Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

Yoon Kee @ Stall No 23 – This is also Ipoh’s most beloved superstar; Dato’ Michelle Yeoh’s favourite!

Perseverance pays off handsomely. That’s exactly what the elderly have always tried to instill in the raw, naive mind of a young one’s.

Medan Selera Stadium (a popular hawker food centre) in Ipoh is a stretch of food stalls that operate almost round the clock, numbering around 60 stalls if I’m not mistaken. But don’t get the wrong idea. The stalls open intermittently; some during daytime while the others open from evening until late night. Not sure if there is any stall that stays open until wee hours of the morning, but I don’t cast my doubt on this issue.

Come weekends, public holidays, or when there’s a football match at the stadium, you’ll bear witness to throngs of people swarming the stalls, hoping for some midnight snacks and a cup of “teh tarik”.

Yoon Kee’s Chicken Rice - Smooth, poached chicken (without the gory, bloody bits, thankfully!) with ‘oily’ rice and the compulsory pounded garlic/ginger with chili sauce.

Time and again, the purposed outings to Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh ended up in disappointment. Either the stalls were not opened on that particular day, or we ended up losing sight of what to eat and ended up somewhere else for dinner.

Things got a little easier during lunch hour, for we’re still fans of Sri Asoka Corner’s (Stall No 19) banana leaf curry rice (BLR), and Thillai Stall (Stall No 25) which is located a few cubicles away from Sri Asoka’s,  and also rather famous for their BLR. Plus, Thillai also serves deep-fried crispy bitter gourd !!!

So why was I so adamant on trying Yoon Kee’s Bean Sprouts Chicken, a 21 years old ‘lau zhi hau’ (old and trusted brand)? …… CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

I was brought up believing that Lou Wong and Onn Kee serve the best Bean Sprouts Chicken aka Tauge Ayam aka Nga Choy Kai in Ipoh. If you have doubts, just hop over to Jalan Yau Tet Shin area (they’re situated opposite of each other, somewhat at each other’s neck, if you will) come dinner-supper hours on weekends or public holidays, and I’m sure you’ll be eating your words faster than politicians making empty promises.

Don’t doubt the number of chickens hanging in front of the stall, in all their glistening glories. They poach the chickens on-the-spot once the chickens hanging on the hooks are sold off.

Then people started to argue and fought over the BEST Tauge Ayam (or Ayam Tauge, whichever suits your fancy) in Ipoh. For one knows that holding the crown means a lot, as this is unofficially Ipoh’s most famous food, bar none.

So where does Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau come into the picture?

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When the night falls in Ipoh, and the werewolves/vampires/zombies come out to play (Wait … deja vu, anyone? Now that everyone on FB is Farmville-ing, probably most would have forgotten how we used to ‘bite’ each other on a daily basis, to gain experience points), that’s when the hunger pangs strike the most.

And worse still, most restaurants/coffee shops would be closed by then. Especially in the older parts of town.

Question is, do you :

a) Hide yer fangs and go home to sleep, with a growling tummy?

b) Get nasty and wallop anything in sight (not to say you’re digesting garbage, I mean those 24 hours mamak stalls, the kopitiams, or even cup noodles at 24 hrs convenience store?)? OR ….

c) Trust your friend who is an Ipoh native (aka sakai like yours truly here), and go all the way out to hunt for GOOD Ipoh Street Food in the middle of the night?

When most geriatrics would be dozing off in beds … uncle would be busy cooking up bowls after bowls of Ipoh Hor Hee Fun …

If your answer happened to be option C, then do read on ……

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Restoran Lou Wong Tauge Ayam Kuetiau has to be the MOST famous of all Ipoh’s restaurants, bar none. Ask any outsiders, foreigners, or even the locals themselves on where to have dinner (or supper, commonly) if you’re down in Ipoh for one night only, the chances are most would mutter the name; Lou Wong Nga Choy Kai (“Nga Choy Kai” means Tauge Ayam, or Bean Sprouts Chicken).

Even when most locals do not frequent the highly-sought after, yet slightly over-rated premise any longer. You can find out more about other Nga Choy Kai outlets in Ipoh by clicking the following link : Tauge Ayam in Ipoh.

Come early or come late, and you’re bound to get yourself worked up, frustrated, or even astonished at the sheer amount of human traffic going for their Ipoh famous bean sprouts chicken fix. Come rain or shine, night or day. For your information, Lou Wong opens for lunch and dinner now, until the late hours of the night (or should I say wee hours of the morning?).

If you’re there on a weekend, or public holidays, be prepared to stand around (much like Foh San, but only not as sightly, for you’re practically forced to stand by the roadside for this one).

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This shop has TWO entrances on both ends; The front and back portion of the shop can seat the customers. Loads of them during dinner hours. Be prepared for the wait.

The patient, gentle and careful uncle. Just don’t expect your food to be served in a blink of an eye! And the smooth, incomparable Hor Fun. CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »