Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was originally published in the Malay Mail Online HERE.

Despite the scarily hefty portion of mayonnaise splattered on each plate of deep fried goodness, at Hong Kong Dim Sum BFB (or “Bat Fun Bun” aka 8 1/2) their crispy dim sum were quite delicious

Talk about dim sum in this city well-loved by many as one of the food capitals in Malaysia, and most would point you to either Foh San, Ming Court or even Yoke Fook Moon; all three within a stone’s throw from one another. The hype surrounding the likes of Foh San has been circulating since decades back, when they served the early risers at their old outlet at the corner of Osborne Street. Those were the decent souls making a living working through the graveyard shift, or taxi drivers stationed nearby (and they still are) looking for a hearty start to fuel the day’s worth of labour.

Now they have shifted to Leong Sin Nam road directly across Ming Court Dim Sum, which is also backed by a respectable number of years in business and personally, I think they serve higher quality dim sum compared to the new Foh San outlet. Many a time, the locals would shy away from the frenzied crowd at the dim sum giants, where the unreasonable congestion is caused by traffic, inconsiderate double-parkers and touts looking to earn a quick buck through “extortion” via the classic “jaga kereta” guys of Ipoh. It never fails to make me wonder when the local authorities will finally act on their “master plan” to capture these thugs smearing the good name of Ipoh.

Anyway, the multiple factors around an already tough decision to select ONE dim sum place (if you only can afford one) can be killing. Especially if you are not familiar with dim sum restaurants situated outside of the city centre. But fret not, here’s where I think I might come in and help. Read the rest of this entry »

Zui Le Xuan Dim Sum Restaurant – The Affable Ladies in Orange casually working their charm around the relatively cramped premise; capacity to seat a crowd of 50 at most. 

By now, you must have noticed that I love breakfasts in Ipoh more than the other meals of the day. The sheer number of delectable options; ranging from simple noodles (fish ball noodles or fondly referred to as ‘liew fun’, Hakka mee, my absolute obsession with dry curry noodles) to elaborate/creative Western style of breakfast sets (thanks to all-day cafes sprouting like mushrooms all over town), there is seemingly no shortage of options upon waking up to the bright, cheerful Ipoh sky.

Sweet & Sour Rolls; finely-chopped pork rolled with beancurd sheets and studded with sesame seeds on the exterior, braised in a delectably tangy tomato-base sauce.

If you’re a fan of dim sum, and your guess-timate is that there could be probably 101 choices in Ipoh (hop over the my Dim Sum list for an idea of where these are) and you’re falling  back upon Foh San, Ming Court or Yoke Fook Moon for fear of traveling to unknown names and disappointed, then shame on you.

There are great dim sum establishments scattered around Ipoh that you should NOT miss, especially if you’re in Ipoh for the umpteenth time. This morning, I discovered a new addition to the pack; and this is one dim sum restaurant that deserves the off-track detour to First Garden. Read the rest of this entry »