Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh – Street Food Galore
July 28, 2010 | 14,511 views
Yoon Kee @ Stall No 23 – This is also Ipoh’s most beloved superstar; Dato’ Michelle Yeoh’s favourite!
Perseverance pays off handsomely. That’s exactly what the elderly have always tried to instill in the raw, naive mind of a young one’s.
Medan Selera Stadium (a popular hawker food centre) in Ipoh is a stretch of food stalls that operate almost round the clock, numbering around 60 stalls if I’m not mistaken. But don’t get the wrong idea. The stalls open intermittently; some during daytime while the others open from evening until late night. Not sure if there is any stall that stays open until wee hours of the morning, but I don’t cast my doubt on this issue.
Come weekends, public holidays, or when there’s a football match at the stadium, you’ll bear witness to throngs of people swarming the stalls, hoping for some midnight snacks and a cup of “teh tarik”.
Yoon Kee’s Chicken Rice – Smooth, poached chicken (without the gory, bloody bits, thankfully!) with ‘oily’ rice and the compulsory pounded garlic/ginger with chili sauce.
Time and again, the purposed outings to Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh ended up in disappointment. Either the stalls were not opened on that particular day, or we ended up losing sight of what to eat and ended up somewhere else for dinner.
Things got a little easier during lunch hour, for we’re still fans of Sri Asoka Corner’s (Stall No 19) banana leaf curry rice (BLR), and Thillai Stall (Stall No 25) which is located a few cubicles away from Sri Asoka’s, and also rather famous for their BLR. Plus, Thillai also serves deep-fried crispy bitter gourd !!!
So why was I so adamant on trying Yoon Kee’s Bean Sprouts Chicken, a 21 years old ‘lau zhi hau’ (old and trusted brand)? ……
Yoon Kee also serves dry curry chicken noodles, aside from their rendition of hands-down, Ipoh’s most famous (some might say over-rated) combination of dishes named “Nga Choy Kai”
I was coerced into trying Yoon Kee by a stroke of luck. I was told that this ‘Tauge Ayam’ stall is Dato’ Michelle Yeoh‘s favourite haunt. Not Lou Wong, Onn Kee or Cowan Street. This came from a very reliable (maternal?) source, but at that time I did not even know there was such a stall at Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh.
Talk about being an avid fan of Ipoh food, and yet sometimes I feel like I know peanuts about the simpler hawker fares in Ipoh. I bowed my head in shame ……..
Anyway, Yoon Kee has been around since 21 years ago. They started business at the sidewalk/road shoulder along Jalan Dato Lau Pak Khuan; somewhere in front of Sun Marpoh Restaurant as told by my mother. My personal hard disk does not register such a visit, nor any vague recollection of such roadside stalls ever existed, but Mum said we went there few times before when we were kids.
Verdict : I gotta get my head checked sometime down the line.
Char Koay Teow (complete with the charred wok’s remnants – ‘wok shit’?) from Stall No 18; the Penang Char Kuey Teow stall.
I stumbled upon Yoon Kee one evening, while searching for the Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun that we used to love back then. But this row of stalls do not house the aforementioned stall, hence we nonchalantly parked our fatigued a$$e$ on the plastic benches and ordered some wantan mee and dry curry chicken ‘sar hor fun’ (smooth, flat rice noodles – Ipoh’s signature) to devour. Not forgetting bowls of ABC (ais kacang) with generous drizzles of gula melaka (brown sugar syrup), but lacking in ingredients.
But I forgot to bring my camera that evening. Sucks huh? To be a food blogger and yet forgetting the most fundamental of utilities. Then I put the pieces together and concluded that Yoon Kee MUST have been the stall (Datin) Mrs Yeoh was raving about.
The Wanton Mee from Stall No 22 – Opens only for dinner-supper, while Min Chee’s Wantan Mee (Stall No 36) only opens for breakfast-lunch.
A week or so later, I dragged my parents over for another visit. Surprise, surprise. Mum actually knows both the stall owners of Yoon Kee (No 23) and the Wanton Mee stall (No 22) !! Imagine the small, small world of gastronomy Ipoh really is.
Grandma agreed that the chicken rice was good; for she’s very, VERY fussy when it comes to chicken rice. Give her half-cooked rice, or soggy, clumpy grains, and she’ll throw tantrums (literally). Or tough, over-exercised chicken and she’ll leave most of the meat unattended.
