Food
Home Bound
Ipoh
HOME BOUND: IPOH FOOD TOUR PART II
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Hi everyone! We are
back with the sequel of our Ipoh food tour! If you missed the previous entry,
here’s a link to it.
Brandon and I
continued our food hunt the next day as there were many more places waiting to
be checked off the list that I had planned. Almost all of the well-known and
established food joints are located nearby, within the vicinity of the town
area. Therefore, we decided to make our first stop at Funny Mountain Soya Bean, for a bowl of bean curd (taufufa) for an early morning treat.
1. Funny Mountain’s Bean Curd
& Soya Bean
Funny Mountain is
famous for having long queues of people and cars (yes, there is also a ‘drive
thru’) waiting, which actually unleashed our inner “kiasuness”, to be the first few patrons on that morning.
This bowl of magical bean curd:
Its texture is so divinely smooth! I also recalled the bean curd has a distinct taste of soy bean, upon which was lightly sweetened by the ginger syrup.
Brandon bought a
bottle of chilled soya bean too. I recall a strong soya bean flavor, with a
faint taste of sweetness from the sugar. It probably had very minimal sugar
content. Perfect!
BRANDON'S REVIEW:
Bean
Curd (Tau fu fa): 5/5!!!
The smoothness…
Think silk… now think of a 3 month
old baby’s bottom after a nice bath… then think of said baby’s bottom wrapped
in a silk diaper. Can you feel it? The smoothness… you cannot fight it… GIVE IN
TO IT!!! Order ALL the tau fu fa you caaaaan! This is THE BEST tau fu fa I have
ever tasted!!!
If you are familiar with the
consistency of a typical tau fu fa, you will realise that normally, the pudding
has a firmness to it, to give it shape. HOWEVER! The sages on this funny
mountain decided to do things differently!
“Forget making them firm! Let’s make
our tau fu fa suuuuuuuuper soft and silkyyy!”
And that, is what they did. Truly
amazing!!!
Soya
Bean drink: 5/5!!!!
AGAIN! A
WINNER! As Eunice mentioned, the sugar was most probably used sparingly, which
allows the comforting taste of soya milk to shine through.
Imagine
a pimpled, hormonally charged, young teenage boy. Now, imagine this boy meeting
a sweet teenage girl. What ever should he do?! Well, he should reign in his
crackling voice and go easy on the small talk, and not be a nervous wreck by
forcing a conversation with her.
You’ve
been there haven’t you ladies? “What’s
this guy doing? He’s such a mess!”
You don’t
want your sugar content to be like that. Go easy on the sugar Romeo! Let your
metaphorical tau fu fa do the work! Because guess what? She won’t be craving
any of THAT anytime soon if all she’s getting is sweetness!
ya heard?
Funny Mountain Soya Bean
49, Jalan Theatre, Ipoh, 30300, Ipoh, Perak, 30300, Malaysia
2. Sin Eng Heong’s Kaya Puffs
We made our next move
to Sin Eng Heong, Ipoh’s famous kaya
puffs. This place has been in business for almost more than half a decade!
These freshly baked kaya puffs are literally selling like hot cakes puffs,
even on weekdays! Brace yourself for a possible unexpected delay for the puffs
production or worse, a disappointing sold out kaya puffs notice. So, come early
to avoid any disappointments. Apparently, you can even make reservations in
advance!
This kaya puff made it
to the list of the most hyped up food in Ipoh, and it’s certainly worth the
hype. Its flaky and crispy pastry perfectly wrapped the delicious kaya filling.
The layers of crust were not thick and hard, to my delight. And the amount of
kaya filling was generous.
BRANDON'S REVIEW:
Kaya
Puff: 5/5!!!
What’s
this?! another emotionally driven 5 out of 5???
Sit
yourself down, and let me school you. Class is in session!
I kid
you not. I’ve had this one before a few years ago, and I remember clearly that
the puff tasted slightly like fried chicken. Those who know me well know that I
consider chicken a magical creature, and a tasty one at that! The familiar
fried chicken taste could be from the frying oil they use.
Since I
got a chance to return to Ipoh once again, it would be a trajesty to pass this
up! Yes! It would be a tragedy and travesty if you do not try this!
And the
kaya filling? Absolutely delicious! There was a perfect balance in the coconut
to sweetness ratio.
Besides kaya puffs, Sin Eng Heong also has a variety of
pastries to satisfy your cravings such as lou
por peng (wife biscuit) and ham dan
sou (lotus paste with salted egg yolk).
Kedai Biskut Sin Eng Heong
64, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakry, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
3. Aun Kheng Lim’s salted chicken
Another of Ipoh’s
specialty that was on our list to be checked off, as it is Brandon’s favourite.
We took a 2-minute walk to reach a bright red and white shop at the corner for
Brandon’s chicks. We were afraid the chicks were sold out, considering that the
time was approaching lunch hours. Honestly,
I rarely visit this highly raved place for salt baked chicken, as there is
another place nearby my home that has similar standards to this (in my opinion
at least).
Brandon had the whole
chicken to himself! But, I have to admit that the chicken is relatively small
in size. It was priced at RM 18 for one whole chicken, with a slight increase
in price in the recent years. Salt baked chicken is basically prepared by wrapping
the whole chicken together with some herbs such as dong quai (female ginseng) using parchment paper, covered with
salt, and cooked in a wok.
BRANDON'S REVIEW:
This.
