Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Okay, I did promise a post on Foo Chow/Fuzhou (or Hock Chew) food in Sitiawan right? Before we headed over to Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa at Damai Laut to jump start the week, we detoured a short distance to Sitiawan for lunch.

I have written a considerably aplenty number of posts on Sitiawan food, ranging from the seafood delights to Foo Chow cuisine, or what you can devour in half a day flat. In short, I LOVE food hunting in Sitiawan-Seri Manjung, for you can find a diverse array of cuisines there.

Red Wine Mee Suah (Rice Vermicelli Noodles) – A classic Foo Chow delight, just don’t watch Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or even any of the Twilight saga before having this!

Lido Restaurant in Sitiawan is another one of those air-conditioned restaurant that opens for lunch and dinner (not unlike the famous Bei King), and from the looks alone you can pass judgment on its long-standing legacy, and most-revered reputation amongst the locals, and tourists alike.

The ‘menu’ on the wall, almost reaching the ceiling. Though sadly, I could not decipher even one dish. Pathetic eh? No worries, for I’m ever the thick-faced one and proceeded to ask for recommendations from the captain himself.

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To do away with the midweek blues many of us might be having (and the incessant cravings for the weekend!), this was how I fended off my Monday blues last week; immersing myself in a short 3 days 2 nights getaway to Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa at Damai Laut, Lumut. Here’s their website, in case you wanna read more about this almost secluded piece of land to the west of Perak, within spitting distance from Pangkor Island; THE most idyllic island getaway one can hope for when you’re in Perak ….

Established since 1997 (yup, a good 13 years!) Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa does not change one bit. Or at least that was how the place looked like to me, on this 3rd visit.

A soothing respite before bracing myself for the onslaught of deadlines and impending headaches (read my Pusing’s Ming Feong post for more musings) for the rest of the week …

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In the spirit of continuing the Thai-related posts (somewhat to lighten the mood, in view of the current dire state of Bangkok’s, presumably?), allow me to venture where no man has gone to before.

Okay, I’m somewhat slightly off today, after making serial rounds descending Cameron Highlands. But do read what I have to say before closing this window. Pretty please? 🙂

Piping hot Tom Yum Soup with Seafood, but somewhat lacking in the fiery & robust departments, and the dipping sauces at Kaneng’s.

There is this unassuming shack of a Thai restaurant (IF you can even call the place THAT!) in Bercham, situated directly opposite of Bercham primary school; SJK (C) Bercham, Ipoh. No ads, no brochures, almost zero publicity, and guess what? Even without a PROPER SIGNBOARD!!

The place is run by a couple (the husband being a local, and the wife being a Thai from Bangkok) in their 40’s, or 50’s possibly, and has been around for more than a decade! But they started the business in Ipoh Garden East (in the premise named KK Coffee Shop formerly housing the now ‘defunct’ Nakhon Pathom Thai Food), then subsequently moving to this place on Lorong Bercham 8.

Serving a mix of authentic Thai dishes such as the perennial favourite of many; Tom Yum Gung (or in this case, a mix of various seafood), Thai-style Steamed Fishes (from RM13/USD4 onwards), Thai salads (the usual Kerabu Chicken Feet, Kerabu Mango, and even glass noodles salad), fried rice (Belacan, Pineapple, Tom Yum etc) and even Pad Thai (Thai style fried rice noodles) …..  Read the rest of this entry »

Phew…. A sigh of relief there? After 6 chapters (7 including this one) of tying up loose ends, I finally am bringing an end to my Krabi-Phuket 2010 saga. Yes, after much deliberation, procrastination, and succumbing to complaints, laments and erm …. threats (?!).

Here are the previous chapters, in case your memory’s playing tricks on you :

PART ONE – Loveli Guesthouse in Phuket, Phuket Street Foods, Jungceylon Shopping Centre, Fuji Japanese Restaurant

PART TWO – Patong Beach in Phuket, RED LIGHT District of Bangla Road, Cheap Thai Seafood

PART THREE – From Phuket to Krabi, Grilled Pork @ Phuket, Banana Pancakes, Ao Nang Grand Inn in Krabi

PART FOUR – Krabi Town Famous Night Market

PART FIVE – Koh Det’s Amazing Breakfast in Ao Nang, Krabi

PART SIX – Phi Phi Islands Day Tour

James Bond Island – Originally named Ko Tapu, or “Nail Island”, the remarkable piece of rock reached super-stardom when featured in the 1974 classic James Bond movie; ” The Man with the Golden Gun”

After the previous day’s excursion to the Phi Phi Islands, we booked for another sightseeing program on the very next day. Actually, we booked from the same tour agent (Let’s Go Krabi) on the evening after the islands tour. After much haggling (we Malaysians are good at this, I tell ya!), we agreed on a 800baht/RM80/USD25 per person – Kayaking Full Day Trip which includes :

a) Go to Phang Nga Bay by A/C minibus
b) Longtail boat to James Bond Island & Khao Ping Gan
c) Canoeing trip at Lot Cave
d) Visit Suwankhuha Temple (Monkey Cave)
e) Lunch @ Koh Panyee (Muslim Floating Village)
f) Rejuvenation session at a waterfall

