A Day’s Out in Taiping (Kum Loong Dimsum & Mr.BBQ)
December 18, 2008 | 6,231 viewsAfter a long hiatus, I was back to Taiping, TODAY! Last visit was the time when we went for buffet at Tao, and the Ansari Famous Cendol. That’s …. like milleniums ago.
People jog, picnic, and relax by the famous Lake Garden. Yup, under the scorching sun.
Char Siew Pau and Nam Yu Pau with Chinese TeaArriving rather early today, we went for dim sum at Kum Loong Restaurant on Jalan Kota, the main road of Taiping, running parallel to Jalan Taming Sari. The restaurant has been around for almost 70 years (a whisper-in-the-wind of sorts, courtesy of a friend working in Taiping who dropped by for lunch at the same place with us, later).
It was barely 10am. And most items have been sold out. WHAT?! But even Foh San serves their dimsum until afternoon. Not fair! So we were left with minimal options, a few plates (they serve theirs on sauce plates, those old, tainted ones) of fishballs and dumplings, and a some ‘pau’ were all that’s available. So we made the best of the situation and ordered accordingly.
Such … simple presentation. Without the usual rattan basket.The buns were fluffy and soft, without sticking to the teeth kind. But fillings lean more towards the stingy side. But the Nam Yu Pau (fermented bean paste?) was OK, the thick slice of FAT pork managed to satisfied our lust for something porky.
The same can’t be said about the fishballs though. Chewy and artificial, they were best downed with a gulp of Chinese tea, and never to be seen again. The Har Kau (prawn dumpling) look-alike earned top marks at masquerading as the REAL stuff. They contained pork, and chives. No prawns, but yet was tasty. The skin was VERY thick and far from translucent though.
But what surprised us most was the price. RM9.20 for 5 pau, 2 plates of dimsum, and Tit Kuan Yin chinese tea for 3 pax. Yup, and we thought Betong’s dimsum were the cheapest in the world.
They’re open for breakfast until dinner. Serving not only dimsum, but noodles, rice and dishes as well. All DARN cheap at that. Attracts mostly the older folks of Taiping, hence we were rather appealing, at most. Hehehe …..
Location : KUM LOONG RESTAURANT @ 45-47, Jalan Kota, 34000 Taiping.
So, after breakfast, we were stumped on where for lunch. As the breakfast did not even dent our wallets. Hahaha ….
Mr BBQ @ Jalan MaharajalelaRead about this place from Backstreetgluttons, those bull-dozer of a foodie. Curious to know whether they’re a Malay stall selling BBQ stuff? Or a Western cafe with BBQ chicken wings and such? Read on ….
Onion Egg Omelette with Prawns (RM7)
Crispy sides, savoury egg omelette with chopped onions, carrots, and shrimps, the Fu Yong Tan never failed to satisfy. A simple dish easily replicated at home, yet one of my favourite (and safest) order in restaurants.
Bei Jing Roll (RM6)Batter-fried spring roll with ham, chicken and salted egg filling. Dip into the accompanying sweet chilli sauce, who can say no to this?
Golden Squids (RM8)Springy and fresh squids cooked in a not-too-thick yet very aromatic and perfect complement to white rice curry gravy, the dish had me spooning the sauce into my mouth. There’s something deeply attractive about the heavy curry flavour. Yummy stuff.
The BBQ/Grilled Sting Ray (RM12)Squeeze half a lime all over, the stingray was grilled to perfection. With the spicy sambal sauce drenching the fish, and the tangy chilli sauce with chopped raw onions, we finally realised the BBQ-moniker on their signboard. Also available : Tilapia, Chicken Drumstick Fish (wth?!!), Silver Pomfret Fish, and Kampung Fish.
They serve SOOO many types of dishes, browsing through their menu had me salivating tonnes, before the food was served. Everything from Guinness Stout Chicken, to Sambal Petai (!!!!), and Fatt Put (Yam Ring with Vegetables and Chicken) as well as Curry Prawns in Bread. SLurp … I’ll definitely be back for more.
Location : Mr BBQ @ 16 & 17, Jalan Maharajalela, 34000 Taiping, perak. Tel : 05-807 9998.
No maps yet, rushing off to a movie now …. Drop a comment if anyone need one.
Bye Bye …. and the weekend’s BREATHING at my neck. =P
Me wanna visit Taiping sometime soon. Perak seems to have the nicest and most peaceful makan places…
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Taiping looks like the next food hunting ground for the foodies…
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to be frank.. taiping still remain as under explore food hunting ground…..
not much ppl write about Taiping except myblog2day.
hmm.. the BBQ seems nice….
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The food esp. the nam yu pau and the golden squids together with the rest of it, proved that Taiping is not just for octogenarians (or those hoping to be).
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Peaceful Lake Gardens and cheap good food.. might juz go to taiping for christmas!
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ohhhh…taiping lake! been meaning to go there for a lonnnggg time already. must bring your posts there as my food guide!
and i lurve char siew pao liddat. black, dark soya sauce filling! not the red sweet type.
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that kum loong coffee shop looks really clean! the floor is so white! only in small towns eh…
erm… so, was the spring roll good? looks like roti babi..
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hmm…Taiping is really a nice place. Generally food are not so pricey ya!
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Life for Beginners : nicest, maybe. peaceful?!!! hahaha …
ck lam : it's acccessible by the highway, so why not?
PenangTuaPui : yeah, I was hoping for some recommendations around Perak as well.
worldwindows : far from it. though mostly the elderly patronize the old restaurants. but there are a number of cafes and kopitiam in Taiping.
thenomadGourmand : erm, not so mujch for Xmas though. unless celeb with the inhabitants in zoo and lake garden.
Nic : yeah, char siew like that better, not so artificial like the X-massy red ones.
Cumi & ciki : nothing like roti babi though. but not bad, and CHEAP. haha …
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haha i want wkend to breathe under my neck..all the time!
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hmmm.. sometimes cheap is not that good then… those har gau are so rough they look like gau chi instead.
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The dim sum is so cheap!
The golden squids make me drool la… yum yum
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Ya I always go to Kum Loong too! I like the fried rice there!=)
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The lake garden looks so nice…. as a perfect place to sit and relax after a hectic day
Beautiful food in Taiping!
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Cheh. I wrote Taiping, u write Taiping.
*quickly copy down Mr BBQ*
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Joe : but lately time flies by. hahaha …good.
genuiness : haha, a bit compromise loh. the skin so thick and stuck to each other, the whole lump of pork meat fell when i was trying to pick at them.
Allie : the squids cooked in those intense curry powder-gravy were good. but some may lament the excessive curry powder aroma.
Darren Lee : oh, cheap as well? that’s what my fren from Taiping said.
Selba : come evening, the place is gorgeous. with wind blowing, and the water (though dirty) providing a soothing feel.
Tummythoz : hahah … we share share ma. 😉
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the nam yu pau is called kaw yuk pau in my hometown :). alas, taiping is one place i would love to visit, but have yet to go.
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Oh my.. it sounds so romantic for a date… 😉
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The dim sum is so….cheap,though not so many choices.Thumbs up to Mr BBQ oso.
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It’s a surprise how you can hunt for dim sum in Taiping. I had tried so many shops around and found most of them were not having much prawns in the dim sum. Moreover, the filling for all the pau I had was not impressing too.
Mr BBQ is a rather unique place for Taiping at the moment. I hardly can find much entertainment outlets in Taiping. I hope they have more in time to come.
http://crizfood.com/
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sc : oh, kau yuk also same isit? but we here call them Nam Yu, referring to the spice.
Selba : haha, sure is.
Suwei : VERY few choices. and still rmbr the look on FCOE’s face? ahhaha …
Criz Lai : they do have some cafe, and restaurants, as well as lots of hawker food. but i’ll be needing a local’s help on that./
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The grilled stingray have thick flesh!!
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Ahhhh… tranquility, serenity and old-skool dim sum! Yep exactly the way I remember it… my parents are talking about moving back there to age gracefully!
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mimid3vils : yup, and fresh. enough for 3 of us.
550ml jar of faith : haha … to Taiping? yeah. let’s hope development doesn’t get to the town 1st though
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Nam Yu Pao? Never heard b4. The grilled stingray looks really yummy!
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Little Inbox :Nam Yu Pau are everywhere nowadays, in Ipoh. mostly involves a VERY fat piece of pork, marinated with Nam Yu (fermented bean paste, I think)
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ah, taiping…[dreamy look]…place of my birth…
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FBB : you were born in Taiping? din know you’re a Perak-ian. hahaha … so, mana sedap in Taiping?
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[…] have tried Kum Loong Dim Sum. I have gone for Chicken Kuey Teow Soup from Kakak, and roti canai from ‘octogenarian’ […]
[…] Ansari Famous Cendol Taiping – Yut Sun Restaurant (Hainanese Cuisine) – Pork-free Taiping – Kum Loong Dim Sum Taiping – Mr BBQ Taiping – Larut Matang Food Centre Taiping – Lake Garden Food […]
Mr BBQ is no longer open
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 9:34 am
Thanks taipinglang. Will update accordingly.
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Hi, the food looks tasty. Beside Mr.BBQ restaurant, still got any recommend?
Hear my friend said that beside Mr.BBQ also got one Chinese Cuisine restaurant is it?
Dragon phoenix restaurant ?? Any comment? Hope next trip can try Taiping food again.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Hi Mandy.
Haven’t been to the Chinese restaurant myself, but you can browse through my Taiping posts – http://www.j2kfm.com/category/perak-food/taiping-food/
for more inspirations. Go for the Hainanese kopitiams (Yut Sun, Wan Li) and the hawker stalls.
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