Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Restoran Lou Wong Tauge Ayam Kuetiau has to be the MOST famous of all Ipoh’s restaurants, bar none. Ask any outsiders, foreigners, or even the locals themselves on where to have dinner (or supper, commonly) if you’re down in Ipoh for one night only, the chances are most would mutter the name; Lou Wong Nga Choy Kai (“Nga Choy Kai” means Tauge Ayam, or Bean Sprouts Chicken).

Even when most locals do not frequent the highly-sought after, yet slightly over-rated premise any longer. You can find out more about other Nga Choy Kai outlets in Ipoh by clicking the following link : Tauge Ayam in Ipoh.

Come early or come late, and you’re bound to get yourself worked up, frustrated, or even astonished at the sheer amount of human traffic going for their Ipoh famous bean sprouts chicken fix. Come rain or shine, night or day. For your information, Lou Wong opens for lunch and dinner now, until the late hours of the night (or should I say wee hours of the morning?).

If you’re there on a weekend, or public holidays, be prepared to stand around (much like Foh San, but only not as sightly, for you’re practically forced to stand by the roadside for this one).

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I was sour. I felt disappointed. But yet I concurred and paid a visit to Ipoh famous “Tong Sui Kai” aka Dessert Street (Pusat Makanan Rainbow City yesterday night (anyone bumped into me there?), for the inaugural Ipoh Hawkers’ Fest/Karnival Penjaja Ipoh, lasting from 25th-27th December 2009.

I can’t hide the fact that I felt short-changed when first laying my eyes on that piece of flyer distributed prior to the launching of the event yesterday. But Christmas SHOULD be a time for forgiveness, joy and a resounding cheers, instead of jeers.

So, just sit back, embrace the long weekend, and enjoy the shots of the event mentioned ……

Menteri Besar of Perak – Dato` Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir making his rounds, buying some HEONG PENG?!!!

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UPDATED : I have received two e-mails of apology, one from the designer of the flyer, and another from a representative of MCA Ipoh Timur. Apologies have been accepted and this issue has been laid to rest.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and I don’t really wanna project a grumpy image ala The Grinch. But when your pictures are blatantly ripped off from your blog, without prior notifications nor credits given when they’re supposed to, I could not help but feeling somewhat cheated. Plagiarism at this time and age may seems rampant (given the era of social networking and seamless-connectivity),  but this incident had me furious initially, confused the very next, and in the end I was somewhat amused.

Why? Because my photos were stolen and used for a campaign jointly organized by Tourism Malaysia and MCA of Ipoh Timur (both governmental bodies in Malaysia), to promote the recently initiated food portal named Fabulous Food 1Malaysia – With a month long campaign this December, highlighted with food fests all over Malaysia.

This promotional flyer was distributed and reached my hands yesterday night. I was well aware of this event from The Star (read article HERE, dated 22nd December 2009). But never would have imagined the publicity campaign took a most wicked turn on its own, by indulging in shortcuts and plagiarism.

Out of the 15 foods shots above, at least 12 were mine. I was astounded and speechless at the moment I was browsing the A4-sized flyer, for I instantly recognized some of the food pics from my previous posts. Not to say they’re professionally-shot pictures or anything; in fact some of the pictures were taken with my cheapo 3.2megapixel camera phone back then, when I have yet to purchase my Lumix LX3.

No contact numbers, e-mail addresses nor identity of the PR company which printed these was available.

So what would YOU do if you’re in my shoes? On one hand, I’m feeling mighty pissed-off for they took the easy way out and acted like thieves. But on the other hand, this event will no doubt increase awareness and general interest on Ipoh’s most famous Hawker Food, a notion I fully support for this is one of the MAIN reason I’m blogging about Ipoh food anyway.

