Bak kut teh for breakfast in Klang and KEN Rimba

teluk pulai klang

It started with one of the best bak but teh sessions in Klang. Sam wanted to bring us to this great BKT place he knew but unfortunately they had sold out (at 11 am in the morning!) so we headed to the popular fallback – Teluk Pulai Clay Pot Ba Kut Teh.

bak kut teh klang

There’s just something about eating bak kut teh in Klang – it’s the real thing, it’s what it’s famous for, and nothing quite beats plate of lard enhanced rice with various cuts of pork simmering in herbal soup. They do an excellent dry BKT as well.

pork innards soup

There’s even a healthy order or stomach, intestines and other innards.

How awesome is that? I had two plates of rice, and with that awesome start to the day we headed to KEN Rimba, which is surprisingly just minutes away.

living area

KEN Rimba is Malaysia’s first green township in Shah Alam, but don’t let the address scare you off – it’s not that remote. Despite it’s Shah Alam postcode, it’s actually a stone’s throw away from Klang…

ken rimba klang

…and I mean that literally. I could probably throw a stone from the eco-friendly development and hit Klang. I think. Heh.

ken rimba legian

The concept of KEN Rimba is inspirational – it’s a 60 acre freehold development that is built on environmentally sound practices. We were shown around the still-building JIMBARAN Residences (168 units) as well as the completed LEGIAN Residences (328 units). There will also be two phases of condominiums in this township and the streets are split up by rain trees in mini-roundabouts.

legian

The former is a scaled up and larger version of the latter, and it brings the concept of ecologically friendly houses to life. The basics are all there like building houses in a north-south orientation. It helps prevent the worst of the glare from the sun to come in and the consequent build up in heat while roof tiles that removes heat and proper ventilation meant to catch the natural wind is installed.

green alleys

The back lanes and turfed walkways running along the each carefully planned terrace house blocks has Palawan trees for shade (and good ol’ CO2 to oxygen conversion) – little oases that you can walk through that provides a burst of green that’s quite soothing to the eyes.

fish

There are even water features there that are being seeded with marine life. It all makes me feel like I’m in Bali, which is why I suppose the names of the residences are chosen. Heh. I like how this both works as a carbon sink and aesthetic feature.

ken rimba shah alam

The terraced units utilize some of the same green features incorporated in the high end KEN Bangsar luxury condominium – which goes to show that building green does not necessarily have to be limited to expensive developments.

ken rimba ecological

The bit I love most is how the homes are illuminated by a skylight – it allows natural light to shine down straight from the roof and reaches down to a small plot of open garden right in your living room!

living room earth plot

It’s dubbed an in-house green planter for internal landscaping in the industry. This is what it looks like in an unfurnished unit – you can do whatever you want with it, even tile it up, but that’ll be a shame considering the novelty of the area.

plot

Here’s what the potential of that (relatively) little plot can do. This is the show room and I thought that having real plants inside your living room would be something different, a real area you can put your green thumb to and introduce some greenery into your daily life, right where you can see it all the time.

breakfast bar

The terraced units looked small in the unfurnished lot that we went to but it was just a question of scale – without furniture inside, it’s hard to tell how space can be utilized and I was amazed when the show room provided a visual example.

living room

The living and dining areas are huge and can easily fit a family of four with rooms for everyone, including a maid if you’re so inclined.

master bedroom

The second level contains the master bedroom with its own en-suite bathroom and toilet while the other two rooms are spacious enough for future developments of your own. 😉

master

They can be your kid’s bedrooms or a study and library, depending on how you want your lifestyle to be. JIMBARAN Residences has a slightly larger lot size of 22′ x 65′ while LEGIAN Residences is a standard 20′ x 65′ but it’s what you do with the area that matters! The latter has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and the photos are from that showroom. It has a built up area from 1,800-2,200 sq ft.

rainwater

Sam also showed us how rainwater can be filtered and recycled with the rainwater harvesting tanks provided at the back, which you can reuse to water your lawn or wash your car.

ken rimba showroom

KEN Rimba has the 328 units in Legian Residences ready to live in (although it’s almost sold out) and the upcoming Jimbaran Residences is going to be built with a loft, which increases the area of space available (from 2,100 – 2,500 sq ft). That makes a total of 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and an attic/loft. I think the loft would be great for a teenager to live in, at least I’ve always wanted that growing up. 🙂

rooms

There is also a commercial area which will have F&B outlets (so you don’t have to drive to Klang if you don’t want to), an existing playground and other thoughtful conveniences like the covered walkway to the nearest KTM station. Both JIMBARAN and LEGIAN Residences are guarded communities and the security is awesome – it’s a place where you’ll feel safe having your kids play outside.

corner terrace pool

It’s easy to lose yourself in the greenery that is KEN Rimba – the trees planted to flank the area not only shuts out the surrounding enterprises, but also reinforces the feeling that you’re walking into a green township. It’s won several prestigious awards like the BCA Green Mark GOLD and GOLD PLUS (Provisional for JIMBARAN) as recognition of it’s ecologically friendly status.

ken rimba pool

The corner terraces all have a swimming pool! I think that’s awesome – a place to cool down after the stresses of the day.

ken rimba homes

The terrace homes are not just green, it’s affordable too and has all the nice touches that makes it desirable. You can find out more information at the KEN Rimba website.

