Three-Day Food Carnival In Ipoh

 

A three-day Ipoh Food Carnival is being jointly organised by MCA Ipoh Timur and the Ipoh branch of the Women Development Organisation on Decembr 10. It will showcase various hawker food which have made the city a foodies’ haven.                                                                                                     



 Organising Chairman, Dato’ Thong Fah Chong said the food carnival will be in the annual national tourism calendar and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism. It was started successfully last year with 25,000 visitors.

About 100 stalls will be set up at the Rainbow Hawkers Centre (next to SJK (C) Sam Tet). Minister of Housing and Local Government, Dato’ Wira Chor Chee Heung, together with Menteri Besar Dato Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, will officiate the opening at 8.30 p.m. on December 10.

   

Seafood Noodle Soup

 

There are many places in Ipoh that offer a good, delicious bowl of seafood noodles served in clear broth. It is a popular breakfast or lunch meal for many local Chinese and can be found in most coffee shop outlets around town.

There are usually various types of combinations available on the menu with the more adventurous opting for variations like fish head and fish maw (air bladder of the fish). 

Places To Try:
Kim Keei Seafood Noodles
64, Jalan Yau Tet Shin (New Town)
(opposite Lou Wong, the famous taugeh chicken shop)
Opens daily, from 7.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
The walls in this shop are peppered with newspaper clippings and reviews and it is famous for its homemade saito fishballs, large freshwater prawn noodles combined with homemade pork balls in clear, sweet broth. Prices for their noodles, depending on the ingredients, start from RM5.50.

Ngan Woh Coffee Shop
552-C Lorong 5, Kampung Bercham
(Opposite New Paradise Restaurant, big red and yellow sign) Open for breakfast only: 7.10 a.m. to 12 noon. Closed every Tuesday.
This stall adds bitter gourd to the noodles, which not only gives it an interesting combination but is what makes it popular. Other dishes to try here are steamed fish head (RM13) and their famous fried turnip (sar kot, RM0.50). Price for seafood noodles: RM5 per bowl.

Restoran Fai Kee
28, Jalan Seenivasagam
Open 6.30 a.m to 4.00 p.m. daily. Closed 3 days in a month.
Fai Kee has carved a name for themselves for their fish head and seafood noodles. Variations include fish head noodles (RM 5 without evaporated milk, RM5.50 with), fish fillet noodles (RM6) tomyam seafood noodles (RM5.50). Expect to queue during lunch hour.

Restoran Hoong Wan
2, Jalan Silang, Chemor
(behind East Ocean Seafood Restaurant)
Open 6.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. daily
Their fish head, seafood or fish meat meehoon served in clear broth with a tinge of Chinese wine, are priced at only RM4 per bowl. Try their delicious homemade saito fish paste (yee wat, RM0.50 per piece) and you can also add fish maws to the noodles.

Thosai

 The thosai is a fermented crepe made from rice and black lentils. It is a typical dish in South Indian cuisine, eaten for breakfast or dinner, and is rich in carbohydrates and protein. Thosai is a popular breakfast diet for local Indians and other races alike, and can be found in most Indian andmamak stalls and restaurants around town. There are many variations for the thosai, and some of the more popular ones include paper, masala, rava thosai and uthapum thosai.

Some recommended places in Ipoh:
Krishna Bhawan Restaurant (KBR), 8 Jalan Lahat (Old Town)
7.30 a.m. – 9.30 p.m.,
closed every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.
Krishna Bhawan is a full-fledged vegetarian restaurant and serves up to 17 variations of thosai all day. Recommended ones include their rava special (RM2, with onions), uthapam special (RM3, extra tomatoes) and their kerala thosai (RM3.50) which has four types of pounded spices.

Restaurant Ipoh Padang Curry House (93 Jalan Raja Ekram) 
5.30 a.m. – 7.30 p.m., open daily.
This popular Indian restaurant serves thosai the whole day and offers up to 9 variations on the menu. The masala thosai is particularly delicious and this, together with other variations of rava, onions, egg, Planta, ghee and paper thosai are priced at RM1.50 each. Their chutneys are also very delicious with a variety of coconut, pudina (mint) and tomato available.

Thillai’s (Stall No.25, Stadium Perak)
6.30 a.m. – 2.30 p.m., closed every Sunday.
Thillai’s is a popular breakfast and lunch choice for many local Indians and other races alike. They serve a good, thick and fluffy traditional thosai or paper thosai on banana leaf for breakfast beginning at RM1 a piece. Their coconut chutney is also very tasty.

