Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

This article was first published on the Malay Mail Online. Click HERE to read it.

Nothing beats the hands-on experience of devouring a crab; licking the shell clean then proceeding with the sweet flesh within

It may not seem fair to compare the number (and corresponding quality) of the seafood restaurants in Ipoh to those in surrounding towns with fishery activities such as Sitiawan, Pantai Remis and Lumut, or even Sauk, Lenggong or Tapah for freshwater catches from the rivers of Perak.

However, looking for a decent place for seafood in Ipoh is surprisingly not as tough as finding a needle in a haystack.

For the benefit of casual visitors to Ipoh, I would skip mentioning the more elaborate and well-known Chinese restaurants such as Pusing Public (or Mun Choong), Kok Thai, East Ocean or even the classic Tuck Kee. Instead, let’s shift our focus towards the street food style or chu char places that need no reservations, no minimum spending or number of diners (you can even go by yourself and have a blast feasting on prawns, crabs and shellfish!). Most importantly they serve utterly scrumptious food!

Back in the 90s, there was this incredibly popular food stall at the side of Nam Kew Coffee Shop (but now the shop has changed name to Yee Lock) located along Jalan Raja Musa Aziz in the heart of Ipoh town dishing up various seafood dishes including crabs and shellfish cooked in a dazzling array of methods from spicy kam heong style to steamed with shredded ginger. There were also fried rice/noodle dishes such as fried thick yellow noodles aka Hokkien noodles (usually called dai look meen instead) or wat tan hor.

The stall has since moved to a corner shop right behind the original premises; it is now named Yin Fai Kee but somehow the quality of their cooking has not been consistent — at least from our previous visit a few years back.

Maybe it’s the feng shui of the stall location (which is parked at the back of the shop; and also occupying almost half of the narrow sidewalk on the side with plastic tables and stools for a classic alfresco experience) but the new stall in Yee Lock is doing brisk business every single night; the patrons gladly queue for a vacant table on weekend evenings, then patiently wait for their orders of seafood cooked with high flames by the team of culinary wonders in an open kitchen setting.

You can arrive earlier, say about 6pm or so, to avoid the wait. The establishment can seat quite a large crowd but the tables are not designed for large groups of 10 or so, thus you may need to combine tables if you come in a large group. There were only four of us but we found it difficult placing all the dishes within the space of the standard-sized table. Bear in mind that during the day, this IS a coffee shop after all with stalls selling curry noodles (which is quite famous, the Ma Jie brand) and so forth.  Read the rest of this entry »

The signature Chili Fish at Sinki Restaurant is essentially a whole grouper deep fried then served with a starchy sauce concocted from bean paste, minced garlic, chopped scallions, red chillies and ‘cili padi’ (bird’s eye chillies; that lent the dish with some heat).

What a way to tie in the first homecoming (after a relatively short stint in Singapore actually) with news of the tragic MH 017 that has affected us more than all the other aviation tragedies combined. This and the still unresolved MH 370 case a couple of months back have greatly impacted how we civilians, or on a grander scale; humans, connect as one – united in prayers despite the differing backgrounds, political views and across the continents.

Still grieving over the expected loss of lives, allow me to break the solemn mood with a story of my brief sojourn to Dengkil earlier today; immediately after touching down at KLIA2.

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This article was originally published on The Malay Mail Online. Click HERE for the feature.

Lake Gardens in Taiping exudes a tranquil sense of wonder; a breath of fresh air from the traffic and making you walk or jog without you even planning for it.

Being the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, Taiping is blessed with an assortment of wonders; Lake Gardens with its magnificent century-old angsana trees (golden rain trees), Maxwell Hill with its cooler climes, the many firsts in Malaysia (railway, police station, museum, etc), the only night safari in the country and of course, its plentiful lip-smacking street food. 

We used to go on day trips from Ipoh to Taiping, all within a span of eight hours. And the hungry side of me would always have a list in hand; squeezing in at least three meals within the allocated time whenever possible.

The frequent commuting between the two towns means I have eaten at a majority of the famous eateries in Taiping; yet I still find myself craving and looking for more undiscovered gems.

Larut Matang Food Court – The perfect grazing spot for the indecisive. You even can choose to eat from the Halal or non-Halal section of the food centre.

Thankfully, travelling on the North South expressway from Ipoh to Taiping usually takes about 45 minutes, or an hour, tops. This allows for spontaneous day trips; or at times, even random food hunt excursions. Plus, Taiping being between Ipoh and Penang makes this town an attractive stopover for travellers both north and south bound. 

