pai dropped the Germans off at the Pavilion shopping mall. They found a German bistro that serves everything from pork knuckles and ribs to cold cuts and sausages. The place must have been a dream come true for our five visitors 🇩🇪.

Dinner was close to the Pavilion, at the food stalls along Jalan Alor.

Unsurprisingly, the Germans ended the night in a bar 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Bukit Jugra, Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang, Dataran Merdeka, Germans, Hyatt House, Jenjarom, KL Tower, Pegasus Cycles, Petronas Twin Towers, Rimbayu, Roti canai, Thosai, Tugu Negara. Bookmark the permalink.

R@SKLs Do Morib

Posted on May 8, 2017 by alchemyrider

Photograph courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk

The R@SKLs still had the 1,200 plus meters / 3,900 plus feet of climbing to Fraser’s Hill, from the weekend before, in their legs. So for this weekend’s ride they opted for the flat run from Kota Kemuning to the beach at Morib.

Sixteen of us gathered at BR Maju Restaurant in Kota Kemuning. We weren’t the only ones in lycra at BR Maju. It is a popular spot for cyclists to have breakfast, or just a drink, before heading out on their rides.

Photograph courtesy of Peter Shea

My previous rides to Morib have been westward on the motorcycle path alongside the KESAS Highway, and then south on Jalan Klang Banting. The ride along the motorcycle path is nice enough, especially on Sundays when there are few motorcycles on the path with you.

The riding on Jalan Klang Banting, however, is truly unpleasant. That road has been damaged by the constant heavy vehicle traffic. Cyclists face more than 10km / 6mi of potholes, ruts, lumps and bumps.

Morib Old Route

This time Meng and CK led us along a much more pleasant route southward from Kota Kemuning to Bandar Rimbayu and the bridge over the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE).

From the SKVE crossing to Jenjarom, the riding is along 14km / 9mi of well-surfaced, lightly trafficked kampung roads. The occasional speed bump is much more preferable to the minefield that is Jalan Klang Banting.

Morib New Route

We did have to ride northwest along Jalan Klang Banting to get from Jenjarom to Jalan Bandar Lama. Whilst the road surface along that 4.5km / 3mi section was not great, we had avoided the worst ruts and potholes to the north.

The right turn onto Jalan Klang Banting confused some of us. A left turn onto Jalan Klang Banting, aka Federal Route 5, would take us south and then west through Banting town and onward to Morib. Surely turning right would add distance to our ride?

Turning right instead of left did add 6km / 4mi to our ride. The reward for riding extra kilometers was that once we were on Jalan Bandar Lama, we rode over well-surfaced and quiet roads to Morib. Although the road surface south along Federal Route 5 from Jenjarom to Banting and then Morib does improve, there is always a lot of traffic to deal with. Thumbs up for the coastal route.

The group had been divided about where to eat and drink in Morib. Delicious Bread Coffee Shop was on the minds of some. As the name suggests, their kaya toast is delicious. But the coffee shop had run out of nasi lemak by the time we got there, so we opted for the food stalls along the beach instead.

Morib Delicious Bread

I had not noticed, but our group had shrunk by one. Leonard’s bicycle had started making worrying noises as we left Kota Kemuning, so he headed back to his car. And drove to Morib. I’m not sure which he wanted to see more, us or the nasi lemak!

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

This is what everyone had been waiting for.

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

We found a helpful tourist to take a group picture of us at the beach.

Photograph courtesy of Ong Peng Hong

I suspect that most tourists are disappointed when they see Morib beach. It is not one of Malaysia’s better beaches.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

We retraced our route back to Kota Kemuning. We rode along the coast for 7km / 4mi, and then along the Sungai Langat for 3.5km / 2mi. Just as the road veers away from the river, there is the option to turn left to Bukit Jugra, and a climb of 180 meters / 590 feet over 1.6km / 1mi.

We turned right.

Morib Route

As is often the case, it had warmed up considerably by 11am. Luckily we were spared the full brunt of the sun. There were rain clouds over the sea, and it was overcast on the coast. It had rained the night before. The rising temperature had made it more and more humid, so everyone was dripping with sweat. We didn’t help ourselves by pushing a 30kph / 18.5mph pace.

Once we had crossed the climb of the day – the bridge over the Sungai Langat – we were ready for a drink and a rest.

