Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Updated (9/11/2009) - This post was featured in The Star Sunday Metro dated 8th November 2009. You can read the article at The Star Online at the following link : Memorable Chow

Curry Wild Boar’s Meat

A year ago, we went before to this restaurant for a meal. A restaurant with a name almost passing off as an expletive in Cantonese; Chau Y (ahem) Restaurant in the small town of Gerik in Perak.(For the previous post – The Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu Trail (Pt2))

Gerik may not sound like a familiar name to most, unless you’re one who travels to Betong often (you can of course, see how ‘often’ I actually crossed the border to the land of sins with a 3 days excursion to Betong last year, and subsequently a day trip (!!) to Betong recently), or you’re passing by the town en route to the east coast, arriving in Jeli (that’s a town in Kelantan, not the jiggly sweets you might be thinking!) then Kota Bharu in a matter of 4-5 hours. And that reminds me of the long overdue Kelantan posts I promised months ago …….

Read the rest of this entry »

…. continued from Part 2

Tropical paradise? … Nah …

Breakfast on the next day was a simple affair, at a half-open air outlet, resembling a medan selera/morning market eatery.Situated at Jalan Takong Datok, a stone’s throw away from our Hotel Avana.

Lady selling wantan mee (noodles with pork/prawn dumplings)

There were at least 10 stalls operating that morning, with the morning crowd mostly condensed at the same area, probably relishing the yong tau foo with noodles. But KYT wanted wantan mee instead, so we chose to park our derrieres nearby a pau/dimsum stall, next to a wantan mee stall.

Wantan mee with Char Siew (BBQ Pork) (RM2.40)

The difference between the noodles sold here, compared to the ones in Ipoh, is the one being sold here is slightly thicker, but KYT commented the noodles lacked the bounce normally associated with the egg noodles, and gave his seal of DISapproval.

Char Siew Pau (RM1.20) with Milk Tea

I opted for a lighter breakfast, in hope of devouring the almighty yau char kueh (Chinese crullers) at Pengkalan Hulu, which we had during the previous trip. (Trust me, there ain’t no other LARGER yau char kueh you can find). Thought of snapping a photo of the pau’s fillings, but was sorely disappointed to discover minimal, mediocre fillings. The milk tea fared much better however, even trumping the mamak stall’s version.

(…. to be continued, again …)

(…. continued from Part 1)

Miniature-like tank at a non-existent round about.

Oh, it’s a Scout Car … for display purposes only though. Enemies would’ve spotted this from far away, defeating its ‘scouting’ intentions. =P

Yeah, in fact the small town of Gerik has its own landing site. But doubtful in full use. Probably only for the army’s planes. Wondering what the common folks utilize this empty, vast land?

Some of the residents jog here, in the evening, successfully turning the land into erm, race tracks? LOL. Let’s hope it’s an abandoned landing site, else everyone would scramble like ants once the jet fighters zero in.

Restoran Chau Y (makes you wonder if the signboard makers scratched their heads in puzzle, wondering WTH Y stood for?)

Time for dinner, although the previous roti canai was still swimming in my stomach. But they were in famine mode, right after their badminton session. So, here goes …

Stir-Fried Anchovies and Cashew Nuts (RM9)

Normally a dish best served with plain porridge, they spiced it up a notch by adding some curry leaves and dried chillies, not unlike Kung-Pow/Kam Heong style. Yummy.

Kam Heong Chicken (RM8)

The chicken meat was tender, and boneless. But the taste was moderate only, the sweetness offset the overall sensation. Even MBoy and gang who frequent this shop often, and ordered the same dish on most nights, admitted the taste was off, on that evening. Whoops.

Crispy Skin Tofu (RM5)

Their signature beancurd is homemade, deep-fried until the outer layer is crisp, and the interior soft and silky. Served with generous drizzles of onion oil, (probably too generous, according to KYT) the two blocks of goodness cost only RM5. A steal, no?

Kung Pow Mantis Prawns (RM15)

The mantis prawns (lai liu har) fared not much better though. Though the batter was crispy, some complained it was too thick, overpowering the succulent and natural sweetness of the meat while others consider the dish praiseworthy. Me? I’ll go with the former group of thoughts. Portion was rather large, sufficient to feed 7 of us.

Stir-Fried Yau Mak with Fermented Beancurd (Foo yee) RM4

A bit on the salty side, but as expected when any vegetable is cooked with foo yee. Total bill for 7 came to RM49.90. Muahaha … I thought I was dreaming ….

