Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Dak Galbi – A dish of stir-frying boneless chicken marinated in ‘gochujang’ (Korean red chilli pepper paste) with cabbage,  sweet potato, scallions and tteok (Korean rice cakes) on the large round skillet pan placed in the middle of the dining table

I first tried Dak Galbi at Uncle Jang Restaurant in Solaris Mont Kiara; at least 2 years or so ago. Unlike the rest of the familiar Korean restaurants, Dak Galbi outlets focus on only the main dish; sometimes alternating between chicken, seafood and other meats, but it is an entirely different ball game vs Daorae, Yea Won or Onix Jun in Ipoh.

In short, if you don’t take a liking to spicy food (though you can adjust the heat, more on that later), or grilled chicken with an abundance of cabbage and rice cakes, then you’d best stay with the other Korean restaurants with ginseng chicken, BBQ meats, a plethora of ‘ban chan’ (small plates of sides) or bibimbap as alternatives.

However, I do recommend that you try Dak Galbi at least ONCE; as the communal, round table dining option appears to be fun (and it is) and in certain outlets you can even cook D-I-Y with splatters of chilli paste and grease all over your face, and fellow diners giggling away while donning aprons (i.e.: Uncle Jang provides them) for #selfies etc.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sambal Petai with Prawns (MYR29.80/USD10 – Medium portion)

Long long time ago, there was Assam House. From my relatively short yet photographic memory, I still remember the pride in the owner’s eyes upon explaining about how the famous Hong Kong actor, Chow Yun Fatt (he’s the one with the shades and a gun or rifle perpetually on the shoulder) paid the establishment a visit during the shooting of Anna & The King back in the late 90’s.

To us, Assam House was THE place to go for really lip-smacking Nyonya/Thai/Chinese cuisine, in the same league like Yum Yum  of today. And then things got a little weird with the original Assam House changing name to Kim Bali; while the name Assam House has been owned by a different company; with two outlets in Ipoh. One is located in Medan Gopeng while the other started drawing the crowd in Greentown Business Centre.

Now clearly I did not do my homework here, so pardon the missing information. Anyway, both brands are still going strong; though the similarity between the dishes is uncanny.

And now, years after the separation of Kim Bali and Assam House; Bali Assam House came to the picture! Proudly proclaiming their independence from the other more established names; this restaurant started business a couple of weeks ago; and already catching up fast in terms of customer base.  Read the rest of this entry »

Aussie style of roast chicken with a generous portion of blanched greens and baked potatoes; hearty yet not to the point of burning a hole in your pocket.

Weekend! Yay! Before Motormouth ventures off to a back to back getaway (one for travel, another for work), allow me to clear some backlog off my erm, back.

Oz Restaurant has been running full steam almost half a year ago now (or it could be a good 3 months, for all I know, restaurants in Ipoh have been sprouting up like nobody’s business lately), situated a few doors away from Spices of Penang; and down the same road as Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant.

Aussie Outback Roast Chicken (RM17.90/USD6) with a choice of gravy – in this case we picked the Herbs bread sauce instead of mushroom sauce, garlic mayo, outback BBQ or onion sauce. You can also choose 3 sides from a selection of 8. 

Initially skeptical (many Western/fusion restaurants failed to impress during the first visit; a pattern so routine it bothers me a lot), I was thrown off my guard after chancing upon good to rave reviews on my Facebook wall; and hearsay from fellow foodies. Read on to find out my thoughts.

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Sushi Zento – One of the latest addition to the Japanese cuisine scene in Ipoh; making up the number to almost a dozen now within the same area.

Sushi Zento hails from the same Edo Ichi group of Japanese restaurants; with outlets in Klang Valley, Penang, Sabah and now Perak. Other famous names include Azuma (read the dining experience at Queensbay Mall), Sushi Zento in Penang and now Ipoh, as well as Hana in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The sudden surge in number of Japanese restaurants in Ipoh; particularly around the Medan Ipoh Bestari area (near to Jusco/Tesco of Ipoh Garden East) had initially gathered steam and generated raving interests for freshly-flown in sashimi, premium grade beef and fusion sushi rolls. However, after awhile, the restaurants started to mimic one another with no clear differentiation and started charging premium prices for lackadaisical Japanese fares.

Preparing fresh sushi to be placed on the kaiten belt, the crunchy and addictive Soft Shell Crab + Salmon Skin Salad with Sesame Dressing (RM20/USD7) and Mushroom Fried Rice (Nameko Yaki Meshi) (RM6/USD2)

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Two Variety Dumplings with Chicken Stock (RM4.30/USD1.40)

Indeed the name rings a bell. You remember Qi Yuan in Greentown? The dim sum house that opens until 1pm daily; and routinely packed with blue-collar workers on weekdays; while families and even tourists throng the place on weekends. Li Yuan is opened by the same brothers.

While Qi Yuan dabbles on a mixed Shanghai and Cantonese dim sum and noodles, Li Yuan is their brainchild for Beijing style of dumplings and slightly different style of dim sum; plus several varieties of steamed rice with toppings (“zhung zhai fan”).

Here’s their story …. Read the rest of this entry »

You see, in spite of the many sterling (peppered with some misses here and there) reviews of hawker food in Ipoh, I have rarely sung praises for quintessentially-Penang street fares; like Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee (we call this Prawn Mee in Ipoh though) and Asam Laksa.

Yes, there were the occasional surprises that managed to make me sat up and took notice. And a few photographs complemented by positive reviews.

Yet, none of the CKT (char koay teow for short), asam laksa or Hokkien mee stalls in Ipoh come close to the real deal up north. I guess the same could be said about Ipoh chicken rice and old town white coffee wannabes elsewhere.

And then I read about Spices of Penang in Ipoh. Probably the first restaurant in Ipoh that stood up to the challenge and proudly proclaiming authenticity and representing the original taste of Penang.

Read the rest of this entry »

Zakka Loft; Where the fine line between Life & Art is blurred?

You know, all throughout this Chinese New Year holidays (the first few days, and these last few days of the season), I was struggling through and through.

Not entirely because of the blistering hot weather, the absence of Lady Luck during those … erm, trying times, or even the fact that the sheer abundance (overloaded, onslaught, avalanche?!) of FOOD got me huffing and panting while bulldozing through them all.

With ease. Like a boss … Okay, maybe like a Motormouth.

Pumpkin Sweet Corn Soup (RM3.80/USD1.20) with Barley and Sago; either warm or chilled.

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