But Yoon Kee’s version got her polishing every single grain of rice on her plate, and the whole poached chicken drumstick lightly seasoned with some soy sauce, and garnished with chopped chillies and scallions. At RM3.30/USD1.00 per portion (for the regular cut of chicken; the drumstick/thigh will cost you slightly more), we sure were not complaining one bit.
The Dry Curry Chicken noodles might not be ground-breaking; die-die must try stuff. But still, not as heavy as the ‘santan’ laden creations from the usual curry noodle stalls.
Lin Chee Kang – A sweet soup dessert with a boiled quail egg.
The Char Kuey Teow paled in comparison to Seng Loong’s version though; the daytime hawker at Stall No 32. Rather greasy and speckles of charred bits from the wok was clinging to the noodles and prawns. Unsightly? Yes. But the plump prawns kinda made up for the minor gripe. Definitely not among the best in Ipoh, let alone in comparison to Penang’s indomitable versions.
But the Wanton Mee tasted okay, slightly better than Min Chee’s (Stall No 36) in my personal opinion.
In case you want the complete rundown of stalls along this stretch, here goes :
Stall No 16 – Traditional Western Food – Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Fish
Stall No 17 – A Frankie Pan Mee stall, but also selling drinks? (not sure)
Stall No 18 – Penang Char Kuey Teow
Stall No 19 – Sri Asoka Corner Banana Leaf Curry Rice (daytime only)
Stall No 20 – Satay Stadium
Stall No 21 – *not sure
Stall No 22 – Wanton Mee
Stall No 23 – Yoon Kee Bean Sprouts Chicken
Stall No 24 – Beverages
Stall No 25 – Thillai Stall Banana Leaf Curry Rice (daytime only)
Come dress in your best. NOT. 🙂
It seems that the stalls on this row (No 16-25) at Medan Selera Stadium close on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But the earlier row of stalls will be opened on those days, instead closing on Mondays (and not sure about the other days).
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh, in case you ever need the directions.
Even the Cat felt I was lame enough to throw her a prawn shell, of all edible stuff?!
For a more complete listing of Ipoh Food, hop over to Ultimate Ipoh Food List instead.
The chicken really looks good and smooth! yum!
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wayne Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 9:22 am
yoon kee Bean Sprouts Chicken n dry curry mee very tasty is a nice food
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 29th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Hi wayne, I can’t agree more. Definitely a ‘lou jiu pai’ type of stall, with the loving couple well into their 60’s, and so painstakingly whipping up bowls after bowls of sar hor fun.
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The chicken rice must taste real good judging from it look.. I havent eat my lunch yet.. You’re making me very hungry… =/
-wy-
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How is it compare to pak kong in town??
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:11 am
The last time I went to Pak Gong was in 2008. I was rather disappointed though, for Pak Gong has always been my favourite chicken rice in Ipoh.
The quality took a dip, and I have not gone back since.
Some said Rasa Sayang is improving now, compared to Pak Gong. What do you think?
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i saw 4 prawns in tat plate of char kuay teow. wow tats really rare!!!! ^^
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:13 am
You can also try the CKT at Menglembu pasar in the mornings. The lady who fries the noodles is an aunt to another blogger.
She gave huge, plump prawns.
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i’m more interested in the Cat….hihi
so cute and with that naughty look….
makes me want to cuddle it 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:14 am
There were 3 others circling our table, and strangely …. all were very clean and looked like being reared.
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LOL. The cat looks kinda annoyed… but it’s such a cute photo. 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Clearly she (or was it a he?) was not. She was using her charm to get her way into our hearts.
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Talk about simple yet glorious food and “wantan” noodles. There’s a stall in Kg. Simee market (only a stone throw away from stadium) serves up a mouth watering “wantan” noodles. Order the noodles with “char siew”.One bite and your gluttons will be ravishing for more. Don’t forget to order “kopi-O” to go along. I find the “kopi-O” is fare much better than most “old town” kopitiam. One sip of the “kopi-O” and my childhood memories came flooding back. Price “wantan” noodles @RM3.00 and “kopi-O” @RM1.00 only. Doubt the younger generations will appreciate this as the location is somewhat undesirable. Cheers!
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Thanks. Inside the market, near to Choy Kee egg tarts stall?
I only knew that the CCF behind Choy Kee is good, and has been there for years.
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*Slurp* Sibeh delicious~ Love the chicken rice 🙂
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Wow….the char kueh teow really serve huge prawns huh!
