Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

If you feel squeamish at the thought of chomping down on frog legs, then this will probably convert you to a frog-lover! Well, not as pets but in a cannibalistic/morbid kind of way.

Remember this post on stir fried fish intestines? Chemor in my books; has been officially graded as the spot for strange/exotic cuisine around Ipoh. Aside from Lawan Kuda, of course. That’s another ballgame altogether.

Wong Kee Restaurant is backed by a stellar legacy of a quarter of a century’s worth of  experience. They moved to this new location along the main road of Jalan Kuala Kangsar before Chemor town a couple of years ago, and business has been booming since.

Their signature dish? The crispy, deep fried frog legs. Seriously addictive stuff.

Stir Fried Sliced Bamboo Shoots (Chuk Sun) with Pork Belly in Fermented Bean Sauce (Nam Yee) (RM12/USD4)

Arriving at 7.30pm; during peak dinner hour on a Sunday evening, the place was packed. Reservations have been made by loyalists; preventing those walking in from grabbing the better seats. Thankfully, you can be seated upstairs too. A plus, considering most restaurants don’t bother renovating two floors for fear of under-utilization.

But Wong Kee has a sturdy battalion of support. On most tables, we saw the same platter of tantalizing pieces of golden-hued fried frog legs. If you don’t look close enough, you would have been forgiven for thinking that the scrumptious bites are chicken.

Stir Fried Kung Pao Eels (RM12/USD4)

The staff were all decked in uniforms; pink-coloured T-shirts with the restaurant’s name. A pretty confident sign that they are beyond the ordinary ‘dai chow’ … more like a Chinese diner. And they do get booked out for events and banquet dinners, in case you’re wondering.

Still, they don’t charge an arm and a leg (plus a torso, like in the case of some upper class diners) for the food. The meal for three came to RM55/USD18 inclusive of three dishes, an individual plate of Sambal Lou Shu Fun (that’s one of their signatures) and rice for two.

Sambal Lou Shu Fun (RM5.50/USD1.80 per individual portion)

The food arrived after about 20 minutes; more or less expected as the crowd swelled to a full capacity after a few minutes post-arrival.

Their famous fried frog legs dish is one that’s critically-acclaimed; coming off highly recommended by a friend who does not eat frogs to begin with. Fried to a crispy perfection, with slices of similarly batter-coated ginger to add flavour to the dish, the succulent meat remained moist and firm, albeit the harsh cooking process. A real crowd puller, this one. Should be a hit even with kids who would rather eat broccoli and Brussel sprouts than frogs!

And yes, these tasted as good as they looked. RM24/USD8 for about 6 pieces of legs.

The other dishes fared reasonable well too; the seasonal bamboo shoots cooked with slices of pork belly in a very moreish ‘nam yee’ gravy went well with white rice; while the Kung Pao eel was excellent – balanced flavours of sweet, savoury and spicy. Plus, bones were extracted from the eels!

They are also very famous for their ‘Sang Yue Tong’ or Snakehead fish herbal soup (ikan haruan), but sadly they ran out of the fish this evening. There’s always a next visit. 🙂

WONG KEE RESTAURANT (non-Halal)
24, Laluan Sinaran,
Desa Chemor Sinaran,
Chemor, Perak.
Tel: +6012-5182686, +6019-5561870
Business hours: 10.30 am – 2.30pm & 5.30 – 11.00 pm
Closed on alternate Tuesdays.
GPS : 4.71565,101.121704
Same row as Public Bank. Coming from Tasek towards Chemor town along Jalan Kuala Kangsar, you will see a row of shops on your LEFT as you are close to reaching Chemor town.

*Motormouth will be away for slightly more than a week. I pledge to tell the New Zealand and Taiwan stories after this. Really.