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And yes, Friday’s here before the spurts of cheers, celebrations & camaraderie really set in. And I bet most would be at home now (or live on the scene) cheering their lungs out for the heroes/darlings of Malaysian sports. (Malaysia is in the semi-finals against China for the coveted Thomas Cup)

Though it was still a five-days working week for me, yet I spent the first half of it cooped up on a secluded ‘island’ somewhere on the west coast of Perak (more on this over the weekend), a Wednesday that saw me almost choked with emotions and fits of rage, no thanks to last minute bureaucracy-red tape matters but culminated in a most devil-licious feast at Assam House Restaurant in Medan Gopeng (a post to come soon enough, I promise) and finally a Thursday that saw me hopping around town in a much frantic pace, wondering if all the extensive/meticulous preparations was well-worth the loot?

No frills, unpretentiously packed with flavours, and screamed for our attention.

I don’t, and never doubted the magnificent pulling power of Gu Lou Yuk, or Sweet and Sour Pork. In case you’re still in the dark, Gu Lou Yuk happens to be one of my favourite Chinese ‘chu char’ dish ever since I learned to utilize my (motor)mouth and started to chew.

Okay, slightly exaggerated maybe. But I still vividly remember the times when we placed orders for Gu Lou Yuk almost every single time we dined in Chinese restaurants. Back then, there was the evergreen Wong Koh Kee on “Concubine Lane” (Lorong Panglima) in Ipoh old town, when I first fell in love with that amazingly crunchy pieces (or rather, chunks) of pork first marinated then deep-fried to perfection, before basking the morsels of meat with a sticky and zesty concoction of sauce.

If you like your Gu Lou Yuk with a crunchy texture without much meat, you will fall in love with Koh Kee’s rendition. But if you’re seeking for a meatier version, bursting with flavours and fragrance from the five spice powder (and whatever else) used to marinate the pork prior to being coated with corn flour and subsequently deep-fried, then Ming Feong whips up a plate of Gu Lou Yuk that might just get you on your knees !!! (Begging for more rice lah, don’t think otherwise … 🙂 )  Read the rest of this entry »

Good thing about having dim sum at night is that; you don’t have to wave until your arm falls out, before the staff carrying the trays walk over to you!

Fancy having Hong Kong dim sum for DINNER in Ipoh? Yup, you can do that at Yoke Fook Moon Restaurant, situated on the undisputed Dim Sum Street of Ipoh (Jalan Leong Sin Nam) that also houses the other two mammoths of the dim sum scene; Foh San and Ming Court.

One of the best Char Siew Bao (Steamed fluffy buns with barbecued pork fillings) in Ipoh, Yoke Fook Moon’s version is packed with tasty Char Siew

Recently the dim sum restaurant has undergone renovations, transforming into a spanking new eatery altogether; rivalling Foh San’s new age exterior (resembling more of a ‘Jau Lau’ or Chinese diner, than the traditional dim sum restaurant). Yoke Fook Moon has been operating for both breakfast and dinner hours since ages ago, but poor ignorant me only discovered about this AFTER they have went for the major facelift. But thankfully, the place does inject some life into the hauntingly hollow street come night time …..  Read the rest of this entry »

Ristorante Italia Mia in Sunway City of Ipoh is one of the few decent fine dining establishments in Ipoh. You can’t find Italian restaurants in Ipoh that easy like say, in the Klang Valley or even Penang. Heck, I think even folks in JB (Johor Bahru) or Melaka have better luck at slurping on pastas, chomping on their slices of pizzas, and licking their fingers clean from the mascarpone cheese pumped into their tiramisu.

Envious? Yes. If you wanna know more about Italian food in Ipoh, you can read about my first Italia Mia experience back in 2008, funky versions of pastas at Spaghetti Sweet Tea Cafe, and of course, the latest addition to Ipoh’s F&B scene; Michelangelo’s Pizzeria that serves fantastic woodfire pizzas, but resembles more of an American style pizzeria than an Italian restaurant.

(*But of course, if you wanna take into account the Pizza Hut’s and the Shakey’s …. by all means, yeah. Ipoh’s LOADED with “Italian Food” outlets!) 🙂

Spaghetti Fresh Seafood (RM39.40/USD12.30) – With Sauteed Fresh Prawns, Calamari, Clams, Garlic, White Wine and Parsley

The menu remains unchanged, since the last time we dined here. But they have SPECIALS of the day, written in chalk on the blackboard on the outside of the restaurant. So do sneak a peek before you waltz in, in case you have grown weary of the same old selections; of about 12 types of Pasta, 9 types of Carne (Meat) dishes, and 4 types of Pesce (Fish) items. But seriously, we don’t need another menu with 100 or more items, each being a variant of another. Confusing to the customers, and the cooks as well … Read the rest of this entry »