Cantonese Rice Porridge (Juk)

This rice porridge, also referred to as congee, has many functions; from simple toddler food to the preferred food when one is sick and in recuperation. Easily digestible and nutritious, hospitals serve it as soft diet. It’s basically rice cooked in a lot of water and the consistency depends on the amount of water added. When fish, chicken, pork, innards, preserved vegetables, chopped salted egg, thin strips of ginger, etc. are added, it becomes a deliciously rich meal. A popular porridge is Chu Chap Juk which has pork, fried intestines, liver, pig’s blood; served piping hot and sometimes topped with pieces of yau char kwai (deep fried crullers), garnished with spring onions, and accompanied with sliced cili padi in soy sauce. It is very tasty and is one meal that is good to the last spoonful. 

Places to try:
Restoran Wong Fee Kee, Bercham
1.00 – 8.00 p.m.; price: RM3-4
Very tasty – pork, spare ribs, fish head, eel, fish & chicken are also available.

Restoran Wing Hoong Lapan, 51 Jalan Yang Kalsom (New Town)
12.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.; price from RM3.50
Has about 5 varieties: beef, pork, chicken, fish – tasty with lots of ingredients.

Big Tree Food Garden, Off Jln Tokong, Behind Tuck Kee Restaurant, Pasir Pinji
7.30am – 3.00 p.m.; price: RM2.70-4.60
Rice nicely dissolved and not too thick – ingredients generous – gerupa fish with nice gingery taste.

Leong Kee Restaurant, 153 Jalan Pasir Putih
6.00 p.m. – midnight (closed on Wednesdays); price from RM3.50

Dai Pau (Big Dumpling)

How big is big? The size of a Dai Pau can range from 11 cm to a whopping 14.5 cm. Prices vary from RM2.50 to RM5.70. So what’s in it? Basically, marinated chicken pieces cooked with Chinese mushroom, sengkuang(yam bean) and sometimes cilantro for added flavour; a hard-boiled egg; and for some also Chinese sausage and roast or minced pork. This scrumptious filling is then wrapped in white fluffy dough, similar to regular paus except that this is humongous. Generally, not something that one would order with dim sum, but a meal in itself. 

NAME	WHERE	COMMENTS	PRICE (RM)	Stars
MING COURT	32-36 Jln Leong Sin Nam (New Town)	Dough is fluffy and filling is tasty with tender pieces of chicken, mushroom, etc. – a bit smaller than others (~12cm) but okay for the price	4.20	4
RESTORAN FOH SAN(05-2540308)	51 Jln Leong Sin Nam (New Town)	Filling is very tasty, moist but not soggy & holds together quite nicely – may have a bit more MSG – dough is soft & fluffy but has a hint of ammonia	5.00 (+ tax)	4
RESTORAN YOKE FOOK MOON (05-2416589)	67-69 Jln Leong Sin Nam (New Town)	Dough is soft and fluffy – filling tasty and has a bit more gravy	5.70	3.5
KEDAI MAKANAN MEE SUN	2 Tingkat Taman Ipoh 6, Ipoh Gdn South	Filling is minced and tasty – value for money (~14.5cm) – has a smaller size priced at RM2.50 but with less ingredients	4.00	3.5

Egg Tart (Dan Tart)

Sipping Ipoh white coffee while eating a freshly-baked egg tart just seems to go hand-in-hand. When it comes to egg tarts, Ipoh has some of the best. There’s nothing more satisfying than biting into the flaky crust of a warm tart and having the creamy egg custard melt in your mouth. Not all egg tarts are created equal and the good ones sell out rapidly. Here are the best ones. 

NAME	WHERE	COMMENTS	PRICE (RM)	Stars
RESTORAN FOH SAN (05-2540308)	51 Jln Leong Sin Nam (New Town)	Pastry flakier with full creamy soft filling.	1.60+	4
MING COURT(2557134)	32-36 Jln Leong Sin Nam (New Town)	Pastry is flaky – filling is firmer and not too sweet	1.40	4
HONG KEE CONFECTIONERY TRADING CO Shop: 017-5928303 Factory: 05-5466431	Shop: Kedai Kopi Weng Seng, 14 Jln Cockman (New Town) Factory: 116 Hala Wah Keong, Tmn Mirindy	Good pastry and filling has nice flavour.	1.30	3.5
CHOY YEE BISCUITS	Stall inside Simee Market	Pastry flaky and filling soft and has egg flavour	1.10	3.5
KAO LEE (5465384)	48&50 Lengkok Canning, Ipoh Garden (Ken Har – 012-3102098)	Pastry  flaky – filling has lovely egg flavour and is not too sweet	1.50	3.5
+ add tax

Clay-pot Chicken Rice

Having five pots on a stove cooking at the same time is no easy feat. What more if one has 10 to 20 pots? That’s just how many a clay-pot chicken rice stall has! The good ones cook on earthenware charcoal stoves which have to be constantly monitored. The cook is often seen fanning and poking at the fires and juggling pots around. What appears to be a chaotic way of cooking, results in an absolutely fabulous smoky-flavoureds dish of rice and tender pieces of chicken marinated with salt, sesame oil, oyster sauce, dark sauce, corn starch and ginger juice all brought to a boil in a covered clay pot. Salted fish and Chinese sausage (lap cheong) give added flavour. The rice is very tasty having absorbed the marinade sauce. The dish is given a good stir and garnished with shallot crisps & spring onions just before serving. All the stalls listed below only open late evening. 