Green Awards:
green logos

Facebook: https://facebook.com/KEN.Greenbook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamCS10
Email: contact@kenholdings.com.my
Sales enquiries: 1300-22-9933

bicycles

I really liked how there are bicycles available for residents to use free of charge.

Great concept, eh? 🙂

A private dinner at the penthouse of KEN Bangsar

private dinner

KEN Bangsar has exactly four penthouse units with an amazing view of the Klang Valley. It is also the highest residential building in the entire Klang Valley. This one spans three (3) storeys and has it’s own swimming pool and lounge area complete with a wet bar and a steam room. KEN Bangsar also has 76 apartments for a total of 80 units with 4 design styles and layouts and incredibly good security. The basement car park is rather unique too – it has perforated walls to allow better wind flow so you won’t get the stuffy “ambiance” common in traditional car parks.

dinner

This is where we had our private dinner of various savory and sweet canapes cooked right in the kitchen of the penthouse.

canapes

I particularly liked the Green Vegetables Risotto with Herbs Emulsion

king prawn ravioli

…and the King Prawn Ravioli with Melted Leeks and Cardamom Sauce. Sorry for making you hold the platter so long, anonymous server.

lap pool

This is the private lap pool at the penthouse. I would love to stay here. Your very own pool, imagine the legendary parties you can throw.

Here’s a video tour of the penthouse to coax the good ol’ green eyed monster out of its lair.

pool

Okay, starting from the beginning, KEN Bangsar is built as an ecologically friendly green residential unit. I love how their swimming pool has in-pool lounges. I was staying at this resort once and fell asleep in one. Very comfortable, if you like the water. The premium KEN Bangsar also has 18 carat gold mosaic pieces embedded in the bottom of the pool!

lobby

There are boring looking corridors that actually provides an important function – it’s a wind tunnel to displace the hot air and provide cooler air into the lobby lounge area. There are no fans in the lobby, the use of natural wind is used so the result is a staggeringly low condo maintenance electricity bill of just RM 2,000 per month (!!!).

living room

This is made possible by the complementary system that conditions and recycles condensate water into an evaporation feature wall. I don’t know what exactly this means except that it reduces the temperature using technologically advanced systems.

This acronym explains it pretty well:

THE CHEEL SYSTEM
Condensate water harvested from the management office air conditioner, a
Heat pump drawing heat from the air-conditioner compressor and providing
Energy for hot water to the common toilets and cool air piped into the
Evaporative waterfall at lift lobby to
Lower the temperature of the double volume lounge and lift lobby for additional indoor thermal comfort for the residents

water feature

This means the water feature isn’t for show either, like most of the things here. The interesting textured facade inside the building is made of excess recycled tiles – note the uneven surface, it’s an aesthetic consideration that took place before KEN Bangsar was built so they can have enough excess tiles (these are the odd sized ones you cut off at the end of the unit – look at the corner of your floor) to use as a decorative feature.

ken bangsar

The windows are tinted with a special coating that makes it invisible (so there’s no dimness associated with traditional car tinting – all light is preserved) while providing 100% UV protection. You won’t have to worry about someone running into the glass and breaking it too coz it’s strengthened laminated glass.

view

This is the very same KEN Holdings who built Ken I and II beside Tropicana City Mall – I thought the name sounded familiar. KEN Bangsar is their first foray into green and ecologically friendly developments and they also have another one in Shah Alam called KEN Rimba.

ken rimba

This time KEN Holdings used their experience constructing a green building (KEN Bangsar) to develop an entire green townshipKEN Rimba! It’s the first one in Malaysia and the guarded community has ecologically friendly features which includes:

  • Breathable roofs to keep the interior cool and lower energy costs
  • Rainwater harvesting for reuse in lawn irrigation, car washing or janitorial purposes
  • Extensive landscaping with lush gardens surrounding a pool for the corner units
  • North-south orientation and louver windows angled to admit light and air but to keep out rain, direct sunshine and noise

ken rimba legian residences

KEN Rimba is a two-phase development with the first (Legian) due to be handed over next month. Legian Residences has 328 terrace homes and with all the ecological features, it’s set to be the new gold standard for true green living! They’re preparing to launch the next phase of houses – Jimbaran Residences (love the Bali vibe) – it’s open for registration so contact them if you want to embrace a green lifestyle!

Website: http://kenholdings.com.my/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KEN.Greenbook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/samCS10

penthouse

It’s interesting to see that more development companies are going the green route with technological implementations that makes it ecologically friendly without sacrificing functionality and comfort. I personally wouldn’t mind living in KEN Bangsar – the units are beautifully designed and if it contributes to the environment, then all the better.

me

…now if only I don’t have a really bad habit of draining my condo fund consistently at the most random moments when the urge strikes me.

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