Going NUTS over Menglembu & Char Kuey Teow @ the Market
August 8, 2010 | 8,278 views
The traditional no-frills Char Kuey Teow (also better known as simply Chau Fun in Ipoh) with loads of wriggly bean sprouts, gorgeously-golden eggs, and plump prawns seated atop.
So here’s a post that is exactly one year overdue. More than a year actually, for I read Jason‘s account of the same breakfast; which was posted in July of 2009! That was even before I got infected with this dotcom mania. Imagine the might of procrastination. 😉
Anyway, Menglembu is one of the main township in Ipoh of Perak, that is also widely-acknowledged as the birthplace of crunchy, tasty groundnuts with shells intact, but yet with a roasted, smoky flavour. The term “Menglembu groundnuts” it seems, originated from the fact that a local resident named Mr Lee discovered this technique of processing the groundnuts way back in the 1940’s, and the name has been used since to describe this particular method of production; not necessarily indicating that Menglembu has a groundnut plantation or even houses the production companies. Here’s a brief history from PAGODA brand and the particularly interesting method of producing the tasty snacks.
Two most prominent brands of Menglembu groundnuts are Pagoda and Ngan Yin, also known as “Kacang Cap Tangan” with the signature thumb’s up logo.
Read on to find out more about our breakfast at the morning market, and the famous (for a variety of reasons) Wantan Mee at the “Wai Sek Kai” (Glutton Street) at night …..
Can’t go wrong with a breakfast as simple as kaya and margarine toast with a glass of iced milk tea.
Unabashedly, I admit that this was my first time to Menglembu morning market. Yes, throughout the decades of my life (and trust me, there were many!) I seldom ventured to Menglembu aside from the occasional patronage of Menglembu’s Ma Zai (Twin brothers) chee cheong fun, a Laksa stall that opens in the evenings on the street running parallel to the main road, and meals at Wah Chai restaurant or Pin Sum on the main road.
Don’t even ask me about the famous stretch of stalls at Wai Sek Kai (Glutton Street) come night time, for I barely had any recollection of the hawker fares aside from the famous fried chicken stall, a stall selling all types of braised offals, the tiny fish balls which you can down fifty at one go, and the skimpy portions of wantan mee.
Hahaha … on a Prawny Overdose, anyone?!
Jason’s aunt runs this stall at the food court fronting the morning market. If you’re one who can eat anywhere and everywhere you want, then this is fine. For you get tables under the trees, under some canopies, out in the open (you can imagine how many times we shifted to avoid the glaring sun), or under the zinc roofs with ceiling fans.
To be honest, I do not know whether she dishes up the prawns in such a generous manner to every patron, but we sure did get LOADS of them on our fried noodles. I picked a plate with “hor fun” (flat rice noodles) and yellow mee, for I have always felt that the combination works wonders in CKT (Char Kuey Teow), while Jason picked rice vermicelli noodles (bee hoon) or something. But I got ALL of his prawns, hence the tag line above : “It pays to eat with someone who does not eat prawns ….” 🙂
You can wallop your breakfast anywhere at all !!! Just be courteous and not hog the tables for hours ….
There are various other stalls selling hawker fares all around inside the food court. Reanaclaire had a mind blowing curry mee for breakfast once. So if you’re anywhere around the market in the morning, give the hawker stalls a try. Who knows … you may discover gems to be shared with everyone here.
Food Stalls @ Menglembu Market
Jalan Lee Meng Hin,
31450 Menglembu, Perak, Malaysia
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to the Menglembu Market
Directions : From town area, go towards Menglembu town using Jalan Lahat. Once you reach the roundabout with the giant groundnuts replica, take the first turning from your left. Go towards Lahat/Bukit Merah’s direction instead. You will pass by a police station on your right, and reach a traffic lights. Turning left will take you to Klinik Kesihatan Menglembu, while the food stalls will be on your right.
Pardon the blurry, grainy shot. This was taken at extreme low lighting with a handphone. Yes, read that right. My trusty Nokia 5610, way back in 2008.
