Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

Char Siew Wanton Noodle – Beautiful combination of springy egg noodles (very thin strands, if you noticed) tossed in a medley of savoury sauces, caramelized barbecued pork with ample proportion of fats, pork dumplings (wanton) in soup and an acerbic crunch from the pickled green chillies.

Okay, here’s another noodle story. One that deserves a mention, nevertheless. Not quite in the league of the legendary Da Pu noodles of Pudu yet, but the 6-7 years in business should be honoured with a pat on the shoulder.

For about 3 years, Chan Meng Kee was operating in Section 17, before moving to SS2 about few years ago. This noodle house took over from another famous brand; Ho Weng Kee (read this post from KY Speaks written in 2008), which also had a strong following back then.

A pity some had lamented, since Ho Weng Kee’s famous for their beef brisket noodles that’s supposedly “flavourful, fork-tender and moist after long hours of cooking in slow fire”.

Did Chan Meng Kee live up to the hype generated by its predecessor? Read the rest of this entry »

A mouth-watering portion of caramelized ‘Char Siew’ and roast pork seated atop the pile of fragrant oil rice @ Hong Seng in Section 17, PJ. “Mum, I found a good one!!“

There was a time when I had very high hopes for Satellite Chicken Rice; voted as the BEST chicken rice in Klang Valley according to a poll. But my dream was shattered; hope crumbled like a piece of worthless paper. Aside from the traditional set up; set against the neighbouring juggernaut of a New Ipoh Restaurant Chicken Rice outlet, Satellite did not manage to wow me.

And my esteemed impression of chicken rice in KL/PJ was reduced to dust.

Then, like how a fallen warrior rises up to his feet, Hong Seng came knocking with a plea to reinstate my faith in chicken rice in Klang Valley. So I was brought here for lunch one fine afternoon by a good Samaritan; promising an experience worthy of an accolade in this Motormouth’s good books.

Okay ….. we shall see. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Epitome of a Perfect Family Feast – It does not matter whether you’re a child of 3.5 years old, an adult deep in the tribulations of life, the parents with hopes beaming and on the brink of retirement, or a great grandmother satiated and enriched with almost 9 decades of life experiences. This annual “Lou Sang” tradition never gets old.

Last year’s reunion dinner was half a disaster. Since we should be forgiving and forgetting the past mistakes, hiccups and trivial issues, let’s not look back.

In fact, we have been dining out every year without fail, since cooking at home has become too much of a hassle. Plus, the surge in prices of fresh ingredients from the market during the days leading to the festivity. Over the years, we have dined at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken, in case you’re curious as to why there is a Chinese restaurant named as such), Secret Recipe, Kenny Roger’s, Pizza Hut, Kok Thai, Han City, Mun Choong, East Ocean, etc etc.

But none of those managed to impress us as much as this year’s pick; the perennial favourite of many, a down to earth eatery named Tuck Kee Restaurant in Pasir Pinji of Ipoh. Read on to discover why …… Read the rest of this entry »

Hainanese Roast Chicken Rice (RM5/USD1.60 per portion)

Finally something Halal from Ipoh for a change? Yes I know, I’ve not been an ardent hunter for Halal cuisine in Ipoh for more reasons than one. Firstly, there are only a mere handful of Malay restaurants (read : restaurants; a proper eatery with air-conditioning unit and proper menu) in Ipoh; and I think I might have tried the most premium of all; Laksamana Cheng Ho. And that was not good.

Wait, we went TWICE. And both visits were … blah …..let’s drop that. Hence you never read about the restaurant even after almost 3 years in existence; this Motormouth from Ipoh.

Crunchy bean sprouts blanched to the right degree/texture; lightly seasoned with pepper and dash of soy sauce, then garnished with chopped scallion and red chillies. (about RM4/USD1.30, if I’m not mistaken)

And since Ipoh’s synonymous with “Nga Choy Kai” or Ayam Tauge, also commonly named as Bean Sprouts Chicken (if you’re confused, read through this list of all the ‘Nga Choy Kai’ outlets I have bulldozed my way through ….), it’s only fair that the Muslim counterparts get to taste what this hoo-hah was all about.

Usually the halal version of chicken rice equals margarine cooked yellow (to a scary extent) rice, served with almost dehydrated roasted chicken and a sweet chili sauce, or sweet soy sauce (kicap manis). That, my friend …. is far from the original Hainan chicken rice we’re talking about.

So let’s see what Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice; this chain (two branches now) outlet with a cleaner and presentable facade offers to the Malay community in Ipoh ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Just like stepping into a time warp. Transported back into the late 70′s?

Had enough of Indulgence? Okay, here’s a short post on Hainan Chicken Rice in Ipoh. As awkward as this may sound, I believe this is my FIRST post on chicken rice in Ipoh. This, albeit the fact that Ipoh’s famous for “Nga Choy Kai” (Bean Sprouts Chicken), and there are actually more than a handful of good and popular chicken rice outlets in Ipoh.

On one hand we have the famous Rasa Sayang and Pak Gong on Jalan Theatre in town, next to the famous Eastern Wine. Then a short hop and skip away, you will find the double shoplots named Hainan Chicken Rice near to the perennial starlet of a stall serving Buntong beef noodles named Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Sri Maju.

So how come I have never heard of Hin Loong Hainan Chicken Rice, until DT mentioned about this place over at the All About Ipoh page? Read the rest of this entry »

I have heard and read much about this roast duck stall in Canning Garden of Ipoh, so much so that I got a little confused over this stall, and the (almost) similar restaurant serving (almost) the same fares named Hong Kong Oil Chicken & Roast Duck Restaurant in Tasek of Ipoh.

Yeah, and this stall in Canning Garden is parked within a restaurant named Hong Kong as well. Uncanny resemblance?

Hong Kong Restaurant @ Canning Garden, Ipoh - The same mosaic-tiled floor, mirrors and paintings on the walls, and a relaxing airy ambience with all windows and doors opened to the maximum.

And so, reading Alexandra’s article AGAIN two Saturdays ago got me all worked up for a visit to this stall soon. Plus I received an encouraging e-mail from a reader named Steve sometime back in May, pushing  me on to give this particular crispy roast duck (“chui pei ngap”) a try.

Crispy Skin Roast Duck – Half a portion for RM19/USD5.80, the glistening and crackly skin stayed crispy throughout the meal, and the juicy, tender meat was devoid of any gamey taste.

And from the looks of it, the roast duck at Hong Kong Restaurant in Canning Garden sure deserves a chance to be amongst the stars in the top tiers of “Famous Roast Ducks in Ipoh” ………. Read the rest of this entry »