What you like to do during the public holiday or weekend?
Currently Singapore and Malaysia have opened up the land and air transportation to connect each other. We can easily travel though causeway daily. I saw someone posted in Facebook who visited a unique café which is located Gunung Pulai Nature Reserve in Johor, Malaysia. The nature environment attracted me much to pay a visit during the weekend while I can take a break for relaxing my mind.
The café is called “Rainforest Tree House” which is only 1 hour driving distance from second link Singapore-Malaysia custom.
Once I reached the entrance of the Rainforest Tree House, we were driving too far only realize we missed the entrance. Perhaps there are no proper car park were provided for this Tree House Cafe. The visitor’s cars parked all over the roadside.
I like the architectural design of the main entrance with Attap shelther that bring the sense of kampong and nostalgia. But I think the main entrance can be improved as it was over grown with existing planting, and the signboard was not clear enough to make attention for arrival.
The site has great natural resources, rich in biodiversity and ecosystem. The owner of café maintain the existing site condition by preserved and tried not to cut the trees down.
The nature rainforest hillside view is eye-catching when I first stepped in from the main entrance of the tree house. The existing nature rocks and borders are rearranged as staircase to lead the visitors to walk inside the tree house compound.
The visitors can make online booking before visiting. Because of Covid-19 pandemic, the owner limit the numbers of visitors. We had booked earlier for café seating before our visiting. Luckily we were notified that our booking seat at second storey that on top of tree house compound. A great place for viewing while enjoy the meals.
The kitchen was just next to our booking seat. It was constructed by wooden and metal materials, the rooftop seems over grown with existing planting from surrounding forest. Most of the existing trees were kept to reduce existing tree removal during construction of the tree houses.
The cute and lovely kitty seems like just woke up when you arrived. I could feel the warm heart of owner who prepared the carpet for kitty which same color with its fur :)))
The view from our seating to another tree house café unit. We were blessed as ours seating were the highest level in the tree house café.
Their café service was quite slow and we had waited quite long for our food to be served. We ordered green tea lattes and Italian coffee. The Italian coffee was not nice and high price, not recommended.
The stunning view of the rainforest is the key attraction for this place. I love the nature greenery views and ecological balance environment. I can take a deep breath over here and peace my mind.
Actually that day when we visited the cafe was less customer. But we got a long wait for our food to deliver. The 1st dish we ordered was Cheese Baked Tomato Lasagne. It was taste average.
Another dish was Egg Benedict w/wood-fried toast with Smoked Salmon fish. Tasty but the portion was small with high price.
The last dish was garlic bread and mushroom soup were nice and tasty. Especially the soup was thick and rich with mushrooms.
There are some chalets were built at the forest hillside. All nature material, timber, bamboos, ropes and especially the Attap roof structure which create the sense of primitive and original of nature environment of forest hillside.
The extension of ventilated hanging beds on 2nd floor and 3rd floor is the hot spot for visitors to lied on it and take a nap while waiting for the food to be served. A small slide from 2nd floor link to ground floor is also an attractive play feature for kids.
I think the landscape planting in the Rainforest Tree House Café can be improved by added tropical planting such as different color foliage and broad leaves planting to enhance the aesthetic value of the landscape.
We can hear the insect call within the Rainforest Tree House Café area. It is definitely a nice place to relax our mind and find our inner peace.
Another kitchen at ground floor. The roof is overgrown by existing planting and creepers. I strongly sense that the chefs and staffs were cooking in the forest. The conservation of the original of architecture structure is it attract your attention?
Another kitchen at ground floor had a kiln made from bricks and clay objects. The fresh and tasty bread for this café all made by this kiln. No wonder their toasts and breads are super fresh and tasty.
The Rainforest Tree House has great site potential. It contains primitive topography and nature elements. But I personally feel it can be improved especially their customer service to be more friendly, and also their food quality to be more delicious. As their food price is high and quite costly compared to other cafes and restaurants. To attract the visitors to revisit again, it is not only the existing site potential with nature greenery and ecological environment, the pricing and services of the café should be equal and fair to customers to pay to it.
Really appreciate for those who reading my post.
Thank you so much! :))))
Author: Cherry Ng, Landscape Architect at Freelance Landscape Design
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/fldlandscapedesign
NFT OpenSea collection: Universe Little Monks https://opensea.io/collection/universe-little-monks
NFT OpenSea collection: Our Little Earth https://opensea.io/collection/our-little-earth