Location : Restoran Chau Y on the main road (Jalan Intan). No address, but pretty easy to locate. Just go towards the direction of Pengkalan Hulu from Gerik town, and you’ll notice this restaurant on your left, same row with Restoran 113, another dai chow style restaurant.

Empty streets at 10pm, taken from the roof top of a four-storey building

Dark, ‘treetop’ setting cafe

We then proceeded to supper, after a nice, long bath. Initially planned for mahjong session on the roof top of MBoy/Tee’s landlord’s shophouse, the plan was scrapped when only the table was found. The mahjong set remained in oblivion. Supper sounds fine anyway. Hehe ….

French Fries (RM3/serving)

Other than KL’s/JB’s version of the tree top cafe, Gerik has its very own too! Nameless, and situated at a housing area behind Restoran Chau Y, this cafe serves Western food at affordable prices, and a frequent haunt when they have a cause to celebrate. One word of caution : the wait was relentless, more than 30 mins for 2 baskets of French Fries!! But the ambience made up for that, I guess. We were seated on the floor, cross-legged, and turned on our personal fan on the wall. Drinks are rather cheap, fruit juices for less than RM3.50. But the coffee was horrible.

(to be continued … )

Finally some well-deserved time to myself, after a hectic week, travelling to Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu on Mon/Tues, then Taiping/Kamunting/Selama on Wed/Thurs, followed by former colleagues’ (yeah, BOTH of them were) wedding marathon on Fri-Sat, eventually culminating into a marvellous wedding dinner at Sun Lee How Fook yesterday night. But more on that later. For now, let’s do some backtracking, k?

Gerik town … Everday is a winding road ?

Our lodge for the night, upstairs, NOT the Kedai Keropok …

We stayed at Hotel Avana. Yup, NOT the famed Awana, but a slight variation. But who cares? Where else can you find a room with TWO queen-sized beds, clean, with air-conditioning and hot shower, all for only RM60. Yup, a room for FOUR, but pay for the price of ONE. (Haha, I didn’t get paid for this, in case you’re wondering)

Most buildings in Gerik were built with 3 or more storeys.

View from our balcony after office hours. KL-ites would KILL for this …

Unpretentious warung, manned by a makcik and her son, making a living …

Though initially we planned for lunch at Lenggong, somehow KYT threw a spanner in the works. LOL. Once checked in, my stomach grumbled and my food radar was put to test. A short walk from our hotel is this stall, by the roadside at an empty parking lot. The throngs of customers stopping by sent positive signals, and needless to say, I warped there in an instant.

Looks and shapes do not matter,right?

The lady was selling fried goods, ranging from tapioca balls to banana fritters, and various other stuff. I placed my order for RM1 worth of banana fritters (comes in 6 pcs) and RM1 for another 3 fried tapioca balls.

Crunchy, sweet, and soft-centred tapioca balls

I was digging at my packet of ‘treasures’ while walking back to my room, and pleasantly delighted by the yumminess of the tapioca balls. The batter was crispy and fragrant, not really oily, while the tapioca was soft and sweet. The banana fritters though looked a tad ugly, but who cares? They were fresh from the wok, very hot and crispy. But I’ve had better ones.

Location : At a parking lot in the middle of Jalan Takong Datok, the 3rd road parallel to the main road in Gerik. This stall is next to a burger stall.

Still nursing the drumming hunger pangs, MBoy recommended one of his favourite mamak shop in Gerik. (MBoy, Zmin, and a few others are working there, btw) Restoran Thaibah is situated on Jalan Tun Saban, the 2nd road parallel to the main road.

Nothing beats frothy, milky teh tarik (RM1.30) for tea time. I’m a caffeine addict myself, probably possessing trails of my late grandfather’s genes. He could drink mugs after mugs of milk tea, chugging them like beer. =)

Roti canai with Sambal Dhal (RM0.80)

The roti canai should be paired with their sambal dhal, or so I was told. Normally, I prefer curry, but decided to trust others for once. The roti is nothing to shout about, but the sambal was piquant, slightly spicy, but too salty for my liking. Though the combination of dhal with anything works, as dhal on its own is pretty tasteless. Except Kalai’s, which I adore whole-heartedly. =)

Location : Jalan Tun Saban, the 2nd road parallel to main road. Turn right once you arrive at the traffic lights with Shell petrol station. Take the first turning on the left, and go until nearly the end of the road. Restoran Thaibah is on your left.

(to be continued …. )

The Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu Trail (Part 2)

The Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu Trail (Part 3)

The Gerik-Pengkalan Hulu Trail (Part 4 – final)