The Twins’ Chee Cheong Fun in Menglembu, and It’s Buntong’s Kacang Putih
April 28, 2009 | 1,110 views| 51 Comments » |
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##This post was featured in the Star’s Sunday Metro (3rd May 2009). Click HERE for the article. ## (Link may be expired)
I’d better return to my roots …. for now. Ipoh food galore, back to back. How bout that?! Had enough of Ipoh famous Nga Choy Kai aka Tauge Ayam aka Chicken Kuey Teow? Here’s some Chee Cheong Fun (steamed rolled rice noodles, with condiments & gravies), all the way from Menglembu. The town famous for groundnuts, and hawker fare.
The famous Menglembu Twins Chee Cheong Fun – Even featured in 8TV’s Ho Chak before.At this corner shop named Wing Kat Fong, in operation since the 60′s (!!) and still going strong, sits a stall resembling your average ‘chap fan’ (mixed rice, or economy rice) stall. But with a twist or two. Not only are they famous for their nasi lemak and various curries (from chicken to pork, and squids, fish and prawns), their forte is the Chee Cheong Fun. Those smooth, steamed to perfection rolls of flat, white rice noodles.
Too full for a meal? Have some snacks, or chomp on a drumstick.The stall is manned by a pair of male twins, probably in their 30′s to 40′s. Jolly, witty fellows (if you know them well enough) they are, also assisted by several staff, they run the stall ala clockwork-style, systematically taking orders and preparing them in a jiffy. Though the shop may be crowded (both the front and back portion of the colonial shop can be seated) at peak times, ie lunch hour, rest assured the wait for your food won’t get relentless. After all, all that’s needed is merely scooping and serving in an instant.
Curry Pig’s Skin Chee Cheong Fun
I haven’t tasted their CCF for a good many years. Since secondary days, if my memory serves me right. But the quality is still maintained; the silky smooth noodles actually needs no condiments per se, but douse them with generous ladles of pig’s skin curry, and the plate of CCF rises to the occasion. Gracefully, albeit sloppily. Bring a tissue or two.
A plate of Nasi Lemak with Sambal Petai (!!! oh yeah !!!), a boiled egg, curry vegetables, and cucumber slices.But my personal favourite, the utmost delicious, almost divine, Sambal Petai. With heavy scents of kaffir lime leaves, the sweetish, sour and slightly spicy sambal complemented the crunchy stinkbeans perfectly. I can almost imagine myself chomping on them day in and day out. But Motormouth may mutate into Stinkymouth by then though.
The tragic Siew Pau, and crispy fried chickenThey offer a lot of side dishes, or snacks. A substantial and impressive repertoire, that consist of fried chicken, yam cakes, Siew pau, etc. The Siew Pau however, is not up to par, way beneath the delectable taste of the Seremban originals. But the fried chicken is a must-try of sorts, almost every table ordered a plate. The batter was crunchy, and marinated well, but a little salty. Therefore omit the need for chilli or tomato sauce.
Windows to the World ……
The food is no doubt, cheap. The mains are priced at about RM3 onwards, and a meal for one won’t cost anywhere near to RM10, lest your finger goes into spasm, or overdrive and pointed at all the tempting curries, and dishes on offer.
Wing Kat Fong @ Menglembu townLocation : The road parallel to the main road of Menglembu town. Opposite the Magnum 4D shop, within a short distance from Maybank of Menglembu. Exact location unsure (sorry) but should be easy to locate. Coming from Jalan Lahat/Ipoh town towards the roundabout with the GIANT groundnuts, take the right road into Menglembu town. Wing Kat Fong is situated on the road parallel to Jalan Lahat, on the right side.
Remember this house from the previous post?
Heavens for kacang putih lovers ….
Yup, this is a house in Buntong’s Kampung Kacang Putih (What an apt name eh? =P) selling these Indian snacks so synonymous with Malaysians, even a small child can differentiate his muruku from his pagoda.
At RM3 per pack, you’re getting them fresh from the cows. Wait, that did not sound right somewhere …. I mean, from the wok.
Buntong is a town in Ipoh populated by mostly Indians, and famous for two things. Or more but I’m being ignorant as usual. Wanton Mee, and Kacang Putih.
Coming from Jalan Tun Perak towards the Buntong’s BIG roundabout, take a 12 o’clock. Take the first left, and then another left, between two prominent kacang putih shops. This house is on that road (Laluan Sungai Pari 4), on your right. Opens from day til night, but you’ve gotta waltz in casually, and enter the shop from the side of the house.
The address of the shop/house.
I’ll be off for a week, from this Wednesday or Thursday onwards, going on a vacation-cum-holidays-cum-work to KL. But not 100% though, as work follows closely, much like a dog chasing its tail. Or the other way round. Whatever. So pardon me for the lack of posts. (Am I hearing a sigh of relief there?!! Huh? *_*)
NEXT POST : The Battle of the Coffees …..
