Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

The Roquette Cafe – And you thought coffee, cakes and politics don’t mix?

In a blink of an eye, it’s the 8th day of the Lunar New Year. Some of us; especially the Hokkiens should be really busy preparing for the BIG celebration later tonight; better known as “Bai Tin Kung” or praying to the Heavenly God. After a serial bout of indulging since reunion dinner until 3-4th day of CNY, followed by a dripping sense of guilt; you decided to eat healthier for a few days. And thus, you reach the checkpoint/milestone after a week on the 8th day and decided to let loose and chomp on some pretty mean roast pork (usually the entire swine is presented whole and offered as prayers), and various delicious foodstuff.

If you ain’t a Hokkien and not celebrating the eve of 9th day, then you’re not alone. Motormouth does not either. And here I am recollecting my thoughts after almost a full week of slouching in front of the laptop in the office. Post CNY blues is very depressing, mind you.

Continuing the cafe series, and almost done now (phew, can you heave a sigh of relief now?), let’s look at this opportunistic visit to The Roquette Cafe in old town. Why opportunistic? Read on.  Read the rest of this entry »

A Gift from the Heart?

Tomorrow’s my first day at work. Slight jitters? Nah ….  this is not the first time I am experiencing a change in working environment, but still, the thought of adapting to everything from scratch does bear its hovering cloud of uncertainties.

Lending a substantially more gloomy atmosphere to the situation, the rainy spell continues in the Klang Valley (and I am sure elsewhere too); to a point where good old Subang was hit by a freak hailstorm yesterday evening. It felt as though the sky’s tearing up and not relenting for even a single day.

As I am writing this post, I am gleefully chomping on delicious pineapple puffs from a small town less than 100km away from KL. I wanted to share that recent excursion with you, but probably on another day. Just too many photos to sort out from the pile of excessive/obsessive/compulsive shots. Pardon the amateur abilities, for I’m still familiarizing myself with the DSLR camera.

Are you craving for a sweet start to the working week as well? If you are, then this post is meant for you. Read the rest of this entry »

Coffee Walnut (RM12/USD4) – Highly addictive; this marvelous creation combining caffeine-enriched, coffee-flavoured fluffy cake with generous bits of chopped walnut, stuffed in between the roll laden with fresh cream.

Tell anyone that Ipoh’s famous for Swiss rolls, and you’d have puzzled looks with cynical, doubtful thoughts. Usually met with something along the line of “Blah … KL has designer cakes, premium confectioneries and you’re telling me Ipoh has Swiss rolls? What have you been ingesting lately?”

I mean, yeah. I would not have been seduced by these beautifully soft, fluffy and fresh rolls (the cakes, I mean … don’t think otherwise) had it not been the constant supplies back home when JJ Cakes was still operating from the back of a paint store opposite of Tow Boo Keong temple.

Then they moved to a counter incorporated into De Mouth Restaurant on Jalan Kampar, before moving to a stand-alone premise a short distance away. If you don’t buy the hype, read on for the full story ….  Read the rest of this entry »

Butter Icing Cake (one kg for RM42) (UPDATED 25. Nov 2011 – She does NOT sell the cakes by half kg, only one size = 1kg) Surprisingly dense cake made of pure butter (with option of butter-chocolate), elegantly laced with melt-in-mouth icing; almost like meringue’s texture.

Nancy Chong. Mention this name to the newer generations and they’d be puzzled with no clue as to what, where and who the name implies.

But what if I tell you that Nancy Chong has been baking her famed cakes since more than four decades ago in Ipoh? And that the fact that her business is still booming; still perpetually baking for orders streaming in endlessly?

Read on for an insight into what made this brand so heartwarming; tugging into the deepest emotions of some (those whom had their wedding cakes made by Nancy back in the days), while satiating the sugar cravings of the countless others ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate Mille Crepe Cakes @ Food Foundry; Your Neighbourhood Food Provider in Section 17, Petaling Jaya.

Almost immediately after the dinner at My Elephant, we ventured over to Food Foundry to fulfill our intention for desserts and coffee; having in mind the preliminary perception that the latter would be a comfortable, swanky cafe perfect for an extended chat. It was a horrendously warm evening; and the spicy Tom Yum from My Elephant contributed much to the beads of sweat forming on our foreheads.

Food Foundry‘s tagline is “Your Neighbourhood Food Provider”. Never pretentious enough to suggest that they’re a fine diner, a bistro or cafe, or even a restaurant.

And they’re just that. No air-conditioning, they’re situated on the ground level of B block of Happy Mansion flats occupying two lots separated completely from each other by a wall adorned with a large mirror, with walls painted with quirky/colourful birds and trees and exuding a very laid-back aura.

Read the rest of this entry »

Caffe Latte (RM6.50/USD2) – Since Coffee Chemistry Cafe (CCC, for short) prides on their imported Graffeo coffee beans; seemingly one of the finest beans in the world, you’d be hard-pressed NOT to order a cup for yourself. Defeats all the previous exercises of kicking the caffeine habit though …. but this cup of creamy, aromatic brew without the slightest tinge of bitterness got me hooked.

I was first led to this cafe through their Facebook page. Started up sometime in the mid of January this year, CCC has been steadily attracting the coffee-appreciating aficionados in and around Kota Damansara. To imagine a place so obscure (they’re parked on top of Movida, and without ANY signboard upfront that particular evening), sharing a premise with Cubic platform (an HTC dealer) yet you can find people stumbling upon this quaint space occupied by a bar, sparsely-placed tables and chairs, and a semi al fresco seating arrangement at the balcony overlooking the crowd beneath.

Read on and find out just how a good cup of freshly brewed Graffeo coffee (by an experienced barista, no less) is priced at barely half of what the others are selling ….. 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 »