Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was originaly published in the print edition of The Malay Mail. You can read it HERE.

“Moo Ping” – grilled marinated pork or Thai pork satay (usually around 20 baht each) is one of the most popular street snacks in Bangkok. This was taken at a random stall near Victory Monument while we were waiting for our van transportation to Pattaya (read my Pattaya Food & Travel Guide)

Staying true to the spirit of travel and short getaways, I headed to Bangkok to experience a mixed bag of everything; from shopping to eating, brilliant sunshine all year round, pleasant smiles and warm hospitality, as well as enough entertainment for both the young and old.

The Thais take eating on the street very seriously; even in the middle of the busiest commercial district in the heart of the city, you will find dozens of pushcarts and food stands early in the morning along sidewalks, back alleys and even by the entrances of office buildings. The morning rush hour crowd comprising office workers, cab drivers, students and even housewives can be seen eagerly picking their breakfast choices here. Walking past these make-shift food stalls is an assault on the senses, albeit a pleasant one.

First of all, there is the smoky aroma of skewered marinated pork being barbecued on the customized grill at the back of a motorbike or boiling cauldrons of porridge or broth for the quintessential Thai rice noodle soup with bites of pork or chicken. Then there is the medley of colourful fruit shakes or freshly-squeezed juices (the bright orange tangerine or blood red pomegranate are my favourites), and dainty morsels of delicate and pretty desserts. Read the rest of this entry »

Pratunam Famous Chicken Rice Shop with all soldiers decked in pink T-shirt. Not many refers to the shop as “Go Ang”, a name I picked up from TripAdvisor. But more popular recalled as the chicken rice shop opposite of Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam, Bangkok

When the shopping gets a wee bit out of control, trust some sane minds in the group to lead the deviant souls back to the right path. And so, the hours spent at CentralWorld or Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam area must be intermittent with good food; not random snacks, ice-cream or fast food in the malls. After all, the Thai street foods lining up the perimeters of the malls deserve a mention. Surely some of you must remember THIS POST on salt-grilled fish in the evenings?

A challenge for most visitors is the lack of English language signboards; especially the famed street food champions hidden within nooks and crannies; and emblazoned across their signboards are Thai words that you can barely tell them apart.

Luckily, Go Ang Chicken Rice Restaurant across the road from Platinum Fashion Mall has two very distinctive features; the shocking pink shirts donned by the workers; and a heavy crowd during lunch hours.  Read the rest of this entry »

Bangkok Street Food – Don’t limit your imagination to Pad Thai or Tom Yum when in Thailand.  

Coming back refreshed, rejuvenated and recharged, the seven days of summer (yeah yeah .. it’s always summer here in this part of the world) have taught me quite a few of things in life.

That for one, there is still more than meets the eye when it comes to Thailand. On the surface, the country seems to be nothing more than a land of smiles, Tom Yum and shopping. Oh, and not forgetting bad traffic and the punchy red light districts.

But underneath the layers of obvious to the naked eye, therein lies a plethora of interesting elements; from food to culture, temples to arts and the people; the 7 days of summer just blazed through with barely a moment of boredom.

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The famous Nong & Jimmy’s grilled crabs (RM60/kg; the two crabs weighed 1.2kg = RM72)

Okay, now don’t dismiss the thought that Motormouth ain’t coming back with a slurry of posts, leading to the festive month of Chinese New Year. A scary notion knowing that it’s less than a month away and I have yet to plan for my homecoming this year. Imagine the horror when I can’t make it back in time for the Reunion dinner!

But I shall refrain from babbling about CNY this early in the morning. The past week has been nothing but chaotic (in a somewhat positive way; peppered with slight melodramatic moments here and there) and I’m glad that Monday will be a brand new start! Fingers crossed, fingers crossed …

No more craps? Fine. Here’s a crabby story for you to munch on; the place almost everyone (KL-ites at least) has been to …..Nong & Jimmy Thai Seafood BBQ. Read the rest of this entry »

Short of suffering the wrath of the KL-ites and city dwellers in confusion of whether Motormouth is still alive and kicking in KL, or scurried off back to his hometown with tail between his legs, let me assure you that I am still surviving here, thank you.

