Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Sushi Zento – One of the latest addition to the Japanese cuisine scene in Ipoh; making up the number to almost a dozen now within the same area.

Sushi Zento hails from the same Edo Ichi group of Japanese restaurants; with outlets in Klang Valley, Penang, Sabah and now Perak. Other famous names include Azuma (read the dining experience at Queensbay Mall), Sushi Zento in Penang and now Ipoh, as well as Hana in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The sudden surge in number of Japanese restaurants in Ipoh; particularly around the Medan Ipoh Bestari area (near to Jusco/Tesco of Ipoh Garden East) had initially gathered steam and generated raving interests for freshly-flown in sashimi, premium grade beef and fusion sushi rolls. However, after awhile, the restaurants started to mimic one another with no clear differentiation and started charging premium prices for lackadaisical Japanese fares.

Preparing fresh sushi to be placed on the kaiten belt, the crunchy and addictive Soft Shell Crab + Salmon Skin Salad with Sesame Dressing (RM20/USD7) and Mushroom Fried Rice (Nameko Yaki Meshi) (RM6/USD2)

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Shoyu Ramen (Regular for RM25/USD8), Kara Miso Ramen (Regular for RM27/USD9) and the freebies thanks to Worthy Book‘s vouchers –  Gyoza with Pork Filling and Cha Shu (Roasted Pork Slices)

In a blink of an eye, Hokkaido Santouka Ramen has braced (more like breezed) through a tumultuous year filled with challenges from various ramen stalwarts mushrooming all over Klang Valley. The recent additions of Menya Musashi and Gantetsu at Eat Paradise @ Isetan, One Utama further entrenched this ramen frenzy all the way from the land of the rising sun.

But of course, our good neighbour down south (Singapore) has already been severely affected by the ramen wars (Read my review on Ippudo if you will). Since Santouka’s grand opening on 29th July 2011, the outlet has remained unfazed by the adjacent Japanese food joints (Suki-Ya’s still booming!) in Tokyo Street @ Pavilion, and clearly Marutama‘s not a strong contender either.

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Fresh, thick slices of sashimi accompanied the Sakura Bento set (RM75/USD25) that came with a whole artillery of what could be defined as Japanese cuisine in a box

Now I am all for healthy eating and living a sustainable, passionate and jovial life. Hence I signed up … wait, WAS signed up for GCC; the Global Corporate Challenge that kick-started last week.

And here I am after my sinful meal of Big Mac and fries, parked in front of my computer writing about food instead of walking up a storm and burning off calories piled up since this blog was born.

Uh oh … another mindless session of rants and ramblings?! Nah .. not on this beautiful Sunday night. I’ll spare you. Let’s go Japanese to jump start the cranking engine within. Read the rest of this entry »

Waraku; one of the most tenacious Japanese restaurants in Ipoh so far.

Since eating at Chinese restaurants might entail the gory need to mortgage an arm or a leg this season, we thought why not go Japanese for a change. After all, the subsequent days would be filled with Yee Sang, pork, chicken, prawns, fish, mushrooms etc …. to a point when you’d wish that Reunion feasts can include burgers for a change.

Waraku is one of those restaurants that you usually fail to notice its existence, tenacity and dare I say … brilliance. Drowned by the (over) hyped Japanese diners around the vicinity (try scanning through THIS LIST and you’ll see why), Waraku is that humbler cousin of the larger-than-life restaurants with sushi bars, private rooms and blares of insincere “irrashaimase” through the halls …..

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#1 – Sushi as part of the SET. Kampai offers various lunch and dinner sets, at extremely affordable prices. And they do not skimp on the portions either.

“THANK YOU.”

This blog hits another milestone today. 3 million hits, and counting. Thank you dear readers, for staying sane and still having faith in this motormouth of a glutton-cum-writer. Time flies indeed, and soon enough Motormouth From Ipoh will hit its 4th year on the web.

I feel old. And the recent amnesiac attacks came in a slurry of unfortunate incidents; from leaving my diary in another meeting room, to paying at parking machines and completely forgetting to retrieve the paid ticket. Lucky me, good Samaritans all around with angelic halos hovering above their heads ….. I was saved from the hassle,shame and ultimately, penalty ($$) of having to pay for the lost ticket.

Here’s a very simple yet heartwarming piece on Kampai; one of the pioneers of Japanese cuisine in Ipoh.

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Matsu Moriawase (RM28/USD9) – 14 pieces of sushi on a platter; a good introduction to how serious they are with their sushi.

Two weeks on, and I am now at peace. Finally. Last weekend’s rally+road block+work was a killer combination; draining me out physically and mentally. Pardon the delay, but if you’re still kept in the dark, or avoiding Japanese food products like the plague, then here’s a post dedicated to you.

Limited seating, but the private dining rooms, lighting, ornaments and artwork were all tastefully done. A cut above the rest in terms of ambience, I’d reckon.

Hokkaido Japanese Cuisine opened its door to the Japanese cuisine-deprived (maybe not anymore) Ipoh food community sometime in June this year. Kizuna was deemed to be a trendsetter alright, rewriting the standards of Japanese cuisine in Ipoh close to half a decade ago. Then Akamomiji arrived at the scene, catering to night after night of full house situation.

Now we have more than a dozen, and you would have thought that the March disaster in Japan would have a serious impact on the Japanese food scene in Malaysia.

Initially, yes. But we Malaysians tend to forget (or neglect?) the petty matters, plus we do have full confidence in the government’s initiative to screen every food product imported from Japan. Don’t we?

Full review after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Strands of springy fresh noodles dunked in the flavoursome broth brewed from chicken and various nuts, served with ample portion of chopped fresh ‘negi’ (Japanese leek), slices of perfectly browned ‘cha shu’ (roast pork belly), and an egg that’s wonderful.

I was never a fan of soupy noodles. To me, the sheer thought of slurping Penang koay teow th’ng, Ipoh famous Kai See Hor Fun, or even Maggi noodle soup can evoke a sense of malaise. Yes, so much so that I only go for these when:

a) No dry options available (Eg. dry curry mee, dry ‘Kai See Hor Fun’, Mee Sedap),
b) I fall sick and wish to down copious amount of soup with my food, OR
c) The soupy option is too good to resist.

At Marutama Ramen; this famous chain of ramen specialist from Singapore, I stumbled upon a gem. Almost a nirvana.

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