Tasty Snacks from Simee Market @ Ipoh
July 30, 2010 | 25,550 views
Flaky, crumbly pastry encasing the wobbly, velvety smooth and rich egg custard within – Best Egg Tart in Ipoh?
Fridays are supposed to be fun. So here’s a short post on something light, and delectably irresistible. To me at least.
Choy Kee Confectioneries has always been my favourite brand of egg tarts in Ipoh. (Read the previous post here). They operate every morning from a humble stall at the Simee wet market in Ipoh. If you’re thinking why-oh-why should you wake up at such inhumane hour to visit a wet market together with the housewives, aunties, uncles and peddlers selling everything from giant bullfrogs to pots and pans, and of course; durians (seasonal, of course).
Other than egg tarts, Choy Kee also bakes up a whole medley of sumptuous breads, and pastries. Read on to find out about the other treats you can expect from Simee market, and the location of the market itself ….
“For this, I shall sacrifice a few hours of my precious sleep.“
Choy Kee has a strong history behind the name. In Ipoh, aside from Choy Kee, the other famous egg tart brands are Hong Kee on Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar (Cockman Street) near to the previous Super Kinta, and Nam Heong (the white coffee specialist) bakes reasonably good ones as well.
We call this “Charn Pau” – Sticky, caramelized Char Siew fillings enclosed within a baked bun. As traditional as it can get.
Choy Kee’s “Gai Sou” (Chicken Pie/Tart), “Char Siew Sou” (BBQ pork fillings in a puff pastry) and “Charn Pau” are all great alternatives, in case the egg tarts run out.
Don’t laugh, for the tarts run out VERY fast, especially on weekends and public holidays. They bake them in batches, hence you can ask when will the next batch of freshly-baked tarts will be out from the oven.
But the one item I have always been craving for from Choy Kee, and they make them oh-so-randomly is the “Kong Sou Peng” (KSP). A cross between a bun and a cookie, the ultra soft biscuit (if you can even call it that, but ‘peng’ means biscuit in Chinese) with a faintly sweet nuance from the sugary dough has never failed to be termed as ‘comfort food’ in my books. By the way, you can push your luck in seeking for the KSP, for even the lady manning the stall is not sure when they have KSP for sale. The production premise is at another location though, and everything’s transported to this stall at certain intervals via a man on bike. You can catch him with engine roaring and all, zooming his way into the market in the mornings, delivering the confectioneries to this stall.
Various dough fritters; but none that stood out like Happy at Canning Garden’s New Hollywood Restaurant. The “Mah Giok” or Horse’s hoof was good, literally covered with sesame seeds.
Sweet Potato Balls – Gorgeously golden orange, with a chewy centre and a slightly crispy exterior. At 20 cents per piece, seems like a little upmarket now, ya?
By the way, in case you’re wondering how does the sweet potato ball fare against the famous Petaling Street’s, then I can safely tell you that …. this is way better. I don’t know about you, but I did not like the Petaling Street’s one; in spite of the mass media coverage the lady has been getting from TV channels, blogs, and magazines. The balls tasted slightly artificial, with a starchy texture, and not as pleasantly sweet. Good thing was, she fries them fresh on the spot. So you get piping hot (or maybe scalding?) “Fan Shu Dan” to satisfy your cravings.
And if you’re craving for something savoury and more filling …. go for the Cucur Udang (Prawn Crackers) from a stall at the other end of the market. Finishes quite early, hence go for them as early as possible.
I used to really, really like the Cucur Udang (Chinese version) from a stall at the Ipoh Garden East’s night market every Tuesday. But then the quality dropped drastically, and the “prawns became shrimps”. Then the last I tried, the batter was way too starchy and tasteless, with measly cubes of yambean.
But this one from Simee Market is good. Really, really addictive. Maybe slightly greasy, but that’s an understatement. The crunchy crackers, with a soft centre loaded with cubed yambean, and two crispy prawns with shells intact embed in the middle of the snack. Dip the crackers into the chili sauce provided, or without, and I assure you’d be satisfied.
