Two Years Ago & The Kopitiam Saga Continues
March 3, 2010 | 1,320 views| 45 Comments » |
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Two years ago, I was fascinated by the wonders of food blogs on the Net. Seeking for a good restaurant (or avoiding a bad one) was at the tip of one’s finger. Or rather … at the click of a mouse. I still remember vividly, how I was deeply engrossed by the articulate writings of masak-masak‘s, the wondrous food shots from WMW and Lyrical Lemongrass, as well as the down-to-earth reviews from Precious Pea and the now inactive Mei Yen, whom had since found her destiny in life. 
Two years ago, I wondered aloud, how on earth did these people manage to maintain such discipline (and maybe, physical well-being, with that much eating and all!) … NOT only providing great information and insights on food hunts in every corner of Klang Valley, but also honest, unbiased opinions unlike those food shows on TV, or paid reviews published in the papers.
Then, I realized that even the Ipoh-mali’s (true blue Ipohans) like Jason and even Citygal were writing reviews on Ipoh food (oh you won’t know how much time I spent reading their dated reviews back then!), before jumping ship (hehe) and ‘migrated’ to the big city and had since been continuing their respective missions.
Two years ago, spurred by the growing interest in food blogs, I put my mind into it, and decided to journal my escapades (work-related, of course) to smaller, obscure towns around Perak. And of course, I was attracted by the rural excursions of backstreetgluttons, to not so familiar territories, but still managed to seek out the BEST food finds one can never come across in bigger towns.
And thus, Motormouth From Ipoh was born, but on the Blogger platform. On this very date of 3rd March 2008. First official ‘review’ was Jack’s Place at Sunway Pyramid. But of course, armed only with a Nokia 5610 Xpress Music phone, and no prior experience in photography or writing articles, the posts came out half-baked at best. And Criz Lai even designed a banner for my blog with a generally grim, dark , and lifeless layout. For free!
Subsequently, the travelling got intense, and with it, the eating as well. I was everywhere on a daily basis, even waking up in different states every single weekend for a whole month. I upgraded from a camera phone to a digital camera, the ever-reliable Panasonic Lumix LX3 in February of 2009, right before the Hanoi trip. Yes, almost one whole year of using nothing but a camera phone to snap my food. I was adamant, for I believed the writings would play an infinitely more vital role in channeling my opinions. But of course, one can’t really go far with a camphone, with its limitations.
Many might not realized it, but I snapped almost all the pictures in my Hong Kong/Macau journey with a friend’s digital camera, coupled with my Nokia. NOT the most pleasant of experience, of course. For I struggled with the slow auto-focusing of my phone, and the grainy qualities of the photos in darker situations. Needless to say, I wished I was holding MY own camera instead.
Then I started to get to know some of the food bloggers (or floggers), and the outings gave them faces, instead of virtual bodies. Read about the eating sessions HERE. Surprisingly, they’re just mere mortals like you and me. None too pretentious, none acting Godly, and none too diva-ish. Bonded by the mutual love for FOOD, the meetings were far more fruitful than I would have imagined.
But of course, I sincerely apologize for missing some of the events meticulously organized, be it in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. For the reason of being here nor there, aka stuck in the middle of both cities, coupled with a far-from-predictable job had me turning down invites reluctantly. (Gulp, and I’m about to miss another one very soon. Sorry Pea, maybe bump you in KL instead?)
In September of 2009, Ken of Foodpoi finally managed to brainwash me, and moved me to my own domain here, at www.j2kfm.com. Hahaha … to imagine his persistence and diligence. Yeah, I can be a bull when it comes to changes.
The shift from blogspot to wordpress was a nightmare initially. I had to learn everything from scratch, and worse still, I had NO knowledge of website design, HTML, whatsoever. The initial month was a mess (actually, it still is, for the lazy cell in me kept refusing to work up a storm and tie the loose ends in older posts), but things started to look brighter by the end of the year.
