Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel Blog

An hour or so later, MayI kept nagging us to go for an early lunch, as she did not poke at the roti telur much, because she avoided the mutton and beef curry like the plague. Hehe. Forced into submission, we gave in and walked to Joo Hooi Cafe, a coffee shop on Penang Road selling the famous Teochew Cendol, laksa, lor bak, and etc.

Front view of the shop, amidst the construction work

The famous laksa (RM3.00)

We avoided asking the owner to order cendol for us, as previous experience proved that whenever they have the power to do so, they would order from the opposite stall, which although is good, the taste is a few rungs lower than the original/popular one. And the shop charged an extra 10 or 20 cents per bowl, just because you are sitting in their seats. But this time around, you have to pay an extra 50 cents (!!!) per bowl if you want to order the cendol from outside. We thanked him graciously, and waved him off, but he insisted that we order at least ONE drink. Hmm … Material Boy ordered herbal tea (RM1.30) which was pretty tasteless.

Lor Bak (RM5.00)

Char Kuey Teow (RM3.50)

The laksa was one of the best on the island. Previously. This time, although still pretty nice, the ingredients were lesser, and the price was increased to RM3/bowl. The char kuey teow had enough ‘wok hei’, and a tad spicy, and fared better than the laksa in my humble opinion. The lor bak (RM5 for 4 pieces) was OK, though I find the dark sweet sauce a bit lacking in egg shreds and taste.

Penang Road’s Famous Cendol Stall

After the so-so meal, we just had to compensate by visiting this famous stall. Luckily there was no customer waiting in sight. We ordered 3 bowls and were ushered to our seats???!!! Huh?

The sweet, refreshing cendol with gula melaka

The crowded stall in front of their newly-acquired (?) shop

Oh, it seems they have a shoplot of their own now! Situated right behind Joo Hooi Cafe on Lebuh Keng Kwee, now you can sit in the comfort of fans and air-conditioners, while enjoying your bowl of sweet delight. At RM1.60 per bowl, the sweet syrupy flavour of the gula melaka infused concoction, with cendol and red beans, will definitely soothe your craving for something refreshing on a hot day. In fact, some customers ‘ta-pau’ (take away) packets of laksa from Joo Hooi and had them in this shop! Such a brilliant idea.

Location : At the Penang Road-Lebuh Keng Kwee junction. A short walk from Komtar, crossing the 3-way overhead bridge on Jalan Penang-Jalan Burma-Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong.