>> 5,000 feet up, the fertile Cameron Highlands are known for its tea and vegetable farms.

This is the green carpet of Malaysia.

Each day, 8 million cups of tea are consumed in Malaysia.

Much of that came from the BOH Tea Plantation.

For over 80 years, this has been Malaysia's favorite teapot.

8 million cups of tea.

Make that 8,000,001, next on "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

♪ ♪ ♪ >> "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ >> In Malaysia, those who seek a cooler climate don't have to go east, west, north, or south.

Just go up, up to the Cameron Highlands.

The average temperature around here is a comfortable 10 to 25 degrees Celsius -- extremely pleasant.

♪ This place has a unique ecosystem.

It is home to hundreds of rare species of flora and fauna.

The humid weather and fertile soil make this an ideal place for tea and vegetable cultivation.

Today the farms up here feed most of Malaysia, and the BOH Tea Plantation has been filling the teacups of the country for eight decades.

I'm so happy to be invited to the BOH Tea Center.

Mr. Parthi, thank you for having me.

>> Welcome, welcome.

BOH is, in total, producing about 4 million kilos of tea a year, which is about 5.5 million cups a day.

But our consumption in Malaysia is almost 8 million cups a day.

>> Yeah, and, also, I know that there's generation after generation of people, employees, working for BOH Tea Plantation.

They work here, their father, their grandfather.

I'm curious.

What brings you back to work in the tea plantation?

>> After finishing my education here, I went for my higher education in the city, and in the city there, got a job there.

But my heart was always back in Cameron Highlands, so that's when I turned back to Cameron Highlands.

I worked in the tour industry before I got an opportunity to join BOH, and I grabbed it.

>> So, that means just like you, your family, you worked on this plantation for three generations.

That's from the very beginning.

>> From the beginning.

We have worked with all the three owners of the plantation.

>> Wow.

Congratulations.

And that's the reason why it is tradition and the continuation of hard work make this BOH tea such a great classic tea.

>> Definitely.

Definitely.

♪ ♪ >> Hello, sir.

Have a nice dessert.

>> Oh, thank you.

This is so beautiful, so colorful.

>> We call this "kesari."

>> Yeah.

I understand your whole family -- your father, you, your wife, everybody -- work here at the BOH Plantation.

>> Yes.

>> And tell me why.

>> BOH Plantation is a good company.

We like the environment.

Very easy life.

No disturbance.

>> Yeah?

No stress?

No pressure?

So, how long have you worked in this plantation?

>> I work there 32 years.

>> 32 years?!

Wow!

Wow!

Congratulations.

I am truly honored to be invited into your family and also have such a wonderful spiritual experience today.

>> Actually, you're a very, very lucky person because this ceremony comes only every 12 years.

>> 12 years?

>> And we call this Maha Kumbhabhishekam.

"Kumbha" means the golden crown.

They put it at the top of the temple, and "Abhishekam" is we spray some holy water to the devotes and get some blessings from the gods.

>> What are these traditional, ah, sweets?

>> Okay.

So, today I made -- This is called "kesari."

>> Kesari.

>> Kesari.

>> What is it made from?

>> We made from the flour of the rawa.

>> Look how beautiful.

So colorful.

>> So, you can have one.

>> And I'm going to have one.

>> Yeah.

You try it.

>> I like the texture.

It's kind of like a cake.

Look.

It's yellow.

Yeah, it's nice and bouncy.

Beautiful.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Mmm.

I like the texture.

I like it.

It's not too sweet.

>> Yeah.

>> It's nice and smooth.

>> Smooth.

>> I can taste the nuts.

>> Yeah.

We have to put it in the freezer for half an hour.

>> Oh, for half an hour?

So it's like a jello.

>> Like a jello.

>> So, not only thank you, vanakkam.

>> Vanakkam.

>> Vanakkam.

Many of the plantation workers are originally from South India.

Their forefathers settled here several generations ago and formed their own community, maintaining much of their cultural heritage.

♪ [ All singing in native language ] >> [ Speaking native language ] >> The Indian community up here is observant of all their festivals and tradition.

