Motormouth Swallowed Ipoh … Almost! (CNY 2011)
February 7, 2011 | 2,731 viewsAnd with a HUGE thud, Motormouth fell back to the ground. I was back to work in KL today, and thankful that I chose to change my travel schedule from Sunday to early this morning. Avoided the supposedly horrendous traffic jam on the highway (I mean, come on … if there is NO congestion on the highway, how to consider it’s the festivities leh?) A brilliant week off from work was a blessing, even when Ipoh’s crowded with the sudden massive influx of outsiders (or those on the homecoming trail; like yours truly here), and it was pure chaos everytime we tried to step foot out of the house; literally.
What on Earth was this chap up to? Making Tang Yuen (glutinous rice balls)? Dodol? Or playing with plasticine/Play-Doh?
If you’re going OH NO (!!!), so no more Ipoh reviews to come after this?!!!! (Go on, you’re allowed to be dramatic for once) ….. you’re half right. The past week was filled with random food hunts; started off fine (and I even had dry curry mee at Nam Chau in old town for breakfast, with a glass of absolutely orgasmic frothy iced milk tea) but then tapered off to a somewhat lacklustre finish; since most restaurants were either closed during the Chinese New Year, OR cashing in on the opportunity to overcharge and cook without much QC.
A grim environment notwithstanding; these people were of sheer brilliance and tenacity I tell you. More to come in the next post. Promise.
Ipoh Garden East was infested/charged/swarmed by the locals, tourists and anyone in between. More so when the only cineplex in Ipoh has been operating there for more than a decade now (GSC and LFS are good cineplexes in their own rights, but you don’t see the movie goers there as MAD as those in TGV @ Jusco Kinta City!)
De Garden is the next IN-place to be seen; housing over 20 eateries (I have lost count since) under one roof; albeit a funky layout rendered most newcomers confused. Yeah, I did succumb to temptation and ventured over to Daorae Korean BBQ for dinner once; and then avoided De Garden like the plague since parking’s a horror (even with the new multi-levels carpark with extremely tight spaces) and it costs RM1 per hour. A small sum to pay if you’re comparing to Pavilion or KLCC, BUT …. in Ipoh, we have always been paying flat rates. 🙂
And do you think Sesame Naan would take off like their Garlic and Cheese cousins?
I had this list of FOOD-TO-EAT in Ipoh before I went home. But can’t say I have really succeeded in covering most of the eateries I wanted to go to; and some even for the very first time.
Yeah, contrary to the myth that Motormouth has eaten at every single place there is in Ipoh, that actually is so far from the truth.
Maybe, just maybe …. I can squeeze a SECOND trip back home this month. And by golly if I ever do, you can expect to see more delicious reviews here ….. and me packing up extra calories back to KL !!! 🙂
*By the way, this was a filler post. I woke up at an unGodly hour of 5am this morning and drove under the influence (of FOOD, not alcohol) to reach KL for work.
* Can you guess where were the pictures taken and what are those?
*For the lucky devils still holidaying in Ipoh/Perak and need a shining light; consider going through THIS LIST of IPOH FOOD compiled from way back then.
Are those heong biang ?
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Heong Peng made the traditional way –
In Picture 1 : The going to be crispy skin and the melt in your mouth caramel?
In Picture 3 : Arranging the heong peng into the ‘oven’?
Should be from the famous Gunung Rapat ? Making a wild guess – Seng Kee?
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Ipoh Land Worm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 12:02 am
In Picture 2 : Workers are gathered at the working table to ‘wrap’ the caramel (maybe cooled, rounded and dusted with some flour so that it is not that sticky) with the dough. Then they (the dough) were around again and flatten a bit and brushed with some ‘wash’ (maybe water/oil/egg-wash so that they are shiny after baked). Lastly, sprinkle with some sesame on top.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Land Worm – Haha …. yeah, Seng Kee AND another brand. Somehow, watching the whole process made me really appreciate their effort in preserving the same old taste of yesteryear’s.
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Ipoh Land Worm Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 1:19 am
True – it involves a lot of hard work…..
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those looks like heong peng… and most likely from one of those homemade ones from gunung rapat.. any rewards for guessing correctly ?? 🙂
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is that your recent find’s heong beng ???
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Yes ai wei …. but I myself could not buy more than two packets. And wait for the post to find out why …
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traditional hiong beng from gunung rapat 🙂
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it seems everyone got the right answer..nxt time give them a toughter guess..hehe..
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Haha…jack, it was not supposed to be hard at all. The last picture probably gave them all away, but how nice if everyone can truly enjoy the undisputed Ipoh’s signature biscuit?
