Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

There is this bistro-cafe-pub-lounge like place in Greentown Business Centre that has been earning stripes in both positive and negative aspects. Cocooon Cafe (no spelling error, it’s spelled with that many O’s) started business sometime in the beginning of this year (can’t be sure, for I seldom venture out to that jammed area for lunch anymore these days).

Set Lunch – Dory Fish Fillets cooked in a light garlic and butter sauce, served with a side of herbs rice and potato wedges. RM14.90/USD4.60 for a set with a soup, a dessert and a drink.

Okay, I do admit that the ambience plays a pertinent role in ensuring a most pleasurable dining experience. To which I have to give credits to the management of Cocooon Cafe, for the interior of the premise looks resplendent yet comfortable with soft hues of natural light streaming from the sidewalks.

Cocooon Cafe - A relatively new dining sensation in the heart of the city; Greentown Business Centre of Ipoh.

Painted with an eye-catching purple shade on the outside, the cafe appears more like a pub or bistro than a fine dining settlement. Which, in this case works wonders as the casual environment befits a simple and quick lunch for the blue-collar workers around the vicinity. And Cocooon serves various affordable sets for lunch and dinner, but here comes the major lament ….

Read on to find out what they offer in the sets, and the daunting wait for our food …… CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

#1 – Cucumber Maki (RM12/USD3.60) – Delicately rolled prawns and unagi with fritters and topped with a dollop of spicy mayo, and roes.

Kizuna One Japanese Restaurant is located at the revamped Royal Perak Golf Club (RPGC) on Tiger Lane (Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah); and has been proudly serving authentic Japanese cuisine for about a year now. Many locals are still confused whether this restaurant is opened to the public, or catering only to the members of the club.

Much like the misunderstanding that reigned when I first posted on The Fairway (that other dining establishment in RPGC), let me clear the mystifying air of confusion for you readers.

BOTH OF THESE RESTAURANTS ARE OPENED TO THE PUBLIC. Just that, if you’re a member of RPGC, you will get discount from your total bill. There, that’s settled! Happy?

#2 – The majestically-splendour ambience of Kizuna One (K1) @ Royal Perak Golf Club

With that out of the way, let’s concentrate on the review of the day. Kizuna One is NOT a branch of the other Kizuna in Medan Ipoh Bistari, albeit the almost similar sounding names. Yes, there WERE some connections back then, and established relationships with Akamomiji and to some extent … even A Lai I. But everything dates back to the days of Moritomo; that fantastic Japanese restaurant in Jusco Kinta City back in the late 90′s, and still famous during their stint in the early noughties.

Among the many Japanese restaurants in Ipoh today; Kizuna One triumphs indefinitely in the elegance, exclusivity and ambience departments. Read on to find out how exactly the feast turned out to be one of the BEST dining experiences we have had in a long time ….. CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Taiping Signature Popiah Stall @ Restoran Air Kacang Taiping – Over 40 years of history, and the locals still swear by the fresh popiah he makes.

Since we started on Aulong Heo Pia (flaky and crispy fragrant biscuits) in the last post, let’s see what other delectable hawker fares Taiping has to offer. Taiping for the uninitiated, is a town to the north of Perak (about 70 kilometres away, and accessible using the North-South Expressway) and famous for the Lake Gardens, Taiping Zoo (both daytime, and the Night Safari), Bukit Larut aka Maxwell Hill and the heaviest annual rainfall in Malaysia; hence the Wettest Town in Malaysia moniker.

A roll of fresh popiah at RM1.40/USD0.40; the rolls are comparably smaller, but wetter than Ipoh’s version.

Being the second biggest town in Perak, Taiping is populated by good eats lefts and rights. The sizeable Chinese community (conversing in a smattering mix of Mandarin-Hokkien and some Cantonese) and the generally well-preserved quaint environment (pre-colonial buildings still reign supreme, and no skyliners … yet?) make Taiping an ideal place for street food hunt and shutterbugs to gather for some shooting sessions. The tranquil scene at the Lake Gardens for instance, is a sight to behold. Century old rainforest trees hovering over the pristine waters, tipping the surface with their branches and forming a canopy-like foliage of greens. A haven for the joggers, walkers, and tourists.

