Banana Leaf Meal @ Samy Restaurant, Chemor & Chocolate Liqueurs from Langkawi
April 6, 2009 | 576 views| 44 Comments » |
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The sleepy?/bustling? town of Chemor, PerakChemor, in case you’re wondering, is a small town in Perak, about 25 km from Ipoh, and near to Sungai Siput, and Kuala Kangsar. Previous entry on Chemor’s food (and the only one, as far as I can recall!) was on Hoong Wan’s Fish Noodles, and that was ages ago.
A name most food enthusiasts in and around Ipoh would be familiar with ….Samy Restaurant is one of the household name, a force to be reckoned with, so to speak, in this part of Kinta district. Serving delectable Indian banana leaf cuisine, the place is routinely packed with factory workers from the various industrial parks within the vicinity, namely Tasek, Chemor, Kanthan and Sungai Siput. On weekends, even tourists stop by for a finger-licking good meal while on the way to Kuala Kangsar (using the trunk road).
Red, fiery, and tantalising curries in claypots for your choosingBe there early, before 12pm if possible, to beat the crowd. But the patrons here do not mind sharing their tables, given the fact that the set up mostly consists of long tables (ala canteen style), thus strangers may be sitting next to each other, licking their fingers while seemingly in trance from the addictive curry dishes.
White rice served on a banana leaf, with various vegetable dishes; Pickled cucumber, pineapple and onions, Curry potatoes, carrots and long beans, & The Usual …. CabbageFirst up, march into the shop, all the while stealing glances at the counter up front, picking your dish of preference. From curry chicken to dry mutton curry, as well as crabs, de-shelled prawns curry and squids, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Lest you come here with a few companions (makan kakis?), you’ll be better off picking ONE dish, rather than being ambitious and try one of each!
Drench your rice with the vegetable curry, complemented by a cup of Rasam and a crispy Papadam. To douse the fire (don’t worry, the dishes ain’t spicy), wash it all down with a cool, and sweet glass of Cow’s Milk
Curry Mutton with Potatoes
Curry Chicken with Potatoes
The portion at Samy’s on the larger end, hence hold the rice if you’re not in for a VERY filling meal. We ended up feeling very sleepy after the meal, given the high carbohydrate contents, and the hot-as-hell weather. Ipoh’s BLAZING HOT lately, no joke.
As popular as Samy may be, I still feel the banana leaf fare at Sri Asoka Corner over at Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh scores a notch above in terms of taste. Personal preference aside, I felt that Samy’s curries and side dishes leaned more towards the salty side, especially the cabbage and carrots combo.
People tucking in to their serving of banana leaf goodness, completely ignoring the intrusion of privacy in the form of licking one’s fingers on the side
The meal for two came to RM22, including drinks. Not the cheapest option out there, especially in good old Ipoh, but the portion served somewhat justified the price paid. And banana leaf meals don’t come cheap, do they? 
a sweet ending …. in the form of Laddu (50 cents)
The Laddu is a popular Indian sweet, made from flour, and dipped into sugar syrup, with a hint of spices. Samy’s Laddu is fortunately, not sickeningly sweet unlike most, and finished the spicy/greasy meal rather well, on a sweet note.
Location : Samy Restaurant @ 70, Jalan Besar, 31200 Chemor, Perak. Specifically? From Jalan Kuala Kangsar, go towards the direction of Chemor/Sungai Siput and you’ll reach the town of Chemor with two-storey shoplots lining the road on both sides. Samy’s on your RIGHT, hence you’ll need to make a U-turn further up the road.
On to an even sweeter note ….. ^_^
RM28.90 for 16 mini ‘bottles’ of chocolatey goodness ….. with a twist
Makes REAL perfect ornaments for display eh? Pity they can’t weather the calls of nature …. as in the threat of EXPIRING.
Oozing REAL liquor … from vodka, to cognac and such. Blissful stuff.
Remember my lament in THIS post? That I didn’t expect my first visit to Langkawi to be tailored to a 5 days boot camp style. Now, destiny has its calling, AGAIN, and I’ll be off to the island TOMORROW.
