Nam Chau (Dry Curry Mee) @ Old Town, Ipoh
April 3, 2008 | 13,746 views** This post has been updated with NEW pictures, and re-edited writings on 17th November 2009 **
The dry curry noodles (I normally pick flat rice noodle or ‘kuey teow’, or we call it ‘Sar Hor Fun’ in Ipoh) (RM3.60) comes with chicken shreds, ‘char siew’ (barbecued pork) and prawns, and generously doused with rich, slightly fiery and aromatic curry gravy. Although some may find the curry noodles a tad oily, but squeeze in half a lime, and the taste is simply amazing! The spiciness can be ‘adjusted’, just tell the person taking order to +/- accordingly. The combination of spicy, sour, sweet and savoury renders the dry curry noodles almost too delicious to resist, definitely one of the best I’ve ever tasted in Ipoh, and everywhere else.
Most people would choose Sin Yoon Loong or Nam Heong for their own concoction of Ipoh famous white coffee, however, comparing current Nam Heong’s white coffee quality with Nam Chau’s, in my humble opinion, the latter trumped the former by a wide margin. Nam Chau has their novel way of ‘frying’ the beans, resulting in a most perfectly aromatic and satisfying cup of white coffee, with a tinge of saltiness (yes, sounds funny, but true) that enhances the overall flavour. Have it served to you hot to enjoy Ipoh’s undisputed drink, but I normally have the iced version to cut down on meal time. After all, morning breakfast is NOT a privilege of a civil servant,’s but rather leniency on behalf of one’s department’s head.
Other than Nam Chau’s famous curry noodles, they also serve chicken soup noodle (or Kai See Hor Fun, roughly translated to Chicken Shreds with Flat Rice Noodles in Soup), roasted pork, and a strangely-named noodle dish named ‘Tar Lan Wun’, roughly translated to ‘Break the Bowl’, which is translucent strands of glass vermicelli noodles (tang hoon) in soup, and served with fishballs and Chinese crullers (Yau Char Kwai). For a lighter meal, they have various toasts and sandwiches, the most memorable being half boiled eggs on toast, RM2.60, and the usual kaya-butter toasts. Another one of my personal favourite is their deep-fried sesame buns, with lotus paste fillings. A serving of 3 pieces is priced at RM2.00.
Location : Nam Chau Coffee Shop @ 54, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak. Opens from 7am until 3pm. Closed on Saturdays. The other two outlets are in Menglembu Baru, and another in First Garden.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to NAM CHAU COFFEE SHOP @ OLD TOWN, IPOH, PERAK
I don’t recall there’s a shop there leh…
By the way, I tried one curry mee opposite MGS which is pretty good too!
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jason, its pretty easy to find la, coming from hugh low street, u pass by Nasmir by the river bank on your left. then take the 1st turning on your right, right before the traffic lights. The shop is located on the right. the MGS curry mee is Yee Fatt, its in one of my earlier post. been around for very very long
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I always go for Nam Chau’s dry curry mee probably once a week at the very least. I think its one of the best curry noodles in Ipoh.
It’s true their coffee is not as popular as Nam Heong or Sin Yuen Loong. But Nam Heong or Sin Yuen Loong coffee is nothing to shout about either. Your mileage may vary.
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Stanley : agree bout the best curry mee part.
i feel that Nam heong’s coffee has gone from bad to worse, not worthy of representing Ipoh white coffee.
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dry curry mee like this really define my ipoh trips. i remember tar pau-ing some siew yoke from the market to go with the curry mee. not from this stall la. i cant remember which one d…hehe.
very nice pics la. i’m salivating at 12+ in the morning. your fault! haha.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:42 am
haha, dont blame me. go get some frog porridge or something. from Geylang.
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My sister called me this morning so happily and exciting about this Ipoh Garden Nam Chau new branch , and she said the next door is the famous Lahat Rd Wanton Mee, and Station One is on the way. OMG ! All so closed to my mom house, no need to travel all the way to Old Town , I just can’t wait to go back for more holidays. Yummy !
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cheery Reply:
May 7th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
hehe..tat is franchise nam chau le…the 1st shop start on…and i work at there oso coz my bro in charge
wif there to help his boss…maybe weekend u wil see me there..any comment about the food? pls
comment it..haha…
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J2Kfm Reply:
May 7th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Hi cheery, means you’re in old town’s Nam Chau, or the Ipoh Garden South’s?
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[...] Curry Mee : Nam Chau @ Old Town (BEST Dry Curry Mee) – My favourite place for breakfast! [...]
[...] TAN KEE KLANG BAK KUT TEH No 51, Jalan Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, Medan Soon Choon 1, 31350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. Telephone : 6016-236 8196 (Alan), 6012-646 0046 (Ming) They actually encourage you to call 45 minutes before arrival, to place your orders and savour your food without the wait. How convenient huh? Business Hours : 10.30am – 10.30 pm daily. Closes on a consecutive Monday & Tuesday; usually during the last week of the month. Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh Same row with Tan Kee Klang Bak Kut Teh is a franchise of Nam Chau Coffee Shop. [...]
[...] lou’ (tossed with soy sauce and dark soy sauce) were nothing spectacular. Maybe I am used to Nam Chau‘s version of very rich and redolent with spices dry curry paste, that I find it a [...]
[...] no Sin Lean Lee and Nam Chau (both very worthy contenders, and situated in old town as well) on the list. But there was this Xin [...]
[...] truly. The dry curry gravy ain’t as thick as Yee Fatt‘s, nor as lusciouly rich like Nam Chau‘s, but still a notch above the usual soy sauce+dark soy sauce+half a spoonful of curry paste [...]
[...] 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 [...]
Tried this on my second day of arrival in ipoh. The dry curry noodle is not what I have expected. the gravy is too watery.
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Watery? Hmm, but if you like really thick and flavourful gravy, you can go to Yee Fatt. That’s a real Hainanese curry mee for you, and they’ve been there for 2 decades at least. Or maybe more.
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[...] Nam Chau – Started in old town (Jalan Bandar Timah) of Ipoh, famous for the dry curry noodles (for [...]
[...] 4. NAM CHAU – The ‘new’ kid on the block? [...]
[...] shop used to be a branch of Nam Chau; the famous dry curry noodles specialist in old town. But surprise, surprise. The concept of [...]
[...] more information on Nam Chau, please read the previous post. **Or a rather comprehensive list of The Best of Ipoh’s Curry [...]
[...] dry curry was not exceptional though, compared to say, Nam Chau‘s or Yee Fatt‘s. At Xin Quan Fang, you should really go for the curry soup version [...]
May I know the location of the First Garden outlet? Thks.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 8th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Angie, the first garden outlet has CLOSED.
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Too sad to hear the first garden outlet has CLOSED. Thinking of going there and try when I go back to my hometown – Ipoh, as my parents stay in first garden.
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