Let’s start with breakfast. If you’re the indecisive kind or plain eager to sample as many items as possible, you can’t go wrong by paying the Larut Matang Food Court a visit. Come early for breakfast for a splendid selection of hawker fare ranging from Taiping’s famous char kuey teow with fish balls, mee rebus, Nyonya kuih, chee cheong fun with steamed radish cake, chicken rice, oyster omelette and many more.  Read the rest of this entry »

Steamed Saito Fish (Wolf Herring) Belly in Spicy Bean Sauce (MYR9.00/USD3 for 100g; this portion for 3 – 4 pax was priced at MYR72.00/USD24) – Very fresh catch; the prized belly parts are used in steaming to a velvety smooth/gelatinous texture; then liberally doused in a spicy bean sauce.

Pasir Puteh hosts an astonishing number of noteworthy Chinese eateries; from small hawker stalls to coffee shops and food courts, wet markets with delicious finds to full-fledged restaurants and then some. But more importantly, spending the first 12 years of my life growing up within this neighbourhood has created strong memories in my mind that last until this very moment.

Back for the lengthy weekend on a break; my initial plan to dine in Bercham (I’ll leave that to Sunday instead) had to be shelved at the last moment; giving way to a quick feast in Pasir Puteh for we had other errands to run in tandem. And so, this slightly rusty food hunter’s mind connected into overdrive mode and came up with few solutions; either a fish ball noodles fest or one of the many ‘chu char’ places around the neighbourhood.

Since I have yet to find one exceptionally good steamed fish place in Klang Valley (not that I invested much time and resources into finding one, by the way), the craving for a serving was ever so strong. Thus, off we ventured to Restoran Ikan Air Tawar Chai Chee in Shatin Park. The name’s unfamiliar? Read on.

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Fried Salted Egg Yolk Crabs – Have fun licking those shells clean

Ever so often I get this question from random readers or even friends;

“So, where do I go for delicious seafood in Ipoh?”

At times, I got stunned. Unaware of really outstanding choices around my hometown, I randomly point them to ‘chu char’ restaurants including the diners like Mun Choong, East Ocean or even Unique (yeah … shocking I know). Ipoh, unlike towns like Sitiawan or even Kuala Sepetang isn’t as well known for fresh seafood.

But as time goes by (and the ‘makan’ sessions got more intense), the discoveries of more viable options like Wah Chai, Lucky Seafood, Rasa Lain and Crab House lent more weight to the recommendations.

How about Sun Wen Cau near to Falim in Desa Rishah then?  Read the rest of this entry »

Braised Egg Noodles with Freshwater Prawns (Sang Har Meen) @ RM55/USD18 for three pieces of large, succulent and fresh prawns; really, really good stuff.

Aaah… that blissful moment of returning to a place where shared memories are built within the bonds of a family; and a long, enduring 30 years of legacy proving themselves to be worth the mettle time and again; Lucky Ipoh Restaurant dishes out seafood beyond your ordinary crabs, prawns and fishes.

It has been on the to-blog list for years now. I daresay,  since this blog was started way back in 2008. You see, Lucky Restaurant has this imposing aura of an intimidating outlet charging beyond an arm and a leg when it comes to fresh seafood. No joke.

It’s not uncommon to see customers driving up in shiny BMWs, Audis and Mercs just for a taste of their extravagant seafood dishes; cooked up in more imaginative ways than you would normally expect.

But if you ask me, is this worth the hype (or mortgage)? It’s a solid YES.  Read the rest of this entry »

Fook Sing, Foh Sing and now Fooh Singh (seriously?!), this landmark of an over-the-top coffee shop in Ipoh Garden East, tucked in the midst of a row of similar eateries (either they’re out for each other’s blood or it could be a purely symbiotic bond) has seen it all.

At least for me. I grew up practically having late night suppers with friends and schoolmates here way before the first Old Town White Coffee arrived at the scene, or even Coffee Bean and definitely a decade or so before Starbucks made their virginal appearance at Ipoh Parade.

Now you know from which era I was from. And on this first day of September, a day post-Independence Day celebration, allow me to forget my water woes by sharing this story of an ‘ikan bakar’ or grilled fish stall named Heng Kee; the ONLY reason why you should consider paying Fooh Singh a visit.

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