Curry Fish Head @ Up & Up Restaurant, Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh
December 19, 2009 | 5,582 viewsGood 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?
But wait, as you ascend those stairs (okay, you CAN take the lift, which is in its most rickety state to start with), you’ll soon catch a whiff of those fragrant curry powder/paste, the inviting spices and aroma of freshly cooked curries, and tangy tamarind aroma from the assam curry being cooked.
On the third floor of Wisma Kinta, you’ll bear witness to one of Ipoh’s best kept secret, Up & Up Restaurant, famed for its Curry Fish Head, Sambal Prawns with Petai, and Vinegar Pork Trotters.
The eerie-ly intimidating buttons in the elevator, the flight of stairs one has to brace before reaching …..erm, nirvana?!! And Wisma Kinta from the outside. No signboard of the restaurant at all.
The restaurant can easily seat a crowd of about 50-60 people, and fully air-conditioned. Of course, if you’re coming a large group, it’s highly recommended to reserve a table in advance. Relatively speaking, this restaurant adopts the what you see is what you get concept. No fancy menus, no specials of the day, nor even dodgy background music serenading your meal.
Either ask for their signature dishes, or practise the trusted point and order technique, referring to what the adjacent patrons are having. And I can assure you, people come to Up & Up for the Curry Fish Head, at least 80% of the time.
The gigantic fish head came in a most brilliant form. Served with a whole tomato, ladies fingers (okra), and drowned in a most tangy, slightly spicy (no fret if you’re one who suffers from IBD) gravy that’s redolent, almost creamy, with spices and bursting with flavours. Definitely more sour than the others I have tried (the imitators!), and packing a well-loved punch, the curry fish head was a lovely cross between thick, coconut milk-laden curry and assam curry (evident in the tangy flavour from the tamarind).
As sloppy as the Sambal Petai (stinkbeans) was being dished out, the dish was a delectable amalgam of flavours, perfectly combining the sour, sweet and spicy tinge from the paste, accentuated by the pungent (some may find them repulsive) aroma of the stinkbeans. And the addition of succulent prawns was completed the ensemble on a high note. A must-try, really. If you’re not fond of stinkbeans, you can choose to omit them, and have the Sambal Prawns instead. But if you ask me whether ‘petai’ is necessary in the dish, please refer to Motormouth’s 7 Deadly Sins post, and come to your conclusion.
The other two dishes we ordered were the simple fibrous option of Bean Sprouts (Tauge) with crunchy pieces of salted fish, and the Foo Yong Dan, or Omelette with Onions, Carrots etc. The latter was a little too greasy to our liking, and lacking the oomph in better versions with chopped Char Siew (barbecued marinated pork) and Shrimps. The Tauge was no doubt satisfactory, for those who think that Ipoh’s tauge sucks MUST have gotten up from the wrong side of the bed …….
Doesn’t this just SCREAM classic?!
The meal came to RM96 / USD27 for the four of us. A little pricey for Ipoh’s standards, but the fish head was well-worth the price paid. (It should be from a red snapper’s, though I can’t confirm the species, sorry).
Location & Contact Numbers :
Up & Up Restaurant
39-43, 3rd Floor, Wisma Kinta,
Jalan Yang Kalsom,
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-241 7089, or 605-255 6478.
Opens daily from 12pm until 9pm. Closed on Sundays.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP TO UP & UP RESTAURANT
Here is a review by Julian Si who proclaimed it to be the BEST in Ipoh.
I really ” shan ba ” , don’t even know there is such restaurant exist ! And , will take note about this . Thanks for sharing .
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Hey there, no you’re not. I only came to the knowledge about this place after reading some blogs and confronting my parents on this.
Very much secluded, no doubt.
Mostly the old-timers, or those who knew from words-of-mouth come to this outlet.
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It’s as expensive as in KL… :p But I don’t mind if the food are nice! :p
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Yeah, but the fish head and those prawns with petai should be costing as much.
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sambal petai is my all time favourite , ,,, when business is already good you need not have to have hang up signboard outside. It might attract income tax dept for a visit…..
