Hoong Tho Restaurant @ Old Town, Ipoh – Transcending Generations
September 23, 2009 | 18,526 viewsHoong Tho Restaurant in Ipoh Old Town is a ‘Lau Zhi Hau’‘ (Chinese for traditional/trademark) Chinese diner that has been serving delicious noodle dishes, fish paste (yue wat), fried wantons (dumplings), and such, for a good 4-5 decades now. Aside from the savouries, Hoong Tho is also famous for its own production of pastries and confectioneries eg. egg tarts, traditional biscuits, and of course, ‘milking the cow dry’ (so to speak); with its current promotion of various types of mooncakes, including some ‘funkier’ versions not found elsewhere. More on that at the end of the post.
Quaintly charming, Hoong Tho is but one of the few eateries in Ipoh that still preserve the pre-war nostalgic ambience, although supposedly, Hoong Tho started sometime in the 60’s. And their pickled green chillies is a good accompaniment to their noodles.
On the evening we patronized the restaurant, the place was packed with people from all over. Probably owing to the long Raya holidays, the locals as well as the tourists from other states were flocking to the one-shoplot Chinese diner, with most customers eagerly anticipating their servings of the signature noodle dishes. Arriving early is almost compulsory on weekends and public holidays, for the restaurant may not be able to cater to the large capacity crowd. And to add salt to the wounds, the staff might be in a slightly foul mood when the orders run awry (which was evident on that evening, with darkened expressions and mumblings short of curse words!).
Crunchy and delightful fried wantons (dumplings) @ RM10 (BIG) served with Hoong Tho’s selfmade sweet, sour and spicy sauce
But credits to be given where they’re due, the foods served at Hoong Tho were still reminiscent of the olden days. No fuss, no fusions, no glorified salted egg yolk with whatever, no butter mantis prawns or Guiness ribs, nor cheese-baked dishes. Only the authentic Hoong Tho signatures from days of yore still on the menu. Wait, there was NOT even a menu in the first place! So either you’re ordering through your own experience, or ask for recommendations. Which may lead to some subtle groans, if you get what I mean.
Sui Kow (Dumplings in Soup)
If you’re going in a large group of diners, forget about ordering single portions to be shared. I was duly reminded that I should NOT go for a variety of dishes at smaller portions, for the reason being “If you want to order more dishes at smaller portions, this will seriously slow the kitchen down! Hence order large servings and be contented!” But of course, this only held true on extremely busy evenings, not necessarily on most days.
The perennial favourite of mine, and many others I believe, is their fried wantons served with their specially-concocted sauce. The crispy skin makes a fine snack, though you’ll be wondering where is the filling?! The minced meat (or fish?) was but a mere dimple-sized portion, but the accompanying dipping sauce complemented the crunchy wonders very well. A little sweet and sour, with a light tinge of spiciness, the sauce was almost stealing the limelight from the dumplings themselves!
The Sui Kow was passable, although of not uniformed sizes. So one may be getting a gigantic (ok, slight exaggeration here) Sui Kow, while another may be nibbling on what may seems like half a Sui Kow. The fillings of minced pork meat, julienned carrots and wood ear fungus (ok, this was served after ONE HOUR’s wait, so I threw the whole morsel into my mouth … hence I was not sure whether prawns were detected or not. Sorry!) rendered the Sui Kow with a slight crunch, with the transluscent skins folded into a creased pocket.
Sang Har Meen – Fried egg noodles (yee mee) with Freshwater Prawns (RM20)
One of their must-order (it seemed) is the Sang Har Meen, or noodles with mixed vegetables and freshwater prawns. A single portion at RM10, larger one at RM20. At least 6-7 prawns were served atop the braised fried noodles, with the gravy redolent of the prawn’s sweetness. Though in comparison to the other Sang Har Meen dishes I’ve tasted elsewhere, the one at Hoong Tho was but a mere contender. Still, comparatively cheap, especially when going head to head with the ones from Klang Valley. Though the freshwater prawns were not of the most well-endowed sizes.
Wat Tan Hor – Braised Flat Rice Noodles or Hor Fun, with mixed meats and vegetables (RM10)
The other noodle dishes at Hoong Tho are reasonably-priced as well. Single portion for RM5, double for RM10. And I can assure you, a single portion is more than enough for a person’s consumption. The Wat Tan Hor is a safe dish of choice, which caters to all tastebuds. Children would love the soupy noodles with lots of egg whites (and streaks of golden yolks), while the elderly ones (like yours truly) will be admiring the wonderfully charred and skillfully fried Hor Fun, and the generous serving of their very own fish pastes (yue wat).
Personal opinion? I prefer the Wat Tan Hor at Hoong Tho than the one at Tuck Kee in town (Ipohans will know about this place), for I find Tuck Kee’s Wat Tan Hor drowned in too much gravy (which some may like), and without sufficient ‘wok hei’ (the heat of the wok). And pricier to boot.
