Restoran Ferm Nyonya

For the first evening in Cameron Highlands, my original plan was to visit Centrum Mall and grab dinner there but after finishing our check-ins, we decided to just grab dinner near our hotel

Located just a 5-minute walk from our hotel, the restaurant was quite crowded and popular with locals and tourists. We were deciding between Old Town Coffee and this restaurant but the crowds lured us over and we decided to give it a try

With 2 shop units, the restaurant can serve quite a number of tables and most of their tables get filled up by 7 p.m. as they also cater to tourist groups which usually take up 3 to 5 tables at one go. While they also serve hotpot, we decided to order a la carte Nonya dishes since this is a Nonya restaurant

Really love the menu as the cover is designed like the traditional batik fabric and it really gives the Nyonya kebaya feeling

We ordered quite a number of dishes as they were not too expensive. The sambal kangkong was filled with the fragrance of the sambal and dried shrimp and not too spicy although some of my travelling group found it on the salty side. The specially homemade beancurd with mushroom sauce was also great for rice as the savoury sauce accompanied the smooth beancurd well. The salted egg squid was well fried and coated heavily with salted egg sauce which was slightly heavy for me even though the flavours were still delicious. Some of the squid was also slightly tough to bite

As we were in a Nonya restaurant, it was impossible not to order some of the popular dishes like the pineapple prawn curry ( Udang masak lemak nanas ), ayam rendang and assam fish head curry. We had a Nonya auntie in my travelling group so she was able to accurately review the dishes. The prawn curry was nice but lacking in the sourish flavours. The sweetness of the pineapple also did not infuse into the gravy. The chicken rendang was decent and the meat was tender and well-flavoured. The Assam fish head was disappointing as it tasted exactly like the prawn curry which is not supposed to be the flavour of Assam fish head curry. The fish head was also chopped up into small pieces so it was extremely difficult to eat without getting a bone in every bite

Overall, some of the dishes at Ferm were a hit and miss while some were decent enough for a good meal. The prices were also quite pocket-friendly as we ordered many dishes but the total was less than MYR 150. We saw other tables having the curry fish head which looks much better than the Assam one we ordered. The service was extremely friendly and prompt and they made sure to push the kitchen to serve all the dishes at the same time. If you crave something other than a steamboat, this is a choice to consider

Address: 78A-D, Persiaran Camelia 4, Tanah Rata, 39000 Tanah Rata, Pahang, Malaysia

Opening hours: 11 am to 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm