Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

One of East Ocean‘s (Tung Hoi in Cantonese) most sought after dish; the Claypot Ginger Chicken (Qiong Yung Gai) warrants an order no matter you’re bringing along your Grandma, your friends or even your children. Half a chicken at RM15/USD4.80.

East Ocean Seafood Restaurants are everywhere in Ipoh, so to speak. There’s one in Chemor which I wrote about, another in Ipoh Garden South that I am not so fond of, and this one in Menglembu that some said is the best among the lot.

Aside from that, the group of Prosperous Seafood Restaurants (in Tower Regency and Heritage Hotel) are supposedly from the same group of eateries.

Usually, we would associate this category of Chinese diners with (g)astronomical prices, as in the case of Oversea Restaurants (especially the new one), but surprisingly at East Ocean, you can have lunch for less than RM20/USD6.50 per person.

Read the rest of this entry »

Claypot Indonesian Prawns – Irresistible right? Imagine the utmost sins of devouring fresh and succulent prawns cooked in a creamy gravy with a tinge of curry and spices.

Wan Chai Kok Restaurant near to Merdeka Garden (that famous garden in Ipoh; renowned for the curry mee stall come the darker hours of the day) has been featured in the paper once (an article by Alexandra Wong in the Star, but sorry the link is broken), and also occupied a page in Eatpoh, a brief yet comprehensive food guide to the best eats around Ipoh.

Still remember how in her article, Alexandra gushed lyrical on the new-found favourite of her family’s; the Claypot Indonesian Prawns from this restaurant. Had me salivating reminiscing about the delectably creamy/sinful/spicy creation back in Pengkalan Hulu sometime last year.

Read on to find out more about this perennial favourite of residents around the area …. Read the rest of this entry »

Curry Wild Boar (RM12/USD3.90) – Cubes of chunky, gamey meat from the wild, paired with potatoes in a thick, robust curry paste. Typical Chinese style of dry curry dishes.

Talk about hectic. Pardon me, for Motormouth just returned from another short excursion to Kuala Lumpur, and suffering the wrath of heavy, torrential downpour somewhere along the expressway.

But as they say; ‘When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade?’ The saying somewhat rang true when the foodie instincts suddenly kicked in and off we went for an early dinner at Fu Man Restaurant in Tanjung Malim. Or so we thought, already contemplating on the prospects of licking our fingers from the delicious deep fried salted pork belly or even a serving of the almost extinct dish of stir-fried pig’s large intestines with pineapples.

Lo and behold, Fu Man was packed to the brim! A few tourist buses were parked haphazardly by the road, and we suspected something amiss when a few diners were standing around waiting impatiently although there were a few vacant tables here and there. The restaurant was booked by the tour agency, and this called an immediate alternative around town ….. Read the rest of this entry »

A very healthy looking dish, aesthetically-pleasant as well with blanched ‘lai fun’ aka rice noodles, braised in a light stock with bean sprouts, julienned carrot, and basil. The slices of grouper fillet were succulent with no fishy aftertaste, garnished with black sesame seeds on top. (RM12.80/USD4.20)

Pardon the cliched title of the post. But Lite Desire did bring to mind another one of those cafe-cum-kopitiam-cum-bistro that serves nothing but deep fried snacks readily available from supermarkets, nasi lemak without the santan (coconut milk) = Blasphemy, say you?!, various pre-mixed white coffee masquerading as the real brew, and diluted soup from the can.

Goji Longan Chrysanthemum Tea (RM5.80/USD1.90) – The first sip was awkward, as I tasted sweet chrysanthemum tea, but with the aroma and essence of wolfberries, and the sweetness of dried longans. Then it dawned on me that the combination might work wonder for healthy purposes.

But I was wrong. This quaint, homely cafe (still refuse to categorize this as a restaurant given the tight space with a cozy ambience) parked on top of Pappa Rich at De Garden in Ipoh (YES, there IS an eatery on the first floor!) has been around for 9 months now.

And I definitely would not have paid this place a visit had it not been recommended by a few readers, and a friend of my family’s. Read on to find out why this restaurant deserves to be mentioned alongside the other eateries at De Garden, and still hold its head up high …. Read the rest of this entry »

Still in the spirits of Deepavali (What? Cannot syok sendiri ah?), I’ll continue writing on Indian eateries in Ipoh. Kalai Curry House did not manage to sustain their top notch quality from back then, lacking in the public relations department (customer service, naturally) and a generally lackadaisical attitude towards pleasing the customers.

Especially those not of the same ethnic group. A big no-no, sorry …

The newly reopened Pakeeza, after some major refurbishing works. Very classy now, though the place actually seats less patrons than before.