It might be too far from big city, but they're never too far from honoring their heritage.

♪ The origin of tea plantations on the Malay Peninsula might have been British, but the success that followed had plenty of Malay and Indian sweat and hard labor behind it.

Tea was an important link, along with rubber plantations and tin mines, in the British colonial history.

This soup that I make today is a perfect example of European and British colonial influence with a Malaysian twist, and this is going to be wonderful, and I welcome you both, Kelly and Carlos.

I'm going to do a very, very interesting dish called "mulligatawny," essentially a pepper soup.

There's a lot of interesting ingredients with little Malay and Indian twists.

But first what I want to do is cut up a few things.

And this onion -- I'm going to dice the onion.

One, okay?

Like this.

And then two and then three.

Look at this... all together, and that's enough.

So, this is diced onion.

We'll make a roux out of this.

And then I also dice the carrot into little dice like this, because I want this soup to be really good, so everything has to be diced.

One, two, three slices, like this.

You see this?

And that's all we need.

Slice it up.

Save time.

Do it all together.

One, two, and three.

And then you line them all up, and you go one, two, three.

Okay?

And then you put it all together like this.

And then celery.

Now, how can you do celery?

You butterfly this a little bit.

See this?

Okay.

And then this one, you go one, then two, and three.

One.

Stack them all up.

Put it all together.

One.

Okay?

Set it aside.

And now we have all of these cut up, all of these vegetables, all cut up already.

And I put them all together right here, okay?

In the meantime, we're going to show you how to make the roux.

First, we have butter.

Okay?

Melt your butter.

And then cook... a tiny bit of the carrot, celery, a tiny bit of this, until... it's softened.

Cook a little bit longer.

In the meantime... we're going to show you how to mince the chicken.

Here is a piece of chicken.

The first thing you can do is butterfly this first... into thin slices.

And I do it again.

Butterfly.

I want to show you the easiest way to do it.

See?

Once again.

Now everybody at home can do it.

I always said, "If Yan can cut, so can you."

>> [ Laughs ] >> "If Yan cannot, don't even try."

[ Laughter ] Nice and thin slices.

After that, I go one.

You cut it into strips.

Strips -- you downward, forward.

Now look at this.

You have long strips of this, see?

And then I cut up this.

One, two, three, four, five.

This is the easiest way.

Now, normally, you have one knife.

You do it with one knife.

You have two knives, you go like this.

Actually, you can turn on the music and dance at the same time.

Now, when this is all nice and done, this is right here, okay?

Now this is nice and soft.

Put a tiny bit of flour and make a little roux.

Okay?

And then now... after this is all nice and ready, nice and beautiful -- Mmm!

Smells so good.

The next thing we'll do is some broth.

This is the broth.

We'll put the broth on here to make a soup, right?

This is the broth.

Use chicken broth.

Hot.

[ Sizzling ] Oh, beautiful.

Look at the color.

Okay.

The roux -- look at this.

Nice.

Nice.

Beautiful.

We'll make approximately 3 1/2 to 4 cups so we can serve.

When this is nice and ready, I marinate the chicken with a tiny, tiny bit of... salt and pepper, okay?

Very, very good.

And then we'll put it in and stir in the chicken.

Oh, beautiful.

And then I'm going to stir into it now this mashed little potato, cooked potato.

I'm also putting in a lot of them.

So, this will also thicken the dish.

And then you want to put a tiny bit of crushed chili.

Now, this is influenced from the Indians in the Malay.

Crushed chili, turmeric -- oh!

-- and also curry powder.

Indian.

1/2 teaspoon of salt.

And this is going to be so good.

When this is done, I put in some cilantro, okay?

So nice color contrast.

And the soup is beautiful -- nice and smooth.

And a tiny bit of extra pepper if you want and a tiny bit of extra red pepper.

And then we will serve.

This is so good.

And then sprinkle chili on top, extra cilantro, tiny bit of rice right in the middle... and a tiny bit of extra cilantro on the side... and then some fried shallot on the side.

You have a wonderful mulligatawny.

