Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

The Giant Poori Face?

Pardon the lack of posts/passion/intensity/energy as of late. You would have realized that the writing’s not like my same witty self (hehe, self praise pulak) nor as punchy recently. Many things are happening in life now, and even during this moment when you’re pondering over this post sipping on a cup of teh tarik (Malaysian famous Indian-style pulled milk tea), Motormouth’s somewhere in the Klang Valley and adapting to situations. Or tribulations?

A complete set of ‘Banana Leaf’ Curry Rice @ Kalai Curry House in old town of Ipoh

Anyway, since tomorrow’s the Festival of Lights, or ‘Diwali/Deepavali’ as we know it, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Indian readers (and those celebrating the occasion, no matter you’re representing what faction/background) a very HAPPY DEEPAVALI! I initially planned to share a post on Buntong kacang putih (conversely speaking, the nuts ain’t white per se) but did not plan that this KL excursion would have taken me more than 3 days. So no pictures of the snacks. Yet.

But here’s a long delayed post I wanted to do on Kalai Curry House. Yup, used to be my absolute favourite place for South Indian cuisine in Ipoh (read my rave back then), but things started spiralling down during the last two visits. Read on to find out why …. Read the rest of this entry »

And we heaved a sigh of relief? (Okay, maybe just me, since the rest were just virgins to the roti telur experience at Goodshed)

Okay, so it was WMW back then who posted a review on her favourite roti telur (roti means bread, in this case refers to the Indian flatbread, a staple breakfast for many in Malaysia) stall in Ipoh; by the name of Goodshed Restaurant.

Good WHAT?! Yeah … that was exactly how I reacted initially. Then slowly realizing that this shack of a Indian-Muslim (popularly known as ‘mamak’) eatery is directly opposite the cargo terminal of Ipoh.

And then I started to fall for the roti telur here. Fluffy serving of golden egg omelette wrapped inside a thin and crisp layer of dough (or the roti canai), with chopped bits of caramelized onions for added fragrance, texture and sweetness.

After a hiatus of 6 months, they finally reopened almost immediately after Hari Raya earlier this month

Lo and behold, as they say; good things don’t last. And for the past half year or so, Goodshed was out of business!!!! I was devastated, knowing that I lost a very good place for a leisure breakfast. Usually this place was my top pick when I had to eat alone in the morning before settling my business at the terminal opposite of this shack.

But thankfully, someone from the All About Ipoh page commented that they were closed only temporarily, and should reopen before the end of the year. And yes, almost immediately after Raya, Goodshed reopened their doors for business. And darn it’s about time ……

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For more than 30 years, this Indian uncle (K.Idrus) has been selling his brand of traditional Cendol with manually-shaved ice on Jalan Bunga Raya in Pasir Pinji in Ipoh ….

I have a confession to make. I seldom go for roadside cendol in Ipoh due to several reasons. One being my ignorance as to which stall in Ipoh serves the BEST or most renowned Cendol, and secondly the compromised hygiene issue.

Yup, as much as a Motormouth that I claim to be, sometimes the sight of blatant disregard to hygiene matters when a peddler is manning his stall is plain repulsive. We are not only talking about stained utensils, sloppily rinsed chopsticks, or greasy table tops here. But let’s not neglect the raging issue of personal hygiene (stained aprons, dandruff on shirts, long and grimy finger nails etc), and general up-keeping of one’s stall.

Anyway, when I was Googling about for other blogposts on this particular stall; aptly named Cendol Pasir Pinji near to Padang Kilat on Jalan Bunga Raya in Ipoh, I found this post. Then only I realized that the nails embedded into the underside of the wooden block used to shave the blocks of ice might have been rusted after all!

A bowl of refreshing Cendol with plentiful of red beans, and crunchy shaved ice chips.

Oh well, after a lip-smacking noodle fest at Ang Ang Mee Hailam Parit in Pasir Puteh, we adjourned to this stall for a palate cleanser in the form of Cendol; a perennial favourite when it comes to desserts in Malaysia. The other obvious contender being Ais Kacang (ABC) of course, but seldom do we find roadside ABC here in Ipoh.

That, or I could be living under a huge-a$$ rock all this while. Enlighten me, people …… Read the rest of this entry »

Indian Mee Goreng (RM3.50/USD1.00) – Large portion enough for two, but you’ll have no problems finishing the whole plate, really.

