Hall of Mirrors & Sekeping Kong Heng @ Ipoh Old Town
July 2, 2012 | 6,208 views
Thean Chun’s incomparable “Kai See Hor Fun” aka Chicken Kuey Teow Soup
Hall of Mirrors; a mystical name for one half a century’s old coffee shop located in the heart of Ipoh’s old town that has stood the test of time; serving generations of Ipohans and still drawing the crowd; young and old, near and far. The actual name for this outlet is Thean Chun coffee shop, while some might relate to this as THE coffee shop beside Kong Heng.
The “mirror” portion refers to the abundance of large, rectangular-shaped mirrors hanging from the upper part of the walls whereby you can practically observe every single patron in the shop if you’re seated at the right angle.
Let me take you for a ride down memory lane once again, following up on the 4 years-old post on Thean Chun I did way back then when I first started writing ….
Same old Uncle selling the Chee Cheong Fun that I have literally grown up with; eating from his stall at St. Michael’s Institution’s canteen!
The good thing about going back to Ipoh for short weekend getaways (or the occasional weekdays, now that my schedule’s all messed up) is that I could never fail to come up with places to eat that will somehow bring a spark to one’s eyes. Either you’re a homegrown Ipoh child whom have not been back for years, or living miles away from Malaysia and the cravings for Ipoh street food grew to a state that’s so strong, you feel like bursting into tears at the sheer mention of Ipoh’s kai see hor fun, popiah or even the legendary (in a lot of ways); pork satay from Kong Heng.
The tourists or first-timers are the other group of folks that I would love to introduce to my favourite stall in all of Ipoh for Chicken Kuey Teow Soup (the ‘kuey teow’ in this context being Ipoh’s ‘hor fun’ or flat rice noodles with a silky smooth finish that will put most imitators to shame), coupled with a caramel egg custard that are still crowned as the BEST in Ipoh so far. Flawlessly creamy, egg-y and smooth, the wobbly custards deserve an honourable mention had they not been overshadowed (somewhat) by the crazy plethora of must-tries in Thean Chun and Kong Heng.
For one, I don’t deny that I still love Kong Heng’s popiah (both the wet and fried versions) compared to the others. And yes, I have visited the old uncle in Canning Garden, the Bercham popiah stall by the field, and even the renowned Taiping Popiah.
Actually, Kong Heng’s popiah stall’s original proprietress has thrown in the towel a good few years ago, though the recipes were replicated at such an incredibly similar manner, it’s hard to tell the difference had you not been eating the popiah on a constant basis since you were small.
And who can deny the lure of a classic Ipoh-style of Chee Cheong Fun stall parked on the side of Thean Chun, almost sharing the alley with the satay stall, and Kong Heng within a stone’s throw away. Try the simplest ensemble; comprising of soy sauce, shallot oil and a dash of sesame seeds for the best result.
You can order anything from either shops EXCEPT for the “Kai See Hor Fun” since both premises have one each. And of course, you cannot enjoy the caramel egg custard if you’re seated in Kong Heng since the desserts are from the beverage counter. Those could be reasons why Thean Chun usually will be crowded almost immediately after they open for business (around 9.30am), until lunch hour.
You can opt to have a plate of Lor Bak (a Penang classic that I can’t find a stall in Ipoh that can rival Kheng Pin’s on Penang Road yet) if you’re seated on either one of the shops too. As for the fried Yong Tau Foo (we call them “Liew”) stall in Thean Chun, I won’t go all out and recommend you to try them though.
Sekeping Kong Heng – Where lush retreat is just a door (maybe a floor) away …. More info from their website
THEAN CHUN (Hall of Mirrors)
73, Jalan Bandar Timah
30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Opens from 9.30am onwards, until late lunch.