Wow! So many snacks! I want to try it all!
I wonder whether the instant white coffee from Ipoh tasted the same as the real white coffee.
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Nice photo “Windows to the World”
And nice write-up on Menglembu, I don’t think the Half-Ipohite in me has actually been there, hmm…
I seem to be in Tg Malim most of the time
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For a moment, I thought this is the Twins Noodle Shop in Ipoh New Town. I can’t remember the road name, but it’s some where near the police station.
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You are right ! Menglembu and surroundings offer great oldy Malaysian classics !
Perak rules ok !
7th May is Acoming !
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I can’t never get this kind of ccf in Penang! OMG.. i miss the curry ccf.. with pig’s skin somemore.. superb!
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*Drooling at the sight of the CCF* Must ask you for directions next time I go to Ipoh! =)
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Pig’s skin, fwoargh, really old skool to the max! Love that windows picture, can just imagine gentle breakfasts that morph into lunch and tea, all while staring out into the streets!
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a all in one food stall-best!
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I’ve long trying to locate the place since it was introduced in Ho Chak..been wanting to try out.
Izzit open for breakfast? Tot I could I day drop by while driving back hometown.
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The fried chicken very similar to the one near my office, nice color fried skin (proof of well-marinated I supposed?)~~
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wow! this is one of my favourite chee cheong fun as their curry toppings are really good.
Next few shop, there is coffee shop that sells pau, there are really good too, sells fast!
Hey the kacang putih man!
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I missed those CCF with curry pig’s skin.
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Selba : come and try them all! hahaha …the brewed one tastes nicer no doubt.
Julian Si : ironically, i’ll be in Tg Malim tomorrow! what’s nice eh?
NKOTB : near police station? sounds like the curry mee pulak.
BSG : 7th May?! yeah, Perak rules!
allie : yeah, Pg’s CCF only with shrimp paste and chilli sauce.
Bangsar-Babe : hahaah .. i hope can still remember the way by then. oldie amnesiac me …
550ml jar of faith : hahaha … not that cooling nor breezy to accomodate a long long chatting session.
foodbin : yeah. there’s a rojak stall right outside the shop as well.
Hulk : yeah i was surprised such a simple stall also featured in Ho Chak. made me rmbr bout them anyway.
mimid3vils : rich, brown colour. fried to crispy goodness.
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BBO : rich, thick curry with those lusciousl, almost gelatinous skins!
worldwindows : guess what? me too.
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Omg…i think I saw the snek i want! Hahahaha Why Penang cannot produce good snacks like other states eh…
still remember the cripiness and fragrant curry leave smell together with the snacks…
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OMG I miss curry chee cheong fun….
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Cokeworld Citizen : the kacang putih right? hehehe … cant stop munching on those.
Agnes Cheong : there’s none over there?
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ohhh.. i miss the nasi lemak! the CHINESE version!! here in KL I’m so stuffed with the malay versions…i wan chinese NL!!!!!
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Thx for promoting my lembu place..haha! can u believe i haven try it be4 ..haha!
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XD my friends opened huge packet of it at 3am+ and we never stop munching lol…
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U think so easy just scooping can be done in an instant; do a thousand scoop and your arms need koyok. Gool ol’ Menglembu and Buntong, thot it was Bentong also popular for groundnuts right?
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thenomadGourmand : erm, ironically, i’ve had terrible nasi lemak in Ipoh, for 2 days in a row!!!
SuWei : aiya, last time when we got chance, we could’ve tried lah! nvm nvm ..so near to hz, ask mum to tapau loh …
Cokeworld Citizen : hehehe … addictive, but detrimental to throat though.
Jencooks : Bentong? not so sure. Menglembu yes, already very famous for the nuts.
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woah, that’s a lot of kacang putih! which i like :p. how long you’ll be in KL for? any chance of meeting up for some good food? hehehe
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Wow a house of snacks! Every girl’s dream
I never even heard of Buntong before, coming from somewhere nearby. I’ll surely have to go explore Ipoh a bit. 
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love the window to the world shot. Your part of the world got so many nice old buildings to photograph yar?
I was gonna say.. YOUR house ar ;P lol..
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OMG – that plate of CCF and pig’s skin – to die for! Slurrppps! Makes me wanna head back to ipoh this weekend la – u reckon the roads will be jammed, since it’s the Labour Day weekend?!
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i like the chee cheong fun not because of the ccf but because of the spicy dishes. it does looks like indian / malay rice stall. i guess this is the only chinese stall selling so many spicy dishes.
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i say man, i was gonna skip lunch, but after reading your post…i cant now. argh, bad boy you!
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in da house of Indian crackers! omg, i feel like in heaven! haha! really love the taste of ‘em. something that normal potato chips cant give.
menglembu sounds like a great place for makan. i only know of the groundnuts before this. *shame, nic*
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That house has no signboard? What if I (blurred as usual) walked into a wrong house?
((@.@))”
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not the curry mee – xin xuan fang… sell by the twin sisters. grrr… i can’t remember the road name… but i know how to get there.
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eeek i want those sambal petai… die liau craving for it now :p
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I’m running low from my last supply run to Buntong di. Must ask mom and dad to stock up for me on KP when they go down this weekend:P ROFL…
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My friend will surely go ga-gas over the CCF with pork skin curry.
Since you’ve featured a few CCFs in your blogs in the past, I’ll assume that you are a CCF lover yourself.
Have you tried the CCF (Operating from a stall) which is behind Shell Petrol station not far away from ACS School?
Non-CCF lover will fall in love just the same!
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Actually..the original lady host of hok chak is a local girl from Menglembu. Thats why she is able to recommend such places.
BTW, is there anyway I could drop suggestion on several new eateries for u to try & test out in Ipoh?
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J2kfm,
Aiks..house for kacang putih hor?!! haha!
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Kacang putih, chee cheong fun, COFFEE !! All the things I love about Ipoh.
Have fun in KL
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yeah.. went to this shop few yrs back wf nihc when we did our attachment at M’lembu.. hehe.. nice CCF!!
ehem… “kacang putih.. kacang putih.. 50 sen.. 50 sen.. siapa mau beli?? siapa mau beli?? marilah.. marilah…” (^^) hahahahaha… sot jor.. (@_@)
so cheap la.. hmmmm… where’s mine?? =P
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The kacang putih store is a heaven to me!
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sc : I'm still in KL, fyi. until Wednesday. today onwards stayin in town area. wonder where to search for good food.
iamthewitch : BUntong is Man Tung in cantonese. surely the place must have popped up somewhere?
cumi & ciki : !!! i wont choose a house in Buntong lah … for an apparent reason!
Pureglutton : sorry, this comes a bit late? =P i'm in KL throughout the period. and thankfully the traffic's non-existent! in KL, at least.
Wendy : yeah, agreed. the curry combination soooo tempting. if only their nasi lemak has more santan, then it'll be perfect.
FBB : hahaha, y skip lunch? but dun blame me, blame self-control. lack thereof!
Nic : there are variousother shops and hawker stalls in Menglembu, selling tasty street food.
Tummythoz : erm, you MIGHT bump into another kacang putih house though. quite a few produce them in their houses.
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NKOTB : oh dear. i guess I need your guidance instead!
babe KL : nothing beats sambal petai eh? crunchy, stinky heavens.
UnkaLeong : oh, got personal assistants eh? not bad.
ahlock : i’ve yet to try, or even heard bout that one. behind SHell station not Tabung Haji building?
Hulk : sure Hulk! drop them here, email to me (messon2k(at)gmail.com) or just put in the Instant Yellz box. very much appreciated.
cariso : yeah! save $ buying a shoplot.
Joanna : lots more of Ipoh food still to be discovered. if only IPoh has more food reviews.
KCA : what where’s yours …. I bought 2 packets only woh!
email2me : imagine pointing recklessly, and still wont break a hole in ur pocket.
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Read about the nasi lemak place in Perak Food Guide but haven’t been there. Hmm…
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the chee cheung fun + the pork skin looks very oily. beware to all the high-cholesterol patient, eat this and die faster. can u plz post some healthier food?
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Where is the kacang puteh shop la?
I want try and taste it as I always buy from SM Kacang Puteh(if Im not mistaken the name) also near the buntong roundabout.
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Wah! Fresh milk… miss it so much. Din drink it for a long time.
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jason : yes ah? come back, then we go 2gtr. hahaha … thanks for bringing me around the other day.
Zaleem : if you’re hoping to see ONLY healthy food, sorry, wrong blog brother.
ziktor : it’s near the roundabout also. but you’ve gotta turn into Kampung Kacang Putih AFTER the roundabout.
food promotions : not only milk, it’s served with coffee as well.
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[...] of chili sauce and a dark reddish sweet sauce, or with gravies such as curry (some even with pig’s skin or wild boar’s meat) or mushroom/minced pork combination. So imagine the look of horror on my face back then when I was [...]
[...] of chili sauce and a dark reddish sweet sauce, or with gravies such as curry (some even with pig’s skin or wild boar’s meat) or mushroom/minced pork combination. So imagine the look of horror on my face back then when I was [...]
[...] of chili sauce and a dark reddish sweet sauce, or with gravies such as curry (some even with pig’s skin or wild boar’s meat) or mushroom/minced pork combination. So imagine the look of horror on my face back then when I was [...]
[...] of chili sauce and a dark reddish sweet sauce, or with gravies such as curry (some even with pig’s skin or wild boar’s meat) or mushroom/minced pork combination. So imagine the look of horror on my face back then when I was [...]