Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

And yeah, you read the title right. This ain’t no mere Thai buffet lunch or dinner. But this promotion runs in tandem with Impiana’s famous weekend high tea buffet. Hence, the Thai-High-Tea fusion! Imagine piping hot Tom Yum Goong, sweet Mango Glutinous Rice with Coconut Milk, the Coffee House’s signature ‘pisang goreng’ (banana fritters) and ‘cucur udang’ (prawn, scallions and onion fritters), and D-I-Y ‘ais kacang’ being featured in the same buffet spread!

The Thai Food Extravaganza runs for only 2 weeks at Impiana Hotel, Ipoh; from 5th until 19th October 2012. Featuring delicious Thai signatures like tom yam goong (Tom Yum Soup with Prawns), massaman nua (beef in massaman curry), gai phad prik tai dum (stir fried chicken in black pepper), gaeng kiew waan goong (prawns in green curry), pla mauk thod kra tiam (deep fried marinated squid with garlic), roasted lamb leg with thyme flavoured garden vegetables and pla saam rod (deep fried fish in 3 taste sauce).

Wanna know how YOU can win holiday vouchers from Impiana Chaweng Noi, Koh Samui? Read on.

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Short of being labelled as one lackadaisical review, let’s enjoy the food shots pumped with captions this terrific (or terrible, but let’s be positive, ya?) Tuesday evening, and spread your loving arms to welcome the month of October!

Fresh seafood tightly-wrapped in banana leaves and grilled without much seasoning, or any gravy. The cooking style used at Medan Muara Ikan Bakar might be unconventional; especially if you’re expecting your ‘ikan pari’ (sting ray) or any other fish to be smothered in a thick, devilish red and spicy sambal sauce.

Fresh catches laid out to your visual delight, sending pulses of signals to the gluttony segment of the brain. Don’t expect anything less than the freshest seafood at Tanjung Harapan, Port Klang.

Medan Muara Ikan Bakar @ Tanjung Harapan, Port Klang. About 40km from Petaling Jaya. But felt almost like a world’s apart. Full story after the jump.

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Sambal Paku Pakis, Tom Yam Campur, Telur Bistik & Ayam Masak Merah @ Vicchuda Tomyam & Seafood Restaurant, Damansara Uptown

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IMPORTANT : In case you’re one who scrolls through the pictures without pausing to digest the (bountiful of) words in the post, please take note that Mek T has ceased operations from May 1st onwards. The pop-up notice on their website revealed that they’re ‘taking a break’ now.

Laksa Terengganu – Lots of fresh ulam, herbs and spices went into this killer of an east coast rendition of Malaysia’s favourite noodles; the Laksa. The thick, chunky gravy was laden with robust flavours of curry and spices, and bits of pureed fish for that distinct kick. Warning : not for the faint-hearted.

Wait. And why is Motormouth writing about an outlet that has closed for busines?! Senile? Amnesiac?! Or for the sake of annoying lost sheeps travelling all the way there to try the Terengganu delicacies?!!

None of the above. Yeah, so I can be cruel sometimes but I am not heartless. Hence the warning message above. Unless you missed that, of course.

This visit happened almost a month ago; but I was holding back on the review because we vowed to return to try the other sumptuous-looking stuff before I compile everything into a single post. The ‘Nasi Dagang’, Nasi Sedap Sokmo’ and ‘Laksam’ did tickle our fancy. But read on to see what we ate that had managed to capture the very essence of east coast delicacies. Read the rest of this entry »

Nasi Lemak CT Garden – A tray loaded with goodies? Nasi lemak, otak-otak, rendang daging, ayam goreng, sambal tempe and more.

It’s always fascinating to bump into places hidden within the nooks and crannies of the metropolitan that is Kuala Lumpur. Especially when you least expect a wondrous eatery in the midst of the skyscrapers almost overflowing with customers with a perpetual grin on their face and overwhelming appetite overruling their sense of judgment.

Like us. Our tray got too heavy from the food and started to bend inwards towards the bottom; although from the looks of it, the food that we took was not exactly of gargantuan proportion either.

Halved hard-boiled eggs and killer sambal with onions ready to be loaded upon the waiting packets of “nasi lemak”

Which of course led us to one last deduction; this tray must have been overloaded by the previous ‘owners’ …. how not so when everyone had at least two packets of nasi lemak each (we saw some having more than 5!!!)? Read the rest of this entry »

Mix Appetizer M.S (Malika Saba) (RM25/USD8) – A platter of various appetizers to start off with, in case you’re intimidated by the awkward names like I was. I could only identified hummus and tabbouleh from my limited vocab/experience with Middle East fares.

Now, Malika Saba arrived on the scene at the right time, I’d reckon. Just when the food & beverage scene has slowed down to a snail pace in Ipoh (new eateries concentrated in the NEW AEON IPoh Station 18, but being mere mimics of their counterparts in malls all over Klang Valley), with nary an outlet that excites the senses anymore, this Middle Eastern restaurant with an outlet in Wangsa Maju, KL took a gigantic leap of faith … and opened another in Greentown of Ipoh.

Mullawah – A humongous in size traditional Arabic bread that came crispy on the sides and yet retaining that distinct aroma from the charred bits (possibly from the torched peripherals of the clay oven), and went well with almost any dips or salads that you may want to have.

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Kelantan Delights – Almost religiously, we stopped talking; stopped yapping about the previous meals each of us had, the new places in town, and the misfortune of dining in peculiar eateries sprouting up all over Klang Valley. The attention was shifted indefinitely; channeled towards the aesthetically-plated servings of Kelantanese/Malay delights.

Slightly more than two years ago, I left my tracks on Kelantan’s soils. It was more than a working trip. It was …. a holiday well-deserved. Yes, that terrifying thought of waking up every weekend in different states of Malaysia. But back then, nothing was overwhelming like it is now.

Every single opportunity to get out of the office was much appreciated. A battalion of us marching (or rather, driving) to the east coast for a good 4 days or so. The excursion took our breath away …. more so because of the hectic schedule and hours on the road, than the scenery that embraced the city child in us.

But, we were not complaining. On the contrary, I started missing Kota Bharu almost immediately after the trip. When things set in and there I was anticipating for the next runaway to the east coast for work, a course or joint activities with our counterparts over in the eastern states of peninsular Malaysia.

But my wish never materialized.

It would be a sin to forgo the opportunity for a Kodak moment here; with interior designing worthy of an accolade and then some. This could be THE place to hold a function that calls for Halal cuisine.

Thus, I started craving for another bite of ‘akok‘, that famous Kelantanese dessert/snack that looked nothing like an elegant piece of a signature ‘kueh’. YET, the proof is in the pudding as they said. And this piece of wrinkled block of sweet delight made from an overdose of eggs captured my heart almost instantly. But …. aside from the ones I found at Pasar Siti Khadijah in Kelantan, where can I savour the same sensation here in the city?

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