Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

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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What used to be Tai Ka Lock, became known affectionately as Tai Kar Rock, to something more contemporary … Let’s Rock. Tell that to a foreigner and none would have expected Yong Tau Foo and curry fish head to be the stars.

And right after the revisit to the revamped Italia Mia (changed owners, same premise, same name), we proceeded to try our luck at the ‘new’ Let’s Rock on Cowan Street.

Can’t brand this as new though, as aside from the new location (they were from the next street - read previous review HERE), nothing much has changed. The premise got more spacious now and the place opens until so late at night; giving the pubs within the vicinity a run for their money. Or the relationship could be symbiotic. Read the rest of this entry »

Canning Garden Chee Cheong Fun uncle, now pleasantly serving you at Ipoh Central Cafe on Cowan Street-Leong Sin Nam Street.

After a good 3+ years of writing stories on the good eats from Ipoh, you’d be hard-pressed not to get the impression that I have eaten everything Ipoh had to offer, and then some. The ‘some’ in this case, might bluntly refer to cafes/bistros piloting the resurgence of interest in kopitiams (albeit modernized), hawker stalls that left in a hurried manner reflecting the speed of how they sprouted out of nowhere, and one-hit wonders aka eateries that capitalize on the latest trend, then faded off into oblivion.

Ipoh style of Chee Cheong Fun with a mix of chili and sweet sauce; sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, and garnished with fried shallots.

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I was brought up believing that Lou Wong and Onn Kee serve the best Bean Sprouts Chicken aka Tauge Ayam aka Nga Choy Kai in Ipoh. If you have doubts, just hop over to Jalan Yau Tet Shin area (they’re situated opposite of each other, somewhat at each other’s neck, if you will) come dinner-supper hours on weekends or public holidays, and I’m sure you’ll be eating your words faster than politicians making empty promises.

Don’t doubt the number of chickens hanging in front of the stall, in all their glistening glories. They poach the chickens on-the-spot once the chickens hanging on the hooks are sold off.

Then people started to argue and fought over the BEST Tauge Ayam (or Ayam Tauge, whichever suits your fancy) in Ipoh. For one knows that holding the crown means a lot, as this is unofficially Ipoh’s most famous food, bar none.

So where does Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau come into the picture?

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