Mishaps Happen in Ipoh Old Town Too …
July 6, 2012 | 3,221 views
Dry Curry Mee @ Sun Seng Fatt, Ipoh Old Town
Now, if you’re flaming at the thought of WHAT?! ANOTHER IPOH POST?!!! …. please don’t.
Understand that had I been granted the luxury of time, I would have combined everything into one post and moved on to food reviews from the other states.
However, the recent lapse in attention span left me incapacitated; merely bearing the energy ample to draft single-eatery posts with minimal words and practically none of the bells and whistles you usually expect from Motormouth.
By the time I gathered enough resources to write this, I am already back in Ipoh again! 
And here’s the story behind Sun Seng Fatt …..
Since 1980, Sun Seng Fatt has crafted a legacy that could rival some of the most prominent curry noodle stalls in Ipoh. (For an overdose of curry noodles, try the All About Ipoh’s Curry Noodles compilation)
Aside from the legendary Ma Ta Liu Curry Mee (Xin Quan Fang) and Yee Fatt opposite of MGS, Sun Seng Fatt could be one of the oldest establishment in town serving their signature brand of curry noodles; with their unmistakable version of curry paste that was so renowned they exported to Hong Kong some time ago, squeezed lime juice stored in a bottle, and a sambal belacan to compliment the kick.
That being said, the 2008 experience with Sun Seng Fatt was terribly marred by their horrendous beverages (really, their ‘cham’ was even worse than Thean Chun‘s!) and lacklustre curry. However, subsequent visits (which I have neglected to bring my camera everytime) proved otherwise, with the curry mee slowly growing on me and the coffee improved leaps and bounds.
Then again, due to Thean Chun (Hall of Mirrors) only starting business at 9.30am, we had to resolve to a pre-breakfast (if there’s such a term) treatment. Hence, a short walk away led us to either Nam Chau or Sun Seng Fatt.
Since my photos of Sun Seng Fatt‘s curry mee back in 2008 did not do them justice, I thought why not write a proper review this time around.
The environment was airy, with sufficient breathing and arm space between seats, and a more comfortable lighting and ambience compared to Nam Chau’s.
And the positive vibes ended there. The dry curry noodles we had were definitely below average that morning. Diluted curry paste, with nary a kick in it. The shredded chicken was tough and stuck out like sore thumbs. Bean sprouts came in an almost negligible quantity, and the worst was …. they could have (or intentionally) forgotten to include the prawns in all of our servings.
Nope. Not even half a prawn was present.
The curry was falling short of their better days, when we sometimes had lunch here during office hours. I managed only slightly more than half of my portion, as towards the second half of my meal, I was only slurping on ‘hor fun’ (Ipoh’s famous flat rice noodles) drenched in an oily gravy without any ingredients at all.
I wish I could have given them credits where they’re due, since during the previous visits (at least thrice in 2010), I was impressed by the quality of their curry noodles; injecting a refreshing intermittent alternative to Nam Chau’s.
But this experience proved otherwise. The two others nodded in unison; a unanimous decision that we’d better stick to Nam Chau for now.
SUN SENG FATT (non-Halal)
32, Jalan Pasar,
30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Opens for breakfast until lunch only.
Closed on Fridays.
Opposite of Nam Chau, and further up from Thean Chun and Kong Heng.
This place has gone to the dogs; just like many of the others which have gone the franchise route. Even worse is that Nam Chau in Kinta City; even Old Town Kopi servs better curry. Only the old ones like Sun Chuen Fong, Yee Fatt are keeping up their standard. Seriously, you owe it to your readers to remove these bad places from your much referred to list.
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Anonymous Reply:
July 6th, 2012 at 7:21 pm
to add Yee Fatt curry also from bad to worse…my last trip they gav me a lot of bones & meagre pcs of meat… i dont think they should profit this way while spoiling their name.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Okay, this sounds pretty bad. I used to have mine with only char siew without the chicken though.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Hi Bushido. To each his/her own. Although Sun Seng Fatt has incurred your wrath (or mine, in this case), there are hordes of fans still preferring the taste of their curry noodles to the others. Nam Chau everywhere else can be categorized as horrible (hence the outlet in First Garden has closed down, and not sure about the one near Simpang Pulai), but this original outlet in Old Town is STILL consistent in my opinion.
Xin Quan Fang is good, no doubt. A bit pricey and some might not like the fact that you have to brace the long wait and endure the sometimes hostile service. While you can see even Yee Fatt has backlash from the comment above.
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I just finished watching the 7 episode CCTV’s documentary, “A bite of China” , I am now crazy of Chinese food! It tells the histories and stories behind Chinese cuisine: The meaning and the symbol each represents;The connection between the nature and the people; The creation of unique foods and traditional recipes. Get to know Chinese life philosophy and the respect they have for the nature and food. This is the programme you can’t miss, so great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRHNa9qdtlw
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I haven’t had their dried curry in ages. Perhaps you should go for their curry soup next time, which seems to be crowds’ preferred choice. (Although Motormouth seem to prefer dry curry) The curry soup is the one that still draws me and other Sun Seng Fatt fans. Bout the prawns, I think you have to mention what you want with the noodles. For me, I never forget to state that I want “xiu yok” n prawns.
Another phenomena that convinces me Sun Seng Fatt is still pretty good is that there seems to be Indian patrons every time I dine there. That doesn’t actually mean anything but Indians did invented curry. (Correct me if I’m wrong. >.<)
P/S : Love your work Motormouth, Keep it up. =D
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 8th, 2012 at 10:10 am
Hey KF, nice to hear feedback from you. Yes, I prefer dry curry though as I love the intense curry paste against the smooth Ipoh hor fun.
If I remember correctly, they used to serve chicken and prawns regardless of whether we asked for them or not.
That being said, the place was still as popular as ever when we were there.
Taste is subjective, no doubt.
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