3328 Restaurant @ Falim, Ipoh – Reliable “Chu Char” Place
September 8, 2014 | 4,414 views
Back for a taste of the pungent yet extremely-addictive-it-made-me-homesick Sambal Belacan Petai (MYR 15); this one cooked with lots of sweet caramelized onions and minced pork instead of prawns but still managed to get the job done. And a good many hours after consisting of silent moment in the family.
Well, are you now soaking in the warmth of being by the side of your loved ones; gathering a company to admire the full moon up in the sky? Lucky you.
Here to serenade you with a food review from IPOH, no less, just so you know that despite being hundreds of miles away, Motormouth’s essentially still From Ipoh, and that’s where I’m firmly rooted at.
The feeling of coming home to Ipoh has this exuberant aura; with multiple flashes of lip-smacking goodness crossing my mind. Prioritizing them in restrained, disciplined focus takes an elegant touch of self-control really, else I could be risking having 6 meals a day whenever I am back to my hometown!
You wanted to know what I missed the most after two months? (Yeah, to some this is short but to the Motormouth this is a killer hiatus of my white coffee and curry mee fix!) Read on.
Chunky sliced fillet of ‘ikan haruan’ or snakehead fish (called ‘sang yue’ in Cantonese) stir fried with ginger and spring onion (MYR45 for one kilogram; the remains cooked in another manner)
The very fresh snakehead fish boiled in a soup that renders the consistency and colour a milky white broth; with slices of bitter gourd and lots of finely-julienned ginger for taste.
Instead of craving for my egg tart, white coffee, dim sum, bean sprouts chicken or even yong tau foo, I immediately drafted out a few places during my flight (and that was my first time on Firefly from Singapore to Ipoh) that serve ‘chu char’ dishes, or Teochew eateries serving porridge and an array of heavily-flavoured, some pickled while some salted dishes.
If there’s one dish that reminded me most of Ipoh’s good ‘chu char’ (or sometimes called ‘dai chow’) places, it’s the Sambal Petai. If you have been an avid follower since my mobile phone shooting frenzy days (and I still remember vividly how a restaurateur at Delight Seafood Restaurant invited me for a food review, then upon seeing me brandishing my handphone for pictures, immediately charged me full price and served me all of the most exorbitantly-priced dishes!), you will understand the manic cravings that I constantly have for this spicy, and very Malaysian dish.
3328 Restaurant is located in Falim near Menglembu, along the way towards Lumut Expressway. This restaurant appears to be an inconspicuous, neighbourhood choice that probably fits more of a criteria for ‘zhap fan’ (economy rice) stall than a full blown ‘chu char’ expert.
But the weekend crowd, word-of-mouth and sheer power of the good food-loving Ipohans have never faltered to draw my attention towards this establishment. Had it not been the distance from home, I would have written a piece about 3328 long before I even moved to Klang Valley, let alone Singapore.
Choy Pou Tofu (Preserved Radish) on Soft, Deep Fried Beancurd (MYR 12) was a bit special from the rest; the ‘choy pou’ was actually fried in hot oil until crisp, then mixed with minced pork and chopped spring onion before scopped on top of the velvety smooth, almost creamy blocks of beancurd.
At 3328, it seemed that they could do no wrong with their endless list of recommendations. But if you’re a first timer like myself, then try a dish cooked with their fresh snakehead fish (ikan haruan or sang yue). The filleted version can be steamed, stir fried with spring onion and ginger, or gung pao with dried chillies. The boney parts of the fish can be cooked in soup; we sampled the bitter gourd version which was excellent; infused with the sweetness from the fish and the milky consistency from the boiling of the bones. Relatively large portion that can feed 4 – 5 pax for only MYR 45.
The Sambal petai might not be the absolute best in Ipoh; since I prefer mine to lean towards the Nyonya style with a more piquant sambal and a squeeze of lime, and served with prawns or squid instead of minced pork, the version here was satisfactory nonetheless.
But the Choy Pou Tofu was stellar, to put it mildly. The cubes of beancurd was silky smooth and infused with goodness of eggs, then topped with a mixture of crispy fried choy pou with minced pork, then garnished with chopped spring onion.
Interested to learn more about what other ‘chu char’ restaurants are on my list? Give me another three weekends, and you will read more discoveries; old and new. As of now, Happy Mooncake/Lantern Festival to you and your family.
Sum Sum Yi Fatt (3328) Restaurant (non-Halal)
14, Jalan Mas,
Taman Mas, 30100 Ipoh, Perak.
Opens from lunch until dinner daily.
GPS : 4.58,101.052416
*Finding this restaurant was not a walk in the park, yet easy if you know your way around Menglembu-Falim-Taman Mas. Coming from town towards Menglembu, turn RIGHT at the traffic lights after you passed the row of shops along Jalan Lahat; where you can find a decent dim sum place named Sun Kim Aik or if you are lucky, then you might just bump into the Jalan Lahat Laksa Stall that operates only for a few hours on Sunday. You are now going along Jalan Kledang Utara. Pay attention to your RIGHT, as you reach a traffic lights that only allow a right turn towards the food court. 3328 is facing the main road, beside this roast duck expert named Sri Taman Mas Restaurant.
We are a group of retired Ah Peks and Ah Sows from that were born in Ipoh around the late 1920’s . Yes we old timers are still around though our group is getting smaller. We have eaten the best of what Ipoh town has to offer pre war and post war and we can still recall clearly the taste , the aroma and quality of what “original and authentic” Ipoh food is all about.
With the internet age we saw the growth of food guide experts like yourself (and one who is Ipoh born) giving comments on the food around Ipoh so we gave your recommendations a try. Motormouth, we trust that your food taste judgement was better that others but on trying out some of your recommended places to eat we were disappointed to say the least. This 3328 is one of those “ulta-tic” as opposed to authentic! Their sang yue soup cooked with ‘ham-choy and tou foo’ does not have the fish stock flavor but was overpowered by the sour taste of the ham choy. The sambal petai? My maid can cook a better one instead! It lacked the belachan kick and aroma and the use of pork instead of prawns is blasphemous. My suggestion is that you take your parents with you in your ‘food’ excursions so that they can give you the real feedback of what Ipoh food should have been. Alas those halcyon days are gone. We hope that you would be more discerning in your comments because there are still old timers out there who would disagree with your food comments and your reputation will wear away if you are not careful.
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