Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Ah Yee Pan Mee – That’s how her regulars used to address her, back at her old stall at Tet Shin Coffee Shop near to Rasa Sayang & Bak Gong Chicken Rice in town.

Since moving to a new premise in old town Ipoh, Ah Yee has been slowly losing her strong following from her days of operating at Tet Shin Coffee Shop (pronounced as ‘Tuck Seng’ in Cantonese); located opposite of Aun Kheng Lim salted chicken and very near to Rasa Sayang Chicken Rice and Lok Wee Koi coffee shop. And she has been there for a good many years.

Not because of the dwindling quality of her pan mee, or the other soupy noodles she’s famous for. The fact that the sudden relocation to this spanking new place (the row of shops on Jalan Sultan Yusufff/Belfield Street ain’t very old though, barely a year plus) got everyone in circles.

Priced from RM3.80 – RM5.00 per bowl of noodles, her offerings could almost passed off as dirt-cheap, with substantial amount of ingredients thrown in. Okay, here goes the story of Ah Yee Pan Mee in old town … an option for those hankering for something beyond white coffee and toasts. Read the rest of this entry »

Life’s a freaking carnival @ AEON Station 18, Pasir Puteh, Ipoh; the new and easily largest shopping mall in all of Perak. (And no, the Golden Retriever does not come with the experience)

A few posts back, I was actually very keen to explore this brand new shopping mall in Ipoh; a new Jusco (now a blanket rebranding to AEON across all outlets). I still vaguely remember how back in 1997 the first Jusco opened its doors in Ipoh, effectively burying the ghost of Super Kinta’s past. Although one might say that the Jusco Kinta City has seen better days, yet the shopping mall is rarely empty even on weekdays. Try to visit on weekends or public holidays, or worse … the festive season (CNY especially!) and you’ll be wondering what the fuss was about over this two-floors departmental store.

Then, AEON Station 18 arrived on the scene. A good 15 years later, and I guess folks staying around Ipoh Barat must have been overjoyed at this development. Rather than bracing an astounding 10km drive (don’t laugh, here in Ipoh every km feels like miles …) to Ipoh Garden East, they can literally hop over to Station 18 instead.

And I know a post without any food will sound dry and bland. So here’s a menu featuring 20 types of noodles (!) to tie you over @ The Mia Eating House; within a short drive away from AEON Station 18.

As usual, if you’re ready for the insanity, jump on the bandwagon ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Readers,

Thanks first and foremost for the touching display of affection in the last post. I never in my wildest dreams expected that many responses from random strangers. Strangers, yet somehow felt like we have known each other for years. A good 2.5 years since the inception of Motormouth From Ipoh. Thank you.

An aromatic brew of Ipoh famous white coffee, with a distinctive robust flavour from the roasted beans with the right level of creaminess. -White Coffee @ Xin Xiang Er Nong-

And so, here we are … back to the usual post on Ipoh Food. One fine morning, a colleague of mine was browsing through a poll to gauge the popularity of Ipoh’s white coffee outlets. The ten places or so included of course; Sin Yoon Loong and Nam Heong in old town, Chang Jiang on Jalan Pasir Puteh (no post on that, but I have tried the white coffee there …. not bad) and many unheard of coffee shops.

Sadly, no Sin Lean Lee and Nam Chau (both very worthy contenders, and situated in old town as well) on the list. But there was this Xin Xiang Er Nong Restaurant, located on Jalan Tokong in Pasir Pinji, parked somewhere between Tow Boo Keong temple and Tuck Kee Restaurant/Big Tree Foot Yong Tau Foo. Wanna know whether this one soars sky high, or falls flat on the ground? Read on …. Read the rest of this entry »

Dry (‘Kon Lou’) Pan Mee from Kedai Makanan Sun Seng Fatt – To fully appreciate a good bowl of pan mee, many factors come into play. For me? Most importantly; the noodle itself.

Talk about Pan Mee (read this article from Wikipedia for an idea of what this is) and you’ll most definitely perk up someone’s interest. At least one in five Ipohans, I dare say, is a fan of the flat flour noodles best eaten during the breakfast-brunch period.

Since I am not (dark horse of the family?) one who would go all out for a bowl of noodles, let alone a bowl of pan mee in its soupy, hearty nature (though you can gimme a good bowl dry-tossed flour noodles with chili flakes and I’ll nod restlessly), I relied on recommendations from the others.