Thankfully, one old-timer named Pakeeza Restaurant manages to maintain the influx of customers after so many years. I remember vividly how we first dined here back in the 90’s. Or maybe late 80’s, can’t be sure. But I was head over heels in love with their Palak paneer, a North Indian delight mixing mashed spinach and cottage cheese. And boy oh boy …. I STILL am.

Recently Pakeeza underwent a major renovation, and they reopened not too long ago. Since we were seeking for a Halal (or at least, pork free) restaurant for lunch, we chose Pakeeza today …. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Readers,

Thanks first and foremost for the touching display of affection in the last post. I never in my wildest dreams expected that many responses from random strangers. Strangers, yet somehow felt like we have known each other for years. A good 2.5 years since the inception of Motormouth From Ipoh. Thank you.

An aromatic brew of Ipoh famous white coffee, with a distinctive robust flavour from the roasted beans with the right level of creaminess. -White Coffee @ Xin Xiang Er Nong-

And so, here we are … back to the usual post on Ipoh Food. One fine morning, a colleague of mine was browsing through a poll to gauge the popularity of Ipoh’s white coffee outlets. The ten places or so included of course; Sin Yoon Loong and Nam Heong in old town, Chang Jiang on Jalan Pasir Puteh (no post on that, but I have tried the white coffee there …. not bad) and many unheard of coffee shops.

Sadly, 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 Xiang Er Nong Restaurant, located on Jalan Tokong in Pasir Pinji, parked somewhere between Tow Boo Keong temple and Tuck Kee Restaurant/Big Tree Foot Yong Tau Foo. Wanna know whether this one soars sky high, or falls flat on the ground? Read on …. Read the rest of this entry »

This blog has been a portal for me to channel my views and frustrations, a medium for me to connect with the food loving crowd of Ipoh, surrounding Perak, and anywhere else in the world, as well as a mean to project my passion towards introducing Ipoh as one of the major food hubs in Malaysia.

Since 3rd March 2008, Motormouth From Ipoh has grown from a relatively unknown/unimportant personal blog to what it is today; a Malaysian Food Blog with bits of my travelogue thrown in the mix, and even subsequently moving to its own domain in September 2009.

And naturally, being stationed in my lovely hometown of Ipoh (read up on Ipoh on Wikipedia), with ample chances to travel all around the state of Perak has its advantages. This blog has somehow managed to create slight awareness towards the smaller towns in Perak like Sitiawan, Taiping, Gerik, Kampar and Kuala Kangsar, and what the towns have to offer in terms of good food and accommodation. (Read the compiled Perak Food Guide by J2Kfm for good eats outside of Ipoh)

“But as in life, nothing remains stagnant. And yes, if you had the gut feeling that Motormouth’s not in his elements lately, you’re absolutely right …

After 4 years of selflessly (ahem) serving the people of Ipoh and Perak (I am from the civil service, remember?), Motormouth will be making his move to the Klang Valley in a month or so. Permanently.”

Before you go throwing tantrums, sending Molotov cocktails and launching rockets towards yours truly, don’t for one second think that this was a walk in the park for me. I pooled up an incredible amount of  courage to come up with this decision, a major leap of faith as some said, to be able to finally jolt myself off this comfort zone that is staying in the civil service, and of working/residing in Ipoh.

I cannot promise that I will write so often, given the fact that the transition period may render me incapable of constant food hunts and blogging as much as I am able to now. But don’t fret, since KL-Ipoh’s only two hours apart, weekend getaways should not be a hindrance to my initial purpose of starting up this blog; Exposing Ipoh as one of the worthy town for gourmet hunts in Malaysia.

Hereby, I would like to thank the faithful readers of Motormouth From Ipoh. I know there are people who have been religiously following since day one (when posts on my dog exceeded those on proper food reviews!) and then there are the silent readers whom have never dropped a comment or mail. I don’t blame you.

The recent feature on NY Times (3rd Nov 2010) – Read the online site HERE.

But for the sake of being heard, Motormouth would like to hear from you. Don’t mince your words. If you feel like criticizing this move I made, expressing your shock/horror/disgust or utter joy that I finally can shut up and move on with life (Why Should You?!), then please drop a comment below. Or send me a mail if you’re being shy or don’t want your artillery of profanities filling up this public space. 🙂

* I have about another month or so before finally making the move. And currently in the midst of a major food trail around Ipoh this whole November. So if you ever bump into Motormouth around the streets of Ipoh, just walk over and say Hi. Don’t worry, I don’t bite …. unless I am darn hungry at that point of time!!