Dining at the Cameron Highlands Resort
After a thorough browse around the boutique we decided to head off to the Gonbei Japanese Restaurant one level above us. 
The Gonbei is the twin of the renowned Gonbei Restaurant at the Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, home to many of the most luxurious brands in the world. Serving fresh sashimi, soba, tasty tempura and popular bento sets.
The Gonbei is the only Japanese restaurant in the Cameron Highlands, it’s open dining concept also features a Sake Bar with a range of traditional Japanese rice wines and Japanese whiskeys as well as pre and after dinner drinks.
We ate here only once, which is not indicative of the quality of food or the environment, but purely due to the choice of dining options on offer at the Cameron Highlands Resort. I will be the first to admit that my knowledge of Japanese Cuisine is mainly concentrated around Sushi, so when presented with a dazzling array of fresh fish, vegetables, noodles and meats all laid out buffet style, a cornucopia of flavours and colours I do feel a little out of my depth.
Luckily for me, the Japanese Chef quickly noticed my plight and politely asked what type of food I enjoyed eating before telling me to sit down, relax and leave it up to him to prepare. And that is exactly what he did, bringing out beautiful well constructed plates of seafood in light delicate batter, crisp vegetables and meat dishes that were all heartily consumed with a big smile on my face, subsequent handshake and personal thanks to the Chefs.
While we are on the subject of food, it would be amiss of me not to discuss in some detail the main Dining Room at Cameron Highlands Resort. Dining within a luxury resort is always one of the great highlights for me, especially when it has been sympathetically furnished in keeping with the rest of the resorts character. The dining room at the Cameron Highlands Resort is the type of place that makes me want to dress up for dinner, from the time you are greeted by the smart waiting staff to the time you leave it’s a memorable experience. If you decide to eat at the Dining rooom during daylight hours the vista windows will provide you with relaxing views over the golf course towards the surrounding hills.
Whether you are having breakfast, lunch or dinner you can enjoy the freshest ingredients from the nearby farms. A selection of fruits, pastries, cereal, yoghurt, eggs, waffles and pancakes together with the chef’s local specialities are also available. Appetisers, soups, grilled items with a local twist and local dishes as well as sinful desserts are all available whenever you are feeling hungry. But for us, it’s the evening dinner where the magic starts, at dusk, the trees outside light up with thousands of twinkling golden coloured lights providing a mystical feeling to your dining experience, efficient and polite waiters monitor from a distance anticipating your every need.
Our most memorable meal within the dining room was prepared as a special surprise, Chef Ganesh had taken the wonderful liberty of researching my favourite dishes preparing a huge Beef Wellington, (usually 24 hours notice is required for this dish). After some Moorish appetisers the Beef Wellington was wheeled in by Chef Ganesh, and the first thing to notice is the size, it was the size of a Tortoise!
With a huge beaming smile, Chef Ganesh proceeded to carve the Beef Wellington in front of us and plate up with a varied accompaniment of vegetables. The end product was a beautifully moist and tender Beef Wellington encased within a rough pastry exterior that all blended together to make each mouthful a distinct pleasure. Normally I eat with some decorum, however due to the great flavour and quantity I found myself nodding at my wife with puffed out cheeks filled with food much to her amusement. Chef Ganesh did a fantastic job with this dish and we were honoured to find out that it was the last Beef Wellington cooked by him at the Cameron Highlands Resort before his transfer a day later to another of YTL’s luxury properties in St Tropez.
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Photographs shown throughout the Cameron Highlands Resort feature were taken using the new Sony 24.3MP SLT-A77 the World’s fastest* camera with record-breaking 12fps continuous shooting speed. You can read more about the Sony / Luxurious Magazine partnership on the About us page.
*Among interchangeable-lens cameras with an APS-C sensor as of August 2011.
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