Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Ching Han Guan’s one-and-only Teochew Walnut Mooncake; a much healthier option with considerably less sweet

In the blink of an eye, the long Raya-Merdeka break has come to an end. Can’t deny that I am still suffering the post-holiday blues, though mine has ended prematurely last Friday when I managed to drag this carcass of a soulless body to work.

But hey, not all’s gloomy though. We still have Malaysia Day on the 16th this month (a most alluring 3 days weekend again, though I’ll be ‘working’ on that Friday ….), and Deepavali’s right around the corner.

Okay, so it’s more than a month’s away, but still …. there’s hope in wishful thinking ya?

If you have visited the malls lately, there has been an increase in festive decorations; a multitude of confused elements combining Hari Raya, Merdeka and Mid-Autumn Festival all into one.

If you have read last year’s post on the same theme, you would have noticed that I favour the more traditional mooncakes (by that, I don’t mean even the perfectly shaped, glossy lotus paste with salted egg yolk) than the modernized version with funky flavours like durian, cheese and chocolate.

And where else but this 62 year-old establishment named Ching Han Guan; for the best of traditional mooncakes? Read the rest of this entry »

And I was scratching my head in vain. Not trying to relieve the itch but with a confused stand on should I categorize this post into Perak Food, or Penang Food. Or is there a category in between?

Technically, Swee Garden Restaurant is in Nibong Tebal, a town on the mainland of Penang that shares the border with Parit Buntar; a town to the north west of Perak. And from Parit Buntar we travelled a short distance of about 15 minutes before crossing the border and reaching the township of Nibong Tebal.

Their famous crispy pork knuckle; a fusion of German-Chinese cuisine served with no particular sauce but pickled shallots and slices of cucumber and tomatoes.

And Molinja* (not her real name, of course) kept on raving about this deliciously sinful and gelatinous rendition of a pork knuckle, back when we were having the Sitiawan’s red wine pork knuckle at Lido Restaurant. Being the lover of anything porky, I set my mind to it and ended up at Parit Buntar for work with LZP and hopped over the border (sounds like a major sacrifice, right?) for some delicious ‘chu char’ dishes.

Did not expect the place to be swarmed by the lunch crowd way before 1pm, and they are also famous for their ambra juice.

No wonder Molinja herself suggested for us to arrive earlier for lunch. 12.30pm is far from early, even on a weekday. Ended up we waited for some time before being seated, and a good 30 minutes or so before being served. So was the wait worthy and the hype justified?

Read the rest of this entry »

Gorgeously Golden; the buttery and fragrant Cempedak Cake from Hoong Tho in old town of Ipoh

If you’re an avid fan of Secret Recipe’s, JJ Cakes or Gold Vision, then you’re probably cursing under your breath now, or soon to be loading your ammunition and warming up your artillery in anticipation of bumping into Motormouth on the streets.

For what you’re about to read in this post won’t fit exactly into the mould, YOUR mould to be exact. We have a possible candidate for the one and only “Cempedak Cake” in Ipoh, a sweet Teochew biscuit named “Lar Pia” (or literally translated into WAX biscuit!) and a fluffy kaya puff that has already reached legendary status amongst the locals and tourists to Ipoh. Read on to find out …. Read the rest of this entry »