Closed on Thursdays
SEKEPING KONG HENG
75, Jalan Panglima (beside Kong Heng)
30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel No : +6012-227 2745/+605-241 8977
I still prefer the old Thean Chun and Kong Heng. We no longer can taste the delicious egg custard after Thean Chun change owner
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Grace Reply:
July 3rd, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Ya..ya…still can remember the popiah aunty vividly.the popiah had the crispy fried prawn n crab meat in it. i mean real crab meat…….savory taste which i cannot find in spore.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:50 am
Nowadays you can only find crab meat in popiah from the uncle in Canning Garden back alley. Though did not see him for a few occasions now.
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I just went back last weekend and I had all the foods that you had mentioned..
but the sad thing is the popiah and their standard had dropped….
I missed the old uncle popiah ..
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Anonymous Reply:
July 3rd, 2012 at 12:18 pm
thought the original popiah propietor was a lady (really loud lady)?
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Anonymous Reply:
July 3rd, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Yes, going back 30 years or so, the original popiah proprietor was the lady with the loud voice and in fact she was the one in Kong Heng selling laksa a few years back
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Yup, very nice lady. An aunt of a friend of mine.
the chee cheong fun uncle (in the picture) – looks different…there used to be 2 person manning it and the uncle who used to sell in SMI doesnt look like this picture? or has the uncle grown so old?
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:50 am
In SMI, the stall was operated by someone else apparently. The guy in the pic is the owner of this stall for years.
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going to Ipoh this coming Sep, the egg custard is something I must have!
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Hey, let me know if you want to visit Sekeping Kong Heng…..can help arrange.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Hi Patrick, yeah. I wanted to walk in for a visit but was informed that I needed to make a prior appt or call the operators first.
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Patrick Reply:
July 11th, 2012 at 12:22 am
Ok. Email me when you want to go and I will arrange it. Photos during the day and night come out quite differently.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 12th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Patrick, I can’t help but wonder. Are you related to the establishment somehow?
Patrick Reply:
July 13th, 2012 at 1:02 am
I guess the only way to answer that question would be……come visit, take some pictures and I will fill you in
Michelle Reply:
July 16th, 2012 at 1:13 am
Hi Patrick,
I am heading to Ipoh this coming Friday. Am really intrigue my Sekeping Kong Heng and want to have a look at the establishment as well.
Anyway to arrange it?
The place looks so awesome!
My good hometown, Ipoh, longing to go back for a visit especially Kong Heng & Thean Chun which were my favorite breakfast joints during my teenage years. Salivating and drooling when I see the pictures of CCF, popiah and kai see hor fun!!! Suggest some of these food caterers should come to open shop here in Sabah. Guarantee making good business and money.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Yeah! Ditto they should get more food from East Malaysia over to this side. As I believe there are good stuff that will definitely take off here.
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Thean Chun’s egg custard really not that good anymore. Operator changed, taste changed. Found to have some bitter taste. But then they still the best. As for the Chicken Shredded Hor Fun, the owner’s son operate a store in Puchong Jaya. Goodwill restaurant. Claim that the oil, noddle and bean sprout are all from Ipoh. Not bad..worth a try.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Thanks on the Puchong Jaya branch. Agreed that there were times when the egg custard had a burnt, and even cloying egg taste (‘sou’?) but this breakfast experience proved otherwise. Still very good.
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Kong Heng popiah was good but the man who sold the best popiah used to operate from Kong Meng.They were brothers.Thean Chun hor fun is still the best especially their famous shallots n prawns roe oil.How I miss the food from those two shops after all these years living abroad.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Hi Stanley, where is this Kong Meng?
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[...] terribly marred by their horrendous beverages (really, their ‘cham’ was even worse than Thean Chun‘s!) and lacklustre curry. However, subsequent visits (which I have neglected to bring my [...]
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[...] GPS Coordinates :4.596488,101.07733 (Estimated) Directions : Directly behind of Ipoh Kong Heng in old town, [...]
my friends and i were sitting in Kok Heng last 917, and she bought 3 bowls of caramel egg custard for us to try, even carried it with the kopitiam’s tray (we returned the tray after makan), hehehe. the caramel egg custard is real good!
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:02 am
Haha … self-service caramel egg custard?! Cool. Now that you mention it, yup, Thean Chun’s version is still unrivalled in my opinion!
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