Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

The iconic Hugh Low Street (renamed to Jalan Sultan Iskandar) Hakka mee has moved to the opposite shop a few years ago.

“Are you back for the General Election?”

That was the question imposed by one of the three friendly brothers running this Hakka mee stall at Paris Restaurant & Motel at a corner of Hugh Low Street.

Unlike the comparatively arrogant (yet we flew to there like moths to the light) police station curry mee a few doors away, we were served almost the very instant we parked our heavy butts down. And got our noodles within 5 minutes’ wait, in spite of the crowd.

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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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Crispy Yam Basket filled with Kung Pao Chicken

Take 2? You’re right on the mark there. Sam Poh Restaurant is not exactly fresh news, neither was this an ancient piece of fanfare. Read my first review of the relatively new kid on the block around Tambun/Ipoh Garden East area and drool at the sight of Yam stuffed with Smoked Duck and Claypot Braised Pig’s Tendon.

To most of the people, Sam Poh (Three Treasure?) is a gem waiting to be discovered. Or at times, the selfish alter ego takes precedence and they would rather have this establishment shy away from the limelight.

Me? I’m definitely sharing my second experience there. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming back to Ipoh this time around evoked a myriad of different emotions. And reactions.

First of all, the dastardly-warm weather had me soaked the very next minute after stepping out from the shower. And any sign of rain or storm (let the thunder roared and ripped through the skies …) was a dream-shattered as the very next moment, the sun peeked from beyond the horizons … and exhibited its most glorious warmth.

Pig’s Brain Soup & Watercress Soup @ Hung Kee Rice Shop

Secondly, this particular Discover Perak episode was having a whale of a time being recycled on AFC throughout the weekend. And hence, the explanations that ensued. By the way, this was filmed 3 years ago and I still love my day job, TQVM.

There’s not much of a food excursion this time though (largely due to a pretty obvious reason which I will touch on in my future post), but still managed to squeeze in a dinner at Hung Kee Rice Shop; a more than 60 years old historical establishment next to the now-demolished Pasar Bulat (Octagon Market?) or “Pat Kok Ting” on Cowan Street.

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A big portion of claypot chicken rice for RM13/USD4.30 that can feed 2-3 pax; with optional salted fish (RM0.50/USD0.20), waxed sausage slices (RM0.50/USD0.20) and egg (RM1.00/USD0.30)

Short of swaying 180 degrees and going infinite rounds, I’d better stick to what I should be doing her on this page. Writing food reviews. Plus maybe a small dose of sarcasm and wittiness in my ramblings. A wee bit, tiny shot only …. okay?

Anyway, this is officially my first review of an eatery in Seri Kembangan or Serdang. Yup, 5 years plus and this is the first time I am stepping foot into the neighbourhood. It sure felt like an entire world of gastronomic delights opened up to me like an oyster baring its pearl.

Let’s stir things up a bit with a review of this particular restaurant named House of Claypots at Taman Equine, Seri Kembangan; the commercial area opposite of AEON Equine Seri Kembangan. And no .. horse meat is NOT on the menu. (Lame, I know … but still)

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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 »

Let me tell you one last story before I depart to Bangkok for a few days. Looking back at 2012 and the multitude of Travel Ideas stories … I kind of envy the previous position whereby I used to travel on almost a weekly basis; covering regions after regions in the country.

And all the while walloping a truckload of the best Malaysian food.

Things have changed significantly, and two months into the new year and I have yet to step out of Klang Valley. Aside from the CNY festive break whereby I spent a quality week back in my hometown of Ipoh; where this blog was born.

Starting work almost immediately after the celebration; the cravings for a home cooked feast plus the sound of fireworks from the neighbourhood was sorely missed. True, they do play with much more bombastic fireworks here around where I stay … yet, the pleasure in knowing that you’re nibbling on Mum’s fresh-from-the-wok snacks while watching the re-run of re-runs of Chinese films from the yesteryear’s is priceless.

This story details the 7th day of the Lunar calendar; also known “Yan Yat” or People’s Birthday and how we spent the evening tossing Yee Sang at Gao Ren Guan in Jaya One.

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