Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was originally published on the Malay Mail Online.

The glistening golden brown skin of the signature roast duck at SYW will tempt any duck-lover

Don’t be surprised if you are greeted by generally puzzled looks when you tell any Ipohan about discovering a fantastic outlet called SYW selling roast duck in the heart of the city.

But once you tell them the full name — Sun Yeong Wai — they will nod their heads in agreement. After all, it is one of the better known eating places in Ipoh… since 1976.

Almost four decades ago, the original proprietor of Sun Yeong Wai (now the torch has been passed on to the second generation) started selling his trademark roast duck from a restaurant along Jalan Yau Tet Shin.

The dining area is split into two floors; each decorated in a way to fit in the retro elements as well as modern ambience

Now the business has been handed down to his son Danny who has since expanded to three outlets in Ipoh; the first being a double shoplot in Taman Ipoh Jaya near Gunung Rapat, the second is in Bandar Baru Medan, Ipoh and the most recent addition is SYW situated on Jalan Mustapha al-Bakri, directly opposite the famous kaya puff shop named Sin Eng Heong. The first two outlets (both named Sun Yeong Wai) replicated more or less the same concept of a casual dining experience; most dishes are pre-cooked and displayed behind the glass counter, while you choose your preferred barbecued meats (duck, chicken, barbecued pork or char siew, roasted pork or siew yoke) as the highlight of the meal. Read the rest of this entry »

Story of Ipoh in A Cup – The first coffee shop in old town that has popularized Ipoh white coffee; Sin Yoon Loong is still a force to be reckoned with despite the waves of challengers coming from all directions

About 3 weeks back during the Merdeka long break, I had the privilege to play (food) tour guide to a bunch of out-of-town eager beavers in Ipoh. The instinct to hunt for food felt almost second nature; a trait that’s more or less expected of Motormouth after the years of chowing down every single type of cuisine possibly found in Ipoh. And let’s not talk about the undying, flaring passion to discover good food in peripheral towns.

Since that was a mixed bunch of gluttons; some with considerably more experience with some of Ipoh’s best street food; while others were lagging slightly behind, I had to put on my Tourist Cap and ventured to the more classic establishments (read: tourist’s haunt, local’s nightmare).

What better way to kick start the ‘makan’ tour than with a cup of original old town white coffee. And no, there’s no air-conditioning or WiFi access here. Read the rest of this entry »

 Hung Kee Wantan Mee takes pride in their springy egg noodles tossed in a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil and lard oil; topped with a stalks of ‘choy sum’ and scattered with chopped scallions.

OUG, or Oversea Union Garden in full, is an area populated with Chinese eateries and the place of birth for Steven’s Corner; one of the pioneers of the 24 hours Mamak stalls frenzy back in the late 90’s.

Aside from this solitary review of Yang Kee beef noodles that I did a couple of years ago, I haven’t been back to the vicinity for subsequent food excursions. Then, about 10 months ago, the famous Hung Kee Wantan Mee (original location – Jalan Loke Yew) opened up a second branch in the heart of OUG, along the relatively quieter row of shops on Jalan Hujan Rahmat 3, parallel to the morning market.

Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently yes. ONE hour from 2.30pm-3.30pm on their peak days (weekends/public holidays), and slightly extended operating hours if you’re lucky. I am not going to hide the fact that this was my FIRST time eating the legendary roast pork on the spot from this stall named Chee Kong Roast Pork; or better known as First Garden Roast Pork Stall.

If you remember somehow, a shave more than two years ago, I tasted their unforgettably crunchy, juicy and heavenly roast pork (“siew yuk” in Cantonese) at the Ipoh Hawkers’ Fest back in Dec 2009. The small slab of meat costed me more than RM10 but was memorable for the fact that … the crackling pieces of well-marinated, and perfectly roasted pork got me hooked.

And can you say … FINALLY? Read on for more information about this insanely famous stall. Read the rest of this entry »

Stir-Fried Caramelized Roasted Pork with Spring Onion and Garlic (RM15/USD5) – A sinful clash of savoury and sweet flavours

It’s always a blessing to be around fellow foodies. Or like-minded hungry souls from my hometown of Ipoh/Perak. Not too long ago, I got this elaborate e-mail from a reader on Chemor Village Restaurant in Chemor of Perak; a town situated about 30km away from Ipoh city, and roughly 15 minutes of drive from my place.

In his well-constructed piece, he was detailing about every dish so eloquently/passionately, I was immediately hooked on to his recommendation.

But of course, there was that awkward moment when I started to wonder if he owns a fair share in the business itself, but this suspicion was quickly dismissed after discovering that the article was picked from Ipoh Echo’s Dec 2010 edition.

And why was I feeling slightly disappointed after the meal? Read on …. 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 »

“Mun WHAT”? Okay, so there was this amazing place back in the 80’s-early 90’s in town (on Anderson road, facing the current Nam Kew restaurant) that used to serve delicious ‘dai chow’ dishes, various roasted meats, and a delectably irresistible creme caramel custard; much like how Thean Chun make theirs nowadays.

My dad used to work at the now-defunct French Hotel on Cockman Street (Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar) since I was a small kid, and the fond memories of eating wobbly and sweet egg custard at Mun Thin, or ice-cream at First Coffee House, or even the banana split at KFC (yeah, for your information, KFC used to serve ice-cream back in those days) would be forever etched in this gradually deteriorating mind.

“Bao Siew Yok” – Stir-fried Roast Pork with Leeks and Onions (RM18/USD6)

Now let’s get back into business. 🙂

Mun Thin was all but gone for more than a decade. The shop has been transformed into something else (forgot what, but should be a coffee shop with another name for some time) since then, and we have all but lost hope on reliving those sweet memories from the earlier years.

Until now. Yes, the same people that used to run Mun Thin is now at Ipoh Restaurant (how original?); right smack in town centre (on Hume Street/Jalan Masjid, also known as Coffin Street, albeit that’s an unpalatable moniker) …… Read the rest of this entry »