Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was first published in The Malay Mail Online. Click HERE to read it.

Shandong chicken; a cold appetizer of roasted chicken meat, topped with a copious amount of minced garlic is their most popular dish here

In a nutshell, Hong Kong is a bustling city power-packed with adrenaline-charged people; from the blue-collar working class heroes to street vendors, and char chaan teng aunties with their sarcastic remarks should you be slow and indecisive when ordering your food, to tourists from every corner of the world. In this sea of chaotic frenzy, finding a place to eat should be a walk in the park. Every row of brightly-lit shops seems to house at least a couple of eateries; more often than not a few in a row. Cuisines ranging from local Cantonese food to international offerings like Thai, Western, Vietnamese and various regional delights from China can be found in every neighbourhood, more so in super-packed areas like Kowloon or Wanchai on Hong Kong island. But then again, with choices aplenty, making an informed decision can be daunting. Well, some people suggest walking randomly into Chinese eateries without an English menu and an obvious dominance of locals dining there instead of one that caters largely to tourists, but this takes more than sheer gut feeling as well. Read the rest of this entry »

A feast of Hainanese curry rice in Singapore; pictured above were dishes ordered at Beach Road Scissor-cut Curry Rice near to Farrer Park – guilt-laden yet deeply gratifying ensemble of curry and braised sauce drenched rice, battered prawn fritters, stewed cabbage, fried pork cutlet and sweet and spicy anchovies with caramelized onions.

Since I have left Singapore (this happened unceremoniously a few days back, and yes folks, I am BACK IN MALAYSIA!), I faced quite a few thought-provoking questions from friends, relatives and random readers alike.

“What do I miss most from Singapore?”

Well, naturally, I would assume that the curious barrage of questions are directed at the FOOD that I miss most, since regrettably, I did not have much time (yeah right) to go around the island much for the other highlights besides eating. I made a long laundry list of activities and stuff that I would like to do within the 12 months, but apparently as fate would have it, work and traveling took up most of my time, while the rest of the days were spent idling away or recuperating and preparing for ….well, the next trip.

Now that I am breathing the Malaysian air again (choking up the haze somewhat, but still glad to be home for a while), seated here in front of my desktop on a breezy Friday evening and scouting for materials to share with you readers (who must be foaming at the sides of the mouth with the gradually infrequent reviews, and even lesser  food stories from Ipoh), I thought about sharing another one of those Hainanese curry rice outlet in Singapore (after Loo Hainanese curry rice and Beo Crescent); this famous stall on Beach Road near to Farrer Park/Little India named Beach Road Scissor-cut Curry Rice – the scissor-cut part referring to the use of the utensil to quickly cut the chosen dishes into manageable, bite-sized morsels.

Read the rest of this entry »

This article was first published on the Malay Mail Online. Click HERE to read it.

Nothing beats the hands-on experience of devouring a crab; licking the shell clean then proceeding with the sweet flesh within

It may not seem fair to compare the number (and corresponding quality) of the seafood restaurants in Ipoh to those in surrounding towns with fishery activities such as Sitiawan, Pantai Remis and Lumut, or even Sauk, Lenggong or Tapah for freshwater catches from the rivers of Perak.

However, looking for a decent place for seafood in Ipoh is surprisingly not as tough as finding a needle in a haystack.

For the benefit of casual visitors to Ipoh, I would skip mentioning the more elaborate and well-known Chinese restaurants such as Pusing Public (or Mun Choong), Kok Thai, East Ocean or even the classic Tuck Kee. Instead, let’s shift our focus towards the street food style or chu char places that need no reservations, no minimum spending or number of diners (you can even go by yourself and have a blast feasting on prawns, crabs and shellfish!). Most importantly they serve utterly scrumptious food!

Back in the 90s, there was this incredibly popular food stall at the side of Nam Kew Coffee Shop (but now the shop has changed name to Yee Lock) located along Jalan Raja Musa Aziz in the heart of Ipoh town dishing up various seafood dishes including crabs and shellfish cooked in a dazzling array of methods from spicy kam heong style to steamed with shredded ginger. There were also fried rice/noodle dishes such as fried thick yellow noodles aka Hokkien noodles (usually called dai look meen instead) or wat tan hor.

