Built from 1966-70, this mock Tudor hotel and restaurant was the brain child of a retired British Colonel. It’s in Cameron Highlands, just outside the small town of Ringlet, the first sizeable settlement as you come into the area from the North-South highway. It sits above an artificial lake created by damming the river Kinta, at 1084m above sea level.
The decor of the restaurant and bar is that of a rural British pub, which was quite fun for me. It’s been a while since I saw horse brasses hanging on a fireplace! There are also lots of old phones, typewriters and gramophones, plus woodcuts of famous Brits such as Sir Kenelm Digby, Henry Stafford, and John Fisher. No, me neither.* Staff were very friendly.
I had the only vegetarian dish on the menu, the pizza margherita. This was described as very thin and lived up to it. It was perhaps a little soft but had a nice stringy cheese and a slightly garlicky tomato sauce. I was content.
Fish and chips was served with salad, ketchup and tartare sauce. This sauce was ok, though it reminded me of sandwich spread (wife was not impressed!). There were two chunks of fish, which were breaded rather than battered, and they went down well. Thin chips were fine.
Chicken wings were lightly spiced and neither exciting or excruciating, I’m told, though they seemed to make a good sharing dish.
Char kuey teow with chicken wasn’t bad, according to wife, and was a decent sized portion.
Grilled chicken with pepper sauce and Norwegian salmon both came with roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. In-laws preferred the salmon which was thickly filleted and had a light sauce; the chicken was a bit tough and gristly.
Food, atmosphere and service were pretty good overall, but the price is high as well. It cost RM345 for the 5 meals and four soft drinks. However, when you add in the view, it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the Cameron Highlands.
*Sir Kenelm Digby, it turns out, was the son of a Gunpowder Plotter, who became a privateer and then a public servant. John Fisher was Bishop of Rochester and Chancellor of Cambridge University, who was sainted after his execution by Henry VIII for refusing to accept the Reformation. Henry Stafford was the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, who might have murdered the ‘princes in the tower’, and was killed by Richard III subsequently for rebelling against him. I should really read more history.
Address: 30th Milestone, Jalan Tapah-Cameron Highlands, Ringlet, 39200 Cameron Highlands, Pahang
Telephone: 054956152
Website: https://lakehouse-cameron.com/restaurant/the-restaurant
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