Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

2010 is drawing its curtains to a screeching halt. Well, initially not, given the fact that the week runs until the very last Friday on a 31st. Nobody expected this success story to come true; culminating in a pleasant public holiday being declared nationwide; creating quite a bit of chaos especially to those on a tight schedule before the calendar year officially concludes.

Almost the same time last year, I did a “Motormouth On A Journey” post; revisiting a dozen of the escapades throughout 2009. Travelling has become almost customary owing to the nature of my job. But this year, I have slowed down considerably. And to summarize the year in gastronomy, a “Top 10 Eats of 2009″ followed soon after.

From a seemingly endless pool of food reviews this year, I have taken the liberty to pick ONE particular memorable food experience from each month to share with you readers again. Just a brief yet fitting finale to the year that was ……..

January 2010 – Michelangelo’s Pizzeria

A spanking manner to kick the year off, I visited Michelangelo’s Pizzeria when it was still in its infantile age back in January of 2010. And to imagine a year has marched on since their opening on Christmas Eve last year; the business is booming now and perpetually packed with pizza-loving crowd on a daily basis. Serving THE BEST pizzas Ipoh has to offer, I can’t wait to get my hands on a slice of The Hog!

Read on to see what tickled my tastebud throughout the months of February right up to December of 2010 ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Tower Regency Hotel @ Ipoh - Hands down one of the best hotel Ipoh has to offer. Spanking new (couldn’t be more than two years?), well-designed, and at a prime location at that.

It’s been ages since we last dined at any restaurants in hotels of Ipoh. Last I remembered we had a very cheap buffet lunch at Syuen Hotel; for less than RM15 per person (yeah, dirt cheap right?) but of course lah … you get what you pay for. Not exactly bad, for you get the usual appetizers, soups, rice and noodles, a few meats and several vegetable dishes, as well as a DIY Ais Kacang counter and some local delights of kuih-muih.

But that was WAY back then … I think sometime beginning of last year. And not sure where I stashed those pictures, or did I even take any photos. Doubtful that they’re still running the same promotion as of now; what’s with all the increase in cost of living, inflation and the imminent preparation for something BIG come next year (you know the drill … Malaysia ma ...).

Cafe@6 on the 6th floor (lame?) of Tower Regency Hotel – High Tea Buffet on Fridays and weekends only; for RM16/USD5.20 per person. Talk about being affordable?

And since we have run out of place for a last minute gathering, we settled for an impromptu (almost) high tea session at Tower Regency Hotel’s Cafe@6. Only on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Can’t say this was the BEST high tea buffet in Ipoh, since I have not tried many others save for Casuarina and Excelsior WAY back then ……. but read on to see what they offer and whether the RM16‘s worth the effort. Read the rest of this entry »

Cauldron of rich, creamy and spicy goodness – Seafood Curry (RM30/USD10) that came with abundance of prawns, squids etc.

To tell the truth, if you ask me about food in Brickfields, guaran-damn-teed I’ll answer Indian food. Vishal and Gopala come to mind almost instantaneously, since these places were marked in this Motormouth’s to-eat list since ages ago.

Of course, there’s the famous Mr Chiam’s fritters stall and some Peter’s pork noodles within the vicinity, but the lure of eating possibly the BEST (or at least, authentic) Indian food in all of Klang Valley? Priceless.

But Jason came up with a very ingenious/enticing offer; yet somewhat awkward. To be dining at a Chinese restaurant specializing in ‘chu char’ dishes; in the heart of Brickfields. Or maybe slightly to the edge, since this restaurant is parked a stone’s throw away from the main road of Jalan Damansara.

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A Meticulously-Sloppy Massacre - Can’t blame Chef Tim for the vengeful act of dissection. After all, one of the owners (Ernest) is supposed to be a very, very discerning diner (read : picky eater) and Tim has to replicate that particular taste Ernest desires ….

And we got Hoofed. There were five of us, on an utter devastation of the porcine family. Thankfully, the meal was balanced with meagre doses of fish and fowls, yet nothing came close to rivalling the porky affairs that evening.

