Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Continuation from Day One in Teluk Intan …

Keng Heng Coffee Shop & Budget Hotel @ Jalan Raja – One of the oldest and most iconic ‘kopitiam’ in Teluk Intan.

Fresh from a satisfying slumber at Grand Court Hotel, we forced ourselves to wake up to the bright sunshine peering through the gaps between the room’s violet curtains. The image of a beautiful morning was outside our windows; serenaded by sounds of chirping birds and the tranquil tone set by the Perak river flowing within a short distance away.

Day One was packed with street food adventures and small walks around town. Imagine a town square lined with layers of heritage shophouses (no doubt housing grandiose stories behind their existence since pre-colonial days) surrounding the landmark of Teluk Intan; Menara Condong aka The Leaning Tower.

And so, what did we do on our second day? Read the rest of this entry »

Teluk Intan – The third largest town in the state of Perak

Can you smell it? The year end holidays are just looming beyond the horizon. School holidays starting in 4 days, and next week we have not one but TWO public holidays within the same week. Talk about productivity boost. 😉

Naturally, with about a month and a half of break (for the younger ones, that is), planning for one flawless year end trip for the entire family can be a pain.

Hotels charging premium rates for Super Peak season, last minute flights to international destinations costing almost twice (if not thrice!) as much, and human congestion at an all-time high in conventional tourist picks.

And then, there’s Motormouth’s Travel Ideas. I don’t deny that I too, enjoy traveling. It broadens one’s horizons (or horizontally, depending on how optimistic you are) and create a common platform to brag share travel stories and tips.

But aside from arranged itineraries and tediously crafted plans, why not consider road trips and impromptu escapades? Gather a group of gung-ho travelers/adventurers, drive or hop on a public transport (not really recommended unless you really, really know the routes around the smaller towns) and go crazy.

Like how we did in Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay). Don’t faint, but almost 40 photos ahead. Let’s go! Read the rest of this entry »

STEAK FACTORY @ Rapid Mall Seri Intan, a relatively new mall in Teluk Intan

Last month we went on a whirlwind eating tour in Teluk Intan, covering the famous Liew Kee Chee Cheong Fun (only opens from 5pm onwards, so don’t park yourself there for lunch), Ah Chai Rojak (not as good as some might say), Jalan Maharani decades-old soya bean milk, Ta Sin Guan Tin‘s confectioneries and Lana Tea House (a charming little place for lunch, dinner, and everything in between).

That took us about 8 hours worth of travelling, bingeing, resting in-between, and naptime in the car. But if you’re thinking that those are all that Teluk Intan has to offer …. you’re wrong, my friend.

Nobody told me that the Root Beer Float comes in a huge-a$$ jug sufficient for two. They should have put some warning/reminder or such. >_<

Anyway, to make a long story short (hehe, yeah right), we were there for work yesterday morning and ended up having our rushed breakfasts at McDonald’s (no pics though, and I made a blunder by trying to order a Weekday Breakfast Special set priced from RM4.00-RM4.50, when it was clearly a SATURDAY!), then subsequently our lunch at Steak Factory; a Western diner with Asian influences that spans two shoplots at Rapid Mall in Teluk Intan. Steak Factory is supposedly ‘Halal‘ (sorry I forgot to confirm the status, but definitely pork-free and they claimed to use Halal ingredients), and offers a range of Western cuisine, with minimal choices from the Asian kitchen sandwiched between. Read on to find out about this place ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Our pride and joy? Menara Condong (Leaning Tower) of Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay) in Perak

After the lunch at Kam Ling Restaurant in Kampar, we proceeded to Teluk Intan in a most leisurely fashion. Usually rushing for time (due to the nature of our job) owing to the hectic/chaotic daily routines, this time around the journey to Teluk Intan was smooth as silk. Travelling on a Saturday afternoon has its pros, due to the lack of traffic congestion and lorries plying the trunk roads.

The calm before the storm – Liew Kee’s unbelievably famous Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun ONLY operates at night.

Thankfully the weather was not too bad that afternoon; None of the dreadful sweltering heat & scorching sun, yet without a drop of rain. Well, until much later in the evening anyway. This almost-impromptu trip rendered us somewhat incapacitated from meticulous planning and proper time management. Hence, we squeezed in every possible opportunity to eat all of most of Teluk Intan’s signature street food, ranging from the famous Ah Chai Rojak to drinking fresh soy bean milk from a stall that has been operating since the 50’s, and not forgetting taking away a few packets of Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun back home for dinner-supper.

Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Labour Day Malaysians! Slightly belated I know, but still, today’s a Sunday … hence the celebration continues? Or so I hope. Nothing too spectacular for us who do not work on Saturdays, so it’s a day off wasted, somehow …..

Anyway, we decided to embark on a short, day trip to Teluk Intan in the southern region of the state of Perak. I wrote about Teluk Intan only once in my blog, if I recall correctly. That was when we visited Keng Heng Coffee Shop in town for breakfast, then lunch at Lana Tea House. But of course, I neglected the urge to write about the repeated visits to the town famous for the iconic leaning tower (yup, don’t go thinking ONLY Italy has one) right smack in town centre, the incomparable Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun, and fresh seafood supplied by its neighbouring town of Hutan Melintang. (Read about our lunch at Men Lok Seafood @ Hutan Melintang)

Kam Ling Restaurant @ Kampar – With her sleeves all rolled up, clearly she was in her elements …. cutting up the gigantic Curry Chicken Bread for us, right before our very eyes. (RM22/USD6.90)

To reach the town of Teluk Intan from Ipoh, you can use a few different routes. One being our favourite Ipoh-Kampar-Kampung Gajah-Teluk Intan way, which is marginally shorter, compared to Ipoh-Tapah-Tapah Road-Teluk Intan, and miles faster than the Bidor-Teluk Intan route. The journey takes about one and a half hour from Ipoh to Teluk Intan, slightly longer if the roads are plied with lorries and other vehicles, which is common on weekdays.

