THE DINING ROOM Smokehouse Hotel Cameron Highlands - Finest Traditional English Restaurant

As part of the old English theme, to this day The Dining Room at the Smokehouse Hotel Cameron Highlands continues to be a beacon of nostalgia and only serves traditional English-Malaya food in a colonial-era Tudor-style setting, delivering timeless recipes that have captivated many visitors and locals alike and has contrinued to delight palates over generations. mylifestylenews writes.

If you are looking for an authentic colonial influenced English meal while visiting Cameron Highlands, you will definitely not want to miss out by paying a visit to the one and only Smokehouse Hotel, which references the essence of everything that the highlands are known for: mock-Tudor architecture, old style English countryside gardens, English high tea and The Dining Room that serves the finest traditional English food in the highlands.

Beef Wellington, roasts, steaks & grills, stews & pies, fish & chips, rustic home-made soups, puddings, Smokehouse sundaes are among the shared history and old flavours, not forgetting the eponymous English scones and classic locally grown English Breakfast and Ceylon home brand tea and then some, serving the old and all time colonial Malaya favorites for a memorable nostalgia dining experience.

The Dining Room off the main living room and lounge area in the Smokehouse Hotel has remained a nostalgic time capsule for anyone seeking a taste of early 20th-century Colonial Malaya.

The black and white chequered floors sets the mood of the nostalgic ambience evoking the charm that is surrounded by the reminders of the vivid past. exposed dark wood beam ceilings, red candle lamp chandelier and hurricane lamp lighting are well decorated with some chosen landscape paintings, plus the black wood and white stucco walls, a large display of copper cooking pots and kettles on a wall sconce shelf with the centrepiece being the fireplace.

With all the wall decorations and ornamental elements that creates that olde English countryside inn vibe and warm homestead residential mood, it is rare these days for restaurants to use real wax candles that have to be lit upon being seated and we loved the old-school way of protocol especially dining in such a nostalgic thematic restaurant to feel a part of the history.

The dining tables and chairs are in a solid rustic wood style manner and well spaced out into different sections to cater for different group sizes and family get-togethers. The tabletops are adorned with actual candles in a brass candlestick holder with red chequered placemats and well aligned with folded Bishop’s hat white linen napkins that also create a sense of semi-formal yet relaxed dining experience.

The Conservatory - an inner section further inside can be opened up to take in more diners which is also where breakfast is served. Another elevated section which is closer to the kitchen offers a more private and intimate dining experience that can be reserved upon request.

While the menu is quite extensive and staying true to the English classic allure and reflecting the vintage charm, we marvelled at all our favourites and were hard pressed to narrow down the choices of the menu that is enriching the cultural and intellectual resonance of the past. Without us even noticing, large warm fluffy dinner rolls served from a basket and scrolls of butter in a dish was brought to our table even before we began to order our drinks.

<Chicken Liver Pate on Melba Toast>
This was rich, dense and very pungent in flavour. It was served with triangles of toast, a large chunky cornichon, garnished with parsley and reeked of home-made farm-style quality and generous in portion of chicken liver pate on a rectangle white plate. Very well done!

<French Onion Soup>
A very rustic English version of French Onion Soup that was a little on the salty side with chunky caramelized onion and two large slices of melted cheese baguette bread, but missing the intensity of aromatic cheese (if gruyere is used) crust and palette, but still quite tasty nonetheless and needed no seasoning.

<Cream of Mushroom Soup>
 A classic thick, smooth and creamy texture retention that left you wanting more. It was all about the mushrooms that created that aromatic flavour and texture that was served with two golden brown croutons and a drizzle of cream. Simply enjoyable and rustically delicious!

<Beef Wellington>
The finest tenderloin of beef wrapped in the signature mushroom pate, folded into a large size on a thick freshly rolled puff pastry and baked into golden brown in fluffy texture served alongside with large halved roasted potatoes, small portions of blanched white cabbage and string beans. The Beef Wellington portion was beyond our expectations and was simply scrumptious, with decorated flaky pastry, perfectly tender and juicy beef tenderloin inside and just the right amount of layered pate in the pastry to satisfy your craving. This was textbook copy execution and not be bettered. Superb!

<Roast Sirloin of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding>
Another hearty English fare of substantial proportions that was served with lashings of gravy and horseradish. The two huge slices of roast sirloin were equally tender, juicy and easily sliced off, the crispy top outer layer of the Yorkshire Pudding went well with the tasty gravy. The portion challenged our appetite, but we did it proud and hats off to the culinary brigade.

<Creme Brulee>
Beautifully presented with a bed of fresh flowers on the side and a perfectly burnt sugar top on the crème brulee but unfortunately not a dessert to rave about. It was bland and too firm in texture and did not please the palate in our opinion.

<Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce>
This was a very rich, unctuous and not overly sweet chocolate mousse that really hit the spot. The strawberry sauce was enjoyable but the slice orange garnish was unnecessary. It was delightful with every mouthful and a good sweet ending to a delectable dinner.
 

The dinner was enhanced with a well chosen bottle of 2023 North Canterbury New Zealand Mount Brown Estates Pinot Noir for its bouquet of freshness and ripeness scents of raspberry, red cherry and savories spices that touched the palate with a dry silky mouthfeel and light tannins and acidity level in.

The Kitchen team had certainly carried on the legacy of a British-Malaya culinary classic gastronomy by offering sentimental memories of old time classics and repast. The old-school traditions never get too old and so was the service. Our server, Nanang was very attentive and asked for feedback so was the Restaurant Manager, Alan checked in with us after we started our mains which was well timed. We appreciated the warm service with genuine passion and they knew when to step in and when to let us enjoy our food. If their eagle eyes were to focus on refilling by topping up the water and wine glasses, it would be flawless in additional to the already sumptuous classic meal.
 

Tried & Tested:

Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 4.5/5

Food & Beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Value For Money: 4,5/5
Experience: 4.5/5

 

The Dining Room Smokehouse Hotel Cameron Highlands

By the Golfcourse, Tanah Rata, 

Pahang, Malaysia

Tel: +6 05 4911 215

Reviews are based on actual day of visit and experience. mylifestylenews reserves the right of final decision in case of any disputes. All images are photographed by mylifestylenews team without any photoshop enhancement and are the property owned by mylifestylenews unless otherwise stated.