Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Ipoh style of Dry Curry Kuey Teow (Sar Hor Fun) with abundance of juicy bean sprouts, handful of chopped scallions, perfectly poached chicken, potatoes and beancurd (tau fu pok) underneath. Options include crackling roast pork (siew yoke), char siew (caramelized BBQ pork slices) or even curry cockles! 

Pardon the slight hiatus between posts lately. Must be the almighty’s way of telling this glutton to rest up and concentrate on the finer things in life. Those precious little moments we tend to neglect of their existence …. their importance and prominence.

Internet connection at home has been down for two days. To no solid reason yet, at least according to the lady on the other line from TM. Whatever it is, keeping my hopes up for some optimistic outcome tonight.

A short filler of a post today; since Boo threw me a question on where to get the closest thing to the real deal in Ipoh; and we are on to dry curry mee, let me share this place in Ara Damansara …..

Good quality “sar hor fun” should be thin, smooth, of a bouncy texture yet not overly hardened/chewy/soft. And of course almost devoid of any chemical taste, from over-processing of the rice noodles.

I have been eating at this place for the last 10 months …. ever since I moved to PJ, actually. You know, something funny about us food bloggers is that, we tend to shy away from writing about the food that we eat on a daily basis, or the closest neighbourhood kopitiam we frequent the most. At least that’s my impression, judging from the feedback I garnered.

This stall housed in a coffee shop named Do Re Mi (what a name huh?) in Ara Damansara serves Ipoh style of ‘kai see hor fun’ (chicken kuey teow soup) and curry noodles in the mornings. The old couple are a patient lot, although they do compromise on their speed of serving the bowls of noodles to the customers, especially on busier mornings.

Don’t dismiss this as just another run-of-the-mill stall proclaiming dominance with the “IPOH” moniker. And you’d imagine foreign workers lifelessly blanching the noodles and tossing the ready-made pot of curry with nary a glimmer of passion. Oh no ….. see the Chinese couple at work, and be amazed at how they shower each bowl with utmost passion.

A friend recommended this stall to me. A fellow Ipohan who has been residing in this city on steroids for a good few years now. He must have sensed my longing for good old Ipoh style noodles, and urged me to give this a try. Since it’s the closest thing to what Ipoh has to offer.

Verdict? I dare say, he’s right. So far. A very thick gravy redolent with spices and not overly greasy, coating the beautiful strands of flat rice noodles in a sizeable portion. The accompanying roast pork, poached chicken and potatoes added much substance to the serving.

Not tongue-numbingly spicy, yet with a pleasant tingle to the palate, and a creamy gravy that went really well with the noodles. Crunchy bean sprouts upped the ante for I have always hated limp, lifeless, wriggly sprouts served commonly here.

Mee Sapi (Beef Tripes Noodles) from another stall – Not too bad, but came across rather bland. This Sarawak/Sibu-inspired stall also serves classic Kampua mee etc.

I won’t compare the curry noodles to the BEST of what Ipoh has to offer. But on a serious note, this old couple’s version can really kick some a$$es. I for one, found myself relishing in the thought of weekend brunch here, slurping on their creation with a half-hearted attempt of imagining I’m back in my hometown, sipping on white coffee to wash them all down.

Wait, did I mention that Do Re Mi serve pretty good beverages too? On good days, the milk tea is of superior quality compared to the average coffee shops; a well-balanced milky and astringent taste from the tannins. But then again … quality may differ when your cup of tea is prepared by a different person. And yes, they hire quite a number of foreigners running the place.

At night, the stall serving ‘siew chow’ (mini-fry, literally) individual portions of rice with a variety of meats/vegetables is a winner. Good sweet and sour pork, with sweet pineapples to boot. The Indian stall serves a reasonably good thosai, poori and chapati too.

Restoran Do Re Mi Mini Food Court
Jalan PJU 1A/20G,
Dataran Ara Damansara,
47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Simon Seow has been here before too. Nigel Low loved the bitter gourd noodles. Meals I Had fell for the fried noodles from the ‘siew chow’ stall.

*If you have been itching to know why I was so engrossed in seeking for a dry curry noodle worthy of Ipoh’s standards, read this post – All About Ipoh’s Curry Noodles