Neglected bungalow now home to herbs

Things are looking up for a 20-year-old bungalow located at the end of Lorong Kurau in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, which has been left vacant for the past 10 years.

Herbalist Stella Kiang, the founder of Herbal Oasis Farm in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan and her mother have been working tirelessly since July 2019 to clean up the garden area at the bungalow to prepare the soil to plant herbs as this is where Kiang will set up Herbeco Bangsar, Herbal Oasis’ first outlet in the Klang Valley.

“The tree in the garden will remain to provide shade while the other areas will be planted with herbs from our farm in Port Dickson. There will be some space here for outdoor dining as well as for herb-planting classes,” an enthusiastic Kiang says. 

The bungalow is also a showroom for Kiang’s herbal products, a dry herbs distribution centre for dealers as well as a venue for farm-to-table dining and cooking classes, all aimed at promoting the benefits of herbs and eating real food to city dwellers.

“We have been looking for land in the Klang Valley for years, but we couldn’t find a suitable plot for our business – either the land is unsuitable for planting, too far from the city centre or the price is beyond our budget,” she tells EdgeProp.my.

Kiang was looking for a site containing virgin or organic soil that has not been contaminated by any chemicals to ensure the quality of the herbs grown on it.

The bungalow was recommended by a friend whom she met when she participated in the Kebun-Kebun Bangsar community garden project a few years back.

The rental property met all her requirements including having enough space to store the herbs and for a showroom. The garden in front of the house enables her to plant herbs and set up as   a dining area.

Herbeco opened in December 2019 with a showroom and dining area on the ground floor while the first floor houses accommodation for volunteers participating in the Kebun-Kebun Bangsar project.

The plants used for Herbeco herbs and flower teabags, such as hibiscus, motherwort and smartweed are all grown at the farm in Port Dickson and another organic farm in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang called Morus Berries Valley Farm which is a joint venture project.

The love for herbs

Kiang grew up surrounded by all kinds of herbs as her family practises traditional Chinese medicine. Her family have formulated their own remedy for minor illnesses like coughs and colds and use herbs to maintain their health.

“Consuming real food could help enhance one’s immune system better than taking medicine or nutrition supplements,” says Kiang who holds a bachelor’s degree in Science, majoring in Biology and Chemistry.

Hoping to share her knowledge on herbs to benefit those who need them for better health, she left her job as a marketing executive in a nutritional products company to set up Herbal Oasis.

“Malaysia is a heaven for herbs. We have so many treasures (medicinal plants) in our forest and we have only discovered a few of them. If we do not start promoting and educating people on the benefits of these herbs, soon the knowledge (of the benefits of herbs) will be gone,” she added.

New life for vacant house

The double-storey freehold bungalow located on a hill in Bangsar has been left empty for over 10 years before Kiang rented the place. The owner lives overseas and has no plans to move back, hence the owner has put it on the market with an asking price of RM3.2 million, based on recent listing. Built on a 12,000 sq ft plot, the bungalow has a built-up size of 4,600 sq ft and comes with five bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Based on recent transactions within a 2km radius of this bungalow in Lorong Kurau, bungalows of similar built-ups were sold from RM4.27 million to RM4.7 million.

For instance, a bungalow which has a land area of 11,679 sq ft (and built-up of 2,508 sq ft), changed hands in 2018 for RM4.27 million.

Despite the location and prime address, this unit needed major refurbishment and so did not attract any buyer. It was instead used as a rental accommodation for foreign workers before Kiang rented the place. She spent another RM20,000 to fix leaks and to do the wiring and piping.

Kiang has certainly revitalised the place, which many had thought was abandoned by its owner.

This story first appeared in the EdgeProp.my pullout on Jan 31, 2020. You can access back issues here.