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wok shit, hahaha, that’s hilarious!
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 8:28 am
For a more direct translation …… 🙂
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Eh?? What about Hor Hee leh??? That’s one the best Hor Hee that I ever tried. 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Really? Which stall? Haha …. I did not notice a Hor Hee stall on this row at night.
Maybe the first row then. Or during daytime?
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I can understand why they have been around for so long. They really have great food and you never know who you will see there.
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Okay, why is it I’m always complaining when commenting here.. But ah well LOL!
I just wanted to share an “interesting” experience I had with Thillai’s Curry House here in Stadium XD One fine afternoon I was standing at the stall waiting for my tapau.. And I sighted a cockroach running about the floor. Sigh, the kitchen of your favourite food outlet is usually best kept hidden away, but at least the bugger wasn’t in the food..
…RIGHT?!?????
So back at home, after gobbling down half of my fish curry-soaked rice, I spotted this interesting huge black spice, bigger than any one I’ve seen before. After staring at it for 10 seconds or so, then it dawned to me that IT WAS HALF A BLOODY BIG COCKROACH AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH Needless to say, even though I love their fish curry to bits and they probably do not garnish their chickens with six-legged spices often, I never dined there ever again LOL
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
CHERYL !!!!!! That’s too graphical!!!! Hahaha …
but thanks anyway. We just had a banana leaf meal there last week.
Guess that might be our last.
True enough, Sri Asoka’s hygiene level is slightly better than Thillai’s, from what we saw.
Maybe we should just stick to Old Andersonian Cafeteria’s from now on.
Did you vomit after the meal? 🙂
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CherylHew Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
I.. didn’t XD;; Guess I have a strong stomach, although we always wondered where “the other half” went, hmm LOL My mom even preserved the cockroach in a plastic bag for my dad to see after work, to his horror XD After Thillai, we tried Sri Asoka’s, but the taste didn’t cater to us very well. Then we moved to Sri Ananda Bahwan’s at night, but disappointing service stopped our visits there, so yeah, we’re now we are faithful customers of Old Andersonians Cafeteria! If you happen to see a family of tree to four with a big fat girl gobbling down copious amounts of rice on a Sunday afternoon, do say hi XD We dine there at least once a week, either lunch or dinner. Big curry aficionados here ;P
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Hahaha …. if it was me, I probably would have stayed away from BLR for some time before tucking in again!
Sri Asoka’s not nice enough for you?
I kinda like Old Andersonian’s, mainly because the place is cleaner, and very airy.
Kalai also serves BLR, in case you’re wondering.
Haha, how many times did you come here to compile everything?
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Once. 🙂
I am astounding right?
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damn i want chicken rice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyway i am enjoying brazilian food now… lol
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 9:56 am
That’s unfair. Never mind …. you cannot get chicken rice there. Mua haha .. so you can drool away.
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Hi, didn’t try the kangkung sotong?
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 12:41 am
Hi CK, nope. Was thinking of ordering the Rojak, but then did not.
Not a fan of sotong kangkung though.
On a side note, have you tried the Sotong Kangkung from Kedai Makanan & Ais Kacang Leong Kee on Jalan Pasir Puteh?
It used to be our favourite way back then.
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[…] tried and tested outlets, as well as some highly-acclaimed stalls like the famous Nasi RM2 over at Stadium Ipoh), it has never occurred to me to do a complete Halal food run here in […]
[…] Medan Selera Stadium; that row of stalls beside Stadium Ipoh houses an impressive range of hawker fares; from the fan favourites of wanton mee stalls (one in the morning, and one at night) to freshly steamed rice rolls; aptly named Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun, and a bean sprouts chicken stall that proves to have a stellar following (Michelle Yeoh’s preference, supposedly) as well as the banana leaf rice stall(s) in the afternoon. […]
[…] 7. YOON KEE STALL NO 23 @ STADIUM IPOH […]
When I was in Ipoh 2 years back, I didn’t pay a visit 2 this food court bcos I thought the stalls only offer Malay food.
I went to the Kg Simee wet market for my breakfast.
There was much on offer.
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Who the heck is “(Datin) Mrs Yeoh”?
If you’re referring to Michelle Yeoh (whom you mentioned earlier), well, she’s first of all, NOT “Mrs Yeoh”, and then, she’s a Dato’ not a Datin!
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