Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

To minimize the guilt of over-indulging prior to the festive season, we settled for lean pork only during our Bak Kut Teh session this morning. Yes, I let my cravings got the better of my judgment. 

Now hands up how many of you in KL or PJ got stuck in the congestion around shopping malls over the weekend? Or got caught up in perpetual queues at the check out counters? Last minute shopping frenzy seems to be the activity Malaysians love to indulge in the most; and retailers are having a whale of a time participating in extended hours shopamania.

In a blink of an eye, 2013 has come and gone; not without leaving a trail of memories. And devastation no less. Don’t hit the panic button yet, it’s not of the catastrophic kind but more to bearing witness to a failed healthy eating plan meticulously devised at the end of 2012. Yup, you can read snippets from the Top 13 Ipoh Food Finds post.

Anyway, after one too many cafe visits, I relented and gave in to my carnivorous calling. “Bak Kut Teh!” Waking up at a relatively early hour on a Sunday, to Klang we went.  Read the rest of this entry »

 Claypot Bak Kut Teh @ Yee Heong Restaurant, Bandar Puchong Jaya – To shave off whatever glimmer of guilt from the feast, we opted for lean cuts of pork instead.

Bak Kut Teh (BKT) outside of Klang may sound sacrilegious. But not necessarily, if you know where to find. Puchong has one outlet named Yap Chuan that serves incredible dry bak kut teh, while Sungei Way’s Ah Sang and Subang’s Ah Ping are both worthy contenders to the throne. I can’t vouch for Kepong’s outlets as those remain as territory uncharted, but Jalan Ipoh’s outlets were not to my liking.

Now, now … it’s relatively hard to grade the BEST bak kut teh in every sense of the word, as some prefer the broth to be extremely thick, robust and flavourful from the herbs and pork, while others like their  BKT lighter, peppery and not loaded with chunky, fatty cuts of pork.

It’s Friday, and if you are drafting meal plans for this weekend, consider making a beeline for some of the better ‘dai chow’ (Chinese style of dishes with rice) restaurants in Puchong.

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They could have been in business for easily a decade and a half. Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh‘s the name, and the establishment is run by a bunch of pretty awesome people; friendly with no air surrounding them. 

I used to study at SMK Jalan Pasir Putih for a good 5 years; the secondary school infamous for a variety of headlines-worthy reasons. If you are a baby of the 80’s, then you must have gone through the ordeal. And occasionally, when asked about my educational background, folks would go “What?! You mean you endured 5 years in that school?”

To which I would nod with a smug look on my face. So what? I was pretty darn proud to be a student from SMKJPP, really. And no, my head was not burst open by a flower pot, nor did I suffered from the wrath of gangfights, or led to a dark, damp tunnel of life courtesy of disastrously horrible teachers.

Claypot Bak Kut Teh; a comforting start to the day … or the potion that might put you to sleep. Siesta comes early?

Why the story of my secondary school? Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh is situated behind of the mentioned school. Widely regarded as one of the best bak kut teh restaurants in Ipoh (not that there are dozens of them in the first place), the place attracts fans especially on weekend mornings.

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 Claypot Bak Kut Teh @ Ah Sang in Sungei Way, PJ; an old neighbourhood with an astounding number of foreign workers residing within; plus a few good finds that you might not have heard of.

 But still … Ah Sang Bak Kut Teh deserves the compliments and respect for doing what they still love and believe in after all these years.

A bunch of my ex-colleagues brought me here two years ago. The first bak kut teh restaurant in KL/PJ that managed to make a lasting impression …. not that I have been to many anyway.

Reservation is almost always a must during lunch hours, but you can expect almost God-like speed in churning out pots after pots of the famed Hokkien-style herbal broth laced with chunks of pork (almost every part imaginable) here at Ah Sang.

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Large chunks of pork. Minimal serving of soup. Slightly oiled rice. A plate of ‘Yau Char Gwai’. And Chinese tea. If this doesn’t scream KLANG, then I don’t know what else will.

When push comes to shove, I guess it’s really passion that drives me through. The tumultuous journey of transition plus a few other tribulations in life sapped my energy like mad. If

Suddenly, it felt like everything’s going in the opposite direction. I almost lost track of things I wanted to share with you guys, the new places in town (okay, maybe not so new but I haven’t been blog-surfing for months now) that I enlisted to try and the travel stories floating inside my cranium (not done with Saigon yet, while Manila was 3 months back!).

Nevertheless, if I am slow in replying your comments, e-mails or messages on Facebook, I apologize. I have to thank good old Maxis for the inefficiency in setting up Internet at my home.

Enough whining … let’s pork out today. Read on and drool. You know this could be a great weekend breakfast plan. Read the rest of this entry »

Good Bak Kut Teh stalls are hard to come by, unless you’re residing within the town of Klang where you can throw a stone from anywhere and 50% probability of hitting someone who’s cooking Bak Kut Teh at their restaurant or home. (read Best of Klang Bak Kut Teh for a dizzying range of BKT specialists in town)

Outside of Klang however, I have countless disappointment with BKT outlets claiming to be the ‘authentic’ Klang bak kut teh, or the BEST bak kut teh, or whatever else they conjured up with. So far, the only ones noteworthy outside of Klang are Yap Chuan in Puchong for their irresistible dry bak kut teh, and Ah Sang Bak Kut Teh in Sungei Way.

And no, I did not enjoy Jalan Ipoh’s Ban Lee or Fatty’s on Old Klang Road.

But now … there might be a piece of good news. A saving grace in the form of Ah Ping Bak Kut Teh in SS14 in Subang Jaya.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a breather. In case you felt like as though you’re suffocating from the onslaught of Bangkok posts.

Back in 2009, we stopped by this comparatively spacious ‘shack’ on Old Klang Road; right beside the overhead NPE due to the extremely (no kidding) admirable turnout of a dinner crowd. I daresay; hundreds of them and more standing around waiting like vultures for an empty table. This place is named Ah Wang Bak Kut Teh; but albeit the immense popularity, their signature dish is actually the steamed fish head in three options of sauces. The experience was good, and we returned for another visit two days apart.

And then, I completely dropped the urge to write about it. Complacent, or maybe procrastination. And the fact that they’re already swarmed/overwhelmed by the ridiculous number of hungry patrons, it’s not even funny.

Notice the plump guy in white T-shirt seated and calmly orchestrating the whole ordeal? He’s the BOSS. Presumably, since he’s the one barking orders and coordinating everything from the comfort of his seat. Fatty Bak Kut Teh. Hmm, I see some relevance.

Pardon me as I’m in a rather perplexed state  now. Losing one’s voice isn’t something to be proud of, yet I can’t help but felt the guilt creeping in without going scavenging for food and bringing the already cob-webbed gear (my D7000) along. Here’s a brief piece on Fatty Bak Kut Teh on Old Klang Road ….. Read the rest of this entry »