Restoran Mei Sei Ka - Kg. Bukit Tinggi, Bentong

We started out with this Solo papayas. Very sweet, firm and fragrant, compliments of the chef.

Getting to Bukit Tinggi is not exactly a walk in the park for many. But then there was good food and Bentong durians esp. the Musang variety. Good things require some exertions. But then it depends also on where is the starting point. Getting there from Melati Utama which is alongside the MRR2 was a breeze. Just a slow 20 minutes drive. We wanted to catch a leisurely lunch there and have lots of time to talk and catch up.

We started at 11:45am. Arriving we were caught out as the shop was closed. Moral of the story - call first. The shutters were down. We were deciding what to do when the owner returned. This was one of the rare days they closed for business. Then Ah Loong recognized my Singaporean friend who has some dealings in the vast Bentong agricultural business. The sky was bright but it was surely shinning and smiling at us. He opened his shop just for us. We apologised for intruding into his private time but by then he has ushered us into his shop.

We ordered what he has and what he recommended. Not exactly the best for food but then we got to be his only guest and received his undivided attention. It was great service. He was chatty and we got along.

This pair of gargantuan and handsome Sang Har were opened up length-wise. It was cooked with egg white and topped up with lots ginger (hopefully Bentong variety) and generous amount of fried garlic bits. There was a lot of bright red liquid in the head area. It was sweet and rich. I dumped the egg white in and mopped it up. Yum. What was missing was some wine but then why complain when we shouldn't be eating there in the first place! 7/10.

Instead of rice we have Toman Fish Mee Hoon. It was of the clear soup type with lots of toman fish pieces together with the head. Unfortunately the fish has quite some bones and slightly fishy. Still it filled our stomachs and the pickled vegetables increased our appetites. We were ready for more. 6/10.

Standard crunchy Baby French Beans with lots of crunchy. It thought these baby beans originated here as I recalled having this dish probably in 1993 when it was 'the' vegetable dish to order. 7/10.

We also have boiled (not double boiled as we need to pre-book) herbal turtle soup. Soft and gelatinous shell and meat with lots of herbs. Very sweet and fragrant. I did not put out the picture as it may offend people. 7.5/10.For desserts we have D24 Durians. One of the best D24 I have eaten as the quality varies from place to place. The skin was brown indicating that this was from higher elevation. Sticky and fleshy with smooth and flawless complexion! 7.5/10.Then the star - Musang Durians. But alas these were lowlands Bentong variety and have green skins. I am sure the highland ones will taste better. What can I say? It has colour, complexion, concentration, carat.... 8/10.