Mun Choong Restaurant @ Pasir Puteh, Ipoh
October 1, 2009 | 32,255 views
The Platter of Starters – Enough to fill up at least 30% of one’s stomach space!
Mun Choong Restaurant (also known as Pusing Public Restaurant, as with its sister outlet in town) has been gracing the Chinese dining scene in Ipoh for a respectable number of years (since 1978!). A name synonymous with Chinese wedding dinners, and major occasions,Mun Choong proves to be a safe choice for organizing get-togethers, thanksgiving (hehe, in any manners imaginable), full moon (not the party, but for the month’s old baby) etc.
Ginger Chicken – Looks like a mess eh? But this is being served in wedding dinners as well ….
So what was the occasion this time? A once in a blue moon gathering, to commemorate the 3 years we’ve been serving the government. Or wait, the public’s more like it. Hehehe ….. Of course, People First, Performance Now right? Nah …. rest assured none of those political ploys, we’re merely performing our own duties for meagre wages. To make ends meet, so to speak.
Pan-fried Prawns with Soy Sauce – Their most famous dish, bar none
A feast for 10 pax cost RM347, for 8 dishes, including drinks (Chinese tea), tidbits, hand towels and the like. You’ll get my drift. Of course, you can opt for the special set menu, currently promoting (holds true at the time of our dinner, which was beginning of Sept) the crispy roasted duck set, which has a much glorified, flowery name of course (typical Chinese set meals) but me being the perfect epitome of a banana, can’t read Chinese for the life of me.
At RM298, you’re getting 3 dishes incorporating the duck’s meat, skins and all, a steamed patin fish, the perennial favourite prawns, and some other dishes to satiate your hunger pangs. Hop over to happy happy’s post for a closer scrutinization of the dishes mentioned above.
Steamed Pak So Gong (Catfish)
But FBB’s post on his recent glutton experience at Pusing Public (the one in town, behind The Store/ex-Ocean Departmental Store) had me salivating over the myriad of other dishes whipped up by the cooks at the restaurant. To imagine lavishly wrapping some omelette with crab meat into the lettuce, chomping on every slivers, every morsels with relish. But of course, that dish alone cost almost RM90 (!) hence we dropped the intention and went for other substitutes. Hahaha ….
Soft beancurd with stuffed fish paste
After much deliberation, customization and suggestions (from the captain as well as the blogs, and ), we settled for 8 dishes, and ended up with bellies so full we had to adjourn for some after-meal calorie burner, in the form of alcohol. What? Oh you mean whisky doesn’t work that way? What counter-productive?
Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables with Cashew Nuts
Seriously, Mun Choong does whip up a storm, so to speak. But not ALL of the dishes were equally heaven sent. The pan-fried prawns with soy sauce (Kon Chin Har) is a crowd’s favourite, a staple on almost every table of patrons dining there. The simple method of cooking the prawns brought out the naturally fresh and sweet taste of the prawns (we had the Tanjung Tualang style BIG-headed freshwater varieties), with a mild hint of Chinese wine in the soy sauce. The shell of the prawn was scalding hot when served, hence practise caution or else risk suffering from bee-stung lips when you least expect it. Lest you’re desiring for a Jolie’s look, or on an extreme scale, Tracy Chapman’s sultry version. =P
Egg Noodles with Pork and Mushrooms (Yee Mee)
The steamed catfish was a bit off, with an unpleasant tinge of muddy/earthy taste. The Four Seasons Platter (least that’s what I call them) managed to please all corners, with stuffed crab shells, assam-style stir-fried vegetables with scallops, fish paste with sliced abalone, and crispy salad chicken. A crowd-pleaser of a platter, we cleaned the humongous serving in no time. But bear in mind this was the first dish to arrive. By the time the noodles reached our table, most of us were already burping and God-knows if anyone passed gas from the other end of the tract.
Desserts of sweet soup – Chestnut with egg whites and ginkgo nuts
All in all, a satisfactory meal, decent enough to satiate our hunger. Yet the other dishes were somewhat lacking, and failed to deliver as expected. The ginger chicken for one, is a classic homecooked fare, yet nothing too spectacular. And this was also served during one of the wedding dinner I attended recently.
The menu in Chinese. Sorry no translation available, for I’m equally hopeless myself.
Notice the banner? That’s the RM298 promo set for 10 pax I mentioned earlier.
One last year to go in the service. Makes one wonder, what does the future hold for us? Will we still be dining away, gleefully spending away our time without a care in the world, come the same time next year? For now, I still can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Really. Keeping my fingers crossed now, for the next 365 days may either bring joy, laughter and cheer, or gloom, sorrow and tears.