Details for the Event :

IPOH HAWKERS’ FEST 2009
25-27 DECEMBER 2009
LOCATION : PUSAT MAKANAN RAINBOW CITY
(This is the famous stretch of hawker stalls at Tong Sui Kai aka Dessert Street)

You think J2Kfm’s motormouthing without substantial evidences? Hop over to the following posts, and do simple comparisons …

Mee Kari Ipoh Garden @ Jalan Pasir Puteh

Teluk Intan Famous Glutinous Rice @ New Weng Fatt, Ipoh Garden South

Canning Garden Famous Chee Cheong Fun

Kam Hor Tauge Ayam/Bean Sprouts Chicken @ Ipoh Garden

Ah Leng Char Koay Teow @ Jalan Dato Keramat, PENANG

## And with that, J2Kfm would like to wish all the readers … a MOST Merry X’mas, and a splendid Happy New Year! ##

A most saliva-inducing, gastronomic trail awaits you …. DON’T say I did not warn you …….

After the amassed listing of Ipoh Street Foods not long ago, I’ve decided to write about a few eateries in one single post, rather than separating them into several shorter blogposts. No particular reason for this, but I’d rather have you tormented enjoying a much longer rambling extravaganza from J2Kfm, than having you begging for more at the end of the post.

I can be such a nuisance, can’t I? It’s all in the spirit of giving, nonetheless. So here goes nothing  …..

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De Garden is projected to be the next hip place to hangout, be it for the retail outlets, or for the admirable number of eateries destined to open very soon. The row of shops (about 60 outlets in all) are all painted in whites, punctuated with funky elements of reds and blacks. I’m never that appreciative nor descriptive of designs and ambience, hence pardon the amateur-ish comments. But to sum it all up, De Garden really does lend a touch of class to the generic/lacklustre designs of the other retail outlets in Ipoh.

The FIRST F&B outlet to open for business @ De Garden – T.O.S (Taste Of South) Coffee Bistro

If the name De Garden somewhat reminds you of another shopping centre (or lifestyle mall, or whatever they fancy the good old shopping complex to be now), that’s probably because the concept vaguely resembles The Gardens @ Midvalley, Kuala Lumpur. The barren whites for the design, the simple layout which screams elegance, and some tall palm trees at the compound fronting the main road of Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. Some extra foliage would have been a welcoming touch though.

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Good food don’t come easy. For instance, in search of the BEST curry fish head in Ipoh, one may have to bear the brunt of relentless traffic on Jalan Yang Kalsom, the Malaysian weather in her most glorious episodes of mood swing (scorching one second, chilly the very next), and even have to (SHOCK!HORROR!) walk up a seemingly endless flights of stairs to reach the restaurant situated on the third floor of Wisma Kinta, named Up & Up Restaurant, aptly.

A pleasantly hearty meal in the most unassuming of location – Up & Up Restaurant @ Jalan Yang Kalsom

Even the lady boss herself, named Anne, admitted that the location of the restaurant is by far, not the most strategic one. With no obvious signboards nor directions, Up & Up Restaurant is huddled up on the top-most floor in a rather deserted building named Wisma Kinta, which no doubt has seen better days.

Passing by the now jaded structure on Jalan Yang Kalsom, a pale shadow of its former self (Philippe Sum, the famous hair stylist had an outlet there back in the glory days), you would be squinting for any signs of life left in Wisma Kinta. And probably wondering aloud whether J2Kfm played a trick by directing you to a secluded spot with a somewhat haunting ambience.

The Undisputed King of Curry Fish Head in Ipoh …… 30 years of history speaks volume of its popularity, does it not?

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There’s this really, REALLY famous Chinese ‘Zhu Zhar’ restaurant (Chinese eatery serving rice with various dishes) in Pasir Puteh, that may not require any introduction at all. Especially those staying around the area of Pasir Puteh, or Pengkalan, this restaurant named Peng Tau (literally translated to “Soldier’s Head”, or “General”?) is located  in Taman Boon Bak, at a corner of a row of shops almost hidden in the midst of the residential area.

This restaurant opens from 5pm daily (except Tuesdays, so don’t go knocking) until about 10pm+. But take heed of this advice, go as EARLY as humanly possible, for you’ll regret if you go during peak hours (anytime between 6.30-8.30pm, especially on weekends or public holidays.

We did just that on a Sunday, and paid the consequences. Seated on the outside of the restaurant (there were 2-3 tables on the grassy terrains overlooking the field adjacent to the restaurant), we persevered for more than 40 minutes before being served, and the lord of the weather chose to play a most dastardly trick on us – It started to rain !!!

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