I went with my daughter and immediately felt like I was home. The kind of calm that comes from people knowing exactly why they are doing what they are doing. The experience is a feast, not only for your stomach, but also for your eyes. Everything feels considered. Nothing feels forced. Everything has purpose. Pure wabi sabi.

I have enormous respect for Lisa Ngan and Pete Teo. Before this, they lived a completely different city life. Lisa Ngan is an architect by training, deeply attuned to structure, space, and detail. Pete Teo is a musician and filmmaker. Together, they decided to step away from the city and build something entirely new in Janda Baik, just a 45 minute drive from Kuala Lumpur. Neither of them had farming experience. They had never run a farm, grown vegetables, or operated a restaurant. They learned through trial and error, from books, friends, and sheer persistence. What they have built is both a working organic farm and a farm to table restaurant, rooted in sustainability, soil health, and respect for process.

Having run a restaurant myself, I know how difficult it is to get everything right. The food, the timing, the atmosphere and the team. Here, it all works. The food is exceptional. Thoughtful, generous and beautifully cooked. It is also one of the best places I know for pescetarians and vegetarians, with a menu that adapts effortlessly and never makes you feel like an afterthought.

The staff are incredible. Confident, warm and very present. They look you in the eye. They crack jokes. You can have a conversation with them and my San Pellegrino was served like a bottle of champagne.

What stays with me most are the conversations. The genuine interest in you as a person. The curiosity and inspiring energy. The way Lisa and Pete engage, ask questions, listen. You leave feeling nourished in more ways than one. Even the flower arrangement in the toilet is beautiful, which tells you everything you need to know.

This time, my daughter asked Pete why they started all of this. The answer was simple. They wanted to do something completely different. Something they did not yet know how to do. They learned by doing.

If you want a long, slow, South of France style brunch, this is the place. If it were up to me, I would go every weekend. Malaysia would genuinely not be the same without A Little Farm on the Hill.

Good night, Lisa.
Good night, Pete.
Good night, John Boy.