Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Western food in Ipoh has grown leaps and bounds since the days when it was either Rendezvous, First Coffee House, Scotch Pub, Miner’s Arms or to some lesser extent (catering to simpler, fuss-free palates of the younger ones), Crazy Ice Cream House. Back when we were still watching Ultraman, Voltron and still idolized turtles with weapons and talking trash (somewhat), dining out at any of the above was a cause for rejoice.

Okay, drop the last one, since Crazy Ice Cream existed back in the 90’s if I’m not mistaken (and still operating the last I heard). But only Scotch Pub managed to last well over its prime. And surprisingly, still attracting a loyal legion of fans come lunch hour. (*Though one of the comments in that same post came from an avid fan of theirs, and seemingly the owner is selling off the quaint eatery!)

Fresh Oxtail Soup (RM17.50/USD5.80) – Thick, creamy and robust taste of freshly stewed oxtail in a tangy tomato base cream soup, served with garlic bread. This could be a main dish, for all I know.

Anyway, fast forward a decade or so later, Maria’s Cafe came to the scene. Indefinitely, this was a cafe in a class of its own (back then), we shuddered to think of having dinners there since being students and all … the price was not so agreeable. Especially when this was THE place for good steaks and cakes, and a full-blown 3 course meal at Maria’s could have rendered us incapacitated for days without lunch money.

But that was then, and let’s fast forward again to present day. When the sight of Western food outlets (Cafes, Bistros, Steakhouse, Restaurants, etc) at every corner of the eye in densely-populated by commercialization area (Greentown, 1Casuarina, Ipoh Garden East) becomes the norm. And Maria’s Cafe still holds strong amidst the strong competition (Movenpeak, MP, Brewster’s, Yeolde English are merely walkable distance).

Read on to discover the sheer number of  food tasted in this review, and how Maria herself fought off competition and retains loyal customers with food cooked with the freshest of ingredients and delectably-homemade desserts ….. Read the rest of this entry »