Before we went to the infinity swimming pool, my friend and I took a stroll around and took photos of Lake Kenyir.
From our chalet, we walked a short distance and descended down a wooden walkway.
We could see the lake from here.
Looking back, I could see the chalets behind us.
The sun was about to set.
From here, it looked more like the sea than a lake to me.
I liked the ambience here.
I felt so relaxed.
The only thing that spoilt it was the mosquitoes! But that was easily solved with a mosquito repellent.
We had dinner at Tembat Restaurant, the only available restaurant in Lake Kenyir Resort and Spa. It was a buffet dinner and it was horrible!
If there was anything I wanted to complain about this resort, it was their food! Priced at RM45 nett, it was one of the worst buffets I have ever eaten!
Topping the list must be this horrible tasting salad.
The choice of ingredients were really unsuitable for a salad!
I did not even bother to take photos of the main dishes! They were bad but not as bad as the salad. I actually left the whole salad plate uneaten on my table.
The desserts looked good at first sight, but it was lousy at first taste!
But I think the layout was not too bad - this is the only reason why I took 2 photos of the desserts. It actually looked appetizing but wait till you eat them!
Even the fruits were not up to standard! Or maybe not up to MY standard, haha.
My friend and I wondered how we were going to survive all the rest of our meals for the next two days here. And the thing was, they only offered buffet for dinner - no ala carte! We were sure as hell not going to pay another RM45 per person for our next dinner!
The only other eatery near this resort was at Pengkalan Gawi, which was roughly 20 minutes walking distance from here. The other alternative would be to take a cab to Kuala Terengganu in search for better food, which would cost us about RM90 and an hour's journey - no way!
After dinner, we thought we would like to go for karaoke, but upon entering the karaoke room, we saw a few people inside and we decided not to go for it. I mean, I didn't feel like singing in front of complete strangers, haha!
So we went back to our chalet and retire for the night! Besides, we had to wake up early the next morning for our bird watching activity! How early? Well, the bird watching tour was scheduled to start at 7am, so we had to wake up at 6.30am latest!
And I thought I was on holiday!
FIRST COMMENTER
Kenyir, Africa?
Lovely water, trees and sunset, reminds me of Hawaii, oops I mean 'Langkawaii'. So the restaurant name should be change to 'Tembak' simply shoot out the dishes.
That's the problem with some of these resorts here. Location is isolated or quite isolated and add to that is there's only one restaurant serving poor quality food at an unjustifiable price! Sigh...I hope resort operators will take note of this.
Waking up early is part of holidaying! :) I sleep by 9pm and wake up around 6am every morning when I was holidaying in Perth.
what a beautiful lake to take a stroll at. i guess being isolated has its benefit, the natural scenery are mostly maintained if not enhanced. :)
love the pictures! your post has definitely brightened up my day :) will put this place one of my to-go places in malaysia
i wanna compliment on your photos la.. the camera that u used must be very geng.. so clear and beautiful snapshots.. even the desserts look so appetising but then u said not up to your standard.. :)
I was wondering how you could spend 3 days at Lake Kenyir. Looks like there was bird watching activities. Wait for your update!
Never thought the food there will be that bad. So, what you guys ate for the next few days?
nice pictures!
wow the food is really expensive leh..
Hawaii recognizes a sister beauty in your photos, dear Foong
Aloha, Friend!
Comfort Spiral
The scenery is very nice, has a very peaceful feel to it. The kind where you can just sit there and meditate. Haha.
But after seeing the food review, I think I will give this place a pass.
looks so relaxing...but then without nice food how to survive? maybe bring own maggie? :P
It's amazing why a resort doesn't provide better food. It could probably be because of the low occupancy. Or perhaps city-folk like yourself have had the luxury of better food that your expectations are high now. Eh, Foong?
Resorts would do well to operate like Club Med, I'm sure.
One of the downsides on a holiday is when you have to keep up with an early schedule. I always say, that's no holiday!! Holidays should be at a leisurely pace, taking it real easy. That's a real holiday, but alas, nothing is perfect, I suppose.
Btw, those are really lovely shots, Foong. I do agree that the lake looks more like an open sea with islands beyond. It must be a huge lake to project that impression. Besides a good camera, you must be having very steady hands.
bananaz, no Kenyir, Malaysia : )
LOL to "Tembak"! : D
mei teng, yeah I hope the resort operators will take note of it too!
