Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

This is the final chapter of my 2D/1N Jeram-Teluk Intan-Bidor-Sungkai food run. Find the related stories below :

Jeram’s Famous Pau & Yam Puff @ Kedai Kopi Shin Lock
Teluk Intan – Day One
Teluk Intan – Day Two

This sifu (let’s call him the Bidor’s dollmaster, for the sake of it!) seemed to be deep in thoughts, never skipping a beat albeit within firing range of my camera. Look at the laborious process of manually-shaped moon biscuits before they went into the oven.

While we used the Kuala Selangor way to travel from PJ to Teluk Intan, the shorter (in terms of time, not distance) route has still got to be the Bidor way. Hence, we picked the obvious choice when departing home on the second day.

Bidor is a relatively small town in Perak; south of Ipoh (about 60km away) yet distinctively popular for two things – The fresh fruits stalls and of course, the legendary Pun Chun herbal duck thigh noodles.

Seedless guavas, soursops, durians, ‘jambu air’ (rose apple) and oh yeah … “PETAI” (bitter beans/stink beans) are but some of the famous must-buys in Bidor.

But we did not enter Pun Chun this time. Instead we chose to have our lunch at Sungkai. Let’s cap this fantastic series off, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

Continuation from Day One in Teluk Intan …

Keng Heng Coffee Shop & Budget Hotel @ Jalan Raja – One of the oldest and most iconic ‘kopitiam’ in Teluk Intan.

Fresh from a satisfying slumber at Grand Court Hotel, we forced ourselves to wake up to the bright sunshine peering through the gaps between the room’s violet curtains. The image of a beautiful morning was outside our windows; serenaded by sounds of chirping birds and the tranquil tone set by the Perak river flowing within a short distance away.

Day One was packed with street food adventures and small walks around town. Imagine a town square lined with layers of heritage shophouses (no doubt housing grandiose stories behind their existence since pre-colonial days) surrounding the landmark of Teluk Intan; Menara Condong aka The Leaning Tower.

And so, what did we do on our second day? Read the rest of this entry »

Teluk Intan – The third largest town in the state of Perak

Can you smell it? The year end holidays are just looming beyond the horizon. School holidays starting in 4 days, and next week we have not one but TWO public holidays within the same week. Talk about productivity boost.

Naturally, with about a month and a half of break (for the younger ones, that is), planning for one flawless year end trip for the entire family can be a pain.

Hotels charging premium rates for Super Peak season, last minute flights to international destinations costing almost twice (if not thrice!) as much, and human congestion at an all-time high in conventional tourist picks.

And then, there’s Motormouth’s Travel Ideas. I don’t deny that I too, enjoy traveling. It broadens one’s horizons (or horizontally, depending on how optimistic you are) and create a common platform to brag share travel stories and tips.

But aside from arranged itineraries and tediously crafted plans, why not consider road trips and impromptu escapades? Gather a group of gung-ho travelers/adventurers, drive or hop on a public transport (not really recommended unless you really, really know the routes around the smaller towns) and go crazy.

Like how we did in Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay). Don’t faint, but almost 40 photos ahead. Let’s go! Read the rest of this entry »

James Cendol @ Sitiawan – Shaving the ice the conventional way. She’s the wife of the owner, James who’s operating a branch on Old Klang Road in KL now.

It’s been ages. Felt almost like years since the last travelling stint sometime during the last quarter of 2010. This time around, I had a whirlwind of a few hours worth of fiasco down south; around Pantai Remis-Sitiawan-Seri Manjung.

The lapse of serious travelling throughout the last 10 months in KL got this old bones rusted to some considerable extent. Still remember vividly how we used to go north-south-east-west within weeks, and still survived the ordeal with lots of memories to be retained, work experiences to be shared, and burping good food stories that could last an eternity.

Ahh …. Those good old days. This noble quest of food hunting around Perak is being tasked upon the remnants of this now-defunct gluttons club; plus a few fresh bloods in the old office. I can only watch from afar …. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all things healthy and wise; Jeram’s Lui Cha Rice has a following everywhere, and I wonder if this small town near to Kampar in Perak was the first to ‘patent’ this creation gone viral …

This bowl of rice, usually vegetarian (just ask them to omit the dried shrimps and onions and you’re good to go) in nature, is a good example of a hate-it-or-love-it Hakka dish. Many used to lament about the extremely ‘green’ taste (a somewhat pungent, and slightly unpleasant fresh taste from the chlorophyll-laden greens, especially those blended into the accompanying soup), while others stay away from the protein-shy ensemble.

But to imagine munching on crunchy bits of roasted peanuts, sweet; almost caramelized onions, bits of soft beancurd strips, sometimes julienned omelette, and an eye-popping plethora of finely-chopped vegetables; paired with white rice (sometimes cooked with onions and garlic to perfume the rice) then paired with an awkwardly light green concoction resembling an ogre’s snot.

Okay, not that gross, but if you’ve ever bought the thick, undiluted lui cha soup from the Jeram morning market, you’ll notice why I was making such a comparison. Read on to find out more about this healthy dish; from the famous Jeram market ….. Read the rest of this entry »

A sudden two days one night excursion to that same hot springs park we ventured to back in 2008 had me feeling somewhat thankful; no matter how mundane the itinerary might get. After all, this might very well be the LAST outing with my current colleagues. After 3 whole years of tirelessly travelling on the roads, to the most ‘ulu’ (rural, outskirts) of places, eating at the most off-beat stalls and nameless eateries, putting up nights after nights in hotels, budget inns, training centres and even dodgy chalets.

With the size of a drumstick smaller than the size of a fork, is your interest piqued?

More on the surprisingly comfortable, pleasant and delightful stay at FELDA Residences Sungai Klah later. For now, let’s forgo the formalities, leave out the generics and clean your palate from the same old flavours.  Let’s do ‘exotic meats’ in Lawan Kuda of Gopeng ……

Read the rest of this entry »

Curry Wild Boar (RM12/USD3.90) – Cubes of chunky, gamey meat from the wild, paired with potatoes in a thick, robust curry paste. Typical Chinese style of dry curry dishes.

Talk about hectic. Pardon me, for Motormouth just returned from another short excursion to Kuala Lumpur, and suffering the wrath of heavy, torrential downpour somewhere along the expressway.

But as they say; ‘When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade?’ The saying somewhat rang true when the foodie instincts suddenly kicked in and off we went for an early dinner at Fu Man Restaurant in Tanjung Malim. Or so we thought, already contemplating on the prospects of licking our fingers from the delicious deep fried salted pork belly or even a serving of the almost extinct dish of stir-fried pig’s large intestines with pineapples.

Lo and behold, Fu Man was packed to the brim! A few tourist buses were parked haphazardly by the road, and we suspected something amiss when a few diners were standing around waiting impatiently although there were a few vacant tables here and there. The restaurant was booked by the tour agency, and this called an immediate alternative around town ….. Read the rest of this entry »