The stall has since moved to a corner shop right behind the original premises; it is now named Yin Fai Kee but somehow the quality of their cooking has not been consistent — at least from our previous visit a few years back.

Maybe it’s the feng shui of the stall location (which is parked at the back of the shop; and also occupying almost half of the narrow sidewalk on the side with plastic tables and stools for a classic alfresco experience) but the new stall in Yee Lock is doing brisk business every single night; the patrons gladly queue for a vacant table on weekend evenings, then patiently wait for their orders of seafood cooked with high flames by the team of culinary wonders in an open kitchen setting.

You can arrive earlier, say about 6pm or so, to avoid the wait. The establishment can seat quite a large crowd but the tables are not designed for large groups of 10 or so, thus you may need to combine tables if you come in a large group. There were only four of us but we found it difficult placing all the dishes within the space of the standard-sized table. Bear in mind that during the day, this IS a coffee shop after all with stalls selling curry noodles (which is quite famous, the Ma Jie brand) and so forth.  Read the rest of this entry »

This article was originally published on the Malay Mail Online.

The glistening golden brown skin of the signature roast duck at SYW will tempt any duck-lover

Don’t be surprised if you are greeted by generally puzzled looks when you tell any Ipohan about discovering a fantastic outlet called SYW selling roast duck in the heart of the city.

But once you tell them the full name — Sun Yeong Wai — they will nod their heads in agreement. After all, it is one of the better known eating places in Ipoh… since 1976.

Almost four decades ago, the original proprietor of Sun Yeong Wai (now the torch has been passed on to the second generation) started selling his trademark roast duck from a restaurant along Jalan Yau Tet Shin.

The dining area is split into two floors; each decorated in a way to fit in the retro elements as well as modern ambience

Now the business has been handed down to his son Danny who has since expanded to three outlets in Ipoh; the first being a double shoplot in Taman Ipoh Jaya near Gunung Rapat, the second is in Bandar Baru Medan, Ipoh and the most recent addition is SYW situated on Jalan Mustapha al-Bakri, directly opposite the famous kaya puff shop named Sin Eng Heong. The first two outlets (both named Sun Yeong Wai) replicated more or less the same concept of a casual dining experience; most dishes are pre-cooked and displayed behind the glass counter, while you choose your preferred barbecued meats (duck, chicken, barbecued pork or char siew, roasted pork or siew yoke) as the highlight of the meal. Read the rest of this entry »

This article was originally published in the Malay Mail Online HERE.

More than just a meal for those feeling under the weather, a Teochew porridge feast can be a comforting affair especially after a series of guilt-ridden feasts (i.e. food excursions and post-travel blues anyone?).

I usually avoid eating hot, soupy food unless ­I feel under the weather. Call me impatient, weird or just plain picky, but eating porridge cooked with softened (almost to a pulp) carrots or noodles cooked in a light, anchovy-flavoured broth will never evoke spectacular memories for me. Instead, these “comfort foods” only serve to remind me of the painful ordeal of recovering from chicken pox when I was still a toddler. That could be the reason why I have stayed away from porridge or even anything remotely soupy (even curry noodles; which explains why I prefer dry curry noodles instead) most of my life.

But how times have changed. I guess one’s tastebuds change with age; and gradually I learned to be receptive towards foods that I could never be bothered to eat, let alone crave. Brinjals, bitter gourds, offal and yes… rice porridge. Although Teochew porridge stalls can never match the number of economy/mixed rice stalls all over Malaysia, if you search hard enough you will find a handful in most neighbourhoods in the Klang Valley, especially the older residential or commercial areas.

The affable proprietor of the Teochew porridge stall has a smile and greeting for every customer.

