Motormouth From Ipoh – A Malaysian Food Blog

The traditional no-frills Char Kuey Teow (also better known as simply Chau Fun in Ipoh) with loads of wriggly bean sprouts, gorgeously-golden eggs, and plump prawns seated atop.

So here’s a post that is exactly one year overdue. More than a year actually, for I read Jason‘s account of the same breakfast; which was posted in July of 2009! That was even before I got infected with this dotcom mania. Imagine the might of procrastination.

Anyway, Menglembu is one of the main township in Ipoh of Perak, that is also widely-acknowledged as the birthplace of crunchy, tasty groundnuts with shells intact, but yet with a roasted, smoky flavour. The term “Menglembu groundnuts” it seems, originated from the fact that a local resident named Mr Lee discovered this technique of processing the groundnuts way back in the 1940′s, and the name has been used since to describe this particular method of production; not necessarily indicating that Menglembu has a groundnut plantation or even houses the production companies. Here’s a brief history from PAGODA brand and the particularly interesting method of producing the tasty snacks.

Two most prominent brands of Menglembu groundnuts are Pagoda and Ngan Yin, also known as “Kacang Cap Tangan” with the signature thumb’s up logo.

Read on to find out more about our breakfast at the morning market, and the famous (for a variety of reasons) Wantan Mee at the “Wai Sek Kai” (Glutton Street) at night ….. CONTINUE READING THE REST OF THIS ENTRY »

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 »

DIN TAI FUNG RESTAURANT @ THE GARDENS

Skilfully folded, artfully crafted into an exquisite morsel of soupy delight – 18 delicate folds on the skin that can sustain the tension of a pair of chopsticks, before being rested on the porcelain spoon.

Din Tai Fung, Dragon-i and Canton-i are three household names when it comes to Chinese restaurants in Malaysia. A newer generation of chain restaurants with prominent branding, the younger crowd may not even recognize the Tai Thongs, Esquire Kitchens, and Hee Lai Tons from the days of yore.

Not to mention Sek Yuen, Hong Ngek or Yut Kee. Puzzled? You should be. Unless you’re from the Jurassic age like me.

Clockwise from top left : A cold appetizer of various finely-julienned ingredients, Perforated hole on the XLB (Xiao Long Bao) so one can sip on the warm, delicious broth from within, The dessert named “Or Nee” or steamed yam paste, and Fish Dumplings in trios; part of the RM19.80 Value Set.

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Wantan Mee is one of the most famous Chinese hawker food, and especially popular in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In some places, wantan mee is also known as ‘Tok Tok Mee‘, a fancy moniker given in reference to the knocking sounds of bamboo sticks made by the peddlers from the olden days, to attract the crowd.

For the best Char Siew, choose the corner cuts of the belly; For that smoky, aromatic and crunchy texture all rolled into one singular, orgasmic piece.

I first read about Char Siew Zhai Wantan Mee from several food posts circulating on the net. The name no doubt, sounds intriguing, whereby “Char Siew” refers to the charcoal-roasted marinated pork, while the “Zhai” part is an endearing call for “Son”, in Chinese.

When you put them together, it’s as though Char Siew Zhai refers to the “Barbecued Pork Son” …. Sure gives a whole new meaning to the Chinese phrase : “Better give birth to a piece of Char Siew than you !!!” (A laden-with-sarcasm scolding usually given to an unfilial child by a parent).

Crunchy Sui Kow (dumplings in soup) filled with lots of wood ear fungus, chopped carrots, minced pork and chives

So what makes this place particularly stand out amongst the rest? For sure you’ve read about Petaling Street’s legendary Koon Kee wantan mee, the Sungai Besi famous one, the bamboo noodles at Nippy’s, or even Char Siew from the rivalling FSF and SFS. (Go figure …..)

Read on to find out how they literally TOSS their noodles around !!!

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This was first posted sometime back in 2008, yet still I find myself periodically going back for the same yummy yam rice in Taman Chi Liung in Klang. A corner coffee shop by the name of Restoran Tien Chuan, this outlet has been serving their patented brand of yam rice for more than 20 years.

Of course, one may argue that to travel all the way down to Klang, and NOT having Bak Kut Teh (BKT) for breakfast is pure sin. Yeah, but once again (remember the post on Klang Food Centre’s pau for breakfast?) continuous BKT assaults not only can gain you some spare tyres, but I tend to feel lethargic throughout the day after such a darn heavy breakfast.

Okay okay …. just some silly excuses I know. Yam Rice NOT rice meh?!!!!!

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I have not written about food in Pusing (a small town in the state of Perak, very near to Batu Gajah, Seri Iskandar, Bota etc) for a very long time. Not that we did not travel to the town often, but more so because of an unexplainable reason, one that forbids me from telling. Huh? Yeah ….. something related to our work, if you get my drift.

To refresh your memory, you might want to read about the Ming Feong Restaurant (Sang Har Meen) experience back in 2008, followed by a short detour to Pusing for some delectably classic Nyonya Kuih after a seafood feast in Sitiawan.

I have gotten some rather good recommendations from a constant reader of Motormouth From Ipoh (who is from Pusing himself) constantly ‘barraging’ me with good eats here and there. Though I have yet to find the time for a revisit, hence I’ll just share some simple hawker fares in Pusing which we had few months back. Okay, maybe HALF a year back, for all I can remember.

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