Actually, this is something everybody can do at home.

And then I will taste a little bit, too.

Mmm.

Delicious.

There you have it -- a bowl of colonial history served piping hot.

Enjoy.

>> Mmm.

♪ >> A typical Tudor mansion in the heart of England.

Right?

Guess again.

This is the famous Smokehouse boutique hotel in the heart of Cameron Highlands.

Built in 1937, many locals regard this Tudor the most famous beauty in the Highlands.

It is certainly the most noticeable.

What began as an enclave for homesick Brits has endured.

The current owner is determined to maintain an authentic colonial feel to this place.

From the traditional full English breakfast to high tea in the afternoon, this will forever be a slice of Britannia in tropical Malaysia.

The very first owner of this hotel had a very interesting European-only policy that would have excluded Australians as well as Americans to be served here.

Back then, the only way for anyone else to get in the hotel is through the kitchen door.

Being a chef, I could have gotten in, even in those days.

But lucky for us, time has changed.

Now we have a new owner and a new policy.

Now everybody is welcome.

Thank you so much, Alex.

>> Thank you.

>> I'm just curious.

Did you grow up around here?

>> Actually close to it.

My father acquired this hotel one year before I was born, and for the entire duration of my childhood, although I grew up in Kuala Lumpur, we actually came up almost every single weekend, so I sort of grew up in the gardens and within this building myself.

And that was how the entire family atmosphere of the Smokehouse became real for me.

>> I know that as you grew up, you actually went to Europe to study, to work.

What brings you back to this wonderful property?

>> So, unfortunately, my father passed away a few years ago.

And when the four of us brothers and sisters came together to discuss what to do with this property, one thing came across very, very clearly to all of us, which was that my father always wanted this to be his legacy for us.

Being Chinese, I guess, or being Asian, we felt this need or this urgency to really keep that legacy going.

And so we had a discussion what to do with it, and it was decided I'll come back from overseas and really just run it as much as we can and just keep it faithful to my father's vision for the place.

>> Wow.

Lucky for us.

Lucky for all the guests.

And what I saw is something that truly impressed me, amazed me, because you have a lot of European antiques and artifacts, and many of them, seems to me, are true antiques.

>> Thank you.

Well, actually, that's something we're very, very proud of.

As a family, we're collectors, and that really came from my father.

Nothing in the hotel is actually bought locally.

It's either imported antiques, custom-made furniture, or we go on our buying trips every year, and we actually get antiques and trinkets and that kind of thing.

A big part of it is to keep it personal.

This means that we have 25 rooms, but all 25 rooms are entirely different from each other.

So, sitting next to old British antiques or brasswork or copperwork, you'll see some beautiful Dutch ceramics from Delft.

You'll also see a French clock, for example, which dates back to Louis XIV time, which is about 300 years old.

We actually keep a very wide range of stuff in the hotel.

We try to keep it interesting for our guests.

This room really shows you what the architecture in this building is about.

What you see which is black here are actual wooden beams holding the building up.

>> These are original beams?

>> These are original beams, and these have been here holding the building up since 1937.

>> Wow.

>> This means that it's genuine Tudor architecture, but it is mock because it was built in the 20th century.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> The next time you want a true getaway, call me.

I can show you a place as far and remote from civilization as you can ever imagine.

♪ [ Breathing heavily ] ♪ After the off-road adventure, I'm almost there -- just 400 meters straight up a hill.

Oh, did I forget to mention that this place is up the tree?

I'm spending the night in the treehouse.

"Survivor: Malaysia," eat your hearts out.

This place is so rugged, the owner refused to pave the road.

"It is all part of nature," he said.

"No heavy construction equipment and no earth-movers in here.

They would disturb the environment."

♪ No TV, no Wi-Fi, not a single luxury.

Oh, bring your own toilet paper unless you enjoy the feel of leaves.

[ Chuckles ] Just joking.

This place is totally organic and ecological.

♪ By looking at this, you can tell that we are in the wild.

Actually, I am in the heart of the rainforest in the Cameron Highlands.

With me is my dear friend... Rachel.

>> Hi.