A portion can easily serve four savages on a roll ……. or TWO, if you don’t order anything else.

Since we were in Kampar around lunch hour, we decided to stop by at Kam Ling Restaurant for lunch. For the uninitiated, Kam Ling is easily the most famous Chinese diner in Kampar, recently underwent a major facelift, or rather; expansion, into a splendidly-elegant & pompous three-floors building next to its original location. You can choose to dine inside the older, nostalgia-laced eatery with evidently old-timers still running the place, and a separate section of the restaurant loaded with confectioneries on sale; both freshly baked and pre-packed ones ……  Read the rest of this entry »

Or I can be delusional. But still, one can be hopeful, ya? ……

The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Not!!!

Suddenly … we felt so out of place…. =P

Chee Cheong Fun – NOT the famous Teluk Intan one from the factory, but different from Ipoh’s nevertheless

The broth’s so clear, you’d be thinking this bowl of noodles would be perfect for one feeling under the weather

Lana Tea House @ Taman Indah Jaya

Spaghetti with Chicken Meat (RM6.50)

Seafood Fried Rice (RM6)

Sambal Squid Rice (RM5)

Prices are dirt cheap. For less than RM10 per pax, one can get a satisfying meal plus drinks. The choices varied from the usual fried rice and noodles, to spaghetti and salads, as well as chops and desserts. All reasonably-priced, and the quality ain’t too shabby either.

The fried rice was surprisingly good, each grain fried with sufficient ‘wok hei’, maintaining the fluffiness of the grains. With ingredients such as squids, prawns, etc, the portion’s not stingy either. The sambal squid was spicy, unexpectedly. The squids were good, fresh, bouncy and served generously. The spaghetti was …. well, like the norm. Don’t expect the sky when you’re paying rockbottom prices.

*Pardon the pics as the interior was way too dark for my phonecam.

Location : Lana Tea House @ No 1, Jalan Teratai J4/8, Taman Indah Jaya, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak. Tel No : 605- 621 8996.

Motormouth wishes those who celebrate, and those who ‘tumpang’ holidays, a very, very Happy Chinese New Year !!!

Eat more, Snap more, Blog more !!!

Relaxing with a cuppa during working hours …

A short post first, more detailed posts later. We, the original Food Gang (me, KYT, TallGal & FCOE) embarked on a journey down south, covering 4 towns, in hopes of finishing the job within a day’s worth of work. Initially thinking of skipping breakfast due to time constraints, though I was hoping to pay the Kampar morning market food court a visit. =(

When it was Tall Gal and KYT’s turn to do some work, me and FCOE stole some precious time and in a flash, parked our car, and subsequently our butts (hehe) at a mamak restaurant in Tapah, right opposite the bus station, named Restoran Haji.

Roti Telur with Dhal Curry (RM1.80)

The shop covers 2 lots, with a small crowd chatting over breakfast (typical of residents in smaller towns to take things easy and enjoy life as we all should?). I requested for murtabak. None. Capati? None as well, though their menu stated otherwise on the wall. Only roti canai and telur. Oh well … Talk about options. Roti telur dua then.

Wrapped in a thin roti canai, the omelette was good enough, though paled in comparison to Penang’s Argyll Road‘s version. The addition of green chillies added some kick, though not spicy at all. =P Their dhal and curry was good, not of the diluted kind. By the time Tall Gal and KYT came over, we were nearly finished, thus they only managed a glass of Milo each. Muahaha ……..

Location : Restoran Haji opposite Tapah bus station, on a road parallel to Jalan Stesen where we had the Cendol Pulut previously.

This restaurant holds wedding functions way back then …

Then work took us to Bidor, a bigger town some 15km away. This time we did not visit Pun Chun, for every previous visit to Bidor, Pun Chun (famed for duck noodles, yam puffs) would be our spot for lunch. We went to a restaurant on the way to Sungkai, a famous name every Bidoran should recognize. Tien Tien Lai Seafood Restaurant.

Braised Yee Mee (RM4.50)

I practically grew up visiting Sungkai very often, as my late grandpa was from there. Therefore, the old trunk road from Ipoh to Sungkai has become quite a routine route for our family. Back then, whenever there is any wedding ceremony, or grandpa feels like treating the whole family, we would head to this restaurant in Bidor.

They serve economy rice during lunch, in addition to dai-chow style dishes, and individual meals. Still feeling bloated from breakfast in Tapah, we chose to order lightly, hehe, at least I think we did. I picked the yee mee (egg noodles) while all 3 of them chose Ginger and Onion Chicken Rice. Komplot ah?!

Ginger and Onion Chicken with rice (RM5)

The food was acceptable, and the portion was humongous. They do not skimp on the ingredients, that’s for sure. You can choose to sit inside with air-conditioning, OR outside and bask in the sun. The choice, was obvious for us, the spoiled lot. Haha ….

Location : Restoran Makanan Laut Tien Tien Lai @ No 1, Taman Kandiah, Jalan Sungkai, 35500 Bidor, Perak. Tel : 05-4342819

Til then …. wait for my Taiping post later 2nite, ya?