My favourite stall thus far has been this nameless one located within Sun Fatt Kee Restaurant in Seapark, Petaling Jaya. The name might sound unfamiliar to you, but most locals know this shop for the Bumbung Nasi Lemak (or more fondly referred to as the Seapark Nasi Lemak and their crispy fried chicken) that operates only in the evenings. By day, the Teochew porridge stall shares the crowd with a pan mee stall, a pork noodles soup stall and an equally noteworthy curry noodles stall as well. The elderly duo running the porridge stall put out a delectable Teochew spread that is usually consistent in terms of selection and taste, yet reasonably-priced for the masses. You will need to arrive after 9am to treat yourself to a splendid and complete feast of Teochew delights, but avoid the lunch crowd if possible to mitigate the risk of having your favourite dish run out. And trust me; the lunch crowd can be a little bit intimidating during the peak hours given the density of residences and offices around the vicinity. Read the rest of this entry »

This article was first published in the Malay Mail Online

Despite being chopped into smaller bite-sized pieces, the har cheong gai (belacan or shrimp paste chicken) at Kok Sen deserves two thumbs up; you can almost smell the infused paste from tables away.

Still in the spirit of scouting for noteworthy cze char restaurants (eateries serving different Chinese-style dishes with rice or noodles) in Singapore, a few sources led me to two well-established places along Keong Saik Road: Kok Sen and Tong Ah. Keong Saik Road, named after a renowned businessman who contributed significantly to the Chinese community in the earlier part of last century, used to be a notorious red light district before it was transformed into a modern commercial hub with popular restaurants, art galleries and retail stores. As the area lies within an urban conservation area, the façades of the two- to three-storey shoplots along Keong Saik Road are still maintained with primarily heritage elements, a sight to behold if you are here prior to sundown and taking a stroll along the relatively short street.

Both of the restaurants I mentioned earlier had strong followings of their own; Tong Ah has been around for more than 70 years (!) but has since moved from its original iconic space at the junction of Teck Lim Road and Keong Saik Road to a smaller, one shoplot space diagonally opposite of Kok Sen which occupies two lots to cater to the frenzied crowd over lunch and dinner.

While Tong Ah is renowned more for its kaya and butter toast with coffee served (optionally) with a dollop of butter than their cze char dishes, Kok Sen focuses solely on the strengths of its cze char items. I am not sure though if Tong Ah was there first or Kok Sen.

Nevertheless, we decided to hop over to Kok Sen on a Sunday evening at the prime dining time of 7pm just to push our luck despite warnings from various quarters to either be there super early (they open for dinner from 5pm onwards) or make a reservation (which may not work to secure you a seat sometimes). Read the rest of this entry »

This article was first published HERE on The Malay Mail Online.

Wondering what’s the hype about har cheong gai or belacan fried chicken in Singapore? Try them at Bgain 22 Old Street Coffee House on Havelock Road

Most of us Malaysians who have grown up savouring delectable hawker eats under the open sky — sometimes shaded by leafy trees, at times within the compound of someone’s home, or even at some random back alley — would raise an eyebrow when talking about “hawker food” in Singapore. For one, the atmosphere is totally different; the stalls have partitions and are numbered systematically in a food court. They of course come across as relatively sterile. Not that these are bad necessarily bad; in fact a clean and comfortable environment should be applauded. But it might be the strange feeling of déjà vu one gets from eating at the various food courts… they somehow feel the same, lacking the authentic oomph of having a bowl of noodles on the street (hence the term “street food” perhaps?) and at times they resemble one another; especially the newer stalls in refurbished food courts.

A childhood favourite of mine; sweet and sour pork is one of the highlights in every cze char meal even in Singapore

Secondly, and this is also a problem plaguing the Malaysian hawker food scene, the stalls manned by the original owners are gradually losing steam. The younger generation (let’s call them the i-generation) is shying away from continuing the legacy, understandable as sweating it out behind a pot or a wok for hours may not even earn you as much as a day sitting in a fully air-conditioned office typing away in front of a PC. Plus, there’s a certain lack of “glamour” being associated with frying char kuey teow, wrapping wanton dumplings or brewing a cup of kopi O, I presume.

Anyhow, I have learned that if one travels slightly further away from the city centre or tourist-centric establishments, and head towards the most unassuming corners of Singapore one will find culinary gems. These are usually on the ground floor of HDB flats; certain cze char places or what we call dai chow in Cantonese that are usually open for lunch and dinner, catering to the hungry needs of residents around the area. These stalls are usually still run by the locals, or at least Chinese from either Malaysia or sometimes from mainland China. In summary, the quality of the cooking is still well-maintained, unlike some places run by foreign workers (yes, I am talking about places in Kuala Lumpur, more or less). Read the rest of this entry »