Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was originally published in the Malay Mail Online. Click HERE to read the article.

Breakfast of Teh Tarik with cucur bawang and roti canai at Restoran Sabar Menanti next to the public swimming pool in Ipoh

The restaurant is called Restoran Sabar Menanti which literally means “waiting patiently” in Malay. You can imagine the gleeful reactions to the somewhat weird choice of restaurant name, right? Well, this place focuses on the concept of “slow food”; every single dish and every piece of roti (Indian flatbread) is cooked on the spot upon every order. Be prepared for a long meal as the food comes (slowly) to your table piping hot and bursting with fresh flavours. But of course, they do serve an admirable spread of ready-cooked dishes for breakfast and lunch as well, in the tradition of nasi campur but this is a minor extension of their kitchen’s strength. The restaurant also has a battalion of staff hurriedly taking your orders and serving platefuls of delectable Malay food. Sabar Menanti can easily pass off as just another Malay eatery within the serene Ipoh city; nestled away from clear view within an oasis-like garden environment next to the public swimming pool. Read the rest of this entry »

This article was first published in the Malay Mail dated 12 Oct 2014. Read it HERE.

People come from all over the country and even from abroad to enjoy the food haven that is Ipoh. Partly owing to its strategic and accessible location along the North-South Expressway between Kuala Lumpur and Penang, frequent public transportation schedule (you can take a train or a bus from Kuala Lumpur) as well as a twice a day direct flight from Singapore.

The surge in visitors during the past few years, compounded by the advent and proliferation of social media, has paved the way for the discovery of hidden gems. From the what-appears-to-be-blatantly-overhyped Ipoh bean sprouts chicken (fondly known as nga choy gai) to Ipoh’s best kept secret (no more) of a kaya puff maker at Sin Eng Heong, and commercialized entities such as Old Town White Coffee and Foh San Dim Sum… the crowds are everywhere. However, despite the extensive coverage of Ipoh street food by various media, I still constantly receive queries about halal food options in Ipoh. This is somewhat understandable as the hard fact remains that Chinese hawker stalls and food establishments are more in focus when it comes to food hunting in Ipoh. Comparing the options of halal cuisine to other towns, Ipoh has a distinctive lack of memorable choices e.g. Nasi Dagang/Kerabu in Kota Baru, Nasi Kandar in Penang or even Nasi Lemak in the Klang Valley. Read the rest of this entry »

Nasi Lemak; one of the most versatile dishes in Malaysia where you can have this for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even supper and it feels so right. Can we name this our National Dish already?

Pardon the awkward sounding title, like something out of those viral websites with continuous feeds of mind-blowingly catchy headlines but in return providing you with a rather blah story. If you have been on the social media circle long enough, you must know what I am talking about.

It might even scream corny/tacky … or worse, spam-my.

Yeah, the reason that I had to strip off this white brief of mine (and no, I am not on some private beach playing games) and wave them high up in the air is mainly owing to the deluge of spam comments flooding every single post of mine.

I must have been pretty complacent lately (or the past year maybe), but the spam comments run in the thousands. Really. So much for the anti-spam plugin. So here I am, apologizing to anyone whom had left your comments on the posts but got no replies from the lazy Motormouth.

I must have been too engrossed in deleting spam comments. Or just plain lethargic from the 6+ years of writing on Motormouth From Ipoh.

Read the rest of this entry »

This story was first published on Malay Mail Online. Click HERE for the article.

A few years back, had anyone told me that the sleepy town of Kota Baru in Kelantan offers some really tasty eats, I would have rolled my eyes in disbelief.

Possibly clouded by political propaganda and overwhelmed by the gastronomic delights found in other states, Kelantan was never in my radar for a good many years. Even the sheer thought of driving all the way to Kota Baru sounded torturous; but as luck would have it, we had to drive to Kota Baru town (KB for short) for work more than once.

That first visit back in 2009 was an eye opener for me. A stark reminder that we should never, ever limit our horizons because of assumptions and hearsay. Not only was KB this beautiful town that was far from lifeless (try getting stuck in traffic during peak hours when everyone’s going home for dinner and you will forget that you’re miles away from Kuala Lumpur!), but I was really mesmerised by the magnificent array of Kelantanese cuisine.

These are mostly rice dishes and then there is a variety of egg-infused kuih-muih with some heavily influenced by the Thais (Kelantan shares a border with Sungai Golok/Kolok, the town infamous for post-sunset entertainment).

Don’t be afraid to indulge in rice dishes when you’re here. It is deemed not sinful to kick off your day with a packet of rice or two. In fact, having anything else seems out of place when you have crazily infectious feasts of nasi from coffee shops and pushcart stalls around town.  Read the rest of this entry »

Asam Pedas – A Minangkabau style of spicy and sour dish usually served with fish or seafood. At Hajjah Mona Asam Pedas, you should also try their Asam Pedas Daging Tetel (tender beef with chunky bits of fats, tendons and bones). The madly piquant dish is usually served with steamed rice with blanched bean sprouts and half a salted egg.

No doubt there are 101 Nyonya cuisine restaurants available for dinner in Melaka. And the snaking line of people waiting patiently with dripping saliva in front of Capitol Satay Celup. Teo Soon Loong Chan usually needs reservation prior to arrival especially on weekend evenings. While family members are not keen on having tandoori chicken with (extraordinarily) fluffy naan at Pak Putra.

All that and the fact that I have only tried one Asam Pedas place before in Melaka (Asam Pedas Selera Kampung @ Plaza Mahkota near to Nadeje Patisserie) which was quite honestly; disappointing, led us to Hajjah Mona Asam Pedas off Heeren Street/Jonker Street in town centre and opposite of the majestic Casa Del Rio Hotel.  Read the rest of this entry »

Laksa Perlis & the Full Ensemble of Condiments @ Manjoi, Ipoh

A week away from blogging and it sure felt like as though the earth had been torn and opened up, swallowed some senses and spilled out a spate of devastating haze attacks, water rationing spells and just earlier this morning, the (still) missing MAS flight code MH370 from Malaysia to Beijing. Prayers go to the passengers, flight crew and family members of the flight.

Last week, Motormouth was away for a short 5 days escapade to Seoul, Korea; call that a brief respite for the ‘Seoul’  if you will. The full story to come once I collect my thoughts and emotions.

For today, let’s shift our focus to this Laksa Perlis stall closer to home; in Gugusan Manjoi in Ipoh, to be exact.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Amidst the recent cafe boom in Ipoh,  El Negra Distro & Studio must have stood out for its indie music-inspired ambience; distro essentially means a distribution house for independent publishing (like zines), indie music labels and other DIY crafts, and the fact that it’s a Halal cafe operated by Muslims must have added weight to its customer base.

Are you tired of the cafe reviews yet? Well, good news is that … this is the last one for the series. The few days back home during CNY were invested almost entirely on cafe-hopping and eating around town; though after the umpteenth cafe; I got side-tracked and the cravings for good old Ipoh hawker food came collapsing in waves.

Imagine the most sinful plate of fiery dry curry ‘sar hor fun’  paired with a cup of aromatic, creamy and robust Ipoh white coffee and maybe a side of crunchy Ipoh bean sprouts tossed in soy sauce by the side.

Enough to drive me nuts over the span between homecoming. On a side note, I foresee more frequent visits back home over the coming weekends for a variety of reasons. Exciting times ahead indeed. Hold your breath.

Here’s the rundown on El Negra Distro; at what could possibly be the most strategic coordinate among all of the other cafes. Read on to find out why. Read the rest of this entry »