Another “Dai Chow” Maestro @ Wan Chai Kok Restaurant, Ipoh
November 17, 2010 | 6,169 viewsClaypot Indonesian Prawns – Irresistible right? Imagine the utmost sins of devouring fresh and succulent prawns cooked in a creamy gravy with a tinge of curry and spices.
Wan Chai Kok Restaurant near to Merdeka Garden (that famous garden in Ipoh; renowned for the curry mee stall come the darker hours of the day) has been featured in the paper once (an article by Alexandra Wong in the Star, but sorry the link is broken), and also occupied a page in Eatpoh, a brief yet comprehensive food guide to the best eats around Ipoh.
Still remember how in her article, Alexandra gushed lyrical on the new-found favourite of her family’s; the Claypot Indonesian Prawns from this restaurant. Had me salivating reminiscing about the delectably creamy/sinful/spicy creation back in Pengkalan Hulu sometime last year.
Read on to find out more about this perennial favourite of residents around the area ….
Wan Chai Kok Restaurant occupies a corner lot, on the same row as N.S. Curry House that serves a reputable version of Banana Leaf Curry Rice near to Taman Merdeka/Taman Cherry, off Labrooy Road.
Anyway, initially we planned for a meal at Teo Chew Restaurant, directly opposite of Wan Chai Kok. The former serves various Teo Chew dishes as well as their famed steamboat, even a signature beef steamboat that needs booking a day in advance. But since Mum is not fond of beef, we settled for a meal at Wan Chai Kok instead.
We were still early, hence the vacant tables all around. And they were in the midst of prepping up the place for the evening that time, hence the slight wait before we were attended to. No qualms, since we were not famished anyway.
Signature Spare Ribs in a Spicy Sauce
I almost immediately eyed the special dishes of theirs displayed on the walls. Claypot Indonesian Prawns, a crab dish and another claypot item, most probably curry fish head. We ended up with three dishes (only 3 of us that evening); the Claypot Indonesian Prawns (a must-try, it seemed), the Spare Ribs in a ‘Kam Heong’ style of cooking, and an interesting salted egg yolk bitter gourd that can be done either wet or dry. We opted for the dry version, came in batter-coated form deep-fried until crispy.
The Claypot Indonesian Prawns had this beautiful orange-red hues, almost saffron-coloured gravy with a rich and creamy taste. Curry leaves, chopped red chillies and ‘cili padi’ (bird eye chillies) with a distinctive zing from the spices in the gravy added dimensions to the otherwise decadent dish. Not sure why this dish is so-called Indonesian Prawns, since I have never tasted anything resembling this in authentic Indonesian cooking.
Salted egg yolk coated bitter gourd – Something that may appeal to non-bitter gourd eaters. But beware, the bitter taste was very imminent, so if you’re not fond of bitter foods, you should think twice.
The spare ribs in a spicy sauce (there’s a very pleasant name for this, but sorry …. the memory’s not helping much) came in boneless chunks of porky goodness, in a sauce almost passing off as ‘kam heong’ style with bits of dried shrimps, curry leaves, black beans and such. Although this dish could have been so much better without the excess grease.
Gorgeously plump and juicy prawns in a claypot. Wondering if these prawns would have fared better being steamed or baked?
The meal came to about RM60 for the 3 of us. Not a poor experience by a long shot, but still not a restaurant that I would instantly think about when I am craving for a good ‘dai chow’ session. Maybe we should have given Teo Chew Restaurant a chance?
WAN CHAI KOK RESTAURANT
10-P, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak,
30100 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-506 2893, 6012-528 7444
Business Hours : 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 1am.
GPS Coordinates : E101 4′ 33.9″ N4 36′ 37.2″
Google Map to Wan Chai Kok Restaurant

Hmmmm, maybe those prawns are from Indonesia (like how some places sell Kalimantan crabs, which I’ve always assumed meant they were crabs from that part of Indonesia)? All three dishes look really mouthwatering anyways! It’s been ages since I’ve had a good daichow meal 😀
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What is about Indonesian waters that amplify the size of their sea creatures? And here we were thinking Malaysians were coming out tops in the size race! 😛
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hahaha.. i tot tat dish will be salted egg yolk coated prawns instead of bitter gourd 😀 great post as usual!
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Thanks wyyv, yeah …. seldom heard bout bitter gourd fried this way. You can also choose to have the gourds stir fried with egg in a moist base.
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omg omg…my house juz behind the shop, lol!!
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
And you have something you wanna recommend from this restaurant? Or you wanna condemn instead? 🙂
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o2 Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 6:18 am
ironically my family seldom patronize tis restaurant even though is near to my house….but u can try out “tung poh yuk” and “kung pow wong sin” 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 21st, 2010 at 12:31 am
Tung Poh Yuk sounds like a good bet. Good to have FAT cuts of pork belly braised in a starchy, gelatinous gravy.
What an interesting way to cook bitter gourd! But to me, anything that is coated with salted egg will hardly go wrong! 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
True enough. Now that they have salted egg …. with everything, soon we may see salted egg yolk ice-cream, creme brulee and maybe a custard?!
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the batter coat for the bitter gourd is a bit thick wor…
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
That’s the salted egg batter they’re using, so it’s all good. 🙂
Just that the bitter gourd themselves were slightly too bitter.
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Better try what are the dishes they recommend at Teo Chew Restaurant…
I had been there many times which is near to my home.
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J2Kfm Reply:
November 24th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Okay, sure. Sounds interesting when they don’t have a fixed menu, and cook from the freshest supplies of the day.
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