What an energetic duo; a Mother & Son team running a pan mee stall that is experiencing a sharp spike in popularity, thanks to the closure of Hua Nam (once) and Wah Pan?

Mum has never been much of a fan of Pan Mee either. But she sang lullabies, hymns, praises and flowery compliments on this particular stall on Jalan Leong Sin Nam (yup, that Dim Sum Street of Ipoh, albeit this one on the other end of the road). And since I practically dragged her along for the somewhat lacklustre experience at the (over-rated?) Peking Pan Mee Noodles Shop, I had to concur and be led to this nameless pan mee stall at Sun Seng Fatt.

Read on to find out whether this stall is worthy of a try …. Read the rest of this entry »

Last weekend was almost a too ideal one with the occasional crowd hankering for bites at the usual coffee shops during breakfast hours, surge in traffic (both on the roads and in shopping centres) thanks to the lingering effect of Raya, and culminated in a wedding feast at Kam Ling Restaurant in Kampar, a three-storeys grand structure which no doubt injects some glitters to the lacklustre rows of shophouses along Jalan Idris in Kampar old town.

PAN MEE SOUP – Wriggly, uneven surfaces and bouncy strands of flat flour noodles made from a combination of wheat flour and eggs, blanched slightly then cooked in a wholesome and sweet broth with a distinctive umami flavour from the anchovies.

After reading about and hearing repeated positive comments on this particular pan mee stall opposite of what-should-be THE Pan Mee Specialist in Ipoh, parked in a lot belonging to Kafe Tim coffee shop. I have written about the curry mee from Kafe Tim once, but not a version that had bowled me over (pun intended). So I never returned for the other hawker fares since.

Let’s set things straight before I continue; I am NOT a fan of Pan Mee. Thus I seldom venture all out to try the various pan mee stalls (but more or less selling the same thing) in Ipoh. The recent Peking Pan Mee outing was partly due to the hype surrounding it, coupled with the array of interesting choices of pan mee.

Wanna know how this nameless, unpretentious stall fared against the like of Peking Pan Mee which is ironically directly facing this particular stall in review? Read on to find out ….. Read the rest of this entry »

I anticipated with glee, on the potentially mind-blowing Pan Mee varieties from this supposedly “Pan Mee Specialist” named Peking Pan Mee Noodles Shop in Medan Ipoh Bistari; a relatively new eatery (about 3 months’ old) on the same row as Akamomiji Japanese Restaurant, and directly opposite of Kafe Tim coffee shop.

The Pumpkin-flavoured Pan Mee noodles done the ‘dry’ style with crunchy anchovies, wood ear fungus (mook yee), sweet leaves (Sayur manis) and strips of shiitake mushrooms.

But the breakfast experience fell short off the mark; leaving us in doubt whether the crowd were there solely for the varieties of pan mee on their menu, for the convenience of the distance away from tourists-packed areas, or maybe from sheer word-of-mouth, publicity in the Chinese dailies, etc?

Read on to discover the MANY varieties of Pan Mee available at Peking Pan Mee, and why the concept holds promise yet executed somewhat poorly …… Read the rest of this entry »

27 March 2010 – Sadly, this cafe has moved/relocated/closed. The premise is occupied by a Wan Stop Cafe now. I have no idea yet, on where Sharon’s Laksa has moved to, or are they still operating. Anyone?

4 June 2010 – Sharon’s Laksa is not operating from any premises. But you can contact her through this number : 012-518 5562 for small parties, catering services and such. She still cooks for such occasions.

Bee Home Cafe(Sharon’s Laksa) @ Taman Ipoh Perdana

Those with an exceptionally stellar memory would be able to recall my previous post on Sharon’s Laksa, inclusive of my constant rants with regards to the weekends-only Siam Laksa, and the other dishes I sampled way back before I even moved to my new domain here. (You can of course, choose to relive those good old days of viewing my blogposts against the black background HERE)

Home Made Pan Mee (RM6.90) – Wednesdays Special

But of course, the feedbacks from the gluttons (or eager & hungry ones) who have paid this charming cafe a visit ranged from the positive/glowing ones to the not-so-favourable replies. But indeed, credits to be given where they’re due, Sharon’s Laksa had only been operating for a few months, hence QC (quality control) aspects may not be in check YET, but rest assured the lady boss herself (an affable Sharon Chin) is constantly on the prowl, doing check and balance while still whipping up a storm. The Siamese Laksa recipe belongs to her, by the way.

Read the rest of this entry »