Two years ago, I wrote almost about anything under the sun. And every single meal was put into words and the shots captured so passionately. I even blogged about my Golden Retriever (she turned 3 recently, in case you’re wondering), and rants about life in the office.
But as time goes by, I found myself suddenly losing the urge to write as often as I could. Yes, I still try to blog every other day if possible, if not daily. But the workload, the fatigue from all the travelling around, and the unwritten rules of keeping the professionalism had me choosing my posts instead of writing about my daily lunches, ramblings and such.
Am I losing the personal touch? I sure hope not. 
Then of course, there are those detractors. Or non-fans, if you would. They’ll hurl brickbats in your face faster than you could sneeze. But all in the name of positive criticism, I never deleted any of their comments. For I believe one should be honest at all times, and everyone’s free to air their views. Just don’t spam or swear. Plus, food is a very subjective matter.
I like petai, tempoyak and stinky tofu. Offer those to the average man on the streets, and I guarantee 70% of the time, he will stick his tongue out and wishes for sand instead.
This post was written to commemorate the SECOND anniversary of Motormouth From Ipoh. Even I myself am slightly amazed that I’m still writing after two whole years !!! Thanks for the continuous support. And don’t you think I don’t remember the random/avid readers whom have dropped comments on my blog before. I do, and I jot down all your recommendations as much as I can.
If your blog’s not mentioned in the post above, don’t worry. I still read quite a number of blogs on the blogosphere, and if you’re wondering about my favourites, you can refer to the Malaysian Food Blogs link from the LINKS segment below my banner, the Food Blogs From All Over link for inspiring international food blogs, as well as Daily Clicks for personal/travel/friends’ blogs.
* The photos for this post were taken in Old Town White Coffee @ Ipoh Old Town. Possibly the most relevant location for the franchise to be located. And to answer that burning question in my last post, the first Old Town outlet was opened in Ipoh Garden South, and still operating. That pioneer outlet occupies a mere small lot, compared to the current trend of kopitiams in mega-spacious shoplots.*
Old Town White Coffee @ Ipoh Old Town – A 2 Years Anniversary Post | Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog…
Old Town White Coffee is a most famous brand of kopitiam in Malaysia, and this outlet in the original old town of Ipoh has to be the most significant of all. But do you know which outlet was the FIRST one?…
Happy 2nd Bloggerversary! Won’t be seeing you????
(
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Eh …. can’t confirm yet, as on the 12th I’ll be down to KL instead.
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Happy Second Anniversary to Motormouth from Ipoh.
Continue on with your quest to devour the World
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happy anniversary motormouth!!
(and no, you’re not losing your personal touch… we all suffer from the occasional ‘writer’s block’ 
)
looking forward to more makan outings with you, more food posts and your travel posts!!
(and… hahahahhahaa on that old town white coffee photo…. very cheeky la u
)
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Hahahah … that was not even my hand holding the order chit.
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I do not recall when I first read your article, I think it was thru a link from Jason blog but it doesn’t matter, as far as I can remember I have been following your food blog for the past three year and I must say ” it is a wonderful food blog especially the eatery recommendation in Ipoh!!’
I don’t usaually drop a comment now days but I think I am oblige to write this one. Thanks again for a wonderful job!!
LY.Tai
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Thanks LY Tai for this most precious comment then.
I’ll continue to write more on Ipoh food, since that’s my passion.
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Happy blog birthday!
Hope you have many many many more years of happy eating+blogging.
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Happy 2nd Anniversary! You are doing so great!
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happie blog-a-SARI
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY…..keep up ur good work!
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Happy anniversary !
You blog very well and have become my FAVOURITE FoodBlog.
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Thanks Bushido. That means a lot, really.
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Happy Anniversary, J2Kfm…..
Time flies, uh???? It’s the 2 full solid years that see you growing from blogspot to wordpress…
You’ve done a good job and you didn’t lose any personal touch…. just at times blogger’s mind block… hahahahha
Again, Happy Anniversary!