No night life in Perth? Slept at 9pm? That's soooooo early! I'm a night owl, so retiring early during my Kenyir trip felt quite odd to me.
Wow! Woke up at 6am every morning? That sounds like a lot of work! Haha! I like to wake up a little later during my holidays : )
levian, yes being isolated does have its benefits : )
xin, really? Glad you like them! Yes, you must go there - just make sure bring along some food cos the food sucks over there! : )
reanaclaire, thanks for the compliment! I give my camera 100% credit for that! Yes, the desserts definitely not up to my standard, I think if you were there, you will surely agree with me especially when you have tasted so many yummy food in Ipoh! : )
khengsiong, I can spend more than 3 days there actually! But it's only a weekend 3D/2N trip : )
borneo falcon, haha! You will know about what we ate for the next two days in my future posts, so stay tuned ; )
kenwooi,thanks! Yes, food is expensive but I already expected that since this is a 4 star resort. It's OK if the food is expensive, what is not OK is the quality of the food.
cloudia, thanks. I love Hawaii!! : )
shingo T, yes the scenery was beautiful! But don't let the lousy food deter you from going there! : )
gabriel, yes if you go there, you are advised to bring some food of your own. Maggi mee? Good idea! : )
happysurfer, well it could be a combination of low occupancy and my high "city-folk" expectations, haha!
But seriously, they need to improve on that! Yes, if they can operate like Club Med, my holidays there would be perfect!! : )
Yes waking up early is a downside to holidays, but like you said, nothing's perfect. Well, we actually woke up later on the 3rd day. My friend insisted on that, haha!
Thanks for the compliments! Glad you like the photos. I'm gonna give full credit to my LX3 camera! : )
Aiyah! How to survive if no good food?
Maybe if I go there, should bring lots and lots of cup noodle. LOL
It has all the making of a nice honeymoon getaway dont you think so? The sun setting.. nice place.. but then... food is not too good.. hahahaha.. but who cares? If I'm on my honeymoon.. I wont bother much bout the FOOD! :P
tat salad on ur plate really looked bad haahaha maybe u shud arrange it according to color, perhaps they could taste better tat way? hahahah
No one seems to be there at all? We are the other visitors? :p
Yeah! You are right bro. From the picture it did look more like the seashore than a lake. :p By the way, this photo is beautifully snapped. :p
Looking at your photos, I can sort of feel the ambiance too. Very relaxed and soothing. :D Serene and no annoying human being at sight. :p
Ok! We get it. So before we go to the lake, we need get ourselves cover with all those weird-smelling mosquito repellent thingy. :p
You guys are being oppressed! Not only you guys were deprived of restaurant options, you guts were served horrible food.
You know what? At first I thought I wanna go there, but now I have second thought after knowing about the foods there. :(
What? RM45? I only pay RM25 for Seoul Garden delicious buffet. :p And you need to pay Rm45 for each dinner? Damn kesian. :(
Yeah the presentation was OK not bad. So the cantonese saying "hoe tai hm ho hoe sik" (looks good but taste lousy). You have sophisticated taste buds bro.
lina, haha, actually their breakfast was not too bad! Will post about that soon.
Yes, if you go there, do bring your own food and lots of cup noodles! : )
merryn, maybe you should go there for your second honeymoon? Oh, do bring Ethan along - I'm sure he'll enjoy it! : )
manglish, I think no matter how I arrange it, it would still taste lousy! Haha!
tekkaus, there are, but I am avoiding humans in my photo as much as possible. They spoil the scenery, haha!
Yes, make sure you bring some mosquito repellent if you happen to look juicy to mosquitoes!
Oh, don't let the lousy food deter you from going! You can always bring your own food and start your own picnic like in Farmville. Haha! And the breakfast at Kenyir Resort was not too bad!
cheahs@n, yes, looks good but taste lousy is the exact description for it! No I don't have sophisticated taste bud, just normal only lah ; )
Breakfast comes with the room right? So eat breakfast until really full so not so kesian when eating maggi for dinner afterwards. LOL
BTW, I always bring cup noodles whenever we check-in to any hotel. In case got hungry at night and don't want to waste money ordering room service. :D
lina, yes breakfast comes with the room. Haha, yeah can eat maggi mee for dinner. I never bring cup noodles for travel cos always try to travel light. Hmm, might consider it next time. But for Kenyir, definitely a must! : )
I love the cobalt sky.
