Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

I was sour. I felt disappointed. But yet I concurred and paid a visit to Ipoh famous “Tong Sui Kai” aka Dessert Street (Pusat Makanan Rainbow City yesterday night (anyone bumped into me there?), for the inaugural Ipoh Hawkers’ Fest/Karnival Penjaja Ipoh, lasting from 25th-27th December 2009.

I can’t hide the fact that I felt short-changed when first laying my eyes on that piece of flyer distributed prior to the launching of the event yesterday. But Christmas SHOULD be a time for forgiveness, joy and a resounding cheers, instead of jeers.

So, just sit back, embrace the long weekend, and enjoy the shots of the event mentioned ……

Menteri Besar of Perak – Dato` Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir making his rounds, buying some HEONG PENG?!!!

Heong Peng is a classic biscuit made from fillings of sweet maltose and shallots, enclosed in a flaky (sometimes crunchy, sometimes not) outer layers of pastry, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. They are broiled in a different type of oven, commonly using coconut husks to impart that fragrant (they ARE called Heong Peng for a reason, okay?), smoky aroma to the finished products.

For a better understanding, hop over to this post : Gunung Rapat Seng Kee Traditional Heong Peng

Yee Hup sets up a stall at the hawker food fest in Ipoh, an almost nationwide renowned brand promoting Ipoh’s signature Heong Peng to all corners of the country. Or maybe the world, soon enough.

The MB himself performing that same old trick of grilling satay for the media, Mr Lim Fong’s Banana Leaf Char Koay Teow @ Nam Heong Coffee Shop in Old Town and some mighty tempting ‘bak kwa’

Swarmed with people from all walks of life. (Scene @ Tong Sui Kai on Jln Sultan Ekram, off Jalan Sultan Idris)

Good thing about this clever marketing ploy is the most strategic, prominent and accessible location at Tong Sui Kai of Ipoh, combining the already established stretch of (50-60 stalls?) occupying the street every night, and some of the signature hawker foods of Ipoh under the same canopies. So one would be spoilt for choice, as you can have your bowl of Tong Sui Kai’s famous dessert and a plate of piping hot Nam Heong‘s Char Koay Teow (Nam Heong is THAT original white coffee in Old Town of Ipoh, that started all this craze with kopitiams mushrooming all over the place).

Hoe J Popiah Stall, Tien Tien Lai Chicken Rice Stall from Bandar Baru Menglembu, Mee Goreng Mamak Imzan Maju Corner and Yum Yum Bak Kut Teh.

Sin Eng Woh (sorry direct translation from the Chinese equivalent) famous confectionery, from Pasir Pinji of Ipoh

Sin Eng Heong is the comparatively more famous sibling outlet of Sin Eng Woh, which sells ultra crispy, flaky and irresistible kaya puff which sells off faster than you can pop one into your mouth. The sister outlet named Sin Eng Woh, situated in Pasir Pinji off Jalan King (that famous road with the legendary Big Tree Foot’s Yeong Liew, and Tuck Kee Restaurant) operates a stall at the front portion of the fest, selling an array of biscuits and such for smaller nibbles while one’s waiting for the other hawker fares to be prepared. Notice I do NOT use the word served, for all stalls fully practise the SELF-SERVICE concept. So you have to line up, order and wait for your food/drinks to be prepared on the spot.

Satay Stadium (Outlets @ Woolley Food City, Ipoh Garden and Emas Food Court of Buntong), Glutinous Rice and different types of kuih-muih from Pasir Pinji, and the mixed varieties of chicken with rice from Tien Tien Lai @ Bandar Baru Menglembu – Contact Number – 016-517 9250)

Trust your senses, your instincts, or if all else fails, follow the crowd. You can’t go wrong!

Chee Kong Roasted Pork @ First Garden of Ipoh

There were at least 50 stalls (probably more, I was not keeping count, amidst the hustle and bustle of the human traffic) operating for this Ipoh Hawkers’ Fest alone, and not taking into account the equal number of stalls on the opposite side, courtesy of the origin Tong Sui Kai resident stalls.

Some of the more prominent stalls that I am aware of, include :
Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken (still RM16 per chicken)
Ipoh Garden Curry Mee
Chang Jiang White Coffee
Emas Food Court’s Drinks Stall, and William’s Pizza
Good Taste Chef Bak Kut Teh (they have a new outlet in Greentown Business Centre)

and many, MANY more ……. (some names were written only in Chinese, hence making things tough for a ‘banana’ like yours truly)

Crackly, sinfully addictive goodness – Roast Pork (Siu Yoke) from Chee Kong Roasted Pork @ First Garden (RM12 for a serving of pork belly aka Siu Lam, with bits of Char Siew as bonus?)

Any Ipohan worth his salt would attest to the fact that the MOST (or at least up there in the TOP 5) popular Siu Yoke (Roasted Pork) stall in all of Ipoh has to be the one in First Garden, in Kedai Kopi Kwong Chow, to be exact.

So imagine the glee and perpetual itch when as soon as I entered the canopies from the other end of the stretch of stalls, my eyes set sight on THIS very famous stall serving deliciously sinful cuts of crispy roasted pork, Char Siew (BBQ pork), and such. No rice, please, we ARE carnivores!

Do take note that the queue may be daunting, especially when some fussier customers want ONLY specific cuts of their meat, and some wants them to be served on separate containers, bla bla bla …….

I had to take the pricier cuts of roasted pork belly (Siu Lam Yoke) for the other parts were all sold off, and it was only about 8pm! So be there early. Not that I’m complaining though, for pork belly has the almost perfect proportions of lean meat + fatty parts + crackly skin. And at RM12, the lady boss was courteous enough to throw in some cuts of Char Siew to appease my cravings.

Chee Kong Roasted Pork (Telephone : 012-523 5223/012-522 8719) @ First Kwong Chow Coffee Shop @ Lorong Taman 12, Off Jln Ng Weng Hup, Taman Pertama (First Garden) Ipoh. Here’s a GOOGLE MAP for ya.
Opens from 2pm daily. Be there early, for they sell off real fast.

And that concludes my review of the Ipoh Hawkers’ Fest/Karnival Penjaja Ipoh 2009. Are you salivating yet? Go discover yourself the mass of hawker stalls aggregated on possibly the epitome of Ipoh Street Food – Tong Sui Kai of Ipoh (map included in that post) Until 27th December 2009. From evening until late night.