Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

 Traditional Hakka Mee with a variety of stuffed ingredients at the background served at Restoran Hakka @ Jalan Pasir Puteh, Ipoh

If you ask me which is the best meal that represents Ipoh, I’ll crown breakfast as the winner. Hands down.

Even though the most iconic dish (or dishes) as far as the name Ipoh is affiliated with happens to be bean sprouts chicken, and you can only get them in the evenings (mostly), the breakfast selections trump lunch’s and dinner’s any day.

We are talking about dim sum, curry mee, white coffee, fish ball noodles and of course, the food that has slowly crept up my radar as of late; Hakka mee.

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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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Siam Laksa @ Restoran Ko Pi Tim (the name sounds like an overkill, really) in Medan Ipoh Bistari; aka the ‘Little Japan’ of Ipoh. Don’t ask why … just go and see for yourself.

Almost a week of disappearance. And no, I have not been traveling outstation, holidaying overseas or strapped to a chair and bombed to oblivion. The sheer barrage of workload and pending matters post-CNY (okay, technically speaking, it’s not even over yet. It’s Chap Goh Meh; the 15th day tomorrow!) got me hurling myself towards the monitor on a 24/7 basis.

Plus, no thanks to the crappy Internet speed lately, the frustration just kept building up to a crescendo of flames in my head.

Phew. And then there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Or a shimmering glimmer of hope to feed the dire soul. Sunday’s always the best day to recharge and expel the accumulated toxins over the week.

Wantan Mee & Hakka Mee @ Ko Pi Tim

So here goes nothing. A story conjured up to feed the cravings. Wanted to write about the Lou Sang experience at Gao Ren Guan, New Paris and subsequently Le Meridien. Yet, the lure of reliving the pleasurable moments of digging into a slab of greasy pork chop from the hawker stall or a plate (yes, a plate) of Siam Laksa bursting with coconut milk is so much stronger.

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I remember a reader asked me recently;

“Do you know where the famous (maybe legendary) Hakka mee stall at the shady food court (Tai Hwa Food Court @ Osborne Street; better known for the toddy/coconut wine and seafood at night?) has moved to?”

After a full two years away from Ipoh (yup, celebrated the occasion with a week-long homecoming!), I admitted that I have no idea. Heck, I could not even remember whether I have tried the Hakka mee at the original stall before!

But commitment is commitment. Through various reconnaissance tactics, we finally managed to seek out its new location; opening for business since 15th December 2012.

Today, on this beautiful Christmas morning, let me be Santa for once and share with you this 20+ years old Hakka mee stall with a rich legacy, strong following and damn good chili sauce …..

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For the other stories in the Travel Blitz series, click HERE

Famous Beef Noodles @ Stall 748, Seremban Wet Market

Since today’s a public holiday and coincidentally, the school holidays ain’t over yet, it does make sense for a short detour if you’re heading south towards Melaka or Johor, or even across the border to Singapore. A mere one hour (or less, depending on the traffic) away from Kuala Lumpur, Seremban town is quite the strategic stop-over for a hearty breakfast of beef noodles, a sip of refreshing cendol to douse the heat, or even buying dozens of Seremban’s signature baked buns with BBQ pork fillings (known as “siew pau”) as gifts to whomever you’re meeting up at the end of your journey.

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Ipoh famous Hakka-style yong tau foo (also fondly referred to as ‘yong liew’ aka stuffed ingredients), served with hakka mee, curry noodles or even laksa @ Wok With Kim (Yee Tan Kow Fishball Noodles)

You know, it’s funny. When you think about it, there’s no other place that serves ‘liew fun’ (loosely recognized as fishball noodles; though essentially the ensemble comprises of more than just fishballs) just like the version in Ipoh.

You may think that the combination is a no-brainer; noodles with various ingredients (usually vegetables) stuffed fish and/or pork paste as sides, taken usually at the earliest hours of the day.

But then again, I could not find one of similar nature in Penang. Okay, so up north they do have yong tau foo (YTF), but usually served with rice, or yam rice. Initially, I was stunned to find that they don’t have curry mee, ‘kon low lou shu fun’ (silver needle noodles/rat’s tail noodles tossed in a dark, savoury soy sauce-based gravy with minced meat), or even laksa to go along with the boiled/deep-fried pieces of YTF.

In KL, we do have a few good YTF places (Puchong’s being one of my favourite, while the one on Lorong Peel has this very authentic aura to its core), yet nothing that resembles Ipoh’s ‘liew fun’ combination.

Thus for today, let’s drool over this famous outlet on Yang Kalsom Road, that has been there for as long as I can remember …..   Read the rest of this entry »

Chun Kee Hakka Mee (Da Pu Noodles) – For more than 80 years in business, and still situated at the same ‘shack’ off Jalan Pudu. You can almost breathe in an air of nostalgia when you’re eating here.

“Another post on Hakka food and I swear I will scream.”

Then scream. Last in the series, and gawd knows how long I have been anticipating for this Hakka mee experience.

Da Pu (also known as Dabu) is a village in Guangdong; a centre of Hakka culture in China. Thus, essentially this bowl of noodles can still be named as Hakka Mee, or Da Bu Mien (as emblazoned across the yellow-coloured signboard adorning the wall above the stall).

But instead of serving their noodles with the usual fish balls, pork balls or stuffed beancurd, Chun Kee chooses to serve theirs with pork dumplings (wanton) instead. Read on to find out why some have generously heaped praises towards this humble outlet in Pudu, and how tenacious of them to withstand more than eight decades of hardships …..

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