Weekend At the Lakehouse

ASK for a glass of teh tarik at the Lakehouse in Ringlet, Cameron Highlands, and you might well be told to go dip your cup in the lake across the road from the hotel.
Indeed, the muddied Sultan Abu Bakar Lake does look like a gigantic cuppa teh susu. Land clearing by farmers and uncontrolled development have caused the rivers that flow into the lake to be heavily silted.
It's hardly surprising then that the Sultan Abu Bakar Lake no longer attracts people enough to stay at the Lakehouse; which is, ironically, located in an area called "The Valley of Eternal Spring", about 1,000m above sea level.
It was once a popular picnic spot and we couldn't spot very many visitors sitting by the lake during our weekend stay there.
To us, the Tudor-style country house with landscaped green terraces sitting atop a hill overlooking the lake felt like "home away from home".
The staff were extremely friendly and the food exceptional – the freshly-baked scones with strawberry jam and cream, and English tea were to-die-for. It was no surprise to find walk-in customers asking for just that!
The 31-year-old hotel has only 18 rooms - 11 deluxe rooms, three junior suites, three family suites and one honeymoon suite - making it a cosy, quiet escape.
It may be a cliche, but here, the song “Everybody Knows Your Name" (from sitcom Cheers) does apply and though there was no Sam Malone behind the bar, we found Gary Dickman at the reception counter.
"I've been here only a few weeks and everybody already knows who I am," he said, explaining that he was standing in for the hotel's general manager Krishna Badhur who was on a short overseas posting.
He personally showed us to our room; a family suite with three beds, one of which was a four-poster bed. The windows opened out to the lake but, unfortunately, it was not a happy sight.
We had a full-day outdoor programme when we were at Cameron Highlands, and returned to the Lakehouse late in the evening just in time for dinner.
We had driven up to Tanah Rata and Gunung Brinchang to check out the touristy places, especially those that attract local tourists by the busload.
The next day before we set out to continue with our tour, we were actually asked what we would like for dinner that night. We've stayed at many places before but this was the first time we were asked what we would like for dinner right after finishing breakfast.
Dickman could either guess that we would be too tired to eat out or he really wanted us to try the hotel's roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
"Go on. Have a good time. Kali will take good care of you. We'll see you tonight," he said as he ushered us into the Land Rover and waved us goodbye.
He had arranged a tour for us with Camping Holidays (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd's nature guide K. Kali. "Tell Kali what you want to do and he will see that you'll get to do it," he added.
Indeed, we stayed out the whole day. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted and actually grateful that we had pre-ordered our dinner.
Seeing our tired faces, Dickman asked if we preferred to have our dinner served in the room instead. "Got room service, ah?" Photographer May exclaimed. We decided against being "anti-social" and after a hot bath and feeling very much refreshed, we trooped down to the dining room.
After dinner, we sat in front of the fireplace (yes, a real fireplace!) in the lounge with cups of hot chocolate and cappuccino, only wishing that we had brought marshmallows to toast - all heavenly for a chilly night like this.
Kicking off our shoes and sitting cross-legged with scattered cushions all around us, we felt truly at home. "Do what you want," Dickman said while he entertained some friends at the patio.
We settled for gin rummy, making a whole lot of noise teaching Dickman's son, Aaron, how to play the card game while the other guests were nursing their after-dinner drinks and reading magazines and books.
In the games room next door, board games were available along with a pool table while the soccer-mad adults were glued to the television set to catch their teams in action.
We turned in quite late despite being tired. As the last embers of the fireplace faded, we hoped to return to the Lakehouse (and to a clearer lake) with the same friendly staff and continental fare.