Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This story was first published on Malay Mail Online’s Eat/Drink section on April 6.

I remember how we used to stay up really, really late into the night pondering over school projects, peppered with mindless small chats and life anecdotes (well, whatever that’s significant during the teenage school years). That the few of us school mates would be struck by hunger pangs at the most inconvenient of times; say, way past midnight and wondering where to head for a quick bite.

But of course, when I mentioned ‘quick bite’ in Ipoh back in the 90’s, I don’t refer to the 24 hours ‘mamak’ stalls or fast food outlets, mind you. There probably was only 1 round-the-clock ‘mamak’ outlet back then; the still viable today yet less popular Salam Corner at the back of Jusco Kinta City. But since we usually would be gathering around Pasir Puteh area, it made sense for us to look for alternatives.

In the form of this really excellent place for late night noodles, chicken and bean sprouts.

Yup, imagine savouring Ipoh famous ‘nga choy gai’ (bean sprouts chicken or ‘ayam tauge’) in the wee hours of the morning. Kum Kee is the official name of the corner lot opposite of Pasir Pinji police station, yet most of us remember this fondly as the place famed for “Big Small Feet”. Let me tell you why.

Kum Kee has been around for a good many decades. Way back then; when we were still younglings in the 80’s – ignorant of directions and with barely-honed palates, Mum has brought us here for the noodles and various ‘lieu’ or stuffed items; which the rest of the country call them ‘yong tau foo’. Kum Kee started from a humble stall further down the road near to the police station now. Then as business expanded, they moved to this corner lot and recently has taken over the adjacent premise to cater to the crowd; more often than not the night owls.

Back to the “Big Small Feet” story, the phrase sounded slightly unappetising for the name of a dish, but in reality is their most iconic dish. A combination of soy sauce braised pork knuckle and chicken feet; spiked with dash of white pepper and garnished with chopped scallions, the sauce they used to braise the erm, ‘limbs’ of both animals was the winning factor. But do come early for this dish (order the ‘dai sai geok’ – the name in Cantonese) as the braised pork knuckle tends to finish much faster than the chicken feet.

The dish however, is not eaten with plain, steamed rice if you’re hankering for some carbo to soak up the moreish gravy. Instead, you can’t go wrong with a serving of plain ‘sar hor fun’ (kuey teow/flat rice noodles); another Ipoh’s specialty. The unbelievably smooth noodles slithers effortlessly down one’s throat, and you can either have yours in soup (flavoured with a dash of pepper), tossed lightly in a combination of soy sauce and dark soy sauce, or even an optional (highly recommended) dollop of chilli oil paste. The last option will no doubt perk up your appetite but the fiery tone might just overshadow the rest of the dishes if you’re reckless.

Anyway, Kum Kee is also famous for the poached chicken and blanched bean sprouts; the deadly combination contributing to Ipoh’s must-have “nga choy gai”. And glad to proclaim that Kum Kee’s version of the chicken will put many to shame, including the over-rated tourist-magnets in town. Seriously. The chicken was poached to tender perfection; smooth yet without annoying bits of blood red marrows or worse; under-cooked meat. We actually polished off the entire platter of chicken prior to the entry of our noodles, chicken feet and bean sprouts. That good.

The juicy bean sprouts lightly blanched then doused in a mix of soy sauce and sesame oil was flawless as well; a more or less expected outcome from the already top-in-class Ipoh bean sprouts.

The only item that seemed lost amidst the deluge of satisfying eats was the poorly-executed ‘sar kok liew’ (deep fried stuffed jicama) that had more flour than chopped jicama, resulting in a chewy texture that paled in comparison to some of Ipoh’s best; the famous Big Tree Foot stall for one. Still, if you are keen for light snacks of ‘yong tau foo’ try their stuffed pig’s skin (!) with fish paste. Not in the routine line up over in Klang Valley that’s for sure.

The sheer fact that Kum Kee is still standing strong; overflowing with late night diners nightly is testament enough of their popularity and sustainability in the heart of Ipohans. The foods are priced very reasonably too; a meal for 3 came to less than RM30; including a serving of grandma’s favourite chicken feet for take away. Oh if you’re seeking to polish off the meal with something sweet, go for a bowl of ‘tau fu fah’ (sweet soy bean curd pudding) served warm. Be cautious though, that finishes early as well.

Kum Kee Restaurant
798 – 799, Jalan Sekolah
Pasir Pinji, 31650 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Opens from evening about 5.30pm until about 3am.
*Opposite of Pasir Pinji police station
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