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Hahahahaha ….. how true. But they could have moved to a more prominent location, and immerse in the limelight. For they do serve one of the better version of curry fish head in Ipoh.
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A bit weird that the owner keep staying at a not strategic place… but anyway, the food looks delicious!
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Yup, she had gotten a lot of suggestions to move her place, but still remained adamant on staying put, catering to her niche crowd, whom had been patronizing like only true fans would.
Not to say that’s a bad thing at all.
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Well, even if the owner chooses to stay put, she should do something about making it more visible, ie. having a signboard in front! *LOL* But the fish head curry does look tantalizing…
.-= iamthewitch´s last blog ..Carven Ong’s Spring/Summer Collection =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I guess it doesnt really matter to them, for their business is still thriving amidst the opening of so many new outlets in Ipoh.
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the fish head curry is worth all the climb.
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You know what catches my attention? The petai!!! I just loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee petai in sambal gravy!
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Oh ya been longing to ask u… R u using LX3 too?
.-= kyh´s last blog ..Great churches of Manado =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Hi there kyh, YES. I am using an LX3 for all the shots, since Feb of 2009.
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Only Ipohan know this place huh…
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Erm some outsiders may know bout this place, from words of mouth I guess.
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Curry Fish Head @ Up & Up Restaurant, Jalan Yang Kalsom, Ipoh | Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog…
BEST curry fish head and Sambal Petai. Really delicious stuff, but the restaurant is almost hidden away from the public eyes! So how did it survive for 30+ years?…
I don’t eat curry fish head. but it looks delicious.
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
You really SHOULD! They’re really smooth, sweet and good stuff.
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Hey, for ONCE, I know where this place is, since I was small…Because a cousin sister used to work here for a brief period of time…And she is working for a relative…which also make me a relative, what else?
Mom told me there is a branch somewhere, KL? Dunno…just somewhere out there…
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
REALLY?! Hahahaha .. then you should’ve recommended this to me earlier ma! Aiyo ……
No idea on the KL branch, but can enquire for you if you want.
So how long has it been since you last visited?
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LOL to the name Up & Up Restaurant! Certainly made you climb up and up! Haha!
Wow! Took so much hard work to taste the food here? Lucky you have the passion, for me I rather not go! LOL!
The Curry fish head looks delicious! I hope it’s as tasty as it looks!
I love sambal petai with prawns! Yummy!!!
Really, shouldn’t the boss of this restaurant do something to make the place more well known from the outside?
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 19th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Hahahaha … we took the stairs instead of the elevator initially. But after the meal, we were in our most bloated mode, instantly hopped into the hauntingly ancient structure and prayed we wont get transported to another realm.
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i love curry fish head.. especially the fatty bits … !
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My eye is on the petai prawns …… yummy!
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Hey Motormouth took you awhile to review this place!
I love going to this place since I was small! But the elevator creeps me out (you have to wait for the elevator to ‘bump’ before the doors open).
You forgot to order the vinegar pork trotters, but as far as it goes all the dishes are real good!
I reckon it’s the best fish head curry in Ipoh!
YumYum? Nah…
Kimbali? Not even par!
Even my brother loves it although he’s in aussie now.
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Hey there wenxuan, sorry late reply. Running around lately.
Yeah, I did not order the pork trotters, for rather hard to match with the meal with curries, and sambal petai.
ie : too much gravies!
There’s another rather popular version of curry fish head in Bercham, which has a strong following of its own.
San Chai.
Will get to that some time soon.
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[...] Up & Up Restaurant @ Jalan Yang Kalsom – Curry Fish Head! [...]
i tried out this restaurant last few weeks ago and to my disappointment,i think the standard dropped =(
the curry fish head was overly sour. and the fish was not that fresh either. there were 5 of us and we all could smell the foul smell of the curry fish head. maybe because we went on a weekday and they kept the fishes overnights. hope it would get better back in the future. =)
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Thanks for the comment kayy.
I have not been there since the last review. You could have informed them about the fish head though, they were rather receptive towards comments back then.
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