Don’t count the bricks, you’ll go dizzy before the first sip of your Sangria. And Colin (the other co-owner of Hoofed) modestly (hehe) staked his claims on the marvelous architecture works and design. And yeah, he was up there (on the ceilings lah …) doing all the renovation works too.

Hoofed is your neighbourhood watering hole-cum-dining extravaganza. Since Tom, Dick & Harry’s Pub & Grub downstairs is also owned by the same bunch of people, it’s a slightly different venture altogether when it comes to Hoofed; being a proper dining establishment complete with fine wines, cocktails (an inhouse mixologist by the Shawn), elaborate menu peppered with porky delights, and even lighter bites for the later (dire?) hours.

Do read on to find out why I was still on a porky high the morning after …… Read the rest of this entry »

Got served the RIGHT way? She IS the lady boss of Korean Yea Won Restaurant in Medan Ipoh Bistari; one of the longest running Korean restaurant in Ipoh.

The first time I wrote about Yea Won was way back in 2008, when I first met Citygal and Jason (both Ipohans now in KL; guess I completed the circle now) in Ipoh.

Compared to Onix Jun (fondly referred to as Dae Jang Gum; their name in Chinese), Yea Won concentrates more on Korean style of grilled meats served with a variety of ban chan (side dishes), while the former serves more authentic, homecooked version of Korean dishes and Onix Jun has always been run by a Korean family residing in Ipoh anyway.

Banchan (side dishes) usually come in an eye-popping, jaw-dropping varieties of pickles, light savoury bites and lots of vegetables.

Not that Ipoh’s that famous for Korean cuisine anyway. Aside from these two, Riche Montana in Ipoh Garden South serves Korean style buffet; at a reasonable rate (about RM30/USD10 per pax) yet I have not been enticed enough by their selection of food to hop over for a visit. Soon, maybe. But I have never been a fan of buffets, so … tough luck.

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Pontian Wanton Mee – Comes in 3 different sizes; the smallest size being the “S” priced at RM4.00/USD1.30 seemed to be enough for a light dinner. Bouncy, egg noodles without the curls.

WHAT?! Wanton Mee again ah? Wait wait, Before you go and throw tantrums over Motormouth’s tiresome ordeal of seeking for dinner every single night, bear in mind that in KL (generally), a few types of street food tend to stand out amongst the crowd.

Of course, let’s not take into consideration the various Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun, Kai See Hor Fun (Chicken Kuey Teow Soup) or Penang Char Kuey Teow. Those imitators/emulators never failed to amaze me. Not so much for the authenticity but more for their tenacity. In other words; thick-skinned. But let’s not digress.

The ambience should be sufficient to calm a child with ADHD down in an instance. Or maybe not.

And can you imagine this was already my third or fourth wantan mee experience in KL? In a matter of 3 weeks, I have already ventured a few places, and ended up with more or less the same stuff.

Mostly noodles, there was one day when I had pan mee TWICE in a day! Silly me for waltzing in a cool manner without realizing that the shop sells only pan mee. Better let the instincts lead the way, rather than the hunger pangs. Anyway for today folks, let’s see what this specific Pontian Wanton Noodles (with 60 years of history, no less!) in SS15 of Subang Jaya managed to dish up …. Read the rest of this entry »

Satellite Restaurant Chicken Rice – As old school as it gets, Satellite has been retaining that alluring charm of mosaic-tiled floors, tables with scratched surfaces, plastic chairs, and a semi-al fresco dining area on the outside complete with coolers.

And according to a poll conducted by Friedchillies, this restaurant at a corner lot on Jalan Gasing was crowned the BEST Chicken Rice in Klang Valley.

That’s saying a lot, as you know how densely populated KL-PJ are with all those chicken rice stalls plying almost every corner in every coffee shop in the neighbourhood. Just mention the chains of Nam Heong or New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice and you get commercialized Hainan chicken rice there.

Not to include the awkwardly positioned Chicken Rice Shop here, for that’s a different story altogether.

Was the accolade justified? You be the judge people … or hear more from the horse’s Motormouth after the jump …..

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