Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

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 »

Seremban Grilled Crabs (Foo Yoong Siu Hai) now has invaded Ipoh?!

Apparently yes. The chef (or maybe a group of chefs) that started Crab House Restaurant in Ipoh Garden East recently was previously from Hee Lai Ton Restaurant in Ipoh. Fairly new to the scene, Crab House has already unleashed its magic; creating ripples and waves amongst the crab lovers around town.

We had to be turned away on the first evening due to the overwhelming crowd. However, the adamant egos in us escaped barely unscathed … returning for a second shot on the very next evening. Of course, making sure not to commit the same mistake twice, we made doubly sure to reserve a table AND ordered the dishes prior to arrival. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh oysters on the Rocks – Go crazy on these and guaranteed satisfaction. In every sense of the word.

I once stayed at Holiday Villa Subang, sometime back in 2008 or 2009. Good experience though, still remember how spacious the room was, and the easy access to everywhere around PJ and Subang. That experience (back when I was still with the civil service) was definitely one of the better ones throughout my tenure in the service. If you’ve been following this blog since 2008, you would have realized that travelling’s part of the job. (To some extent … eating as well)

Anyway, fast forward a couple of years and here I am, stranded relocated to the almighty madhouse that is Kuala Lumpur. But good to know that I am in good company, surrounded by foodies with a deep passion and penchant for everything and anything edible. 🙂

From the look of it, this poor baby ain’t gonna miss his Mama too long …..

Holiday Villa Hotel & Resort Suites Subang (that’s the full name, btw) recently held a tasting session for the media; launching their inaugural New Year’s EveCarnival – BBQ Poolside Buffet. As far as Christmas and New Year buffets go, every year we’ll see tough competition amongst the F&B players and no doubt the thousand-and-one hotels in the Klang Valley.

Routinely, to set each other apart from the competition, the hotel would go to the extent of organizing a feast surrounding a particular theme. A gimmick or a timeless business strategy, it all depends on the execution of the tactics.

For this year, the management of Holiday Villa Subang has decided to embrace a carnival-like theme; and judging from the camaraderie of wacky costumed personnel, fancy decorations and the experience of eating beside their Olympic-sized swimming pool; caressed by the warm breeze of the night ….. Read the rest of this entry »

This new ‘chu char station’ at Ting Feng Restaurant is named Sun Wah Hing, and started business back in April of 2010.

Strange title for a food post? Yup, folks …. this is another one of those Motormouthing extravaganza. Bear with me. 🙂

Ting Feng Restaurant is located at a corner lot in Medan Ipoh Baru; the area behind of Jusco Kinta City. Specifically, this restaurant is directly behind of K10 Claypot Chicken Rice which I wrote about back in 2008 when I first started blogging.

The 80 years old uncle (he claimed) that prides on his defiant soul, adamantly withstanding ignorance and curses, selling packets of tissue and playing on his er-hu, trying to make ends meet.

We visited Ting Feng once, sometime in 2009. Before I had the chance to write about the dinner (which was okay), the ‘chu char‘ stall shifted (or ceased operations?). Then we never returned again …. until this very visit.

The yellow banner proudly proclaiming THREE crabs for RM19.80 was like a magnet; sucking us in into the swirl of possible lip-smacking, crabby experience. And a Tilapia Fish for only RM13? Sounds too good to be true.

So why oh why …. was I fuming at the end of the meal? Read on to find out …. Read the rest of this entry »

The simple, nameless stall … Or was there a name?

1st post for the new year …. a seafood meal I had few weeks ago, in Pandan Indah, KL. Been here before, and the place can get a little …. rowdy at times. The wait can be relentless, from 30mins to a full hour if the place is packed.

Sweet, sour and spicy Sri Lankan crabs

Soft, with crisp-edge Mantou to soak up the gravy

Steamed Lala with Superior Stock

Fresh Coconut Juice

A parting shot. Happy New Year to all Floggers, Foodies, Bloggers, Facebookers, and erm …. Connected Ones !!!!