Motormouth From Ipoh

The mere mention of Sitiawan evokes memories of fresh seafood @ Kampung Cina, Foo Chow-style cooking at Bei King or Lido, the insanely popular James cendol in front of the Indian temple, the Chinese-style of bagels named ‘gong pia’ & even Teochew style Bak Kut Teh coupled with steamed fish head. (Read a portion of it on Sitiawan – Half A Day’s Worth of Food Hunt)

For me, revisiting Sitiawan brought to the surface sweet memories of the constant day trips (almost on a monthly schedule!) we made back then. Throughout my 3 years tenure of working around Perak, Sitiawan, Teluk Intan and Taiping opened my eyes to an entire different landscape of cuisines and local delicacies that I was kept unaware of while hibernating in Ipoh.

#1 – RESTORAN SUN HON SIONG @ AYER TAWAR

The Foo Chow clan takes pride in whipping up scrumptious sweet and sour cooking; in this case the Sweet & Sour Pork (Gu Lou Yuk) Rice at Restoran Sun Hon Siong @ Ayer Tawar surprised me with perfectly executed batter-coated pork, cucumber and even fried potatoes in a sweet and sour gravy balanced with the right flavours.

 Ayer Tawar – A small town you will pass by before you reach Sitiawan; along the Lumut highway

This is a story of our 2D/1N excursion to Sitiawan few weeks ago. In line with Visit Perak Year 2012, here’s another travel idea to help you plan that family getaway this holiday season.

Ready for the onslaught of another food and travel extravaganza? Let’s go. Read the rest of this entry »

A hefty portion of Red Wine Mee Suah for RM7.00/USD2.10; with plentiful of chicken, stalks of spring onions and slices of ginger.

Since I have not been writing much about food from outside of Ipoh, allow me to insert one short post here. Yesterday work took us to Ayer Tawar (wondering where’s Ayer Tawar? Read from Wikipedia HERE) to the west of Perak. If you’re on your way to Sitiawan, Seri Manjung, Lumut or Pangkor Island, you will be sure to pass by the town of Ayer Tawar.

Much like Sitiawan, Ayer Tawar is a predominantly Chinese town with a sizeable Foo Chow/Fuzhou population. Thus you know you can find great Foo Chow cuisine in even the simplest of coffee shops or restaurants.

Usually we have our lunch in Sitiawan, for the wide array of good food (from cheap and fresh seafood to Teochew style of Bak Kut Teh to authentic Hock Chew food) never failed to tantalize our tastebuds. But after awhile, eating at the same restaurants got a little repetitive, hence we decided to push our luck and seek for food in Ayer Tawar instead.

Ended up at Red Ruby Restaurant, an air-conditioned Chinese restaurant on the main road that is opened for lunch and dinner. How did Red Ruby fare in comparison to the more famous Bei King and Lido of Sitiawan? Read on to find out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, I did promise a post on Foo Chow/Fuzhou (or Hock Chew) food in Sitiawan right? Before we headed over to Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa at Damai Laut to jump start the week, we detoured a short distance to Sitiawan for lunch.

I have written a considerably aplenty number of posts on Sitiawan food, ranging from the seafood delights to Foo Chow cuisine, or what you can devour in half a day flat. In short, I LOVE food hunting in Sitiawan-Seri Manjung, for you can find a diverse array of cuisines there.

Red Wine Mee Suah (Rice Vermicelli Noodles) – A classic Foo Chow delight, just don’t watch Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or even any of the Twilight saga before having this!

Lido Restaurant in Sitiawan is another one of those air-conditioned restaurant that opens for lunch and dinner (not unlike the famous Bei King), and from the looks alone you can pass judgment on its long-standing legacy, and most-revered reputation amongst the locals, and tourists alike.

The ‘menu’ on the wall, almost reaching the ceiling. Though sadly, I could not decipher even one dish. Pathetic eh? No worries, for I’m ever the thick-faced one and proceeded to ask for recommendations from the captain himself.

Read the rest of this entry »

To seek for some of the best in traditional Chinese cuisine in Kuala Lumpur may take some considerable effort, especially if one’s right in the midst of the Eating Hub of Malaysia, with an amalgam of influences all over the world. You get everything from Western to Eastern fares, from street foods to posh (read : over-priced) dining options.

So where does classic Foochow cuisine stand against these myriad of dining pleasures, with the looming element of commercialization threatening the very essence of good food (read : priceless finds, not pricey finds), constantly seeing us going back to the same old, same old restaurants in the malls, for the sake of convenience.

A bowl of blood-red Red Wine Meesuah with Chicken (RM6-RM7/USD1.70-USD2) – Not as strong as I expected, especially in comparison to some of Sitiawan’s best.