Hoong Tho Meen – Yee Mee (springy egg noodles) cooked with vegetables, eggs, shrimps and pork, with the special ingredient of cuttlefish powder! (RM5)
And we requested for a single serving of the evergreen, one and only, Hoong Tho Meen. A bowl of hearty noodles with thick, egg-y gravy, and lots of other ingredients, served with an optional dash of dark vinegar. A winning combination perfected with some sprinkling of cuttlefish powder (someone please confirm this, as the fishy, pepper-like powder had a very distinctive cuttlefish taste), which may be a good alternative to MSG for its umami taste. This bowl of noodles can easily feed two, and had my vote as BEST dish of the evening.
They did not even change the furnitures, or the decor. Only added the glass panels and air-conditioner.
Glistening golden morsels of goodness, to usher the Mooncake Festival with a twist
I mentioned in the beginning of my post, that Hoong Tho not only serves savoury dishes, but they do some mean pastries as well. All year round, you can buy traditional homemade biscuits from the front portion of the shop. But given the mooncake rush as of now, Hoong Tho makes their own mooncakes (pre-order is necessary), and some ambitious creations such as Cempedak (jackfruit) mooncakes and a very awkward version with dried oysters (!!) etc.
The Cempedak Mooncake with Red Bean Paste (RM6.50)
The Cempedak mooncake is one of their special creation, with the pastry resembling the traditional Shanghai Mooncakes’. The filling of red bean with pulps from jackfruits and ‘kuaci’ (melon seeds) offers a fresh, distinct flavour not commonly found in the commercialized mooncakes in the market nowadays. They even offer you a slice as sample, as the lady at the counter proudly proclaimed; “I’m very sure you’ll like this, so I am ever so willing to let everyone have a slice as sample!”
Such strong confidence, but in the end, we bought two of them home. My weakness for the tropical fruit certainly had the better of me. But to no regrets, mind you. Try them, but I’m still keeping my distance from the dried oysters (hou see) version!!!! Yikes.
And they did not even bother to light up the signboard. Yup, they’re THAT well-known already in Ipoh ….
Hoong Tho Restaurant
20, Jalan Bandar Timah,
30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel No : 605-254 9673, or 6016-555 8858 (Yuen Chin Onn)
Closed on Tuesdays. From 10am until 9.30pm.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP TO HOONG THO RESTAURANT for easy reference.
Some other takes on Hoong Tho : The Epicurious Girl‘s, and LS’s stopover in Ipoh
wow, cempedak is a fruit i haven’t tasted for more than a decade. but being a non-fan, i’d probably just accept the free slice and then buy the dried oysters one instead. now that one sounds intriguing 😀
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
yup, its dried oyster plus something else. supposed to be sweet, not savoury also.
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salivating at the sang har yee mee.. ;P
and cempedak mooncake?? have never tried those..
we venture round Ipoh Old town but didn’t get to try this lau zhi hao ^^
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
you all went nam heong right? 🙂
bet it was crowded like no other. and sin yoon loong.
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the last round, few weeks back, i went to Hoong Tho, the food was mediocre only fren!! sang har mee and wanton quite disappointed!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
yup, the sang har meen was nothing major.
but the wanton was good this time around, crispy and good as snacks.
at RM10, we were getting maybe 20-30 biji. or more. we lost count.
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finally see you blog about Hoong Tou. 🙂
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i like eating at these type of old school restaurant-the food are all my fave.
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One of the old school noodle restaurant ……. looks nice …..
.-= email2me´s last blog ..Breakfast Food Trip in Ipoh – New Foh San Dim Sum, Yoke Fook Moon Dim Sum, Ming Court Dim Sum, Kedai Kopi Sun Yuan Foong =-.
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I think my cousin did his apprenticeship here. Now he’s cooking somewhere in Canada. And yes, he learnt to do a mean wat tan hor here.
Funnily enough, he never cooks at home. The last time he did, my aunt went ballistic at the mess he created. And to make “oil-soaked” fish, he used up her entire bottle of cooking oil. After the restaurant environment of big ladles, big woks, big space, I don’t think they can cook in home kitchen! 😀
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
haha, ‘sui zhu yue’?!! one of the most vile dish ever created.
really. i’ve tasted the one in china, and you’re supposed to slurp those oil !!! yikes.
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Hoong Tho is one of the places that I would love to visit…
.-= ck lam´s last blog ..Penang Meatless Cafe – JenxDan Lifestyle Cafe =-.
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My favourite of yesteryears. Dad use to bring me there. Their porridge stall on the pavement seems to have gone with the chefs that had moved on. Thanks for bringing back the memories. It seems they are the one who pioneered the “yue wat”.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
there was a porridge stall on the pavement?!! whoops. too young to know ….