A little bit overwhelmed by the backlogs of reviews and travel articles that I should have finished ages ago, the sheer pressure of wrapping up 2012 on a high with everything cleared seems like a miracle now.

On this rainy Monday evening (what’s with the fickle weather nowadays? 20-12-2012?!), let me share a very brief overview of this Thai eatery tucked hidden within Happy Mansion in Section 17 that has been serving very traditional Thai fares for a while now.

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Updated 13th October 2012 – Thanks to each and everyone of you for participating. The contest is now closed. The 10 lucky winners picked by Motormouth, based on their ideas for improvement of this blog (and also speed of leaving the comment; for duplicated ideas) are:

1. Derek
2. cmkms
3. Jonath Lee
4. Kristen
5. Brigitte
6. Samuel
7. Intan
8. Liew
9. Wong Chee Haung
10. Josh Leong

*Please check your inbox for an e-mail from Motormouth. The instructions on how to collect your dining vouchers are listed in the e-mail. Once again, good job and I shall really take heed on the ideas contributed.

First of all, do accept my apologies for the delay in posting this contest up. Suddenly Motormouth was teleported to Penang for two days of work …  With that out of the way, let’s get on to the GOOD STUFF!!!!

Impiana Hotel Ipoh is giving away TEN (10) dining vouchers (each voucher for 2 pax) to TEN (10) lucky winners picked by Motormouth; valid for the Thai buffet dinner (worth RM46 – RM55 per person) at The Coffee House, Impiana Hotel Ipoh. The vouchers are valid daily from 9th October 2012 until 19th October 2012.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

1. Be a fan of Impiana Hotel Ipoh’s Facebook page by clicking HERE and remember to click on the LIKE button. By doing this, you will be updated on the contest’s progress and know whether you’re a winner or not.

2. Leave a comment at the end of this post, on All About Ipoh‘s page or Impiana Hotel Ipoh‘s page by suggesting ONE IDEA on how this blog can be improved further, moving forward to the 5th year since its inception. Remember, you don’t have to write in flawless English/Malay, or an essay (spare me the torment!). Key point is; be creative, constructive and different.

That’s it! Contest starts NOW and will end on Saturday, 13th October 2012 @ 8.00am Malaysian time; GMT+8hrs. Winners will be announced after that and details on how to collect the vouchers will be communicated through e-mail.

Go wear your RED-dest underwear, keep an entire truckload of four-leaf clovers, kneel/roll/plank/repent & pray hard, etc ….. ahem, I meant GOOD LUCK!!

*For more information about the Thai Food Extravaganza @ Impiana Hotel Ipoh, read my previous post.

And yeah, you read the title right. This ain’t no mere Thai buffet lunch or dinner. But this promotion runs in tandem with Impiana’s famous weekend high tea buffet. Hence, the Thai-High-Tea fusion! Imagine piping hot Tom Yum Goong, sweet Mango Glutinous Rice with Coconut Milk, the Coffee House’s signature ‘pisang goreng’ (banana fritters) and ‘cucur udang’ (prawn, scallions and onion fritters), and D-I-Y ‘ais kacang’ being featured in the same buffet spread!

The Thai Food Extravaganza runs for only 2 weeks at Impiana Hotel, Ipoh; from 5th until 19th October 2012. Featuring delicious Thai signatures like tom yam goong (Tom Yum Soup with Prawns), massaman nua (beef in massaman curry), gai phad prik tai dum (stir fried chicken in black pepper), gaeng kiew waan goong (prawns in green curry), pla mauk thod kra tiam (deep fried marinated squid with garlic), roasted lamb leg with thyme flavoured garden vegetables and pla saam rod (deep fried fish in 3 taste sauce).

Wanna know how YOU can win holiday vouchers from Impiana Chaweng Noi, Koh Samui? Read on.

Read the rest of this entry »