Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

This … is my “Lazy Song”

You know those gorgeous days when you wake up to a drizzling weather; raindrops pitter-pattering outside of your windows and the sun barely stealing a glance over from the horizon even though the time was nigh for a sunny jog?

Ahhh … the blissful thought of a homecooked, heartwarming breakfast (or brunch) to kickstart the day with.

Sorry, not for me.

I for one, will never stay in bed for hours even on rainy weekends; wasting precious minutes on idling around while there are golden opportunities out there to eat, eat and eat without the hassle of jostling with the usual weekend mornings’ ‘yum cha’ crowd, the ones hogging the seats after a “morning walk” (so-called, just so they can gorge on sinful plethora of dim sum and what-nots!) and eardrum-blasting yells of kids dragged out of bed by eager parents.

The savoury Indian doughnut; Vadai.

Oh gosh … you must be thinking; here goes Motormouth again on one of his ‘off-days’. Babbling on utter nonsense while the poor readers are treated to a century’s long worth of grandfather’s stories, intermittent (thankfully!) with food shots.

Somehow, I kept wishing today’s a Thursday. Or at least I kept telling my colleagues about tomorrow being last day of the week, long lunch session, plans over the weekend (going Singapore on Sunday … erm, yay?) etc. While hastily/passionately tying up loose ends, drafting fire-fighting measures in hope of reducing ‘mortalities’ over the next week when I’ll be out of the office, and drilling senses into various thick skulls.

Thosai; a healthier creation of a rice and lentil pancake fermented to give that distinct sourness; tampered by a fibrous and richer coconut chutney.

And knowing that tomorrow’s only Wednesday, and this is my first full week of work after a month or so of being blessed with public holidays, replacement leaves, etc ….. the spirit got dampened real quick.

Which is why I wanted to share an elaborate write up on Ipoh old town; for I still believe that the Perak government is doing a measly chore in drawing attention to the state … being Visit Perak Year 2012 and all.

Bet you did not even realize that.

THE Malaysian breakfast? I dare say, on par with Nasi Lemak.

However, as luck would have it, today I lost track of time. The weeks after weeks of eating and the late hours at work lessen the chance of me actually working the calories off; successfully pumping kilos into this frame best suited for a Hulk audition. Or maybe Shrek, had they decided to do a live action version of the green ogre.

Thus, I pushed myself a wee bit this evening and burned off the piles of decadence since March.

Okay, nobody will buy that. But it sure as hell felt like it. Especially when the limbs went into hibernation mode after weeks of being pampered with rich, caloric-laden delights yet reducing the need to go into an aerobic/anaerobic overdrive.

Silky smooth, Malaysian style of pulled milk tea (Teh Tarik) and Teh Masala (spiked with spices)

And so, back to the rainy Sunday morning chapter; we drove to Bangsar albeit the extremely discouraging weather. And ended up at Devi’s Corner; a legend in its own right (in more ways than one, and in both a positive AND negative way ….) situated beside Bangsar Village II Shopping Centre. A short distance away would be Nirwana Maju; THE place for banana leaf curry rice in Bangsar and perpetual queue forming during lunch. Don’t push your luck on weekdays.

The service left much to be desired, and the Indian flatbreads were good. Not stellar, but above average. The fish curry was an absolute charmer; thick as a puree with the right balance of flavours. Sadly, the same could not be said about the dhall curry; which was a diluted pool of bland beans. The Masala Tea was the perfect beverage during such weather; though the sun was already hinting on a blistering afternoon soon after. The Vadai (deep-fried fritter made of dhal, lentil, flour) here was good, but would be better if studded with more green chillies.

They serve banana leaf rice upstairs too, but be cautious as some had claimed on Foursquare that they will charge you extra for the same food if you’re seated upstairs. Not confirmed, but just be alerted. The meal came to around RM10/USD3.30 for the two of us. The ‘roti canai’ was priced at RM1.30, and Masala tea at about RM2.20. So you can gauge the slight escalation of prices, understandable given the prime location of Bangsar though.

Oh … how has YOUR week been so far?

Devi’s Corner
14, Jalan Telawi 2,
Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Opposite of Bangsar Village 2 Shopping Centre.
Opens throughout the day.