>> How are you, Rachel?

>> Great.

>> Now, I know that all of these are materials -- this whole thing is from this rainforest.

>> Yes, exactly.

>> And this is a very unique experience for me, because I have never cooked in a treehouse kitchen before.

Today we actually harvested the cabbage right here.

This is what we harvested right here, okay, with Mr. Ng.

In the meantime, we have also boiled some water.

We're going to make soup.

We're going to cut up some ginger... and we'll put some ginger right over here.

Now here I'm going to put this spinach, which I trimmed the root off -- let's put it all over here.

Purple spinach.

And then, also, I have some tomatoes.

Slice it and I put it right here, also.

>> Okay.

All in?

>> Yeah.

All really healthy, vegetarian.

This is good.

No meat, okay?

So, I pick this up.

All we need is two.

Let us beat this up, and we'll make an egg flower drop.

>> Okay.

>> Going to also put some goji berry.

This is goji berry right here.

And I put it in.

This is very popular among the Chinese.

And then, for flavor, I'm going to put some chili 'cause I love that spiciness.

I crush this a little bit.

I cut this up, okay?

Chili.

And then, highland lemongrass.

Is a little bit skinnier, but it's more intense flavor.

Let me check it out.

And I chop this up and put a couple of these, and I want to give the natural taste of lemongrass.

So, this is it.

Very simple.

Tiny bit of salt.

Just sprinkle a tiny bit of pepper.

Everybody thinks, "Wow, this is colorful."

Now, Rachel, we just finished the soup, and then now, of course, we picked up the cabbage today, and I cut this up, cut this up, cut this up.

I understand -- Mr. Ng told me -- this is very sweet.

Put the cabbage here.

Carrot's so beautiful.

After you wash it, you don't even want to peel it.

Cut, cut, cut.

Okay?

Ginger, thinly sliced.

Shallot.

Rachel, I understand that you changed your career, so what did you do before?

Why did you change your career?

>> Mm, I was a project manager, indeed.

Yeah.

And I love nature.

I love mountains, you know, and jungles, and this is my choice.

I choose how I want to live.

>> Oh, that's good.

Me, too.

I choose to be a chef.

I love it.

In this area of Malaysia, everybody loves the chili.

This is Malaysia.

Everybody uses the Malaysian palm oil.

And then use a tiny bit of oil and then put all these aromatics right in here.

Let it stir.

Very nice.

Carrot first, 'cause carrot takes a little longer to cook than cabbage.

You don't want to overcook the cabbage, okay?

You'll use the minimum ingredients, minimum seasoning, and you'll have the maximum result.

When this is nice and done, we'll put the cabbage right here.

I'm going to put a tiny, tiny bit of vinegar.

Ohh.

Give it a little kick.

Tiny bit of soy.

Everybody here loves soy.

Beautiful.

So, let's put it over here.

Let's just show you a simple dish.

And get a chopstick.

Let's immediately taste it.

Taste it.

Just taste the cabbage, and then I'll taste the carrot.

Mmm.

Nice and sweet.

You have inspired me.

Passion to live their own life is admirable.

A lot of people don't have the courage, don't have the guts, to change.

[ Clicks tongue ] Learn something from Rachel.

I'm learning from you.

Thank you very much, Rachel.

♪ It takes a place like this to remind us that man and nature are one and we really need to do a better job taking care of each other so Mother Nature will continue to nurture us with the very best.

Join me next time for more "Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan."

Goodbye.

>> You can visit our website to learn more about Martin and his travels, get information about upcoming events, find and print selected recipes, provide e-mail feedback, and more.

It's all at yancancook.com.

"Taste of Malaysia with Martin Yan" is brought to you by... >> ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ >> Circulon cookware.

Circles for life.

>> Monogram.

A full line of professional appliances designed for food and entertaining enthusiasts.

♪ ♪ By Melissa's.

The freshest ideas in produce.

By Granite Expo.

Offering a wide selection of cabinet and countertop solutions.

And by B&G Group of Malaysia.

♪ Building Malaysia's tomorrow.

♪ ♪ ♪