Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Wanton Mee dressed in a mix of soy sauce and lard oil, with a handful of bean sprouts from Buntong, finely-chopped scallions, and bits of pork fat (notice those tiny, white speckles on top of the noodles?), served with a side of  fish balls and stuffed beancurd sheets in peppery soup.

There probably isn’t any other way to fully immerse in the Ipoh hawker experience than by zooming in with a bunch of equally (if not even more) voracious eaters, picking a seat by the streets or a table set up on the sidewalks, order a crazy load of food to be shared, and tucking in with hands and all.

Come sundown in this sleepy city of Ipoh, the number of hangouts made possible for the night owls (okay, depends on your definition though … in a serene, slow-paced city like this, anything beyond 10pm on a weekday is considered late) are seriously limited.

The wantan fish ball noodles stall is operated by a family with a somewhat short fuse.

I have always been thrown with this challenge to recommend supper spots in Ipoh. First of all, 24 hours establishments are limited to a handful of Mamak stalls and the fast food chains.

But obviously, one does not come to Ipoh for a serving of we-hope-they-are-chicken nuggets or a plate of freshly smoked Tandoori chicken.

The choices for hawker fares are aplenty, though most of these are situated at odd ends, for instance, the Menglembu Glutton Street (Wai Sei Kai) that I am going to cover in today’s chapter. Read the rest of this entry »

Back for a taste of the pungent yet extremely-addictive-it-made-me-homesick Sambal Belacan Petai (MYR 15); this one cooked with lots of sweet caramelized onions and minced pork instead of prawns but still managed to get the job done. And a good many hours after consisting of silent moment in the family.

Well, are you now soaking in the warmth of being by the side of your loved ones; gathering a company to admire the full moon up in the sky? Lucky you.

Here to serenade you with a food review from IPOH, no less, just so you know that despite being hundreds of miles away, Motormouth’s essentially still From Ipoh, and that’s where I’m firmly rooted at.

The feeling of coming home to Ipoh has this exuberant aura; with multiple flashes of lip-smacking goodness crossing my mind. Prioritizing them in restrained, disciplined focus takes an elegant touch of self-control really, else I could be risking having 6 meals a day whenever I am back to my hometown!

You wanted to know what I missed the most after two months? (Yeah, to some this is short but to the Motormouth this is a killer hiatus of my white coffee and curry mee fix!) Read on. Read the rest of this entry »

Crispy Siew Yoke (Roasted Pork) & Char Siew (Caramelized Barbecued Pork) (MYR15/USD5) served with a side dipping sauce of piquant chilli sauce

I first wrote about Pin Sum Restaurant @ Menglembu (now renamed as Pin Sim Sing Kee) way back in 2008 during my first few months of blogging. Situated along the main road of Menglembu town; it’s pretty hard to miss the yellow signboard with red letters emblazoned across it now. The restaurant has been around for as long as I can remember; possibly dating back into the 60’s (correct me if I am wrong, anyone).

If you need a relative comparison; Ming Feong @ Pusing town or Hoong Tho @ Old Town would be running along the same league as Pin Sim; the blue and white mosaic tiled floor and green tiles lining the walls were as old school as one establishment can be; yet the addition of air-conditioning units and more fluorescent lightings added a punch of modernity to the otherwise just another grandpa’s favourite place in town.

Read the rest of this entry »

 If you haven’t tasted a really good rendition of soft shell crabs before, then come to Wah Chai Seafood. This was my FIRST soft shell crabs experience back in the 90’s.

Soft-shell crab is a culinary term for crabs which have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft. Usually coated in a light batter then deep fried to a crispy finish, this dish is gradually creeping into Japanese restaurants’ menus and several designated Chinese diners or ‘dai chow’ places.

However, I have had my share of lacklustre experience with over-priced, soggy version that did more damage than good to the image of the otherwise addictive delicacy. You can imagine downing pints after pints of beer with a delectable platter of this, seriously.

And tracing my experience with the crabs to the roots, I remember vividly the first bite into my first soft shell crab; shells and all, at Wah Chai Seafood Restaurant in Menglembu. Fast forward almost two decades later, and here I am back at the same diner that seems to have never let go of the leash on the salivating crowd.  Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine fresh and piping hot from the wok on the outside; a piece of crunchy fried chicken marinated with turmeric powder and a handful of spices; complemented by the fragrance of curry leaves. Don’t leave Ma Chai (stands for Twin Brothers) without chomping on at least a piece of this!

I left Petaling Jaya early this morning; driving home and already setting food itineraries in my head while stifling that yawn; no thanks to the late night supper of chicken satay in Paramount Garden. Wait, let me rephrase that a bit.

I was having breakfast at Annie1 in Damansara Uptown yesterday morning, and was already craving for a plate of REALLY good chee cheong fun (CCF is a serving of steamed rice noodle rolls, commonly served with a myriad of sauces, toasted sesame seeds and fried shallots; and optional sides of pickled green chillies and stuffed beancurd). And almost instantly …. the Menglembu Ma Chai’s version came to mind; behold the gloriously sinful sights of curry wild boar, sambal petai (stinkbeans) and curry pig’s skin ….

Back here for the long Raya break and kept hearing about Plan B, STG and JJ Lifestyle Cafe, yet you’re actually longing for something authentic, hardcore-delicious and cheap? Try venturing towards Menglembu.

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Fresh, piping hot dim sum from the round, wooden steamers @ Restoran Sun Kim Aik, Jalan Lahat – Last of the classic dim sum series. I hope.

Admittedly, I kind of felt ashamed that this was my first visit to Restoran Sun Kim Aik on Jalan Lahat in Falim near Menglembu. The name might sound unfamiliar, but ask your parents or even your grandparents about this decades-old dim sum shop on Jalan Lahat; and chances are they could have eaten there before.

My parents had their breakfast here ages ago. Just without me in tow. Hmm. But there were those odd times when Mum would take away (‘ta pau’) the famous Tai Pau (literally translated to “The Big Bun” … don’t roll your eyes, please) for breakfast at home.

And I was not impressed. This could lead to my instinctive aversion to reviewing the dim sum here; slightly biased owing to the lacklustre Tai Pau I have had a couple of times.

But what are the odds of their ‘usual’ dim sum outshining their signature pau? Read on to find out more.

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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 »