Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was first published in Crave section in The Malay Mail Sunday edition. Read it HERE.

The pulut kaya at Keng Nam Coffee Shop is to die for; a very traditional, Hainanese style of kaya that will leave you wanting seconds

One of the perks, if you can call it that, of living in Ipoh is the abundance of great spots for breakfast on Sunday mornings.

It’s true.

Aside from the usual suspects ie. dim sum restaurants, white coffee specialists in Old Town and the super-crowded curry mee (Xin Quan Fang) and hakka mee (Paris Restaurant; formerly Yin Yau Kui) stalls situated a few shops apart on Hugh Low Street in town, there are a few lesser-known names tucked away within the neighbourhood. The kopitiam that introduced me to, and subsequently left me in awe and completely head over heels in love with, pulut kaya is this resilient humble coffee shop named Keng Nam at the end of Cowan Street.

Pulut kaya or steamed glutinous rice served with coconut jam (or kaya, the quintessential Asian jam) was a crowd puller at Keng Nam back in the late 80s up to the early 90s, and still is enticing new fans and loyalists after all these years. I mean, it’s not hard to see why.

The ability to steam the glutinous rice to a perfect texture; neither too hard or soft and sticky is a tricky skill to master but the old lady has never faltered when it comes to sustaining the quality.

Sit back, relax and soak in the Sunday morning atmosphere with a cup of brewed milk tea

And the spoonful of golden, creamy kaya on top of every serving is the icing on the cake. The coconut and egg jam has quite an intense fragrance from the screw pine leaves (pandan) and just the right level of sweetness that leaves one craving for seconds after mopping up a plate in record time. But really, the portion is meant for a light snack than actual breakfast, so feel free to ask for a second helping. Or a third.

No one will judge you.

And it is not particularly hard to imagine why I was so enamoured by the taste when I was a kid back then. Sweet, creamy kaya paired with chewy bits of sweetened glutinous rice. A dream come true for the sweet-toothed, no doubt.

But that’s not their trump card, seriously. At least, not the only one. Read the rest of this entry »

Story of Ipoh in A Cup – The first coffee shop in old town that has popularized Ipoh white coffee; Sin Yoon Loong is still a force to be reckoned with despite the waves of challengers coming from all directions

About 3 weeks back during the Merdeka long break, I had the privilege to play (food) tour guide to a bunch of out-of-town eager beavers in Ipoh. The instinct to hunt for food felt almost second nature; a trait that’s more or less expected of Motormouth after the years of chowing down every single type of cuisine possibly found in Ipoh. And let’s not talk about the undying, flaring passion to discover good food in peripheral towns.

Since that was a mixed bunch of gluttons; some with considerably more experience with some of Ipoh’s best street food; while others were lagging slightly behind, I had to put on my Tourist Cap and ventured to the more classic establishments (read: tourist’s haunt, local’s nightmare).

What better way to kick start the ‘makan’ tour than with a cup of original old town white coffee. And no, there’s no air-conditioning or WiFi access here. Read the rest of this entry »

Super lean Char Siew (BBQ pork) sliced thinl, accompanied the bundles of joy – thin strands of crunchy egg noodles tossed in a light soy sauce and dark soy sauce combination, with a few stalks of ‘choy sum’ to inject a touch of fibre to the plate.

In a few more days will mark Singapore’s 49th National Day, and also my first month here completed. Felt like a milestone in every sense of the word. Yes, I will only be here for 12 months (can be painfully long for some readers given the hiatus between Malaysian food reviews; let alone Ipoh food stories), and with another 11 months to go, I foresee more discoveries on Singaporean food (let’s shift focus to hawker fares; however sterile they might have become) and the monthly homecoming will be packed intermittently with food from Klang Valley and Ipoh.

Let’s take a break from Singapore food chapters and revisit one of the better Chee Cheong Fun stall that I have come across in Petaling Jaya, in the old neighbourhood of Section 17 to be exact. Read the rest of this entry »

 Seems like a solid breakfast plan huh? Yap Hup Kee @ Pudu.

On most weekends, breakfast plans would have been made but shattered at the very last minute. I guess it goes without saying that I am not much of a morning person though. I still remember the intense passion in the plans whenever Saturday evening came, and somehow ended up with meticulously/elaborately drafted outings.