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Yeah, writer’s block at times. And I don’t even bother hiding the fact that I’m having them most of the time.
Time really flies. I never expected to last for 2 yrs, really.
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Happy 2nd anniversary! Proud to be a fellow Perak-ian! LOL! Keep up the good work!
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Hehehe, and congrats to the newly-weds as well.
When are you bringing me around in Kampar to eat leh?!!!
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aiya you doing fine lar. Happy blog anniversary bro. We all have our moments sometimes, take a break if its getting to you. come back with renewed vigour
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Yeah, thanks Unka! I’m sure taking it slow, way WAY past the festive season.
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only 2??? i thot i’ve been here for ages! happy blogniversary and wish you many more to come
btw the above kopitiam faced a padang? if yes, my BIL took me here before :p
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Hehehe, THAT old meh?!! Two only ok?
Yeah, the kopitiam is the one facing the Ipoh Padang, which has since underwent a major facelift, occupying three lots now. One of the best in Ipoh, for the service never failed to impress.
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Best Ipoh food blogger ever, you! 2 years only and you covered quite a lot of Ipoh food. Nice going.
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Thanks Stanley. Still a WHOLE lot more on my list, awaiting the time to come …. or makan kaki to follow.
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happy 2nd anniversary for J2Km
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I seldom drop any comment but i really enjoy reading all of your post..In fact i did visit some of the outlets that you mentioned in your blogs..
Coconut Jelly in sitiawan…kok Beng, ansari chendol in taiping and Sharon’s Laksa,Samy’s in chemor and etc…many more…
Atleast now days i make it a point to look up ur blog b4 makin any trips to towns u mentioned in ur blog..
And like you i do enjoy my sambal petai i like mine with Chapati…My mum in law makes a killer sambal petai with chapati..
Happy Anniversary…
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:24 am
with CAPATI?!!! That sounds funky. I like my capati with sambal sardin, somehow.
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Am glad you join the food blogging world and Happy 2nd Anniversary plus many many many many more to come!
Psst…thanks for recommending the Lumix. Love it love it love it!!!!
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 8:25 am
It’s GREAT right?!!! So reliable in low light conditions. Never get tired of it.
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Happy Anniversary!!!
The half boil egg cooked just nice, some are overcook, hate it~~
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Happy 2nd Anniversary. I love Old Town.
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Congratulations and many happy returns. Your photos and comprehensive write-ups is a must read even though I may not comment as often as I could not catch up with your prolific posts output.
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Keong hee !
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Congratulations! Keep it up! At least this job is more satisfying than working as a “locum” rite? Hehe
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Congratulations, j2kfm! U provide great food and travel info…that takes a lot of hardwork and perseverance. U rock!
here’s to many, many more great things to come!
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firstly congrats 4 the 2nd anniversary! You’re the one that i keep going back to whenever i have that urge to salivate my cravings for good malaysian food…. Being a malaysian in s’pore your postings are indeed the best antidotes for home food depraved malaysians here! Keep up the good work and don’t give up! We need you….ha ha!
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Hi there fcy. Glad you enjoyed my posts all along. That’s an honour really, to be needing me. Hehehe …
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Happy 2nd blog anniversary! I’ve enjoyed reading your food and travel post, especially your very detailed Ipoh Food List. Keep up the good work!
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Happy 2nd blog anniversary. Regardless, I would say you have one of the best food blogs in Malaysia. Haven’t really meet you in person even have been reading here since last year.
Awesome stuff.
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Happy Anniversary!
Very good work..
Especially love the food photos you took. Many cheers.
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THANKS everyone for the wishes. Hahaha … as if it’s MY birthday pulak ….
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Happy 2nd Bloggerversary! ^^v
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whao!! happy anniversary!
btw, your picture of jack’s place is HUGE!!!
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2 years and going stronger. Congrats . .me? err . . .might start again soon. Too lazy now but my job will bring me round again,
call me when u r up in genting. DM me in tweet! same nick
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