Photograph courtesy of Google Maps

1.5km / 1mi from the river is Ross Cendol & ABC Santan Sawit. The stall is not much to look at from the back.

Morib Cendol Johan

But it has tables and chairs shaded from the sun by umbrellas.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

And of course, ice-cold and sweet cendol.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

It was about 30km / 18.5mi from Ross Cendol back to BR Maju Restaurant. By the time we left the cendol stall, those rain clouds over the sea had moved inland ahead of us. The wind picked up, especially as we neared the bridge over the SKVE. Fortunately, we didn’t get rained on. We got a bit splashed and splattered anyway. The roads between Bandar Rimbayu and BR Maju Restaurant were very wet.

Apart from Leonard’s mechanical, that was the only blemish on the ride. Nice roads, good weather, and excellent company. What more can a group of cyclists ask for?

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Bandar Rimbayu, Banting, BR Maju Restaurant, Cendol, Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang, Delicious Bread Coffee Shop, Jalan Klang Banting, Jenjarom, Kota Kemuning, Morib, Nasi Lemal, Ross Cendol & ABC Santan Sawit, SKVE. Bookmark the permalink.

BCG Tour Klang – Port Dickson – Klang Day 2

Posted on September 3, 2016 by alchemyrider

The photographs are in! Thank you Johan Sopiee.

The plan for Day 2 was to roll out at about 7.00am. A few of us crept out of the hotel before dawn for breakfast at McDonald’s. Trying not to wake up the person at the front desk.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Hotel

Then it was time to put on cycling shoes (which had dried overnight after the ride through the rain), sun tan lotion, inspect our bikes, and wake up the desk clerk so we could check out.

Fikri, Izzat and I were ready to roll at the appointed hour. We discovered then that the rest of the group had opted to eat breakfast after putting on their cycling kit and checking out of the hotel.

So the three of us hit the road while the rest went to McDonald’s.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Early Breakfast

Before long we were making the left turn onto Route N4 toward Chuah. I don’t think the others were that far behind.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Fikri Kampung Chuah

By the way, despite what you see in these photographs, the national tree of Malaysia is NOT the oil palm.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Kampung Chuah Oil Palm

The climb of the day came as we approached the left turn to get back onto Route 5.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Kampung Chuah Climb

At 35km / 22mi the route curled through the small town of Sepang, before heading back toward the coast. That was the closest we would get to the KL International Airport.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Hot Day

It was 8.45am when I rode through Sepang. I was supposed to be at Morib at 10.00am, to meet up with some Flipside friends, who were riding to Morib from USJ. Morib is 45km / 27mi from Sepang. I was going to be late.

I made a short stop at the PETRONAS station in Sungai Pelek. The same one where Fikri and I stopped on the way to Port Dickson. As I remounted my bike, Izzat rode by. I chased after him and we rode together back out toward the coast.

About 8km / 5mi outside Sungai Pelek we came upon the U-turn point for the participants in the Klang Première Century Ride. That ride started and ended at the Klang Première Hotel in Bandar Botanic, a kilometer or so from where we would finish our ride.

We shared the road back to Bandar Botanic with the Klang Première riders,including some who had decided that they had ridden enough for the day.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Klang Premiere

I got to Morib at about 10.30am. Alvin, Liang and Mark were still there. I slurped down an iced Milo and an ais kacang, and enjoyed the sea breeze as we sat in the shade.

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

Just as we were leaving Morib beach, Fikri rode up behind us. He had been delayed by a problem with his seat post. He might have wished he hadn’t caught up with us. Liang proceeded to set a pace between 35kph /22mph and 40kph / 25mph for the next 20km / 12mi to Telok Panglima Garang.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Flipside 02

It was midday. And hot. And the pace had been high. So a stop at Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang was called for. Nothing like ice cold cendol to induce a touch of brain freeze.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Cendol Brain Freeze Mark

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

Brain freeze or not, we stopped again 7km / 4mi later at a PETRONAS station for yet more cold fluid.

It is 5km from that PETRONAS station to the interchange between Jalan Klang Banting, as Route 5 is named at that point, and the KESAS Highway. Fikri and I waved goodbye to the Flipsiders as they turned right at the interchange toward USJ. The two of us crossed the KESAS flyover and rolled the final kilometer to the Hotel 99 in Bandar Botanik.

