Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

Happy Labour Day Malaysians! Slightly belated I know, but still, today’s a Sunday … hence the celebration continues? Or so I hope. Nothing too spectacular for us who do not work on Saturdays, so it’s a day off wasted, somehow …..

Anyway, we decided to embark on a short, day trip to Teluk Intan in the southern region of the state of Perak. I wrote about Teluk Intan only once in my blog, if I recall correctly. That was when we visited Keng Heng Coffee Shop in town for breakfast, then lunch at Lana Tea House. But of course, I neglected the urge to write about the repeated visits to the town famous for the iconic leaning tower (yup, don’t go thinking ONLY Italy has one) right smack in town centre, the incomparable Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun, and fresh seafood supplied by its neighbouring town of Hutan Melintang. (Read about our lunch at Men Lok Seafood @ Hutan Melintang)

Kam Ling Restaurant @ Kampar – With her sleeves all rolled up, clearly she was in her elements …. cutting up the gigantic Curry Chicken Bread for us, right before our very eyes. (RM22/USD6.90)

To reach the town of Teluk Intan from Ipoh, you can use a few different routes. One being our favourite Ipoh-Kampar-Kampung Gajah-Teluk Intan way, which is marginally shorter, compared to Ipoh-Tapah-Tapah Road-Teluk Intan, and miles faster than the Bidor-Teluk Intan route. The journey takes about one and a half hour from Ipoh to Teluk Intan, slightly longer if the roads are plied with lorries and other vehicles, which is common on weekdays.

A portion can easily serve four savages on a roll ……. or TWO, if you don’t order anything else.

Since we were in Kampar around lunch hour, we decided to stop by at Kam Ling Restaurant for lunch. For the uninitiated, Kam Ling is easily the most famous Chinese diner in Kampar, recently underwent a major facelift, or rather; expansion, into a splendidly-elegant & pompous three-floors building next to its original location. You can choose to dine inside the older, nostalgia-laced eatery with evidently old-timers still running the place, and a separate section of the restaurant loaded with confectioneries on sale; both freshly baked and pre-packed ones …… 

Kam Ling’s signature noodles – Fried Sang Mee with Long Beans with Minced Pork (RM10/USD3.20)

Arriving decked in nothing short of ‘pasar pagi/malam‘ attires, we scurried in a flash to its more humble outlet; the original Kam Ling. Once seated we set our eyes on the surroundings, with noticeably more locals than tourists having their lunches at the restaurant. Chinese tea was still served in a charming, ‘antique’ steel teapot (refer to the collage of pictures below), the waitresses were either from foreign lands but spoke impeccable/comprehensible Cantonese, or the infinitely more experienced staff who were obviously stuck with Kam Ling for more than a decade or two.

Crispy, delectable dumplings deep-fried then served with their own concocted sauce that tasted like a combination of chili, tomato and plum sauce, laden with chopped capsicums, onions, and tomatoes. (RM0.60/USD0.20 per piece)

The Curry Chicken Bun (Roti Kari Ayam) is one of Kampar’s most recognized food icon, aside from claypot chicken rice, and Kampar Lou Shu Fun. Yau Kee is THE brand that started it all, even expanding to the other towns (Ipoh had one on Jalan Pasir Puteh, but was closed down few years ago. There was also a branch on Jalan Kampar, but met the same fate not too long ago as well). But Kam Ling Restaurant had garnered sufficient limelight, positive words-of-mouth, and recommendations from various media; that made Kam Ling’s Curry Chicken Bun a formidable contender to the crown.

The sweet, tangy and slightly piquant sauce for the Fried Wantons, The strands of egg noodles bathed lusciously in the thick, savoury gravy, The almost-extinct metal teapot, and The array of confectioneries available for purchase at Kam Ling.

And indeed, comparing our experience at Yau Kee Roti Kari Ayam back when they were still running in Ipoh, and this marvelously gigantic creation at Kam Ling‘s, we came to mixed conclusions. Yau Kee’s curry was slightly thicker, redolent with spices and a generally stronger taste while Kam Ling’s curry was a little too diluted.  But Kam Ling’s glazed bun with a sweetened exterior complemented the gravy very well,  resulting in a mix of sweet and spicy flavours. All in all, I prefer Kam Ling’s version to Yau Kee’s, but of course …… taste is very subjective. So hold on to those Molotov cocktails, people!

The noodles was good, served with generous amount of minced pork, crispy lard fritters, chopped scallions and bird’s eye chillies, and crunchy long beans. A tad salty if you’re walloping the noodles in big mouthfuls, but understandable for the presence of ‘choy pou‘ (preserved radish) somewhat increased the sodium level a notch.

Transformation from a family restaurant to a grand diner with ballroom for functions. The witch tied the knots here, sometime back in February of this year.

The meal came out pleasant, as expected. RM42/USD13.20 for the four of us, including drinks. Oh ya, they did not shove those wet towels on unsuspecting customers, being rather professional by asking if we would like to use them instead. Brilliantly professional, don’t you think so?

P/S : For your information, Kam Ling also serves dim sum for breakfast, and their egg tarts are flaky and wobbly; delicious stuff. The tarts run out pretty fast, hence be there early, or ask when is the next batch ready.

Address & Contact Numbers :
KAM LING RESTAURANT
No 105 & 107, Jalan Idris,
31900 Kampar,
Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-466 1174, or 6016-533 2226, 6016-551 1174.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to Kam Ling Restaurant in Kampar.
Directions : Jalan Idris is the road parallel to the main road of Kampar town. If you’re coming from the north (ie: Ipoh’s direction), then Jalan Idris is on your RIGHT.

WAITING WITH BATED BREATH, WONDERING WHERE WE HEADED TO NEXT?

to be continued ……………….