Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

The popularity (and to some extent … exclusivity) of this asam laksa stall along Jalan Lahat in Falim is almost unrivalled. You have to really plan your itinerary well to coincide with their business hours; 2 hours or so every week on a Sunday afternoon.

There were times when I woke up early on a Sunday morning, all primed and ready for an avalanche of food reviews; from breakfast to brunch, then late lunch and tea break to dinner and finally supper. That used to the old Motormouth.

Fast forward 5 years later, and waking up early is not an issue, but to prepare the system for a barrage of food; each meal separated by time-out periods of merely 2-3 hours apart? No, thanks. And yes, now that’s ageing for ya!

It was one chilly Sunday morning with heavy showers since 7am, thus I threw all carefully laid-out ‘makan’ plans out of the windows, and continue my deep slumber. Two hours later, and the rain was still relentless. And I forced myself out of bed. Thinking to myself; “Man! …. this is one Sunday that I shall not miss!”

And thus, let’s start with this story of a visit to Falim House where today is the LAST DAY of “A Tin Mining Family” exhibition (until 6pm only, so go now and come back to read later!), and followed by a most divine laksa feast.

Call this heaven if you will. Don’t compare to Penang’s version, but this comes really close enough to make it to the top of my Ipoh’s favourite asam laksa list. 

Been ages since I have set my aim on this stall that opens only on Sundays, and a few hours only from about 11.30am – 12pm onwards. You can’t miss the crowd standing around the make-shift stall shaded only by colourful parasols. The stall is situated on Lahat Road, as you travel from town towards Menglembu/Lumut. Remember this post on Sun Kim Aik dim sum? The laksa stall is parked at the start of the same row of shops, on the right side of the road if you’re going towards Menglembu.

You have to bear with the heat (which in today’s case, was almost non-existent thankfully), and stand in line even if you’re seated along the walkway populated with plastic tables and chairs. No, you don’t have to carry your own bowl of laksa, but you need to wait for your turn before you can order.

Ordering the food is easy enough; pick your favourite pieces of fried yong tau foo; ranging from the Ipoh’s iconic Sar Kok Liew (crunchy fried stuffed yambean) to Foo Pei (deep fried crispy beancurd sheets), served with a ladle of their killer asam laksa soup.

The laksa here deserves all the celebrity hype and fanfare. Loaded with pieces of mackerel (though I thought they were sardines in the first place), cucumber and onions; the combustion of savoury, spicy, sour and sweet flavours resulted in a fabulous laksa experience. They serve you with an optional spoonful of shrimp paste (har kou); the black-coloured, pungent liquid that is almost synonymous with great-tasting asam laksa, but you can choose to omit that if you’re not fond of the taste.

“A TIN MINING FAMILY” Exhibition @ Falim House, Jalan Lahat (12 May – 11 Aug 2013, 10am – 6pm)

You’ll see the ever-passionate, Commander Ian Anderson walking through the crowd on stories about the origins of Ipoh; peppered with delicious facts that you might not have known.

The reason Falim was on the itinerary again (after the tiny fish balls aka “Yue Dan Zai” noodles experience last 2 days) was for this exhibition, more than the asam laksa actually. Arriving immediately after breakfast at Plan B in old town (more on that in an upcoming post), the place was already filled with eager families walking through the premise; admiring the past legacies of how Ipoh was built on her tin mining success stories. This exhibition is brought to you by IpohWorld; a non-profit organization spearheading education and awareness of Perak’s heritage.

I shall leave with you the photographs I took (you are allowed to take overview shots, not capturing every image and video) and the immensely rich memories and knowledge we brought home from the experience. A pity that I discovered about this exhibition a little too late …. Today’s the LAST DAY and they will be opened until 6.00pm only.

So if you are still eager to drop by (and you should NOT miss this) go and make your way over to Falim House NOW. The exhibition ends today, and visiting hours until 6.00pm only. Meanwhile for the Falim Laksa stall, wait another week ya? They should be closed by now.

Falim Sundays-only Asam Laksa Stall
Corner of Jalan Lahat-Jalan Foo Nyit Tze, Falim, 
30020 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Sundays only, from 11.30am until sold out (about 4pm).
GPS : 4.583494,101.065001

Falim House – “A Tin Mining Family Exhibition” (until Sunday, 11 Aug 2013, 6pm only – entrance is FOC) is located on the opposite side of the same road, further down towards the traffic lights where you can turn RIGHT to Lumut highway. GPS : 4.582553,101.065108