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wah interesting cempedak mooncake. my parents like the hong tho mee but i find it so so
.-= kampungboycitygal´s last blog ..Taiwan Day 5&6: Luodong, Yilan (Part II) =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:01 pm
i wasnt really expecting much also, cz that bowl of soupy noodles looked like ….. braised yee mee. or lor mee.
but surprisingly, the taste was just right, almost like as if they cooked the mee with enough MSG, but in reality we did not feel thirsty at all at the end of the meal.
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You said the Sui Kow was passable, but then when I looked at the photo up there, it looks SOOOO succulent and yummy to me leh!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
oklah …. nothing that jumped at us. that’s why passable. or maybe the horrendously long ONE HOUR wait was a little too daunting.
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hmmm… I couldn’t remember if this was the place which my friend brought me to a few years back. Shame to admit that I seldom head up north… I went down South more often due to my business trips…
by the way, will tweet you once I confirm the date that I go to Ipoh in Nov… hope you are free then
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
sure no problem. just give me the heads up …
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ooohh.. now they haf chempedak mooncakes….
normal days… we always go for their chempedak cake… but did not know now they haf chempedak mooncake also…
I remember in Menglembu there is also a shop similar in concept with hoong tho also.. dun remember the name.
also famous for their classical noodle dishes and fried wanton..
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 8:49 am
i think its called Ping Sum. I blogged about it sometime ago as well.
yup, cempedak cake is a permanent fixture.
the mooncake version is only for the season.
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we didn’t get to try this… maybe next round hor, citygal?! 😛
and the cempedak mooncake?! wat a combination!
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This is truly like a trip down memory lane – I remember going to this place even as a kid! Very old-world. I would go for the chempedak cake but SWEET oysters mooncake – now, that will be an acquired taste!
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Wow cempedak mooncake is clearly a first for me! LOL And I love noodles! Those wat tan hor look fabulous!
.-= iamthewitch´s last blog ..Saucer’s Birthday =-.
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They still preserve the pre-war nostalgic ambience? Perhaps that is a great attraction right? Aww….the fried wanton! Yummy! Yummy!
P.S.: I have just followed you and added you to my blogroll! 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
hi tekkaus. thanks for the link.
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Oh gosh, a hou see version?? That I wouldn’t mind trying just for the sake of trying… Hahaha…
“Though the freshwater prawns were not of the most well-endowed sizes.”
This, btw, made me laugh out loud in an almost empty, still-Raya-mood office. 😛
.-= Life for Beginners´s last blog ..Putting Fitness First =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
hehehee… sudden thought of fatmonkey’s comics for the day ah? hahahah … chop chop sashimi? 🙂
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mmmm….i love this place. been here since a kid. but i stopped going there altogether since…i moved away from first garden.
there was once a porridge stall in front of that shop selling silky smooth porridge!
and the wantons…oh god.
I heard the quality has deteriorated.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 27th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
deteriorated or not, this visit proved that they still whip up some mean noodles and fried wantons after all these years.
yeah, i heard the same thing, but the food’s rather good.
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OMG! Hoong Tho is my fav too! The fried tung fen is to die for and the fried wantan… yum yumm!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 27th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
fried tung fen is nice? they have a special fried vermicelli, that’s hardened into a cake form one.
another signature of theirs.
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Andy Yuen Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Ya ya thats call “kui far jau tung fen” quite good and nice..!!!
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I find their fried “yu wat” better than fried wan tan. Next time when you are there, do give this a try.
Also they have another meehoon, i dunno what’s the name but they put black bean “hak dao si” to cook together, a bit wet type (but not as wet as compared to the wat tan hor) taste good and it’s something that u dun usually get somewhere else 🙂
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Andy Yuen Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:02 am
That’s call “si jap chin meehoon”.
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hi
thanks for the photos, location and review
Me going next month
yummyyyy
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 21st, 2010 at 9:17 pm
You’re most welcomed, gc! Hope you have a blast of a time here in Ipoh.
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Andy Yuen Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Pls show me when u come next time Mr J2kfm. And really thanks for you support…!!!
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J2Kfm Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Hi Andy, are you in anyway, related to Hoong Tho, or part of the team?
You’re most welcomed. I was only being honest in sharing my dining experience there. 🙂
Yes i am the 3rd generation of the restaurant…!!! i am always in the shop… show if u come next time pls tell me who u r….!!! thanks again..!!
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J2Kfm Reply:
June 9th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Oh I see … nice to know you, Andy. Sure, I’ll be happy to hop over someday, for a box of pastries or two.
You can of course, update the readers here on whatever new creations Hoong Tho’s coming up with.
I absolutely adored the cempedak mooncakes (Shanghai mooncakes?) back then.
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Is this restaurant far from hotel excelsior?
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J2Kfm Reply:
December 5th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Hi there …. can’t say it’s near. Definitely not walkable. This is in old town. No hotels nearby though.
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