Say CHEESE! at Friendly Farms, Langkawi

Langkawi the trip sped by in such a daze. One outing that we managed unaided by alcohol was the visit to the island's very own, very famous cheese-producing Friendly Farms. Due to an inherent deficiency in cheese appreciation (fine on pizzas, not on much else), all opinions on taste & quality henceforth are those of my trusted dairy-loving companions, Mei Shean and Hui Hsien.

Now, Friendly Farms isn't all that hard to get to (where is in Langkawi??), but the lack of proper signage and its ridiculous proximity to its competitor Buffalo Park can be deceiving. It's about 10 minutes away from the airport, follow bright signage to Buffalo Park - which was exactly what we did.

Buffalo Park has a huge welcoming sign up front but study the merchandise and you will find it lacking of the main thing we came looking for... mozzarella cheese! Upon prodding the reluctant staff, we found out that the place we were looking for was actually situated further down the narrow road.

Nevertheless, we did not leave empty-handed. Hui Hsien, ever the generous dairy fiend picked up a single serve of vanilla ice cream, made from fresh buffalo milk. Tasted just like the regular thing, said she.

We took the first left turn further up the road only to reach a very unassuming T-junction. Mei Shean had very wisely saved the number of Yana, the co-owner of Friendly Farms and made a call just as Yana was driving up the same narrow road. The correct direction, as it turned out, was to turn left after Buffalo Park, go up the road and take another left. And lo and behold...

...there stood the humble manor, no welcome door mat, nothing like that. Somehow, the air smelled different. Manure, yes, there was some of that. But there was also the smell of pride, of success attained through real hard work, of the triumph of the underdogs. Or maybe it was just cheese?!

Just about the ONLY promotional signage of Friendly Farms we saw on the whole flippin' island... INSIDE the farm.

Michael, the friendly proprietor was very patient, taking us through a comprehensive explanation of his produce. Neither he nor Yana apologized for the lack of signage and we got the impression that they weren't too hard up for pesky walk-in tourists and casual shoppers. They had, after all, regular orders by the kilos from the kitchens of many a five-star hotels on the island.

Busy as he was, Michael was very accommodating and offered my two hungry companions a taste of his produce. This was a soft and young goat cheese - very mild.

Michael also showcased his version of Camembert, made of goat cheese. Very subtle, could sit around a wee bit longer.

Part of the cheese stash back in the hotel. Both of them bought enough cheese to clog up the tiny fridge in our hotel room, necessitating the urgent deployment of ice buckets to chill our white wine and beer.

Back home, both savoured their collective prizes from the trip with gusto - Mozzarella by the balls. Michael had explained that the real meaning behind Mozzarella was "a thousand tiny bites" which meant that the real fresh stuff, when bitten into, should be toothsome and offer plenty of spring.

The verdict?

"Mild and pleasant on its own. But creaminess came through with the sweetness from tomatoes, fresh ground pepper, olive oil & pinch of salt" - Mei Shean

"...chewy and rather milky but I ran out of olive oil so had to substitute with grapeseed oil which altered the taste...the texture was a tad rougher than the imported ones but nevertheless not bad for a kerbau Kedah!" - Hui Hsien

While I obviously did not get much taste-wise out of this little detour, I was bowled over by how they made cheese Langkawi's very own. Now, how about those booming schemes to realize your own crazy dreams?? Nothing is too far-fetched, anything really is possible!