Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Hah! Bet you assumed from the title that this would be another ‘commercialized’ review of a hotel stay. Not entirely. In some ways, yes … the whole of last weekend was spent in Pangkor Island Beach Resort; a famous retreat on the famous island named Pangkor in Perak that is no doubt the star attraction of this silver state of Malaysia, when it comes to tourism activities. Can’t say the same though for my beloved hometown of Ipoh, since 4 stars-and-above hotels are almost unheard of in this part of the city.

And yes, I admit that the accommodation and food were all paid for. Not in the usual manner of a professional review in exchange, but because I was attending a workshop at the resort. More or less like the good old days when we used to spend weekends after weekends cooped in hotel rooms and conference halls attending lectures and such.

Yeah, the good old days …And that horrendously long 14 days spent in Coral Bay Resort on Pangkor Island back in 2008!

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To do away with the midweek blues many of us might be having (and the incessant cravings for the weekend!), this was how I fended off my Monday blues last week; immersing myself in a short 3 days 2 nights getaway to Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa at Damai Laut, Lumut. Here’s their website, in case you wanna read more about this almost secluded piece of land to the west of Perak, within spitting distance from Pangkor Island; THE most idyllic island getaway one can hope for when you’re in Perak ….

Established since 1997 (yup, a good 13 years!) Swiss Garden Golf Resort & Spa does not change one bit. Or at least that was how the place looked like to me, on this 3rd visit.

A soothing respite before bracing myself for the onslaught of deadlines and impending headaches (read my Pusing’s Ming Feong post for more musings) for the rest of the week …

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Stir fried la-la in spring onion and ginger

Before my memory fails me, kindly bear with me and let me crap more on Pangkor food. Actually, not crap at all. Simply put, let me promote the ONLY chinese seafood restaurant that I went during the whole 2 weeks ordeal. Yeah, pitiful, but with meals being served SIX times a day, how to resist hotel food eh?

Deep Fried Squids

This restaurant, Chao Sheng (hope I get the name right, as I’ve forgotten to take any shot of the shop at all), belongs to a fren’s uncle. This fren of ours was involved in this 2 weeks course, therefore bringing him along certainly favours us, as we can be assured of quality and fresh seafood, and discount privileges, while his uncle benefited from a bunch of hungry devils (all 23 of us!)

Steamed white snapper Teochew style

We left all the ordering to the obedient nephew (hehe), and sat down chatting away, glad to be dining in a completely different environment unlike the usual routine days. Quick summary of the food ordered and their taste ;

The stir fried lala were very fresh, completely free of unpleasant shellfish smell, and the light sauce complemented the dish pretty well.

The deep fried squids were crispy and tasty, dipped in chili sauce, these babies vanished while I was busy picking the fish. sigh … talking bout the fish …

The white snapper (I hope I got this right, Hung Chou=red snapper, Bak Chou=white snapper?) was fresh, the flesh firm yet soft and the portion was enough for 11 of us. However I do not prefer fish to be steamed Teochew style, as compared to soy sauce, or taucu sauce.

Hot plate Egg Tofu with Seafood and Vegetables

Kung Pow Mantis Prawns (see the itchy hands distracting me from a good shot?)

The hot plate tofu was delicious, loaded with a variety of meat and seafood, and the egg white-infused sauce went well with the rice.

The mantis prawns cooked ‘kung-pow’ style came in generous serving, however tastewise, it was moderate only. Definitely overshadowed by other dishes.

We also ordered Or Chien or Oyster Omelette and another vegetable dish (forgot what it was, as all attention was channeled to the seafood). Both were alright, nothing to shout about.

The bill? a measly RM105 for a table of 11, plus rice, tea etc. Cheap right? 😉 However be warned, the price may vary for outsiders, ie : those without blood relation to the owner, haha!!!

Location : Pasir Bogak, nearby the beach, just a few minutes walk from Coral Bay Resort. It is a corner shop, unpretentious, minimal decor, and right beside a road leading to a school or something.

In fact, time flew by pretty fast, without realising it, suddenly 14 days had passed since my last post here, on the 14th of Mar 08. Initially, we did not prepare for the onslaught of talks, 8 hrs a day, until 10.30 every nite! It was bored, but we got through VERY WELL …. In fact, I’m starting to miss those good times …

Enough rambling, let’s get to the good stuff … the FOOD! I was here, at the same hotel last Oct, for another course (yeah, lucky me) and I knew what to expect from the kitchen. Though sometimes repetitive, the quality of the food served is pretty high, unlike normal bland and yucky hotel food. Though curry made up most of the dishes, in fact everyday we had curry, but i’m not complaining. =P On the 4th day, suddenly the kitchen whipped up FRIED SALT AND PEPPER SQUID!!!! OMG …. Everyone was rushing for it, but as it was buffet style, they replenish pretty fast. The taste? YUMMY! A deserved break from the norms, dipped in Thai chili sauce, the batter was amazing! crunchy, springy squids, well seasoned ….. That was why the plate above looked pretty empty. Haha … forgot to whip out my camera phone before finishing most of it …..

The organizers (urusetia) got special table, and sometimes different dishes. One night, I spied fried kangkung in batter (tenpura style), and after slight persuasion, managed to ‘steal’ some for our own consumption. Haha … Not exactly crunchy, but quite tasty nevertheless, compared to the usual bland vege dishes. To imagine I would sell my dignity for a taste of some dishes … 😉

Some random pictures of fruits and snacks, served with every meal. Never in my life had i eaten watermelon for 2 weeks straight, twice a day! Guess it really helps with digestive system?

After the amazing taste of fried squid, we were treated with the usual curries, (though the lamb was pretty tasty), fish (all of them sucked, except when they served sweet and sour fish fillet), vege, etc etc for the subsequent days. Til one fine day, when I sold my dignity (again) and requested a favour from a waiter who knows me, to kindly suggest to the almighty chef to whip up the gorgeously delicious dish again. I was not the only one who fell in love with it, in fact my dream (?) came true few days later when the squid was served AGAIN! And everyone rushed and piled up their plates with the heavenly dish like nobody’s business! Luckily I was one of the few firsts, completely ignoring the impaling stares, and piled up mine like the pic above. MUAHAHA …. I requested ma, cannot take more? 🙂

In fact, maybe the chef mood was in hyper mode that day, he/she decided to tease our appetite even more by serving 3 types of salads which were pretty appetizing. A very very satisfying meal, this time, the chef changed the accompanying sauce to an even tastier one, sour, tangy, sweet, spicy ….. Really good stuff.

Still feeling pretty tired after all the travelling. Might as well stop here, and continue tonight. More to come ….

In case you’re wondering, the hotel we stayed was Coral Bay Resort, Pangkor. The rooms are top notch, at affordable price. It is situated at Pasir Bogak, around 5 minutes from the jetty by van. Til then …. *yawn* ….