Not only Yee Hup (though that can be easily purchased from everywhere; even in Singapore from what I heard) sells heong peng from Gunung Rapat in Ipoh; in case you’re wondering.
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Ipoh Land Worm Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 1:21 am
True – you can find Yee Hup’s ones in Singapore – I had seen the individual wrapped ones in Chinatown there.
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heong beng I guess 😛
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Morning Motormouth
Ok I shall imagine you looking like a Chinese version of Keanu Reeves, that actor fella is very yummy.
Is that the place for the best hiong beng, I mean bang, I mean biscuit from Ipoh? There’s one with the purple colour packing I like and those loosely pack in the pink plain plastic bags tied with rubber band.
Back to the real food business, do you know where is the best shop in Ipoh for Hap toh soh and sat keh mah, did I spell them proper?
cinafong
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Heong peng in Ipoh; look for Seng Kee (google search them under this blog’s header), OR 189 (Yat Bat Gao – really spelt as such). both in Gunung Rapat. Another one named 362 (hehe, sure must be Da Ma Cai kaki) on the main road is not that good.
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Ipoh Land Worm Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 1:30 am
I tried 362 also but not 189. I think anyone of them will taste better than Yee Hup’s anytime.
One more thing that I dislike about Yee Hup – they address themselves as ‘Tan Siew Heong Peng’ or Charcoal Baked Heong Peng. But they are using all oven only. When you ask their staff if they are really ‘tan siew’, they will mislead you by saying ‘yes – we are selling ‘tan siew heong peng’. Once I asked the biscuit is really baked with charcoal, the salesgirl told me “Not sure” (the one in Jalan Sultan Iskandar).
The phrase ‘tan siew heong peng’ had became a name instead of a description. Don’t be mislead. Go to those that J2Kfm here reconmend that really use coconut husk to bake. They are really a lot more nicer….
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Thanks Ipoh Land Worm for the clarification. Somehow, we can’t deny that Yee Hup has also done so much to bring Gunung Rapat’s heong peng over to those not privileged enough to taste the real deals. Since they have expanded leaps and bounds, it’s almost impossible for them to cope with the traditional method of coconut husk-broiled biscuits.
And from what I understood, the younger generation (not confirmed) seemed to not favour the laborious process of doing the biscuits the olden way.
Cinafong, LOL. Didn’t know that a man can be yummy. Either you are always thinking of food or a cannibal.
Heong Peng- Yee Hup is very famous and nice. In fact Teluk Intan has many good heong peng manufacturers like Tiger Head or Hock Bee Tin etc. Taiping also has a few.
Hup Toh soh? Best I ever tried was at The Brownies at De Gardens. It melts in the mouth and has almond flakes.
Sek Keh Mah- I recommend the shop in Sungei Siput Just off the main road in town. Ask anybody in Sungei Siput for directions.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Hi steveliu. Haha … why I can’t be yummy? 🙂
Anyway, for heong peng, Yee Hup is NOT the best any longer. Ever since they moved away from the traditional method of baking them in those huge jars using charcoal/coconut shell as fuel. Yee Hup uses electronic ovens now.
But the next post should clarify where the pictures were taken, and which TWO houses I went to for a look at how they still make Heong Peng (yes, they were making heong peng, in case anyone else was curious)
Sat Keh Mah – The Sg Siput one can be bought at some confectioneries in Ipoh; in particular the small shop selling tarts and pastries opposite of Kong Heng. About 50 cents extra, but save you the hassle of going all the way to Sg Siput. And yes, the Sat Keh Mah is GOOD.
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Welcome back MM!! Missing you already LOL! Looks like your food hunt in Ipoh had been chaotic over the CNY.. well I wouldn’t expect any less during the Chinese festivals! Even Kampar was always jammed with cars! So much so that I’m almost (ALMOST) relieved to be back in KL..
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Yeahloh… but KL worse ler … this morning got stuck for half an hour CANNOT even exit to Federal Highway. Thankfully, everyone was still in the CNY mood, and many arrived late at the office. 🙂
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Does anyone know where to get good curry powder in Ipoh?
🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 9th, 2011 at 9:11 am
You can try the pasar besar Ipoh @ the previous Super Kinta. Back then, my mother used to get the curry powder from there.
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Var Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 5:14 am
Cheers, will try there when I am back in May.
🙂
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Da Ma Cai? that is really funny LOL
thanks for making me laugh this morning. The market is driving me insane.
My nose is almost touching my Toshiba screen and I still can’t make you out clearly..
cinafong
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