Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Crispy Roast Duck @ Hong Kong Restaurant, Canning Garden – Briefly bathed with boiling oil before being served (by request), this was simply a cut above the other roast duck specialists in Ipoh.

Madam Heng was a persistent lady, oh yeah. Can’t deny that. It has been a year since the initial contact made between herself and her brother-in-law with myself, an acknowledgment and gratitude nods for the post published in June last year. (Read “That Famous Canning Garden Roast Duck”).

As fate would have it, a full 12 months have passed before I managed to seek out the time for a revisit. 12 months of changes; seeing me moving from Ipoh to Selangor, changing my job (almost a 360 degrees paradigm shift, if you get my drift … hey that rhymes!), and settling in comfortably at that. Well, still adapting to the upbeat pace here, in comparison to the so-named (and rightly so) ‘honeymoon years‘.

Read on for the full story on this “Spunky Madam” (to quote someone I know) with a penchant for quality roast ‘halal’ ducks, and making an impact in a stranger’s life …..  Read the rest of this entry »

It pains me to put today’s post into words. To recount the sheer determination, passion and tenacity that drove and still drives this 74 years-old uncle for more than half a century. To witness with a heavy heart how his hands shook while daintily spreading the mélange of julienned ingredients and sauces on the precariously laid out, freshly steamed popiah* skin on the RM200 slab of wooden board.

(*Popiah is a popular Chinese snack of fresh spring rolls with julienned vegetables and fritters, sometimes with strands of egg omelette and/or crabmeat/dried shrimps, then lightly brushed with chili sauce and sweet sauce)

No words can actually describe this utter admiration that develops into pure respect for what he does best for 54 years (since 1957; coincidentally that was the year we were declared independent from external colonization), and still counting. The laborious hours he spent standing under the scorching hot sun, merely shaded by the canopy that covers barely more than his bike that he has been relying upon for more than a decade now.

Yes, dear Ipoh folks, and the interested readers from wherever you are. Let me share this story on what could possibly be the most legendary popiah seller in all of Ipoh … Read the rest of this entry »

I have heard and read much about this roast duck stall in Canning Garden of Ipoh, so much so that I got a little confused over this stall, and the (almost) similar restaurant serving (almost) the same fares named Hong Kong Oil Chicken & Roast Duck Restaurant in Tasek of Ipoh.

Yeah, and this stall in Canning Garden is parked within a restaurant named Hong Kong as well. Uncanny resemblance?

Hong Kong Restaurant @ Canning Garden, Ipoh - The same mosaic-tiled floor, mirrors and paintings on the walls, and a relaxing airy ambience with all windows and doors opened to the maximum.

And so, reading Alexandra’s article AGAIN two Saturdays ago got me all worked up for a visit to this stall soon. Plus I received an encouraging e-mail from a reader named Steve sometime back in May, pushing  me on to give this particular crispy roast duck (“chui pei ngap”) a try.

Crispy Skin Roast Duck – Half a portion for RM19/USD5.80, the glistening and crackly skin stayed crispy throughout the meal, and the juicy, tender meat was devoid of any gamey taste.

And from the looks of it, the roast duck at Hong Kong Restaurant in Canning Garden sure deserves a chance to be amongst the stars in the top tiers of “Famous Roast Ducks in Ipoh” ………. Read the rest of this entry »

A most saliva-inducing, gastronomic trail awaits you …. DON’T say I did not warn you …….

After the amassed listing of Ipoh Street Foods not long ago, I’ve decided to write about a few eateries in one single post, rather than separating them into several shorter blogposts. No particular reason for this, but I’d rather have you tormented enjoying a much longer rambling extravaganza from J2Kfm, than having you begging for more at the end of the post.

I can be such a nuisance, can’t I? It’s all in the spirit of giving, nonetheless. So here goes nothing  …..

Read the rest of this entry »