Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

The signature fried salted pork belly from Fu Man; if you don’t mind the fatty cuts, then this platter of absolutely scrumptious and crispy pork belly should be up your alley.

Aside from the famous Tanjung Malim pau from Yik Mun (which was nothing to shout about anyway), I have never ventured out of my cocoons and seek for good food around Tanjung Malim; the southern most town of Perak sharing its border with Selangor. (Although Hutan Melintang/Bagan Datoh to the southwest of Perak also shares a border with Selangor’s Sabak Bernam).

Rather, on most days we settled for the same old Pun Chun duck noodles in Bidor, Choy Kee’s famous pork knuckle in Sungkai and even Slim River’s claypot fish and bullfrogs.

Fu Man Restaurant can’t be seen from the main road, hidden by the current construction works (maybe widening of roads, but JKR works in mysterious ways ….). But just follow the signs to UPSI (Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris) and you should be on the right route.

Imagine of all people, I heard about Fu Man from a group of foodies from Singapore! Yup, thanks to Martine and his battalion of food enthusiasts when we met in Ipoh (albeit for a very brief period), I came to know about this somewhat hidden gem in Tanjung Malim; serving fresh and delicious seafood, pork dishes and at affordable prices to boot.

We ended up buying home a DOUBLE serving of their famed deep fried salted pork belly, and a portion each of the braised pork belly with yam slices and the appetizing vinegar pork trotters. Read the rest of this entry »

Yei Lock Hainan Pau @ Jalan Kampar, Ipoh – A great spot for breakfast-brunch.

I must admit that I am not an ardent fan of ‘pau‘. Those fluffy buns of Chinese origin, usually filled with either a sweet or a savoury filling, then steamed until warm before eaten. Though I like the feeling of biting into a warm bun filled with succulent ‘Char Siew’ when I don’t feel like eating heavily; or for a light breakfast on a cold, rainy morning.

But of course, there ARE exceptions to the rule. Pau eaten as mains; larger ones with fanciful fillings like curry chicken (more like a bread, but you can see from the Kam Ling @ Kampar’s post for a general idea) and sweet & spicy crabs. Or the endless varieties from a pau (or ‘bao) specialist operating from kiosks. *On a side note, the Mr Baoz in Pavilion has moved?

Say, you need something more substantial than a piece or two of pau, then go for the Chee Cheong Fun from the feisty and chirpy lady named Lee.

But at the end of the day, nothing beats the traditional, kneaded from scratch buns filled with not-overly-processed fillings of lotus paste, red bean paste, kaya (egg-coconut jam) or even a savoury vegetarian mix of julienned yambean, carrots and wood ear fungus. If you’re suddenly (miraculously?) out of idea on what to eat for breakfast in Ipoh; consider Yei Lock on Kampar Road. Full story after the jump … Read the rest of this entry »

That Ying Fa (“Sakura”) dim sum post got a few true blue Ipohans overwhelmed with nostalgia, and naturally; the other equally timeless eateries arose. A place that I still hold close to my heart  after all these years, was the famed Kok Kee Dim Sum Restaurant; currently occupied by a furniture shop along Hugh Low Street. Back in the 80’s, that was THE place to go for dim sum at night.

Dim Sum @ Sun Kok Kee Restaurant – The same old tasty choices from Kok Kee’s

While most people carry a lingering fondness from their childhood days eating dim sum for breakfast at Foh San or even Ming Court, my craving for dim sum developed after the repeated dinners at Kok Kee instead. Still remember how grandma and parents would go for the Char Siew Bao (BBQ Pork Bun), Har Gau (Prawn dumplings), Siew Mai (Pork dumplings) and fish balls, while me and brother would be waving frantically for the trolley carting the fried goodies to come over. Wobbly egg tarts, crispy yam puffs (‘woo kok’) and prawn rolls with salad sauce. Yummy stuff.

Thanks to a few comments from the readers, my eyes sparkled at the mere mention of Sun Kok Kee. Wait, you mean Kok Kee STILL exists?! Read the rest of this entry »

Blood Orange – Not your average orange, this one “bleeds” love and passion. Indulgence style.

After checking in into the resplendent ‘mansion’ of a room; the glam and glitzy Giulianna, we proceeded to a wonderful feast during dinner; using the freshest of local and imported seasonal ingredients and impressed with the marvelous culinary skills of Julie Song and her dedicated team in the kitchen.