Izzat was already there. He has a great capacity for riding long distances without stopping.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Finish 03

Happily, everyone else made it to the Hotel 99 safely.

It was another excellent cycling event. Foogie produced an excellent video summary of the two days.

Many thanks to Danial, Johan, Foogie, and the other participants for making this a fun weekend.

BCG Klang - PD - Day 2 Finish 13

So when is the next BCG Tour?

Fun and Food (Not Necessarily in that Order)

Posted on May 22, 2016 by alchemyrider

Morib was the destination this morning. It is a route I have ridden a few times already. An Epic Ride describes one of those prior jaunts to the seaside at Morib.

Alvin, Liang, Mark and I got rolling at about 6.45am. Avoiding the midday heat on the way back was our primary objective. All looked good as we made our way down the motorcycle path beside the KESAS Highway, through Kota Kemuning and on to Bandar Botanik. It was an overcast morning, and we had cool conditions as we rode through Telok Panglima Garang and onward to the coast and Morib.

Morib Route

The road along the Langat River to Tanjung Tongkah Lighthouse, previously a section of road in disrepair, has been resurfaced. Cool weather and smooth tarmac makes for fun riding.

The first order of business once we got to Morib was breakfast. We stopped at the aptly named Delicious Bread Coffee Shop.

Morib Delicious Bread

The bread was as advertised. We had ours toasted, with butter and kaya. Along with nasi lemak, soft-boiled eggs, and iced Milo or coffee.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

Yummy yummy!

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

Then it was time for a bit of fun. Photographs further down the road at the Morib Gold Coast Resort, for no other reason than it has a sign that reads “Morib.”

Photograph courtesy of Mark

More photographs on the sea wall at the beach at the end of Persiaran Mestika.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

And another picture just to prove that we had really ridden to Morib beach.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

The overcast skies cleared just as we started on the 70km / 44mi ride back to Bandar Sunway.

It was less and less fun as the temperature and humidity ramped up. By the time we were 15km / 9mi from home, it was properly hot. So much for an early start to avoid getting toasted on the way back.

Morib Weather

We were only 12km / 7.5mi away from Morib when we made a hydration stop. The first of a few such stops. We pulled up to a small sundry shop near Kampong Kathong and bought litres of water, some iced tea and other flavoured waters.

About 20km / 12mi from Morib we had made what in hindsight was an ill-advised detour toward Pulau Carey. The realisation after 4km / 2.5mi of the detour that it was still a long way to Pulau Carey, coupled with the rising temperature, prompted the smart decision to turn around.

Our next hydration stop was at Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang. A mere 20km / 12mi from the sundry shop.

We didn’t know that there was such a thing as santan sawit. Santan is the Malay word for coconut milk. Made, as the name makes clear, with the flesh from the nut of the coconut palm tree. Kelapa sawit is the Malay term for oil palm. At the time it didn’t make sense to us that santan could be made from the nut of the oil palm tree. We figured the term “santan sawit” referred to santan made from coconuts that grew amongst the oil palm trees.

I now know that palm oil is used to make a coconut milk substitute. The aforementioned santan sawit.

Which, despite the complete lack of coconut milk in it, makes a delicious cendol. Made even better, in this case, by lots and lots of shaved ice. We even got an extra bowl of shaved ice.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

We made two more hydration stops in the 37km / 23mi between the cendol stall and Bandar Sunway. Both times at petrol stations.

At the Petronas station 10km / 6mi from Bandar Sunway we met up with some friends who had ridden to Morib as well. They rode a slightly different route, including a climb to this lookout spot at Jugra.

Photograph courtesy of Cindy

By the time they pulled up at the Petronas station they were looking just as hot and sweaty as we were.

It was 1.45pm by the time we got to our cars. More drinks, and lunch, were on our minds once we had cleaned up and stuck our bicycles into our vehicles. Mark led us to Lim Fried Chicken in SS15, Subang Jaya.

Fried chicken, a fried egg, green beans and curry rice, with extra curry gravy and sambal on the side.

Photograph courtesy of Alvin

Chased with ice-cold homemade soya milk.

The ride to Morib and back was suddenly fun again.

Old Roots, New Routes

Tag Archives: Cendol Santan Sawit Mak Lang

The Germans visit Malaysia Part 1

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

R@SKLs Do Morib

BCG Tour Klang – Port Dickson – Klang Day 2

Fun and Food (Not Necessarily in that Order)

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