Mun Choong Restaurant
No 511-517, Jalan Pasir Puteh,
31650 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel No : 605-3210320, 605-3212815
Opens for lunch and dinner daily. Highly recommended to book in advance, especially on weekends or public holidays.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP TO MUN CHOONG RESTAURANT
Yay! I am the first commenter! :p
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The crab photo in the first page is enough to make so many people drooling! :p
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 7:54 pm
hey 1st commenter, hahahah ….
stuffed crab, mixed with meat and spices. not entirely crab meat lah …. but still tasty.
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The 4 seasons platter looks good – different from all the weddings I’ve been too, crabs and scallops, very nice. Catfish is also an unusual choice of fish where I come from (Sibu). I love steamed fish in Chinese restaurants though, it’s like nothing else. 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 1st, 2009 at 10:46 pm
so what do they steam over in Sibu? 🙂
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give me more I want some more of Mun Choong. We
love the food there and have been talking about it..
Hope to visit the place again.
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attended a few wedding dinners there-good food.-one of the best in Ipoh.
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My favourite in Ipoh. Their roast chicken is also a class act!
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roast chicken, Chin? hmmm … if my memory serves me correctly, i think i’ve tried that sometime ago.
Pei Pa Kai?
foodbin & happy happy : we have groupies now, dont we? =P
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Impressive meal! Btw do try their claypot steam fish with just a bit of flavorful soy sauce and ginger.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:01 am
oh yeah! FBB ate that during his visit. cutlets of fish in claypot. looks good, but we ended up ordering a whole fish.
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I like Tung Hoi restaurant though but only eat there when i can tumpang lol!
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long time didnt go there….normally go PUsing Mun Chong, coz fren said Pusing Mun Chong food is better, is it true???
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:02 am
erm, i went to both, and conclude that both are more or less the same quality.
though seriously, for the wedding dinner i attended shortly after this feast,
the food was not so great.
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Nice article… coincidentally i’ll be attending a wedding dinner this saturday over at Mun Choong …hmmm.. wonder whether i’ll be having any of the dishes, u reviewed.. 🙂 Ur tempting pics really is teasing ..now i can;t wait for this saturday.. 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:03 am
this Mun CHoong also? hahaha … ok,.. just pray that there wont be any karaoke session during the dinner.
it was darn noisy and stuffy on night of the wedding dinner i attended shortly after this,
i ran off before the meal ended.
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D-Tourist Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
the kon chin har was superb… ,, had the ginger chicken.. which was nice too… the cold dish appetiser was so big that the waitresses had to use a trolley to roll them out.. 🙂
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Mun Choong is forever crowded, with long queues waiting – get even worse during weekends, right? Good food there, generally. Have not eaten there for a long time though coz whenever i’m back in ipoh, it’s usually a weekend and that’s the worst time to go there!
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
true. lest you book in advance a table, and the dishes.
as some need preparation way in advance.
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Dunno why, I suddenly wish I have a wedding dinner (with food served like yours) to attend. Ooohh..wouldn’t mind some suckling pig too!!
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
craving for the camaraderie leh ? the yamseng, the shark’s fins, and the karaoke, perhaps? 🙂
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The ginger chicken definitely won’t appear at KL wedding banquet 😛
PS: now I see ginger I also 1 2 vomit dy (eat too much when confinement) *sob*sob*
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Wow !RM298 a value package oi!
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This is so value for money!
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Wow! Yummy food! The 4 platters look really good and I think I will definitely love those prawns! : )
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
those prawns were deadly i tell you …. cleaned the plate in no time.
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Ooo.. seems tht the food is not consistent?
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I assume those are little crabs? or is that one giant plate of big crabs? I feel like hopping on a plane just for this meal!
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In my humble opinion, the Pusing Mun Cheong is much better, they are the original restaurant. The one in Pasir Puteh, though nearer to my home is bigger and more catered for weddings. Sometimes the food is not as good because of the sheer numbers. Try the oil deep fried ikan hantu if you could afford it.
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 27th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Ikan Hantu is damn pricey ler … But okay, maybe once in a blue moon, or dining in a large group. 🙂
Never tried the Pusing one though, for I’ve always been addicted to Pusing’s kuih-muih only. Hence the lighter lunch + LOTS of “Kai See Tang” !!!
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The taste can be uneven sometimes. Probably change of chef or the chef in bad mood. Across the road at Pasir Pinji, there is one called restoran Eipoh..Taste good, cheaper and also air con.
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Thanks totoro. Yes, I have heard of favourable feedback from friends who are frequent diners at Eipoh.
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