I probably should go to the Wai Sek Kai at night once again. The stretch of hawker stalls by the street come alive from evening onwards, with a myriad of street food for sampling. As I had mentioned earlier, the wantan mee (pic above), fried chicken/paper-wrapped chicken, mixed offals (maybe just me?) and tiny 10 cents-sized fish balls warrant a hunt, but be prepare to be seated on the sidewalks or even by the roadside.
“NOW, ANYONE FROM MENGLEMBU WANNA SHARE WHAT’S NICE TO EAT THERE?”
Wow…so many prawns! Is it you top up? :p
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Half of those came from the other plate. Haha … if every plate contains that many prawns, she gotta sell a plate at RM5 and above at least!
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*drools*
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Hey, you are not overdosed on prawns but CHOLESTEROL! Haha…
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Haha …. just refrain from eating too much for lunch afterwards, and it’ll be all good.
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Hmm… it’s been quite sometime since I last ate at the hawker stalls in Menglembu. I wonder if the mother and daughter (selling congee) are still there?
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Menglembu is well-known for its giant wan tan.
Is the night-stall selling it still around?
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Giant wantan?! You mean at the wai sek kai there as well?
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What else is Menglembu famous for besides food?
I gather that there is a good place for joggers up on a hill overlooking the town!
Anyone care to confirm on this?
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Yeah, there’s the famous Bukit Kledang.
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From the photos, I gathered it’s the “new market” foodstalls. Even more interesting food choices in the “old market” which houses the fruit, vegetable, poultry, fish, meat stalls, sundry/grocery stalls, and the wide selection of food stalls. Must confess that I haven’t been eating there for quite awhile except to do marketing…
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
There IS an old market?!! Oh thanks for the info.
Maybe someday soon for another round of breakfast.
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wasai… ur char kuey teow looks extremely deli.. just looking at the prawns… all of them is hugeeee… we can’t find char kuey teow with prawns like tat size in KL here =/
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
You can find them in Penang, but at double the price.
This plate was only for RM3.80, but of course, the prawns came from the other plate as well.
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aw, that;s really a lot of prawn, did you ‘ga liew’??? or the prawn portion is like that?
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 8th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Hi ai wei, I got the prawns from Jason as well. So the mountains of prawns on my plate. 🙂
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Wah! So much prawns la…hehe! Yummy!
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love that prawny prawn prawn shot… making me hungry this morn and it aint even lunch time yet.. grrrrr !
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Yo dude, the Menglembu market is actually separated into two sections… the “old market” and “new market” are separated by a small road. My aunt’s stall is at the new market section 😉
There is another food court inside the old market section which is… more “nasty” than the new one hehehe…
As for wai sek kai at night, there was this stall selling curry mee, laksa and “liew” at one of the shop lots corner…. I think they uses blue colour utensils…. Check it out.
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Aiya … you also did not say that time. Haha .. thanks.
This one not nasty lah … don’t think otherwise!
Oh, I think that’s my favourite LAKSA STALL !!! back then at least.
For now I seldom take laksa anyway.
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Never know Menglembu is a food heaven too, I though there only have peanuts 😛
No offense to Menglembu-lites ya 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Yes, you can find lots of good street food finds in Menglembu, and its vicinity.
Menglembu is a rather vast area anyway.
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Omg the prawns are justttt awesome!!
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Long time no visit this pasar at morning. Menglembu also got my favourite wantan mee stall. Same row as the twin ccf stall. Their bao also very nice cause it is freshly done by hand in the morning and steam straight away. By noon, usually sold out.
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J2Kfm Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 9:34 am
The wantan mee is inside a shop or at a stall?
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[…] Menglembu Morning Market – Char Kuey Teow (NEW!!) […]
I do not care how late you are. It is well worth the wait. I love the same kind of foods you do. They do not have this where I live. I always have to travel to get the good stuff and you really know where to send me. Thanks alot.
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I fondly remember a honey chicken sold at the night market there, I almost never miss it everytime I go to Menglembu! I wonder if it’s still there ….
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Just to update you that the auntie who fry the char kuey teow as shown as above has passed away about 2 months ago. She died peacefully.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 15th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Hi Joe. Thanks for the notice. I knew about this from her nephew, who brought me there that time. Her stall’s now taken over by her daughter, or so I heard.
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