Before you can even sit down at the comfortably-plush sofas at Indulgence, you will have to resist temptations in the form of freshly baked desserts and cakes every morning. How deceptively devilish ….

Indulgence provides a complete Bed & Breakfast package, and I was given ample time to snooze my way into the weekend before coming down for breakfast. Breakfast is served from 9am until 12pm daily (except when they’re closed on Mondays & Tuesdays, but the restaurant is still opened for hotel guests).

Almost like artworks, the tarts, pies and cakes at the counter seem to beckon me over …. in a trance-like manner. Not easy to resist a bite or two, before going for the REAL breakfast sets.

Continue reading after the jump, for the story behind Indulgence, the incredibly fluffy and light ricotta pancakes named Belissa, my first bite of the imported blood orange, and how you can order made-to-order cakes from Indulgence ….. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATED 25th October 2010 – From 27th Oct 2010 onwards, Ah Wong will once again relocate back to Restoran Soon Hoong; the restaurant where he and his wife used to serve their Thai cuisine back then. Full address and map to come when they finally move at the end of this post. Here’s the previous post on the restaurant back in 2008 – http://www.j2kfm.com/ah-wong-thai-food/

Who in the world is this “Thai Wong” you ask? Oh, he’s nobody special …. not a superstar, reality TV opportunist, or even someone advocating for human rights and spewing poisons sweet talks on air (ala Budget 2011, but the RM500 bonus once again …. sounds a little too hilarious to be effective in elevating the morale of the civil servants).

My personal favourite Tom Yum in Ipoh. Good balance of spicy, piquant, tangy, savoury and so so so moreish. Don’t go for a small serving of white rice. Go all out and leave your low-carbo diet plan behind for once!

Just a loving couple made up of a pompous Chinese man and reserved yet affable Thai lady whom had left their customers/fans in a lurch with the two years on hiatus. Read my post on Ah Wong Thai Food way back in 2008 for an idea on how much I was addicted to their tom yum and fried chicken.

But they’re BACK! A timely return to the scene, when the dearth of good Thai eateries had me seeking left and right, up and down, in and out for a potential substitute. To no avail, I might add. Continue reading to discover this fiery, hidden gem tucked in the midst of a residential area in Ipoh Garden East ….. Read the rest of this entry »

A bowl of sweet and fresh strawberries from Seng Berry farm in Cameron Highlands; with optional dressing sauces (Thousand Island, syrup, etc). Small for RM8.90/USD2.90, Large for RM13.90/USD4.50

And this comfortable cafe that seats a crowd of 20 at most, in Ipoh Garden South has been around since November 2009. Talk about being right there in front of my eyes (read the Jalan Datoh’s upmarket Wanton Noodle post), yet I have circled this area countless times in search of new eateries.

Only to leave disappointed when they stopped at two. Relatively new outlets back then; Nam Chau (my personal favourite place for dry curry mee in Ipoh) opened a branch next to Jalan Datoh’s Noodle Stall. Maybe I have mistakenly thought Singberry was some music school (ironically, Odeliana upstairs is a montessori) or a boutique; since there are countless ones around the vicinity of Ipoh Garden South.

Okay, so what makes Singberry SPECIAL, and they were actually the pioneer cafe specializing in strawberry beverages (and to some extent; desserts), way before Strawberry Moment was launched at De Garden?  Read the rest of this entry »

Just like stepping into a time warp. Transported back into the late 70’s?

Had enough of Indulgence? Okay, here’s a short post on Hainan Chicken Rice in Ipoh. As awkward as this may sound, I believe this is my FIRST post on chicken rice in Ipoh. This, albeit the fact that Ipoh’s famous for “Nga Choy Kai” (Bean Sprouts Chicken), and there are actually more than a handful of good and popular chicken rice outlets in Ipoh.

On one hand we have the famous Rasa Sayang and Pak Gong on Jalan Theatre in town, next to the famous Eastern Wine. Then a short hop and skip away, you will find the double shoplots named Hainan Chicken Rice near to the perennial starlet of a stall serving Buntong beef noodles named Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Sri Maju.

So how come I have never heard of Hin Loong Hainan Chicken Rice, until DT mentioned about this place over at the All About Ipoh page? Read the rest of this entry »