Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was first published in The Malay Mail. Read it HERE.

Loke Wooi Kee serves one of the oldest and most popular versions of Hor Hee in Ipoh

Nestled within the centre of what has increasingly been acknowledged as the tourist hub of the city where you can literally walk to famous food outlets like Lou Wong Bean Sprouts Chicken, Sin Eng Heong kaya puffs, Aun Kheng Lim salted chicken and Funny Mountain Soya Bean, is this decades-old coffee shop named Loke Wooi Kee (LWK).

The name might sound unfamiliar to those not born and bred in Ipoh; the looks of the unassuming corner lot may not seem appealing at first glance, but this establishment has definitely stood the test of time and outshines so many other newer kopitiams or food courts that came up in recent years.

I still remember how our family used to visit LWK back in the early 90s for the Hor Hee stall. I was brought up tasting my first bowl of the comfort food at this shop, before gradually learning about the existence of other outlets serving the same, e.g: See See Heng at Embassy Restaurant and Hotel along Chamberlain Road, Li Heng Fatt in Old Town etc.

What’s a bowl of Hor Hee you ask? Read the rest of this entry »

Possibly one of the few places that serve the rojak dipping sauce separately from the ensemble of cut fresh fruits; Jelapang Rojak Stall could be one of Ipoh’s best kept secret.

Are you back for Qing Ming Festival? The filial ones would be paying their annual tribute to the departed loved ones/ancestors; visiting and cleaning up burial grounds despite the relentless scorching weather and gathering with family members back in their hometowns.

What happens after the prayers and tribute? If you’re back in Ipoh, then you should really be eating. Already bored of the usual tourist haunts and seeking to avoid the crowd? Let me share with you a rojak (rojak is a typical Malaysian style of fruit salad served with crackers and a black sauce concocted from shrimp paste, sugar and crushed peanuts) stall nestled deep within the neighbourhood of Jelapang that has been the talk of town for decades now.

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You see, in spite of the many sterling (peppered with some misses here and there) reviews of hawker food in Ipoh, I have rarely sung praises for quintessentially-Penang street fares; like Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee (we call this Prawn Mee in Ipoh though) and Asam Laksa.

Yes, there were the occasional surprises that managed to make me sat up and took notice. And a few photographs complemented by positive reviews.

Yet, none of the CKT (char koay teow for short), asam laksa or Hokkien mee stalls in Ipoh come close to the real deal up north. I guess the same could be said about Ipoh chicken rice and old town white coffee wannabes elsewhere.

And then I read about Spices of Penang in Ipoh. Probably the first restaurant in Ipoh that stood up to the challenge and proudly proclaiming authenticity and representing the original taste of Penang.

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How refreshing and ingenious combination! If this is easily available within walking distance from the office, I bet you they will do some SERIOUS business in PJ!

Always a pleasure to be back home in Ipoh where this blog was born and thrived for years before reaching out to the thousands of food lovers out there. The imminent move to KL since late 2010 thankfully did not hamper my effort to a detrimental extent; still barely catching up with sporadic write-ups featuring hidden gems from nooks and corners of good old Ipoh.

Mydin Mall opened for business in Jelapang not too long ago; a humongous hypermarket that can easily rival the Tesco’s and Giant’s in Ipoh. A second one in Manjoi followed suit within weeks, apparently. AEON Kinta City and AEON Station 18 are both still very much in business and with barely a hiccup in terms of traffic from shoppers, while newer hotels like Tune Hotel, Kinta Riverfront and Seemsoon Hotel opened their doors to travellers within months of each other!

And how shall we start this series of food stories? Let’s kick off with a Cendol stall offering drive-thru service! Read the rest of this entry »

“What can you do when the blistering hot weather’s out against you?”

1. Try a bowl of refreshing Malaysian dessert; Ais Kacang (ABC, or Ais Batu Campur), laced with red syrup and evaporated milk, then topped with kidney beans, crunchy peanuts, sweet corn, cendol, grass jelly and ‘sek lau zhi‘

2. Or this bowl of wobbly yellow jelly dessert worthy of shedding a tear or two for. Seriously.

Read on and find out why was I jumping (literally!) at the immediate opportunity of visiting this new shop early this morning; albeit knowing so little about their business hours, or whether they’re even opened for breakfast ….. Read the rest of this entry »

“Ngap Kiok Pau” (Duck Feet Wrap) – An aged uncle comes equipped with sharp retaliation and witty remarks; plus those menacing eye brows are enough to send shivers down one’s spine. And what has he got up his sleeve; that has withstood almost a century (!) of legacy?

You must have noticed the discouragingly apparent hiatus between posts. Yup, folks …. I am back to work, after being ridiculously pampered with repeated long weekends and the festive season weighing down on this already crazed mind. I mean, what can a glutton do in Ipoh, aside from eating and subsequently sleeping the sluggishness off? 🙂

Before I proceed with elaborately tedious grandfather stories (ad nauseam), allow me to draft this very mindless indulgence of mine; one jaunty street food post for the weekend. Read on, please.

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Our pride and joy? Menara Condong (Leaning Tower) of Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay) in Perak

After the lunch at Kam Ling Restaurant in Kampar, we proceeded to Teluk Intan in a most leisurely fashion. Usually rushing for time (due to the nature of our job) owing to the hectic/chaotic daily routines, this time around the journey to Teluk Intan was smooth as silk. Travelling on a Saturday afternoon has its pros, due to the lack of traffic congestion and lorries plying the trunk roads.

The calm before the storm – Liew Kee’s unbelievably famous Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun ONLY operates at night.

Thankfully the weather was not too bad that afternoon; None of the dreadful sweltering heat & scorching sun, yet without a drop of rain. Well, until much later in the evening anyway. This almost-impromptu trip rendered us somewhat incapacitated from meticulous planning and proper time management. Hence, we squeezed in every possible opportunity to eat all of most of Teluk Intan’s signature street food, ranging from the famous Ah Chai Rojak to drinking fresh soy bean milk from a stall that has been operating since the 50’s, and not forgetting taking away a few packets of Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun back home for dinner-supper.

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