Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel

“Hairy Crabs we ain’t, but can you resist even the most flesh-less of us; when you’re eating from a buffet spread of BBQ and steamboat delights?”(K-Kai Corner @ Jalan Lahat, Ipoh)

And before I got thrown Molotov cocktails (or grenades, but erm, I can catch one?), let me explain the tardiness that resulted in this post being written WAY past the initial deadline.

Or lack thereof. Just like how good food bloggers (ahem, me excluded, so once again, don’t throw fireballs) should be organizing their pictures into folders; neatly arranged into archives in a chronological manner, I faltered miserably in this aspect.

Instead, this whole barrage of farewell shots were grouped into a separate folder; almost like neglected orphans screaming for attention but yet did not succeed in capturing this paternal half’s undivided attention. For months now. And to imagine this farewell-cum-celebration was actually organized in conjunction with our ‘departures’ from the service.

To be able to finally see the Light at the end of the Tunnel, perhaps?

“TallGal’s fuming finger of fury unleashed after 4 years of being chained without the freedom she deserves ……”

Let’s just keep reading the rest of this senseless entry. It’s an erratic Saturday for me, so bear with the insanity ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Kao Lee Dim Sum Restaurant in Ipoh Garden has stood the test of time, serving delectable morsels of dim sum for breakfast-brunch for a good many years now. Other than dim sum, Kao Lee was also serving steamboat and various noodles/rice & dishes for lunch and dinner. Noticed the past tense? That’s because currently they’re not opening for dinner, but will resume operations come dinner hours in the near future.

#1 – In comparison to Hong Kee in Pandan Indah (and everywhere else in Klang Valley), Kao Lee’s pan-fried glutinous rice scores better in terms of taste, and not as greasy.

#2 – Comfortable, spacious, and none of those ruckus ala Foh San, or Ming Court. Okay, maybe sometimes.

Read the rest of this entry »

#1 – The Relentless Traffic Jams – 5 lanes vs 1 lane?

Spacious, with chandeliers and various lamps for sale, hanging as both decor, and light source

The sesame sauce was a killer. Slightly nutty, sour and sweet, it went perfectly with the meat

Sliced Beef Set (RM19.90)

With the usual accompaniments of vegetables, beancurd, an M-sized Prawn, etc.

Kinda reminded me of shabu-shabu ….

Roasted Duck Rice set with a drink (RM6.90)

If you’re not a fan of steamboat, no worries. They offer a rather expansive menu of items commonly found in Char Chan Teng, namely rice and noodle dishes, and more.

With a name like Uncle Duck, surely you’ll be expecting a lot from their duck dishes, no? The Roasted Duck Rice set came with a Ribena drink, but the portion was too limiting to judge. But I’ve had better ones, and the roasted duck here ain’t as crispy as I’d preferred.

Location : UNCLE DUCK (HK) STEAMBOAT RESTAURANT @ 03-107, Third Floor,Berjaya Times Square,No. 1, Jalan Imbi,55100 Kuala Lumpur.Tel : 03-21448998

Sushi King-cum-MP Steamboat?

Heavy publicity surrounding the recently opened SKY Corner at Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh ignited the interests of many (judging from the crowd yesterday evening), and sparked some hopes, as it was clearly stated in the flyers and a HUGE signboard opposite of Jusco, the ZERO price promotion (a brush off Air Asia’s fame, perhaps?). What I had was a vague idea on the cuisine they serve, which was supposed to be Japanese and Chinese style steamboat, and teppanyaki (Japanese hot plate) soon to be added into the menu.

Choose to dine by the kaiten belt indoors, OR outdoors ~ al fresco style

Arriving at around 7pm on a Saturday, the place was rather crowded. As there were only two of us, we chose to sit on the outside, the weather being cooling after the heavy rain. But the staff ushering the patrons persuaded us to sit INSIDE instead, as the place is air-conditioned. OK, fine. Only to discover that each long table can accomodate up to 6 customers or more, with 3 hollow indents in the middle, obviously to fit 3 hot pots for steamboat.

One glance at the conveyor belt revealed their main attraction – The steamboat meal. Exactly how MP Steamboat (a popular branch of steamboat restaurants in Ipoh) serves them, on a kaiten belt, so you can choose your own ingredients from the comfort of your seats. But unlike MP where you can pick what you want and pay for only those, at SKY Corner, the theme is BUFFET-style steamboat, meaning eat-all-you-can. And we were startled at the price per person, a whopping RM29.80+ per pax !!!!!!!!!

You see, paying that much amount of money can net you large prawns or crabs in a seafood restaurants, or even in other steamboat outlets in Ipoh, you can stuff yourself silly for around RM20/pax only. Though at Sky Corner, you can choose from their erm, “extensive” range of sushi, and temaki, (14 types of sushi, and 10 types of rolls, more on that later) prepared fresh on the spot. Gee, how exciting.

I managed to survey the items on the conveyor belt thoroughly, and the choices was nothing to shout about. Though listed in the menu were 62 items, but the only noteworthy ones on the belt being slices of beef/fish/chicken, ‘abalone’ slices, tiny crabs, and small prawns. And the usual balls, vegetables, mushrooms, and yong tau foo.

The freshly, AND took-forever-to-prepare sushi

So we did the next best thing, and asked for ala carte dishes, in hopes of bento sets, teppanyaki, or even a simple plate of fried rice. Tough luck, we had. It seems they opened in such a rush, that the ONLY meal they serve for the time being is the buffet steamboat, and sushi/temaki at a promo price of RM3.50 per plate. Though deep in our hearts, we wanted to leave the place, but we soldiered on and ordered some sushi instead. And twiddled out thumbs. And then more twiddling ….