NAME	WHERE	COMMENTS	PRICE (RM)	Stars
TONY CLAYPOT CHICKEN RICEClosed on Wednesdays	Anika Selera (Gourmet Sq), Ipoh Garden.	Very flavourful; chicken and Chinese sausage tender; serving just right.	S – 4.80 M – 7.00 B – 9.00	4
KEDAI KOPI WING FATTMondays closed	Jalan Queen (opposite the Pasir Pinji wet market).	Flavourful with slight taste of salted fish; chicken bits tender.	S – 5.00 B – 9.00	3.5
TEOH KEE CLAYPOT RICE	GP (Golden Point) Food Court, No 1 Off Jln Ng Seong Teik, First Garden.	Tasty and has sufficient amounts of ingredients. One size only.	4.80	3
NASI AYAM CLAYPOT TEN K (a branch of Bercham) Closed on Thursdays	55-57 Jln Medan Ipoh 2, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh.	Tasty but not much flavour of salted fish.	S – 5.50 B – 11.00	3

Hor Hee

Hor Hee noodle seems to be an Ipoh ‘thing’. Old Town White Coffee has added it to their menu. Basically it is  noodle in a fish soup base, with small springy fish balls, thinly-sliced fish cake, crunchy tong choy (a preserved vegetable), bean sprouts or shredded lettuce, and savoury sui kao (fish wonton), served with sliced bird’s eye chilli drenched in light soya sauce. Tong choywith its unique texture and piquancy, adds to the flavour of the soup. Usually made withkuey teow noodles, other noodles are also available; glass noodle (tong fun or tunghoon) is also another favourite choice. The most distinguishing thing in Hor Hee is the sui kao. Triangular in shape, one has to fish around for it as only one piece is given in a normal serving. (One is very lucky if there are two!) Some food stalls even charge extra for it. Hor Hee makes a deliciously light soup noodle meal. 

NAME	WHERE	COMMENTS	PRICE (RM)	Stars
RESTORAN LI HENG FATT(Evening)	14 Jln Panglima, Old Town	Soup is flavourful & includes tasty sui kao, tong choy, bean sprouts, fish balls & fish cake.	2.60	4
SEE SEE HENG (EE FUN)(Evening) 3-11pm	Embassy Restaurant 35-37 Jln Chamberlain, New Town	Soup very tasty butsui kao not included. Enough of other ingredients.	3.60	3.5
LOKE WOOI KEE RESTAURANT(Day) 10.30am-4.00pm	26 & 28 Jln Mustapha Al-Bakri (opp. Kamdar), New Town	Fish balls look homemade; soup is flavourful with fair amount of tong choy. Extra 70¢ for sui kao.	3.30	3
STALL #4(Evening) 6pm-1am	Stadium	Soup is tasty and has all the accompaniments.	3.00	3

Prawn Mee

Prawn Mee or Hokkien Mee, is noodles in a lovely prawn-based soup, accompanied with prawns, thin slices of pork, half a hard-boiled egg, kangkong and bean-sprouts; garnished with crispy fried shallots and topped with chilli paste. To get the ‘prawny’ taste, stock is made from boiling prawn heads and shells (which may or may not be pre-fried) . After straining off the solid bits, pork ribs and chilli paste are added to the clear simmering stock; that accounts for the specks of chilli oil in the soup. Equally as important is the chilli paste. Usually made from dried chilli, a dollop adds ‘oomph’ to this delectable dish. 

NAME	WHERE	COMMENTS	PRICE
RESTORAN SUN HEE	59 Jln Musa Aziz (Anderson Rd.), New Town	Soup has a good ‘prawny’ taste. Could do with a bit morekangkong	From 3.60 to  4.00	4
STALLAFTER 10.30pm	Near Yik Foong opposite the main market.	Big prawns. A tad  too  oily.		3.5
Restoran Sin Loan Lee7am-2.30pm	21 Jln Panglima, Old Town.	Prawn taste good. Chilli paste a bit sweet.		3
HOLLYWOOD RESTAURANT	Jln Lee Kwee Foh, Canning Garden	Normal.		3