Read on to discover some of Taiping’s signature hawker fares …… CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Heo Pia or Heong Peah, or Heong Peng in Cantonese is literally translated to ‘Fragrant Biscuits’; a type of confectionery believed to have originated from Teluk Intan of Perak, but there are detractors who claim that Gunung Rapat in Ipoh was the place that started baking this biscuit.

So where does Taiping come in the picture? Seriously, I do not care much about the origin of Heong Peah, for you can’t get the same generic taste in Ipoh, Teluk Intan or even Taiping.

I have written about Seng Kee; the coconut shell-broiled in large urns heong peah in Gunung Rapat of Ipoh and how the fantastically crispy and flaky pastry won me over …. not to mention the sheer delight in knowing that they STILL bake the biscuits in the most traditional manner.In Teluk Intan, you can find various confectioneries selling Heong Peah, from the famous Tiger Head brand named Sin Joo Heang to Ta Sin Guan Tin and Sin Guan Hoe.

For this post, let me bring you up north … to the serene town of Taiping where we ventured to seek for this legendary Heo Pia (‘legendary’ for the famed biscuits, as well as the notoriously hidden location) in Aulong; a small township to the west of Taiping town.

CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Just the other day I read with much interest, a comment on All About Ipoh about some of the older dining establishments in Ipoh. If you have been a true-blue Ipohan all along (a baby of the 80′s, at the very least) then you might have heard of names like Kok Kee and Kwong Chow Dim Sum, Tho Yuen, and the very famous Chee Seng on Jalan Theatre.

Still standing strong amidst the slew of NEW dim sum outlets; Ying Fa is a hidden gem the youngsters of today have probably never heard of, let alone aware of the existence at one corner of Belfied Street.

Of course, all of the names above are but long gone. For me, I had the fondest memories at Kok Kee; a dim sum restaurant that opens until late at night. The aforementioned restaurant occupied a spacious lot on Hugh Low Street (next to the current Hee Lai Ton Restaurant), and was one of the pioneers among dim sum eateries in Ipoh during the 80′s, aside from the very famous Foh San on Osborne Street, and maybe Ming Court/Yoke Fook Moon …. but I was too young back then to be sure of the facts.

Glad to see the locals (mostly families, or extended families) still patronizing Ying Fa, and not succumbing to the allure of the now legendary Dim Sum Street of Ipoh ….

However, let’s not count the immensely valiant Ying Fa out from this equation. Yes, about four decades of legacy, and amazingly still soldiering on albeit the dwindling of customers due to the other more commercialized and comfortable settings, and the sheer amount of publicity that has been pumped into strengthening the “BIG 3″ amongst Dim Sum Restaurants in Ipoh.

Read on to find out why was I enticed by Ying Fa, and what they offer aside from the generic array of dim sum ……..  CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

Secret Garden Bistro – The open air dining concept (al fresco) taken to different heights; Sipping on your wine while being caressed by the soothing splatters of water from the fountain, and hopefully …. some lush greenery in the near future.

I would be lying if I say I am not intrigued by the sheer pleasure of introducing yet another new eatery in Ipoh, although this one being relatively new. The official launch of Secret Garden was sometime during the first week of August 2010. The bistro started operating way back in June or July, but the boutique hotel on the first floor (only three premium rooms, as far as I know) designed to exude a certain heritage aura will only be opened for reservations in the near future.

The rustic charm in the carefully executed planning and designing of the facade and interior of Secret Garden deserves a mention; especially those supposedly-REAL barrels used to prop up a glass table top at the bar area.

Many are still kept in the dark about the exact location of Secret Garden, or what type of cuisine one can expect to indulge themselves in. Heck, even if you zoom by this lane leading to Secret Garden, all lined with a tall foliage of trees, you might just miss the place as there is NO huge signboard lighted up with neon spotlights, nor engraved walls/tiles with the company’s name emblazoned on them.

To clear the air of mystique surrounding Secret Garden, read on to discover what could have been Ipoh’s best kept secret …… until NOW.

CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »