Fish Head Noodles @ Ipoh Garden, Ipoh
August 7, 2008 | 4,322 views
Fancy some fish head noodles?
The stall owners ran away, leaving a trail of dust, as soon as I took my phone out, LOL.
Situated in Ipoh Garden, directly next to Aneka Selera (or whatever it’s called nowadays), and within the vicinity of Woolley Food City, is this place named San Kam Wan Restaurant, housing several stalls selling hawker fare. (Point to ponder : Why is it that the usual coffee shop is rebranded as a restaurant nowadays? Higher status?)
The various ingredients – Soft beancurd, Salted Preserved Vegetables, Tomatoes, Ginger
Deep-fried to crispiness, but the boney parts certainly outnumber the flesh
The sour, tangy, and fiery dipping sauce
A bowl of fish head noodles (vermicelli being used) in all its glory
The lady commented that they branched out from Cheras, supposedly the stall there is quite popular for fish head noodles. They surveyed Ipoh, and could not find any fish head noodles resembling KL’s version with sour and thick milky broth. Therefore they wanted to “spread the lurve“, or so the saying goes.
Tastewise? Do not under-estimate the portion, as they were really generous with the noodles and the ingredients, being fried fish fillets. The soup was not as thick as I’d imagined, with a tinge of sourness that’s appetizing, and savoury from the preserved vegetables (ham choy) added. For roughly RM5.50-RM6.50 a bowl (sorry, I forgot to jot down the price), you certainly get your money’s worth. One minor gripe ; they have YET to serve the thicker type of rice noodles, which would be perfect. But she said it’s in the plans.
Seafood Noodles
Of course, if you wish to have something else, they do serve seafood noodles with prawns and scallops, and choy sum as well as fish slices. Well worth the RM5 paid.
Fried Dumplings (Gyoza)
Gyoza / Gao Ji (a Chinese snack, but famous in Japanese cuisine as well), are dumplings stuffed with meat (usually prawns and pork), chives and spring onions. Some outlets serve them steamed, but most pan-fried them. The dipping sauce plays a vital role as well, normally soy sauce with ginger (+ vinegar, sometimes) is the preferred accompaniment, but spicy chilli paste also complements the gyoza well, as in the case here.
Tackle the heat, Malaysian style …
Of course, slurping on a hot bowl of fish head noodles on a hot day sounds absurd. That’s when their Ais Kacang, and Tong Sui (Sweet Soup) come to rescue. Nothing beats chugging sweet spoonfuls of peanuts, sweet corns, cendol, cincau, and red beans to beat the heat. Yeah ….
Location : Restaurant San Kam Wan, beside Aneka Selera food court. Facing Woolley Food City, another revamped food court. Click HERE for my previous take on Woolley. This is situated behind Shell petrol station on Jalan Dato Lau Pak Khuan, which is situated opposite Hospital Fatimah.
i prefer the soup more than the noodle of my fish head noodle, i always finish the soup^^
[Reply]
J2kfm, may I vote u real motormouth for the turbo way u churned out your food blogs every other day that I enjoy viewing them than to write.
The ice kachang is lusciously nice with the red toppings, wonder what’s that.
I have been to Ipoh Garden cos that where my aunt and cousins once stayed and they have now shifted to KL. I remember going to tin mines and the black “gold” that my uncle once mentioned. Good old Ipoh, love to come one day.
[Reply]
A yummylicious combination of seafood noodles with prawns and scallops at RM5…cheap lor.
[Reply]
i guess the evaporated milk does make a difference. a much richer flavour. then again, the non-milky version does exude a “fresher” taste.
hmm, can you tell i’m a fish noodle fan? hehehe…
[Reply]
hmmm from cheras ar?? let me ask around d..
[Reply]
Hmm… I would like to have the seafood noodle instead of the fishhead noodle. Why? I like to have lots of different seafood instead of just fish lo.
[Reply]
Is this the mushroom foodcourt that’s what normally Ipohan refers to??
[Reply]
Fish Head Noodles…my favourite!
There’s one in Ipoh Garden South which is also very good. You know she sells the famous pan mee , right behind the dance school ?:)))
[Reply]
shell : hmm, depends on what noodles they serve them with. sometimes the vermicelli is real good. and of course,you forgot to mention the fish.
jencooks : thanks! its a pleasure to share what I ate. the red topping is typical jelly strips.
ck lam : it’s either RM5, or RM6. haha … my bad.
nic : yup, I was a moderate fan. in Penang, they serve them without the milk as well. a “ching tong” type of soup.
joe : but i not sure which part of Cheras. you’re from there?
little inbox : it depends. seafood noodle they give the clear broth only. but fish head noodles soup is diff, a complex myriad of flavours. yum.
NKOTB : yeah, it’s NEXT to the mushroom foodcourt (aneka selera, back then)
elinluv : oh i think i know where. I took tuition classes there, 10 yrs ago! (oh, that makes me an antique!)
[Reply]
Wowzers… You just helped me plan out my entire weekend makan journey… Hehe. How could anyone bear to leave Malaysia when we have this good food here at our fingertips?
[Reply]
darn…i still like ipoh’s version of fish had noodles rather than KL’s…the more sour my soup is, the more heavenly the noodles are…wooo…
[Reply]
near my grandpa and ma’s plc! good 2 know 4me nxt trip:D
[Reply]
kenny mah : you're coming over to Ipoh? haha … KL's a food heaven in her own rights as well. so you're in safe hands (of the floggers!)
wen xuan :really?
I seldom try fish head noodles in KL, mainly cz I dunno where to find one!
cumi & ciki : haha, yeah. the area's full of restaurants n coffee shops anyway
[Reply]
oh…i dunno where KL’s best fish head noodles are…but I can tell you that Bercham has the best fish head noodles in Ipoh! 2nd one would be the shop in greentown lah (i think opposite wah nam cafe)..
[Reply]
oh thanks Wen Xuan. which shop in Bercham? oppo Wah Nam is Wah Pan, or Ipoh Central right?
[Reply]
uh…me no likey fish head noodle. Either I find the bones distracting or I don’t like to dunk them in the soup.
[Reply]
hmmmm fish head in Ipoh . .. find it very odd! lol! have you try SS23 fish noodle! wow! a brain blower! lol!
[Reply]
jason : distracting? hehe, if the boney parts trouble you, just skip those. surely there are enough meat in the bowl?
BBO : really so good? aiya, I just came back from PJ. SS23? hehe, no idea where that is.
[Reply]