Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

The spread of delicious Korean dishes at Daorae; they should have ushered us to a bigger table earlier. They probably did not foresee the impending madness that ensued; food enough for 4-5 pax maybe?

Coincidentally, my first Daorae Korean BBQ experience was another ‘threesome’ at work. No, we did not participate in hot, sweaty and explicit physical exchanges (or union of bodies?). But one not-so-fat monkey and that cheeky gym rat carted this Motormouth off on an excursion to everywhere but the intended destination. Haha …. to imagine we were supposed to go for tea at FRIM in Kepong, only to change to Sumi-Ka for yakitori (ahem, and since they open from 6pm onwards, it does not make sense to camp and wait for half a day more?), and finally a brilliant contingency plan to shift to Mr Mak’s Fish Head Noodles at USJ.

But lo and behold, Kopitiam Que Up chose to be closed on a Saturday afternoon. How (in)convenient. And that after witnessing some reckless driver flying off the divider and crashing into the middle of the roundabout at Subang Jaya; causing the traffic to come to a standstill on most roads leading to and away from that spot.

And if you’ve been driving in Malaysia for long (Klang Valley especially), you can’t help but realize that our generic pastime/custom/tradition is to slow down whenever a mishap on the road happen, and either jot down the plate number, look and see whether you know the poor creatures, OR plain kay-poh-chee and look-look-see-see for the fun of it. Furthermore, punctuality has never been one of our forte to begin with.

Chew on some tongues and grilled raw garlic for that extra punch.

And so, after suffering the almost an hour’s ordeal of warping all around Subang Jaya without successfully feeding these 3 hollowed stomachs, we settled for Korean food at Daorae in Taipan USJ. Already in half-famine states, we rushed up the elevator (which was smelling like some sweat socks …. I did not coin this, the Monkey did!) and thanks-be-to-the-gastronomic-lord-from-above for Daorae’s operating in full swing that afternoon! Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit I was never a fan of dining in Chinese restaurants. Wait, let me rephrase that. I was never a fan of the higher-end restaurants usually utilized for wedding banquets and celebrations.

So far, I have written only about Mun Choong Restaurant when we had a gathering there last year, and a simple lunch at Tung Hoi (East Ocean) Restaurant in Chemor. Of course, there was the recent wedding dinner at Hee Lai Ton, but that’s a different story altogether. The other BIG names like Kok Thai, Sun Lee How Fook and Tai Thong (now changed to Royal China) were not reviewed because either the meal was not satisfactory or the occasion was another banquet whereby I felt funny snapping the food while everyone’s salivating uncontrollably (you know Chinese wedding dinners and punctuality NEVER go together!).

Fantastic, melt-in-mouth Char Siew (caramelized, barbecued pork) with crispy roasted suckling pig (RM30/USD9)

That is, until I read about Oversea Restaurant‘s (www) fantastic Char Siew and “Ham Yue Fah Lam Pou” (Claypot Braised Pork Belly with Salted Fish); a to-die-for dish if you’re a lover of anything pungent and savoury, and goes perfectly with copious portion of white rice to lap up the juices. No thanks to the many hungry foodies over at the Facebook page …..

Oversea Restaurant (also known as Haewaytian) has TWO outlets in Ipoh now, the spanking new branch over at Jalan Datoh near to Srimaju bus station in town, a short distance away from the famous See See Heng Hor Hee stall. Read on to find out what other dishes we ordered at the original Oversea Restaurant facing Excelsior Hotel …. Read the rest of this entry »

The Porky Face-off Separated Miles Apart – Nambawan @ Taman Sri Manja, Old Klang Road VS BellyGood @ Sunway Mentari, PJ

First day of work this week (cool huh?) and I had already stuffed myself crazy with the astonishing array of Yong Tau Foo (Yong Liew) over at Gunung Rapat’s Kedai Kopi Kwong Hong. Seriously, if you’ve never tried their thousand and one creations, you do not know what you’re missing! And the range of beverages there, from the ultra thick Umbra juice to a bowl of sinfully refreshing Cincau (grass jelly), I swear you’d be delighted from a brunch/lunch here. We went twice in two weeks, and we’re not even working around the vicinity.

By the way, we are working in Ipoh’s ultimate treasure trove of food; Ipoh’s Old Town. So excursions to eateries elsewhere in Ipoh is a very rare phenomenon, in case you’re wondering.

The 100% Home Made Pork Burger @ RM6.90/USD2. Top that, anyone?

But enough about my lunch. Burp. Let’s talk some other highly prized delights, not as universal (in Malaysia at least) and definitely something which can’t be found that easily here in Ipoh, shall we? I’m talking about PORKY GOODNESS. Yup, last week I was rambling on Klang’s Famous Bak Kut Teh and this week we divert westward (cuisine-wise) to seek for grilled pork belly and pork burgers.

Nambawan Restaurant & Cafe was brought to light after repeated doses of poisons (read : blog entries) from the food Gods over in the Klang Valley. Bellygood, on the other hand, is also known as the “Pork Lover’s Paradise” (as in their tagline), situated at Sunway Mentari, opposite of Sunway Pyramid. The charming little bistro was previously known as Wendy’s Bistro, for those who have not been visiting for quite some time.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are days when you crave for nothing but healthy and wholesome home-cooked food, after those guilt-ridden bouts of bingeing. No matter how tasteless, bland or unsavoury the dishes may appear on your table. Or you’re probably a little stressed out to cook in your own kitchen after 8 straight hours of torment in the office.

Eating out usually translates to greasy, robust and sinful fares, but of course ….. as in life, there is always an exception to the rules.

Piping hot steamed dishes in porcelain bowls and metal plates placed in the steamer for you to choose from. And more often than not, you’d be tempted to pick more than you can eat.

Dad has been raving about this place for some time now. Tucked hidden somewhere in Pasir Puteh area of Ipoh, the most prominent landmark had to be the Tow Boo Keong temple (aka Nine Emperors’ Temple on Jalan Tokong). Location details to come at the end of the post, predictably.

Read the rest of this entry »