Then the alarm clock rang on the wee hours of Sunday morning, and there I was … routinely ended up snuggling and rolling until the sun hits the back. That’s Motormouth for you.

But Pudu being an area packed with gems (not germs, please) coupled with the high level of cravings for a good plate of Chee Cheong Fun of late, I dragged this heavy carcass out of bed early in the morning and ventured over to territory almost-unknown.

And here’s the story on how we ended up with a mini food hunt; from Yong Tau Foo and Chee Cheong Fun to Gourmet Coffee and Wantan Mee …. Read the rest of this entry »

A maddening pace; the bustling scene at Petaling Street’s (in)famous Madras Lane – Imagine a short distance away you’ll be witnessing the gory scenes of squawking chickens slaughtered on the spot and butchers having a whale of a time dissecting parts, and here we were oblivious to the chaotic surroundings; picking on favourite pieces of Yong Tau Foo, and slurping on plates of Chee Cheong Fun.

Dear fellow Malaysians …. here I am blogging live all the way from down under ….. Singapore, not Australia. A bit lethargic from the eating and paying attention in class; attending a workshop for 4 days and good to know that this one adheres strictly to the 8 hours per day maximum rule, and NO homework in the evening! Jump for joy?!

And Orchard Road is within walking distance; this shopping haven that most would be tipping over their toes and falling head over heels at the mere mention of retail therapy. Although for this Motormouth who has been warped from the quaint, renegade town of Ipoh to KL for a good 1.5 years, the sight of towering (menacing) cold, lifeless towers and mega malls spanning floors after floors of temptations (evil … temptations) holds lesser of a charm.

Still, allow me to pen down a few jarring thoughts playing over my head for the last few weeks; and this evergreen story of Petaling Street …..  Read the rest of this entry »

Menglembu Wantan Mee; staying true to its roots, the egg noodles here promises a bounce (more like a crunch) without any lingering curse of alkaline taste, nor soggy over-cooked noodles gingerly decorated with ‘generic’ red-dyed char siew. In short, this was delicious.

After the umpteenth posts on Ipoh, I guess you must be dazzled not by the mouth-watering shots but confused by the sheer assault of posts from up north and all over the place instead of sitting still in KL/Selangor.

To set the record straight, I AM still staying and working here in Petaling Jaya. The backlog of photos awaiting to see the light of day has been inching closer to push me off the edge. Heck, I lost most receipts and recollection of the dining experience has been on a gradual decline.

On that note, I began to wonder. Is there NO restaurant, cafe or stall in the Klang Valley that can conjure up something vaguely reminiscence of good old street fares from my dearest hometown of Ipoh? Yes, anyone can claim to serve authentic Ipoh hawker food yet the claim may hold no water, but Annie 1 is another story altogether (cheesy pun, I know … )

Read the rest of this entry »

Satay Dataran – An unmistakably Malaysian delight of marinated chicken and lamb skewered and grilled over charcoal fire, served with raw onions, cucumber and ‘ketupat’ (boiled packed rice dumplings), and a slurry of thick, spicy peanut sauce (RM1.00 for chicken, RM1.20 for lamb)

A decade ago, had you told me that hawker food (or street food) is supposed to be eaten in an air-conditioned environment, with free Wifi and tagged on with 6% government tax and 10% service charge, I would have gladly gotten you a doctor. Or a shrink.

Lil Ipoh – Occupying half of the old premise of Antap Cafe (the other part is still a stronghold of Citrus Wine & Dine‘s); this restaurant was crowded during dinner on a Saturday.

But then again, time has changed. It is not unusual to see people paying close to RM10 (USD3+) for a plate of Char Kuey Teow or Nasi Lemak in kopitiams (Old Town and Pappa Rich being good examples), close to what we were paying for in hotels a decade ago.

The convenience factor comes into play, coupled with the fact that the younger generation nowadays simply can’t fathom the thought of crouching by roadside or back alley while digging into a piping hot bowl of noodles, or having to endure the heat of dining in a coffee shop cooled by creaking antique fans.

So, what’s that got to do with this new place aptly named Lil Ipoh in Ipoh Garden East? Read the rest of this entry »