Wow. Now tell me that’s not insane, flying off to Langkawi within a short span of 10 days. But at least this time around, I can be assured of a good night’s sleep, without the looming threats of bugs and monsters, and hopefully, better food, instead of military rations. Hehe ….. =)
Yeah, i heard Samy is the one of the famous indian food in Chemor, too bad i cant try it last week when i was there. Enjoy ur journey 2mr!
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Ooh, nothing like washing it all down with a glass of susu lembu kosong. But I like my piping hot!
Have fun @ Langkawi tomorrow!
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langkawi yeah? gonna be bon ton-fied?? sure looks gd frm Lil fat monkey’s site!
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Have you finished chocolate liquor? I'm your new best friend hor?? >P
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The curry definitely looks delicious! You just made me crave for curry in the early morning!
And those mini liquor chocolates are cute! Don’t mix too much at one time or you’ll get drunk! 
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wah the chocolate liqueurs must be nice. ^o^
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The curry looks so yummy!!!
Here in Jakarta, the liquors in chocolates will get cristalized very fast. Maybe because it’s too humid.
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I’m keen to try the Andersonian’s Cafeteria~~
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The picture in sepia is cool! It gives the nostalgic feel.
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The Sepia shot is really good, nice “atmospherics”.
Oooh.. Chemor, I wanna go!
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huh?? from ipoh to chemor just for lunch??? damn that’s far leh.
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Have yet to set foot in Chemor…would be nice to drop by one day.
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agree with you. Food at Samy is very salty…curry not as nice as compared to my first few visits.
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Chemor is a real sleepy town-nice curry. in Chinese- Chemor is pig hair-right?
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One of their specialties is Ayam Belanda (Turkey) only available on Wednesday or Friday. There is another option of kampong chicken curry. Also very good.
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Another thing I should add is that if the lady is there, she normally overcharges the customers while the husband is reasonable. That is why the food there is rather pricy.
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alcoholic chocs.. is there any reason to go back to normal chocs once uv tried em? i think not! Grappa is my fav
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The curry mutton is decent enough!!!
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So hard to not feel sleepy after banana leaf, regardless of the serving size of selt restraint! I think there’s something in the leaf, or the curries…
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woah, the curry dishes look good, especially when presented in claypots! sexy!
woah, another camp! that means more souvenirs la..hehehee…
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Yeah I heard abt this place and Chemor isn’t really tat far from ipoh, hoh! Banana leaf rice always makes me sleepy, regardless where it’s eaten, lol! Maybe I shd try the Asoka Corner 1st…
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Always enjoyed the long and expansive posts with lots of good pics. Been a long time to Chemor.
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The BLR looks pretty good..food looks nostalgic and yummy being kept in those old school earthern ware. ooo, i had that same choc liquer too a few months back.. potent stuff for a choc, dont you think? :p
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Chemor I heard from my friend saying the wan tan mee here is nice? Or menglembu …. forgot liao …
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haha kgboy bought me the same chocolate from langkawi..but the alcohol all harden into ice bergs..:(
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Chemor, the sleepy town, has a secret. There’s a big Taoist temple reputed to be well known by devotees outside of Perak, but relatively unknown by people of Ipoh. At the traffic light right in the middle of Chemor town, turn right (You’ll head to Tanah Hitam ). You’ll come across a narrow overhead bridge. Immediately after the bridge, turn left, and follow the dirt road till you see a mysterious gigantic size factory on your left. Keep traveling till you see the temple on your right.
What has this temple got to do with food???
Err…You may try asking for a free vegetarian meal…keh keh keh…
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Suwei : came back liao from trip. Tiring, but fruitful loh … least this time slept in hotel. you went Sg Siput right?
Life for Beginners : kosong? mine had gula lah … hehe …
thenomadGourmand : bon-ton?!! what;s that? didnt manage to go many places, since it was raining a lot, and work took up much of our time.
Bangsar Babe : hehehe … new Best Friend already ah? so fast eh … the power of chocs!
iamthewitch : the Cognac ones sure pack a punch. but they make good decorative items, if not for the fact that they expire as usual foodstuff.
Food Paradise : yeah, still relishing them, then the 2nd trip happened. and now i’m left with more chocs than I can ever finish!
Selba : crystalizedd?! really? maybe the storage condition?
Jason : Andersonian … yeahloh hor …. you come back, we go eat. simple.
peng : yeah .. the place sure has its history since days of yore.