Until another waitress had the audacity to “usher” us (or rather, “halau” us) from our seats, stating that if we’re not having the buffet steamboat, and there were only two of us, we MUST sit outside at the smaller tables instead. This, after all the commotion and trouble they went to arrange our cutleries and plates to accomodate our sushi orders. Reasons given? Oh, the staff who took our orders was a “NEW” staff, and she did not know about this hidden rule. Yeah right, the place was opened for less than a week or two, tell me who’s the “OLD” staff then?

Still, as she was being apologetic, we concurred and moved as ordered, with tails between our legs. And then the wait for the sushi became relentless. Time was crawling by, and when I queried about the long wait, the waitress mentioned that there were only TWO chef manning the sushi counter, thus the wait may be longer. OK, fine. But one glance at the workers, all decked up in uniforms resembling Air Asia’s colours, and you’d be forgiven if you wanna smack a staff or two. There were around 20 staff handling the place, and only TWO handling the sushi counter? The others were practically standing around, ushering people, rushing to customers once they arrived in hopes of attracting more and more …

As for the food, forgettable. Though I admit the sushi and temaki were of better quality than Sushi King’s (then again, since when Sushi King serves GOOD sushi?) One major gripe was the soy sauce provided was not of the Japanese shoyu variety, but the local one meant for steamboat. This rendered the dipping sauce saltier than desired, and the wasabi was SHOCKINGLY TASTELESS !!! I scooped a spoonful into my mouth, and yet my eyes did not water. Huh? I like mine hot, please!

Total damage for two = RM25, drinks are free-flow, and FOC, fortunately. But the overall experience was more damaging to the souls, rather than the palate. Still that virginal visit provided us with much laughter and a lesson to be learnt – Do Not Believe The Hype Blindly. And the management of Sky Corner should buck up in terms of customer service. You are charging 5% Service Charge, after all.

Location : Sky Corner @ 46, Jalan Medan Ipoh 5, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh, 31400 Ipoh. Tel : 05-5452623.

There is in fact, never an occasion too suitable for a steamboat meal, unless on a cold, rainy evening, and the icing on the cake? My parents’ 29th wedding anniversary.

Various dipping sauces

The buffet concept is simple, but slightly different. Being the lazybums we Malaysians have ‘evolved’ into, they do not even have a buffet spread. Just write on pieces of paper provided on every table, indicating which plates of goodies you wish to stuff your face with, and pass them to the nearest waiting staff. It’s All-You-Can-Eat, but bear in mind do not waste, as RM10 will be charged for every 100g of food left untouched, or hidden under the bowl, between the table, squashed under the plates, ta-pau in handbags, etc. You get the picture.

The choices are a lot. The 4 of us only managed to try almost half of the menu. The food in the menu, I mean. (We do not chew on glossy laminated papers)

The drinks are served by none other than … yourselves. Or your maid, if you bring one. These trolleys are aplenty. 8 choices were available tonight; lime, fruit punch, orange, chinese tea, iced lemon tea, plain water, wintermelon & ???.

Plates of seafood galore, and random yongtaufoo stuff

Golden Mushroom and Abalone Mushroom

5 different variety of mushrooms are available, being Golden (Kam Cham Ku), Abalone, Drumstick (whatever that is), Black Mushroom and Button.

Special fried rice, with Fried Chicken Wing – Forgettable ……

Herbal Chicken Soup & Tom Yum Soup

8 types of soup base are available, whereby you can choose 2 at any one time. Choices being :

Though tempted to choose the Spices Soup (Ma Lat) for fiery kick to appease the chilli lustful beast in me, Mum had better ideas of her own. I am nursing a long standing cough anyway. So, back to boring Tom Yum and their recommended Herbal Chicken. The Tom Yum sucked, big time. Tasted completely like the type you get from boiling tom yum stock in cubes form. Herbal chicken fared better, but not by a far margin.

Lamb Cutlets, Fish Fillet, Fried Wantan, Fried Chicken Wings

Only the lamb and the fish were praiseworthy. The lamb was surprisingly good, succulent, not too dry, though lacked seasoning and marinade. The fish fillet is generic, but remained as a passable snack.

Momo Roast Chicken

Their signature chicken dish, which was also served on their opening day (yup, I was there. No, not to ‘Chi Yum Chi Sik’ but was invited as one of the partners is related to my brother). The chicken was OK, roasted well, and still remained moist under such harsh conditions (first roasted, then left to chill in the air-conditioned area)

Minced Chicken Meat + Egg – Strange dish, but the chicken meat was marinated with pepper and 5 spice herbs (I assume), and tasted pretty good after cooked in the broth.

Fried Spring Rolls – Don’t bother.

Cheese Toast – Generic toast, done in sandwich toast-maker. Cheese-less.

Chicken Spaghetti - Surprisingly good, albeit slightly salty. Mum’s not fond of pasta, but threw positive comments.

Mango Pudding, Mixed Fruits – Hmmm, judge yourself.

Where’s the Lurve?

More misses than hits, is there anymore excuses needed to explain the above phenomenon? Sigh … Though heard that on weekends, the place is rather packed. Poor Ipoh souls, left with minimal choices for good steamboat in Ipoh. As we were leaving, I turned around and snapped a pic of their front door :

Don’t look back in anger ….

Rough translation : Steamboat King. Yeah, right ….. At least RM60 vouchers were spent, with the remaining balance paid in cash. Total for 4, RM82. Btw, the fish maws were not fresh, and had a revolting overnight oil taste. *_*

Location : 17, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, 30000 Ipoh. Right opposite St.Michael’s school, facing Padan Ipoh. Same row with Old Town Kopitiam, and Mixed Cuisine.

They serve Western set lunches at affordable price. Same management with Filling Station in Greentown Business Centre. Halal outlet, if I’m not mistaken. Word of advice : Opt for the set lunch instead.