AS RICH AS CROESUS: Bukit Gantang lay-by south bound (hentian sebelah)

I left Alor Setar on 3/1/09 (hitched a ride with my sis and her family). On the way to KL we stopped by at PLUS highway Bukit Gantang lay-by south bound for lunch. I've never stopped here before as I always thought lay-by does not have f&b facilities.....:-)

I think PLUS did a good job at upgrading their lay-bys and rest areas. The landscape here in Bkt Gantang is actually quite beautiful....sort of mini park where one can relax after a long journey and once freshen up ready to head to next destination...

According to my niece, my bro-in-law loves to stop at this lay-by everytime they passed by

because he likes to buy fresh fruits sold from various stalls here. I saw ciku, mangos, jambu air, durian menggala, guava, papaya, salak amongst other fruits sold here.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/79713144_f7ad7b5250.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2074/2344325335_c1a1e0f603_o.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_c9uu8FF3DjA/Rk_F9cuB_FI/AAAAAAAAAUs/X14AYc2fZ4M/penang2+(10).jpg

images from
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/79713144_f7ad7b5250.jpg
http://zbintim.fotopages.com/?entry=1480460
http://picasaweb.google.com/sarmadys/Eating#5066485765287050322
http://www.malaysia.or.kr/national/fruit.htm

As for food? Well they only have 2 food stalls and 2 drink stalls. We bought mihun sup & 2 nasi campur (total RM11) from a stall called Mak Lang D'village :-). My youngest niece bought fried kueytiaw and fried egg from Aneka Rasa stall (RM1.60). I had the mihun sup and my 2 nieces had nasi campur. My mihun sup tasted not bad at all, Mak Lang was pretty generous with fishballs, chicken etc in the soup. My 2 nieces polished off their plates too (probably they were hungry). Wasn't quite sure where did my sis n hubby bought their lunch as we had to sit at separate tables as the place was quite pack during our visit - school holiday.

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http://skolblog.com/wp-content/tehtarek.jpg

Images from:
http://penyapubaru.blogspot.com/2008/08/balik-kedah-punye-gambar.html
http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Irvine/A-and-J-Restaurant-1590871/Fried-Chicken-Vegetable-Rice-39193
http://www.skolblog.com/2007/02/15/velantak/

We bought our drinks from Ina's cafe - 5 drinks at RM4.50 but my niece said the cashier had an attitude problem! Customers were queing up to pay & order drinks and she just couldn't be bothered - just ignored the customers and chit chatted with her friend (a worker from the same stall). Maybe if I were to stop here again next time I'll try the next stall Anjung Selera R'tiez.

I think the facilities offered here are quite good (surau, toilet, petrol station, wakaf, fruit stalls n eateries) though cleanliness wise the hawkers and PLUS staff should work harder at it - quite a lot of flies and the floors were quite dirty.

What others say about this place:

excerpt:

Aug 2008 - Dengan bayaran hanya RM6.90 seorang, orang ramai boleh menikmati seberapa banyak durian dan buah-buahan tempatan sempena Pesta 'Jom Makan Durian' di Hentian Sebelah Bukit Gantang (arah selatan) Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan anjuran Plus Expressways Bhd, esok.
http://jkrputrajaya.gov.my/aggregator/sources/1?page=206