Stunning Surroundings
Chef Lee Choon Boon’s innovative offerings showcase locally-sourced ingredients from The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat’s organic garden
Nestled within an enchanting 260 million-yearold limestone cave is one of Ipoh’s finest dining establishments, Jeff’s Cellar. Housed within The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, the award-winning wine bar and cave restaurant is a natural wonder. Stalactites looming dramatically from above replace chandeliers while rippling water features weave along the footpath approaching the dining room.
An immersive experience like no other, Ipoh native chef Lee Choon Boon masterfully presents Malaysia’s finest produce as modern creations through a rotating tasting menu. Much of the vegetables, herbs and fruits featured are foraged from The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat’s very own organic garden. Other locally-sourced produce that makes an appearance on the menu includes quail from Perak, Bario salt from the highlands of Sarawak, caviar from Tanjung Malim and bee pollen from Perak.
The current ten-course menu is titled Tanah, which fittingly translates into “our land” in Malay. While the menu is undoubtedly innovative, touches of familiarity are present throughout. One of the highlights is Ayam Kampung, a clear consommé crafted from seaweedfed free-range chicken from responsible farm Beacon chicken, served with slow-braised abalone. Ingredients from the resort’s garden are aplenty in the proteinforward dishes of Bunga Kantan Charred Cod and Bentong Ginger Lamb Tenderloin. The first dish sees fork-tender fish wrapped in betel leaves with green peppercorn oil from the garden, while homegrown wild oxalis is present in the dish of lamb tenderloin. An ode to Malaysian ingredients is the dessert titled Taugeh, which incorporates vanilla-infused Kedah bean sprouts, organic bee pollen and toasted Ipoh peanuts.
Diners visiting Jeff’s Cellar can expect to sip a selection of fine wine while indulging in chef
Lee’s artful creations, surrounded by the warmly illuminated subterranean limestone cave.