And let me share this place that I have been intending to write about for so long. As I have mentioned before in my post on Mee Hailam Parit, I am not a fan of yellow noodles. I’ll go for Kuey Teow/Sar Hor Fun (flat rice noodles) first, if not then Lou Shu Fun (rat’s tail noodles, I know … it sounds morbid but actually ain’t) followed by Mee Hoon (rice vermicelli noodles). The last resort? The yellow mee; no thanks to various bad experiences with heavy alkaline taste from the lye water used to cure the noodles.

Look at how chirpy the Indian girl was …. Cathay Mee Stall @ Restoran dan Rumah Tumpangan Beauty Baru – Brisk business come lunch hours, hence be there early. Or very late.

Initially I was skeptical when Mum told me about this great Indian (or Mamak/Indian-Muslim) Mee Goreng (fried yellow noodles) & Pasembur (Indian rojak; a type of salad) stall on Jalan Yang Kalsom. That this stall beats even the famous one at Padang Ipoh in old town, and the various incarnations everywhere else. Heck, there’s even one on Jalan Yang Kalsom itself, at Restoran Sen Yee.

But after tasting a packet of their Mee Goreng brought home by Mum, I was sold ……. and this has been MY personal favourite Mee Goreng in all of Ipoh. This coming from someone who hates his Mee … Read the rest of this entry »

An old favourite of many in Taiping, and from places beyond …. Bismillah Restoran on Main Road (Jalan Taming Sari) should be enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Building!

Midweek Blues anyone? Or plain reeling from the late night footie matches on the telly, or down at your favourite watering hole? Here’s something to sober you up …..

A perfectly simple, MALAYSIAN breakfast at one of the coolest town (in every sense of the word) in Malaysia; Taiping.

Daging Itam (a type of dark, fiery and robust spiced Beef dish) RM2.50/USD0.70 per portion.

Bismillah Restoran in Taiping is a century’s old establishment, and has been around at this same building for close to 80 years now. Yes, count them, EIGHT DECADES of legacy.

Famous for their Roti Canai, and also serving Roti Telur, Thosai, Nasi Briyani, and the usual ‘mamak’ (Indian-Muslim) fares, this charming eatery should not be mistaken for that famous Bismillah Cendol on Jalan Barrack, although they are sharing the same name … Read the rest of this entry »

Darting across the jam-packed restaurant spanning a few lots, this ‘macha’ clearly threw all caution to the wind, oblivious to the snapping camera, daggering stares, and erm ….. matter of hygiene.

Since I was ranting on a strong contender for Ipoh’s best chapati in my previous post, kindly allow me to follow up with this restaurant tucked in the midst of a residential area in Pandamaran of Klang. I.V. Restaurant is the name of the restaurant, and there is no doubt as to what they’re famous for.

The words ‘Roti Canai Pandamaran‘ was emblazoned on the apple green signboard, proudly/patriotically flagged (literally) with our beloved Malaysia’s and the state of Selangor’s flags in an alternating manner.

Good thing was, the Teh Tarik (Frothy Pulled Milk Tea – A Malaysia’s favourite beverage) was never earth-shatteringly sweet nor reeking of condensed milk. Rather, all the beverages at I.V. Restaurant were of reasonable level of sweetness. Possibly thanks to the largely Chinese clienteles?

I first read about this comparatively-obscure Halal Indian restaurant from Criz Lai’s blog. I did not think much of it, but after a good many extravagant Klang Bak Kut Teh meal for breakfasts, one can’t help but to seek for a simpler, fuss-free (preferably meat-less) breakfast.

And was I grateful enough for reading that post from Criz …. !! Read the rest of this entry »

Among the many types of Indian bread, the healthiest choice has to be Chapati. I have to admit though, aside from the average roti canai, tosai and naan, I seldom go for the other fancier items. But in this case, I don’t usually order chapati unless it’s proven to be really really good.

He was merely posing for the shot, not in action sadly. 🙂 Very down to earth staff at Moga Punjab, I felt comforted in the sense that I don’t get attitudes, nor impatient intrusions while taking my sweet time glancing around and spewing questions asking about the foods they serve.

I first read about Moga Punjab from Simple Girl’s post back in November 2009. Yes, a good half year marched past, and I’m only getting to this. And Moga Punjab is conveniently situated in old town of Ipoh,  along the stretch of Ipoh’s Little India, and within the vicinity of my work place.

Ahem … I AM SLOW, I know …. but blame it on the abundance of other delicious options around old town. Talk about excuses, eh? 😉

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