A Little Farm on the Hill – Janda Baik

This is your quintessential farm-to-table restaurant. Others just pretend to be one. A Little Farm on the Hill in Janda Baik is by far, to me, what future dining should look like.

The Place

Nestled on top of the hill in Janda Baik, a village in Bentong District, Pahang, Malaysia, A Little Farm on the Hill is a 24 thousand square metre farm, playground, classroom, and restaurant rolled into one. It started out like what many of us (in our forties) dreamed of doing – retreating to a green environment, growing our own food, painting and playing music in the middle of a forest, and having insightful conversations with friends. It’s just that the owners of the farm, musician-filmmaker Pete Teo and his wife, architect Lisa Ngan, made that happen.

I was fortunate to join a group of people who booked a private lunch at the property in October 2024. In the morning, while I was doing a dashboard design workshop in nearby Embun Luxury Villas, the other half of the group was already at A Little Farm and attending a fun terrarium workshop (yes, they do offer this amazing activity). We caught up with them a few minutes before noon, and were greeted by their impressive outputs! (see below).

The place is just bustling with creativity. Apart from the open plan kitchen emanating delicious aroma of the feast we were about to partake, there is that library downstairs, a workshop, some paintings here and vintage materials there. On my way to the toilet, I overheard Pete and a group of students, well maybe, because they look very young, talking about philosophy, politics, life, and music. How cool is that?

The Food

Our Happy Thursday menu consisted of selection of carefully-curated treats – from cooling drinks to dessert – from the farm’s organically grown produce. My favorites will be the chargrilled red pepper anchovy lemon basil, tomato with basil and lime, salt roast lamb shank that I paired with the jeweled basmati, and the beetroot ajo blanco and pesto. All are good, but I am just highlighting here those that I spent the most time with. The meal was just perfect for the insightful conversations and the friendly banter.

The torch ginger cooler at the start was perfect for the relatively humid noontime that we were there, that I ended up drinking more that what would have been probably portioned for me. And the dessert was just the right meal-ender. Did I forget to mention that they make their own bread? The herbed focaccia was just great that I took some home (ssshhh, no one knew until now!).

After the hearty meal, we did a quick tour of the property. I could imagine the detailed planning that went into shaping the place from that small garden at the beginning to what it is now. What I can’t really forget about the A Little Farm is the majestic views of the farm and the adjoining forest, and how that provided a serene space for emptying my cluttered thoughts.