To find this place, named Taste of Foochow in an almost none-too-strategic location (right smack in the heart of Pudu, with the dreadful morning jams no thanks  to the jostling crowd at Pasar Pudu) of Jalan Gajah. But at least this is something different from the average Pan Mee, Hokkien Mee, and beef noodles we used to have in Kuala Lumpur.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gong Pian with Onions (60 cents/each)

However, yesterday’s journey to Tg Tualang/Kampung Gajah was another taxing crawl, burdened with workload + ultra hot weather (+ no NONHALAL food, get it?) = 8.5 hours of torture !!! (Help, FCOE!!! Where are you?)

Don’t worry, the guy’s not using the stick for homicidal intentions …

Anyway, fast fwd to today. Aaahhh …. finally a decent mini food tour, and WORK done, of course, accordingly to our schedule, without pressure from the upper management. Me, KYT and Tall Gal ventured to Sitiawan and Seri Manjung. I skipped breakfast, so they were kind enough (after much persuasion, anyway) to drop me at Sitiawan Cheong Cia Gong Pian. Tried our luck to get the much sought after onion-filled biscuits, NOT the plain ones we had the previous visit (refer older post HERE). We were in luck, as the biscuits were freshly baked, and being ‘scooped’ out from the ovens resembling wells.

Hot, fresh, crispy Gong Pian with lots of chopped onions guarantees bad breath. LOL, but we couldn’t care less. Miles better than the ones we had last time. In fact, the aroma permeated the Tall Gal’s Vios, and we could not resist digging into one (OK, me and KYT the culprits). Fragrant, crispy, and extremely addictive. But I love anything with onions anyway. At 60 cents per piece, you can afford to stuff 10 without much guilt. OK, probably slight guilt. =)
One of the more famous Foo Chow restaurant in Sitiawan is Bei King, situated on the main road itself (Jalan Raja Omar, I believe?), and easily tracked. Right opposite a signboard on the other side that says “Taman Setia.”

Bloody Red Wine Chicken

Being the gluttons threesome, we ordered 4 dishes to be shared among 3, expecting smaller portions, but the dishes can easily fed 4-5 pax. (Where are you AGAIN, FCOE??!!) We omit the rice noodles (mee suah) as we were evils, planning to deplete the current rice stocks even more. But keen on trying their famed red wine soup, we agreed to the Tau Ke Nia’s recommendation of Red Wine Chicken. The chicken was stewed/cooked til tender, and the soup had a mild hint of wine, not unlike the Chicken in Wine commonly cooked for post delivery women. (=P) Goes well with white rice. Just don’t let the blood red colour deceive or deter you.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs with Char Choy (preserved vege)

The ribs were soft, mostly boneless, and cooked with yams, potatoes (I presumed) and char choy, a type of preserved vegetable. Sweet and sour, the ribs were full of flavour, but I find them too soft/mashed for my liking.

4 Heavenly Kings (literally)

The Four Heavenly Kings served here is slightly different, incorporating brinjals, ladies’ fingers, asparagus and stink beans (petai). The gravy was addictive, unlike the common sambal belacan used to cook this dish. But I couldn’t help but detected a slight tinge of sweetish/sourish taste in this dish, yet again, proving that the Foo Chows really love their sweet and sour dishes.

Signature Beancurd with Broccoli and Abalone Mushrooms

Not sure if those were abalone mushrooms, for I’m not expert on the fungal family. But the tofu was homemade, and really soft and velvety, and bursting with egg-y flavour. Very nice.

One funny moment though. When we ordered the drinks, Tall Gal accidentally ordered Chrysanthemum tea (Kuk Pou) for all 3 of us, when her intention was having sweet chrysanthemum herbal tea (Kuk Fah) herself. But Kuk Pou sounds OK to us, nevertheless. However, they MIXED the tea (Luk Pou) and SWEET chrysanthemum tea in this one, resulting in a hybrid of flavours, fragrant from the tea leaves, and sweet from the sugar added. Imagine a sweet kuk pou *_* …. But still, quite soothing and refreshing.

Total damage = RM54 including 4 bowls of rice and drinks. Though not dirt cheap, (it is an air-conditioned restaurant with years of history anyway), it was reasonable enough for us, to probably warrant a next visit. But we’ll be sure to drag FCOE along, so that she can mop up all unwanted leftovers ….muahahha ….

Location : Coming from Ipoh towards Lumut using the Lumut Highway, turn into Sitiawan town. When you reach a crossroad with traffic lights, you will notice KFC is on your right. Turn left into Jalan Raja Omar, and you will notice this restaurant after a minute or 2 on your left.