Julian Si : not a tourist attraction, yet. but someday … someday I believe?
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NKOTB : not really lah. from Jln Kuala Kangsar to Chemor, about 20 mins? the road's good though.
ck lam : yeah, you should extend your next trip to Ipoh. hehe .. instead of just stopping over.
SimpleGirl : yeah, but the place is all hyped up. which curry is best?
foodbin : erm, the pronunciation is different. not the same, but I cant read Chi, so cannot be sure.
The Travelling Foodie : oh thanks. never knew turkey can be made into curry?! yeah and the charges was a bit exorbitant.
Cumi & CIki : Grappa. i neverbothered to check the brands though. hehe … the looks of it had me hooked.
mimid3vils : yeah, the portion was more than enough.
550ml jar of faith : the curries. they're devils.
Nic : oooh … now it's SEXY? you really have a way with words lah you … NOT camp this time around. It's work, and fun.
raynebow : Asoka Corner easier to locate, and with its own following as well.
worldwindows : thanks for visiting.
sc : yeah! potent yet different and nice. least lessen the sweet/yucky feeling of some chocs.
email2me : menglembu. hahaha … though Chemor MAY have its own brand of wantan mee, you never know …
kampungboycitygal : harden?! aiya.. cannot put into freezer one ma.
ahlock : haha, now THIS is great. if ever we overspent on food, we;ll be therein a jiffy!
but seriously, cannot eat free lah … feel bad afterwards, did you not?
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i like alcohol but i’ve never liked them in my chocolates. taste being said, i have never been a fan of anthonberg chocolates.
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YilingL : a little bit of rum, or cognac in chocs kinda spice things up for me.
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Chemor banan leaf!!!! I can’t imagine why it didn’t cross my mind the many decades I stay in Sg Siput and not trying any effort to even notice there is a BANANA LEAF indian restaurant in Chemor!!
Thanks man…wake me up!!!
LY.Tai
P/S: To try it now…..it is more difficult than ever consider I hardly come back.
LY.Tai
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hey LY, glad its not too late to discover the much raved about banana leaf rice?
do share your experience!
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I would say..SAMY is the most expensive Indian food restaurant in Perak.
I had just Mutton set & it cost me RM10.00. That was my last ever…btw, it the food was simply cold then.
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Hulk : yeah! i took the mutton set as well. somehow came to more than RM10. atrocious!
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My father in law lives in Chemor. He told me last week that the quality of the food at Samy’s Restaurant is no longer as good as maybe 4 to 5 years ago. I had tried the food there when I first visited Samy. It was really, really good. But now, according to my father in law, the food is not as tasty and too pepperish.
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yaya…is very nice food..cause is my hometown..i miss tat place,food alot…
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Anonymous : actually, I find that the food at Samy’s was not mind-blowing, just average at best. but the crowd seemed kinda enjoying their banana leaf meals.
Ben : you’re from Chemor? hehe. then what else to recommend?
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~SaMY's GoaT HeaD CuRRY, YUMMY!!!
tatz mY most fav dish dder.. check it out guyzz~
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Blackpoison : goat's head curry?! aiks, that's new. thanks for the recommendation anyway.
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looks good…i just had lunch and i am hungry again….
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i went to samy’s after 4 years and and the only change is the size of the restaurant.with the over priced food no wonder they can add the space. same old food with just a lot of hype. J2K & hulk next time u must be careful when u order the food. there are 2 types of mutton , malaysian & frozen meat . malaysian mutton costs more . be aware that they wont inform the options to u , only the more expensive one will be served.
same with the chicken. the ‘ayam kampung’ or the normal chicken. be very spesific.the seafood there is crazy. taking one plate of crab is the same as eating at a good chinese seafood restaurant with 3 dishes .
they will only tell this when u see the bill. dont expect a thank you when you pay ur hefty bill there. not even a smile..
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[...] Samy Banana Leaf Rice @ Chemor [...]
i went there for lunch , 4pax.
2 set of chicken curry + 2 set of curry mutton.
Total bill RM105 !!!! Day light robbery
However it was finger lickin good but i’ll not return again
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 24th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
RM105 ….. ?! Wow. That’s a little too expensive compared to the usual banana leaf curry rice fares.
DId you ask them to itemize?
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