Motormouth From Ipoh

Got served the RIGHT way? She IS the lady boss of Korean Yea Won Restaurant in Medan Ipoh Bistari; one of the longest running Korean restaurant in Ipoh.

The first time I wrote about Yea Won was way back in 2008, when I first met Citygal and Jason (both Ipohans now in KL; guess I completed the circle now) in Ipoh.

Compared to Onix Jun (fondly referred to as Dae Jang Gum; their name in Chinese), Yea Won concentrates more on Korean style of grilled meats served with a variety of ban chan (side dishes), while the former serves more authentic, homecooked version of Korean dishes and Onix Jun has always been run by a Korean family residing in Ipoh anyway.

Banchan (side dishes) usually come in an eye-popping, jaw-dropping varieties of pickles, light savoury bites and lots of vegetables.

Not that Ipoh’s that famous for Korean cuisine anyway. Aside from these two, Riche Montana in Ipoh Garden South serves Korean style buffet; at a reasonable rate (about RM30/USD10 per pax) yet I have not been enticed enough by their selection of food to hop over for a visit. Soon, maybe. But I have never been a fan of buffets, so … tough luck.

The perennial favourite Korean Kim Chi; a healthy and appetizing dish of fermented cabbage with various seasonings; the scary red hues actually come from red peppers and they’re not spicy.

This time around, there were also 3 of us. But ironically, it will be some time before the three of us can gather in this manner again. TallGal’s has moved to Singapore, while I am already in KL.

Hence this was partly a farewell gesture; though I did not plan to write about this feast in the first place. But since this place crossed my mind earlier today, when a friend actually texted me about good Korean food in Ipoh. Thus, I felt compelled to dig deep into the archives and produce a half-hearted masterpiece (hehe, yeah right) for public consumption.

“Tau Nga” is what we call them; larger cousins of the bean sprouts. But what are they called actually?

The menu remained even after two years. Not to indicate that they’re short of choices in the first place. You get various combination of Korean style Grilled Pork; from ribs to lean meat to belly etc. And of course you can opt for beef, or even a mix and match of your choice. A portion of pork at about RM25+, but a minimum order of two portions is necessary.

This was a mix of pork belly and half lean meat (I think); named Mo Dem BBQ with a handful of enoki mushrooms and sliced large onions to be caramelized on the stone grill.

And a basket of fresh lettuce to reduce the guilt factor.

Anyway, the meat was not seasoned prior to being placed on the grill and it’s good to know that they will do everything for you; from the oiling of the grill to the grilling process, and culminating in a process where  they cut  the meat with a pair of scissors.

As usual, you’re supposed to take one or two pieces of the lettuce and pick your chosen cuts of pork; then adding in substantial amount of sauces, a slice of raw garlic and some chopped green chillies before putting the whole ensemble into your mouth.

In one swish motion; one bite. Don’t go biting and chewing while everything’s dripping from your jaw. That’s not a palatable sight; and you definitely wouldn’t want to squirt juices onto your dining companions seated across from you!

Korean Green Onion Pancake with Seafood (RM25/USD8)

Slightly expensive compared to even KL’s standards, the Pa Jeon (Korean pancake) delivered in terms of fluffiness and packed with red chillies and green onion/scallion. Can’t recall well whether the omelette was filled with abundance of seafood, but when dipped into the sauce provided, the taste of the pancake was elevated somehow.

Korean Barley Tea; RM3/USD1 per jug for three.

If this review came out shorter than expected, yeah … can’t blame me. While deep in conversation; each of us wondering about the future in this field and the prospects of staying put in Ipoh or leaving home ground for greener pastures, I actually put down my camera in hopes of fully savouring the dining experience; and appreciating the finer moments in life; to be eating with a couple of good friends.

Choose to be seated in the conventional dining area or the elevated wooden floors; so you can eat like how they do. Or at least sitting cross-legged on a cushion seems like a novelty.

Still, the meal was okay. Just barely making the mark as personally I felt that the side dishes (ban chan) lacked characters, while the grilled pork was succulent alright; yet some cuts were too fat to be consumed. Maybe in Ipoh, we DO need another Korean restaurant; or at least one that does a decent job in the Korean BBQ department. And definitely more choices of marinated meats to begin with.

Spitting distance away from Michelangelo’s Pizzeria, Mokuren Japanese Restaurant and Tomi Japanese Restaurant.

Yea Won Korean Restaurant
6, Jalan Medan Ipoh 1C,
Medan Ipoh Bistari,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-546 5779.
Closed on Mondays.
Opens for lunch and dinner.
GPS Coordinates : 4.617798,101.118034
Google Map to Korean Yea Won Restaurant