Unless of course, you’re allergic to seafood or prawns in particular, then don’t blame me for a hypersensitivity reaction! 🙂
Simee Market is located in Kampung Simee near to Ipoh Garden-Tasek-Fair Park in Ipoh. Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to the market situated on Jalan Pasar, Kampung Simee, 31400 Ipoh, Perak.
# Choy Kee is located near to the main entrance, on the left. Behind Choy Kee is the rather famous Chee Cheong Fun stall. The ‘Cucur Udang’ is located at the back portion of the market, in front of the grocery stores. Simee Market closes on Mondays. #
Updated 31st July 2010 – Choy Kee has a branch in Bercham. Here’s their address taken from their site : 37, Persiaran Bercham Timur, Taman Bercham Baru, 31150 Ipoh.
Happy Weekend Everyone !!!!
Yes, the egg tart there is good… Miss those…
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Yes! It’s definitely the best in Malaysia. I’m going to get some tomorrow morning…
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Hahah, where’s the CCF review?
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 11:42 am
Hi Bob. Haha …. if you had realized, I shot all the snacks in the comfort of my home. 🙂
Everything ta-pau-ed but not by me. I was still sleeping in on a Sunday morning.
Anyway, I patronized that CCF stall few times before, and glad to say the CCF sold by the two aunties is very classic, simple without much fuss.
I particularly like their mushroom gravy with minced pork.
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Happy Weekend to you too. My…I am already hungry. 😀
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Gosh James… the choy kee egg tarts… must go early morning to simee… i only managed to eat when i go outstation cos that is the only time i wake up early to go to the market.. other than that, always sold out one.. the charn pau is also very nice esp. when it is still freshly warm and soft.. yummy!
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 11:39 am
Yeah, but they have a branch in Bercham!
I forgot to mention in the post. I will update that later.
You can get the tarts and sit down for some tea I think …….
But the egg tarts there come in batches.
I usually go for the 8.45am one. 🙂
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I’m so hungry now.. Till now i still haven’t get to taste Choy Kee egg tarts & others.. I’ve always been eating Hong Kee egg tarts.. Perhaps you can help me buy all those yummy snacks & bring to me & i’ll pay you back..
Well i’ll treat you dim sum @RC..*winks*.. hehe..
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 11:40 am
Melody, I wanna ask you but kept forgetting.
Does SFS serve set lunch and/or set dinner now?
Egg tarts for a dim sum meal? Haha … so nice ah?
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melody Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 12:20 am
At the moment, SFS doesn’t served lunch/dinner set as yet.. shall keep you informed..
Yalor since you sacrificed your time to help me buy mah so should return favour by treating ya back,,
Serious le.. just give me a buzz..*smile*
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 10:29 am
Oh I see. Do inform me if SFS decides to serve them.
Haha … sure sure. Now let me wait til one fine day when I can wake up that early for the tarts …..
The pastry of egg tart looks like quite thick wor & the filling of chan bao very little too 🙁
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 11:38 am
The pastry for the tarts looks thick, but actually tasted good. They’re buttery and flaky.
Most importantly, the gorgeous egg custard within.
And the chan bao actually has more fillings, but I took one big bite and snapped already. Hehe …. unprofessionally.
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yaya.. agree… the egg tart here is the BEST.. hehe…
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I work in Kuching for the past 10 years but my home town is Taman Wah Keong, just next to Kg Simee. Like your blog keep it up!
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Thanks ck. I’m sure you would have tasted this many, many times!
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Owhhh..Hungry…Especially looking at the cucur udang..:(
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i want yau char kuai! =D
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Sweet Potato Balls seems sooo good…! it’s supper hr =X
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My fav! 😀
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Do you know the address for Choy Kee in Menglemnbu ?
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J2Kfm Reply:
May 4th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Hi Alice, no I don’t have their address. Maybe you can visit them at Simee (do a food tour of the market, grab a plate of CCF and some fresh egg tarts/)
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