Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Sambal Petai with Prawns (MYR29.80/USD10 – Medium portion)

Long long time ago, there was Assam House. From my relatively short yet photographic memory, I still remember the pride in the owner’s eyes upon explaining about how the famous Hong Kong actor, Chow Yun Fatt (he’s the one with the shades and a gun or rifle perpetually on the shoulder) paid the establishment a visit during the shooting of Anna & The King back in the late 90’s.

To us, Assam House was THE place to go for really lip-smacking Nyonya/Thai/Chinese cuisine, in the same league like Yum Yum  of today. And then things got a little weird with the original Assam House changing name to Kim Bali; while the name Assam House has been owned by a different company; with two outlets in Ipoh. One is located in Medan Gopeng while the other started drawing the crowd in Greentown Business Centre.

Now clearly I did not do my homework here, so pardon the missing information. Anyway, both brands are still going strong; though the similarity between the dishes is uncanny.

And now, years after the separation of Kim Bali and Assam House; Bali Assam House came to the picture! Proudly proclaiming their independence from the other more established names; this restaurant started business a couple of weeks ago; and already catching up fast in terms of customer base. 

Assam Curry Cod Fish Head (MYR39.80/USD13 – Large portion)

Not your average Asian restaurant (have to combine all influences into a word here; since Assam House was a happy marriage of Malaysian-Thai-Nyonya-Indonesian-Vietnamese cuisine), Bali Assam House stands out by offering something different, and more premium – the Assam Curry Cod Fish Head!

Let’s go straight to the review, I’ll do the minor details later.

The first shot was our plate of Sambal Petai with Prawns (a portion sufficient for 4 – 6 pax at MYR29.80); which was hands down THE dish of the day. Crunchy stink beans that were as fresh as beans from pods could be (not refrigerated); the sambal paste was an excellent balance of spiciness, laced with a faint hint of sourness from the tamarind juice and subtle sweetness from the caramelised onions and briny flavours from the dried shrimps. You can also choose to have this with Sotong (squid) for similar price.

The highlight of the meal was no doubt the very ‘atas’ (read : luxury/premium) sounding Assam Curry Cod Fish Head, though at MYR39.80 for the Large portion, it was enough for 6 pax and the price was a delightful surprise. Although the succulent cuts of cod fish and gelatinous bits embedded within the fish head will please any fish head lovers, the assam curry gravy was somewhat lacking in flavours and slightly oily. The generous load of fresh tomatoes and okra made up for the shortcoming, however.

Pandan Chicken (5pcs – MYR16.00/USD5)

But don’t look away just yet. The Pandan Chicken seemed pretty pricey at more than MYR3 per piece, but one bite into the gorgeously fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) was all it took. And boy, it did take my breath away!

Beautifully marinated in a lemongrass-infused sauce that was more sweetish than savoury, the chicken was well-cooked, yet retaining that firm texture of fresh poultry and very juicy. The piece was slightly (just ever) larger than your Pandan chicken from Thai restaurants like even Yum Yum or Koh Samui.

Must try. We regretted for ordering only 1 piece per pax.

Thai Style Paku Pakis (MYR4.00/USD1.20) for Small portion

Choy Pou (Preserved Radish) Egg Omelette (MYR6.00/USD2)

To complete the feast, we ended up with two more dishes; the Thai style Fern Shoots (paku pakis) was a cold dish featuring crisp shoots of wild ferns tossed in a Thai chilli sauce with chopped onions and red chillies, while the Choy Pou Dan (omelette with preserved radish) suffered from an overdose of salt or could be the liquid preserving the radish. But at MYR4 and MYR6 per portion respectively, I had no qualms ordering more than we could chew next time.

 Bali Assam House Restaurant and Kim’s Dak Galbi are two new restaurants next to each other in Medan Ipoh Bistari

Definitely one of the more promising addition to the F&B scene around Medan Ipoh Bistari; the booming area behind of Tesco in Ipoh Garden East and where Festival Walk is. Notice the purposely-shot shop in red named Kim’s Dak Galbi in the picture above? This is the FIRST dak galbi outlet in Ipoh, and we were here on the very next evening! Wait for the review ya? For now … Motormouth is adapting to the heatwave that’s attacking Klang Valley with no remorse.

Geez … so when can we ever build a snowman?

BALI ASSAM HOUSE
16, Jalan Medan Ipoh 1E,
Medan Ipoh Bistari,
31400 Ipoh, Perak Malaysia.
Tel No : +6017-539 9287
Opens from lunch hour onwards, until dinner. No breaks in between.
*Same row as Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant and opposite of Ko Pi Tim (think it’s renamed to Kafe Teen or something)