Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Ipoh famous Hakka-style yong tau foo (also fondly referred to as ‘yong liew’ aka stuffed ingredients), served with hakka mee, curry noodles or even laksa @ Wok With Kim (Yee Tan Kow Fishball Noodles)

You know, it’s funny. When you think about it, there’s no other place that serves ‘liew fun’ (loosely recognized as fishball noodles; though essentially the ensemble comprises of more than just fishballs) just like the version in Ipoh.

You may think that the combination is a no-brainer; noodles with various ingredients (usually vegetables) stuffed fish and/or pork paste as sides, taken usually at the earliest hours of the day.

But then again, I could not find one of similar nature in Penang. Okay, so up north they do have yong tau foo (YTF), but usually served with rice, or yam rice. Initially, I was stunned to find that they don’t have curry mee, ‘kon low lou shu fun’ (silver needle noodles/rat’s tail noodles tossed in a dark, savoury soy sauce-based gravy with minced meat), or even laksa to go along with the boiled/deep-fried pieces of YTF.

In KL, we do have a few good YTF places (Puchong’s being one of my favourite, while the one on Lorong Peel has this very authentic aura to its core), yet nothing that resembles Ipoh’s ‘liew fun’ combination.

Thus for today, let’s drool over this famous outlet on Yang Kalsom Road, that has been there for as long as I can remember …..  

There’s no SOP to this. If you walk in, seated and waiting to be served … then you’re not a local. Either that, or you’re just ignorant.

Anyway, before this review gets skewed towards those infamous grandfather stories of Motormouth, let’s get back on track. Unless of course. .. you would love to be bored to death by my personal accounts of YTF saga since the 80’s.

Nah … not a good day for that.

See the square-shaped items in the middle? Guess what are those?

Anyway, save for a few more hidden gems in residential areas and parts unknown, this Wok With Kim Yee Tan Kow on Yang Kalsom Road has to be the last of the famous names in Ipoh I have not written about.

A major surprise, since this is right smack in town centre, and has been around since God-knows-when.

Hakka Char Yoke; fried marinated pork belly that’s a very rare occurrence in YTF stalls.

It has never dawned on me, how prominent Ipoh’s fishball noodle is. If you had noticed, you can find a stall in almost every single coffee shop around town. No joke.

Though most stalls will source their supplies of stuffed fish paste from mass manufacturers (commercialized sources), there are still a handful that believe in the homemade version of the paste; an appetizing combination of fish (usually ‘saito’ or wolf herring, or mackerel), pork and salted fish. Sometimes with additional items like dried cuttlefish in pork balls, or even the seldom appearing fennel seeds in this classic Hakka yong tau foo in Kanthan, Chemor.

Hakka mee, dry curry lou shu fun and laksa to go along with the YTF, and a plate of chopped up ‘char yoke’

Most fish ball noodle stalls in Ipoh open only for breakfast; or until late lunch. Seldom can we find good ones for dinner, but there was once when I wrote on this stall tucked hidden in Pasir Pinji wet market named Yee Jie that opens only at night.

Wok With Kim opens for lunch AND dinner, which is a pleasant thought.

Yang Kalsom road at night may seem a little shady, and a far cry from what it was during the day. But there are a few good eateries around the vicinity.

Crunchy solutions; deep fried wantan and sar kok liew (stuffed yambean/jicama). The fried wantan was good, though the ‘sar kok liew’ had this dominantly flour-y texture; probably excessive use of binders in the mix.

One thing for sure, this shop still sells one of the cheapest YTF in Ipoh. Flat at RM0.50 per piece, things don’t get any better than this. The asam laksa was surprisingly good; with a right balance of piquant and sourness, punchy without being overwhelmingly spicy. The dry curry was mediocre, but was not expecting much since most fishball noodle stalls don’t excel in their dry curries anyway. The hakka mee according to my grandma was tasty, though no head-to-head comparison was made since I did not order a plate to myself.

Still reasonably-priced, although operating from a dedicated premise and quite famous with the crowd.

Though I can’t say that I absolutely fell in love with their YTF, still heads and shoulders above the rest of the non-descriptive ones in various coffee shops around Ipoh.

Oh, and the ‘char yoke’ (Fried pork belly) was a good bet. Something you don’t find often in Ipoh, let alone sold by a fishball noodle stall.

Got a clear idea on where this is?

WOK WITH KIM YEE TAN KOW FISHBALL NOODLES (non-Halal)
Beside Chinese Methodist Church, and next to Public Bank
Jalan Yang Kalsom,
30250 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Business hours :
Mon – Fri  :7.15am – 1.45pm, 5.30pm – 10.45pm
Sat : 7.15am – 1.00pm, 5.30pm – 10.45pm, Sun : 7.15am – 1.00pm, closed at night.
Google Map to this shop
GPS Coordinates : 4.590713,101.084476

“Do you feel like sharing YOUR favourite ‘liew fun’ stall in Ipoh, or wherever you are?”