You should have took the salad picture. We want to see how horrible. I'm curious as to what are the ingredients they use for the salad.
Ok, mosquitos didn't cross my mind until you mentioned it. My cousin vacationed in China for three months and came back with horrible, horrible, and big mosquito bites mainly on her legs. She said she thought she was gonna die. Her brothers were fine. I guess it's true that mosquitos are attracted to certain human scent. Kenyir in Malaysia? Nice. Now I know. The food looks good from your pixes..hmmm..maybe not your kind of food.
FOod not good? Then their presentation can really fool anyone! They presented everything so nice.
I am so picky when it comes to other foods, quite meticulous coz I love to cook and I would pay good for a nice tasty dish. It should be worth the price and I'm fine!
good morning to you foong!
Such a very nice place to relax! So what did you have for the next meals on two days?
About my blog, yeah, I'm trying my very best now to update my blogs a little more often. Not good to be lazy eh!
Happy Thursday to you, Foongpc!
The scenery looks good. I'm sure the bird watching will be delightful. The food thing could be a problem, though.
Haha, here are you complaining about the food again! I hope I had brought you for some good foods in Guilin last year.
BTW, I never knew Foong does sing! Okay, we go for karaoke in our next travel!
Lovely place. Wish to go there someday. But food is a major problem for me. Read vegetarian! Probably will have to pack something or rely on fruits. But I guess it's the adventure that counts.
Oh? This resort does not have other places to eat except in the resort itself? what a shame. I don't mind paying RM45 if the food is good. But since you said it's not up to your standard, then it will be a ripoff then huh?
Poor thing! I know how it feels to have to eat substandard food when you're paying so much! I'm curious to know what's your menu for the next day :P And the sunset view of the lake is amazing!
I got a feeling Noch less is in tat lake.
they should do something abt the food. it is so easy. just get the right staff or send them for training .hopefully somebody there reads yr blog
hihihi... you will get what you have paid!! unless it's the 5star hotel restaurant.... erm i love sweet stuff but dont really like those from hotel restaurant... anyway kenyir is a nice place to go... actually malaysia still have plenty of awesome places to explore... bring me along next time ok?
Really lovely photos.
RM5 buffet? Too cheap right? But I really cannot have a good holiday if the food is that bad. Poor you.
hugs,
shakira
Fong,
I am going to Tasik Kenyir in 10th Feb. Could you tell me more about the food?? What did do to avoid paying for those horrible dinners?? Or any good advise on that?
email me at monfsts@yahoo.com
Hope to hear from you soon.
Simon
i'd love to take a stroll around the lake. i could feel the sense of calm the serenity.
che-cheh, that's the picture of the salad! Can you see the ingredients?
rose belle, really that bad? Well, it's not bad in Kenyir. You can always use mosquito repellent to protect yourself from mosquito bites. The food may look good, but they taste horrible! : )
ayie, yes the presentation was nice right? Definitely fooled me! Haha!
beng gee, next two meals? Hehe, will post about that!
Good thing you are going to update your blogs and not be lazy. Keep it up! : )
C.E. Webster, yes the food was a problem! Thanks for dropping by! : )
jam, haha! Yes, I complain if things are not up to my standard. About Guilin, I think the food were OK for the most part : )
You don't know I sing? Of course I do! Yes, let's go karaoke next time we travel! : )
asha letha, oh you are a vegetarian? That's gonna be quite a problem when you travel! : )
ai shiang, I don't mind paying if the food is good too, but unfortunately it wasn't.
iamthewitch, will post about what we ate next day soon : )
kelvin, Loch Ness? Haha! There's no sightings of Loch Ness in Malaysia so far! LOL!
bengbeng, yes it's actually so easy, yet they are not doing it!
fufu, it's a 4-star resort but the food is definitely not 4-star! : )
Definitely will bring you along when you come back in what, 2 years time? : )
shakira choong, thanks! It's RM45, not RM5 buffet!! For me, I can easily adapt, so lousy food will not spoil my holiday too badly : )
anonymous aka simon, have emailed you : )
life ramblings, yes, me too! : )
Kenyir Lake is the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia. ... Kenyir Lake is also home to numerous species of freshwater fishes and exotic wildlife. ...
expensive and not worth it!!!
hanging lamps, yes indeed! : )
faisal, definitely not worth it! : )