Is. What. I’ve. Been. Waiting. For…
Aun
Kheng Lim’s salt baked chicken: 5/ 5!!!!!!!!!
Salty…
juicy… herby… tender… moist kampung chicken…
Please
leave me alone now…
Don’t judge me…
Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken
24, Jalan Theatre, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
4. Kong Heng’s shredded chicken kuay teow soup & popiah
Since Kong Heng was
closed yesterday (Wednesday), we decided to come today. Its neighbor, Thean Chun was closed today, and it looks
like that they take turns to close for one day in each week. It was a weekday
and we still had various seating options- a cozy seat next to the window.
Usually, hawkers will come to your table and recommend the food items on their menu. I never fail to order the shredded chicken kuay teow soup (kai si hor fun) whenever I come here. I must say that the shredded chicken kuay teow soup is my personal favourite. The kuay teow noodles were fine and exceptionally smooth and slithery, giving you the enjoyment of slurping every strand from the bowl. Those amazing noodles were topped with tender and succulent shredded chicken and sliced prawns, and garnished with chopped spring onions.
We also ordered popiah here in Kong Heng. It is recommended to order one for each- the fried and the wet version, as each has its own unique taste and texture. As someone who does not have a penchant for fried food, I like it surprisingly. Nevertheless, I must admit that I still prefer the wet version more.
We were too hungry at that time...that explains the missing popiah pieces .
Restoran Ipoh Kong Heng
75, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
5. Nam Heong’s old town white coffee and egg tarts
As we had indulged
ourselves with the authentic old town coffee from Sin Yoon Loong yesterday, we decided to try Nam Heong’s version of
white coffee. Both Nam Heong and Sin Yoon Loong have its own individual
style and signature taste of white coffee, and it’s entirely up to personal
liking to judge. Personally, Nam Heong’s
white coffee was sweeter and slightly milkier compared to its opposite rival as
Sin Yoon Loong has more bitterness in
its coffee.
BRANDON'S REVIEW:
Nam
Heong’s Old Town White Coffee: 4/5!
Wonderfully
strong and bold flavours are present in every sip!
However,
it was a little too sweet for me personally. Still, the taste was very gooood.
There really is a difference in the way the flavour of coffee is prepared in
Ipoh compared to KL. The coffee served at Nam Heong has a very slight roasted
taste, which is sooooo pleasant, for those who actually like the taste of
coffee (bitter), rather than the candy laden, pretentious and attention-seeking
whiny princess that is the Starbucks line of candied coffees.
Like
dark chocolate, you can’t honestly say that you enjoy the taste of coffee if
you’re violating the modesty of your cuppa with a pandora’s box full of
diabetic delicacies!!!
Still,
it is not as bitter as Sin Yoon Loong’s coffee, which tastes better in my
honest opinion.
People
don’t realise that a bit of bitterness in food and drinks goes a long way. It
creates depth. It is saying, “hey, I’m not just sweet and fun, I can be serious
too!”
Bitterness
adds character. Stop desensitising your taste buds!
Put some sass in that glass!
Nothing’s more amazing
than having your perfect cup of coffee with these freshly baked egg tarts! It
was so fresh that I could feel the warmth of the custard with the crispy crusts
in my mouth as I observed the worker pouring the custard filling mixture into
each pastry shell.
BRANDON'S REVIEW:
It was on a lovely late afternoon, when a
slight cool breeze came by, dancing amidst the suffocating steam and clamour of
the coffee shop, waltzing patrons into a
satisfying lull.…..
The breeze, trailing her fingers on my face to
my hands, proceeded to ask me, “what do you have there?” “Oh, just a couple of lovely egg tarts,
freshly baked from the oven”.
The breeze had left me to seduce the bakers
instead. It was a truly brief affair, but one that I will look back on fondly
from time to time.
Now suffocating on the humid air, I took my
first bite.
Forget oxygen! This egg tart is essential for
living! One bite and you will stop breathing! Your brain will focus all its
cognitive faculties into THAT. BITE.
The custard…. oh my goodness… again, they hit a
home run with this recipe as it was only slighlty sweet! THEY UNDERSTAND!!!!
Let the egg be the star on stage! Always highlight the main ingredient!
Not to be outdone, that shell complements the
custard oh sooooo well!
Every successful magician needs a gorgeous
attendant. Just like watching a magic show, I was almost distracted from the
magic trick, since biting into the crust was almost as good as the custard
itself! 5 magical eggs out of 5!!!
Kedai Makanan Nam Heong
2, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
#6 Ipoh Heritage Trail: Concubine Lane
After a deeply
satisfying morning food marathon, we took a stroll along the historical Jalan
Panglima, or colloquially known as Concubine
Lane. Apparently, this infamous street was a place for secret rendezvous
for rich merchants and their mistresses, hence its name. In addition to its
notorious activities, there were also opium dens settled in this area.
Fast forward to the present.
I remembered walking
down this lane 2 years ago, and vacant and dilapidated shop houses greeted my
sight. Two years later, this place has transformed into one of those tourist
attraction spots, besides being part of the Ipoh Heritage Trail.
Here are some notable
shots of Brandon hunting for his mistress:
Mistress is found
That is a wrap for the
Ipoh food tour, a Home Bound series
in my blog! Thank you for taking your time to read my thoughts and reviews on
my hometown, and also Brandon’s second experience as a tourist in Ipoh. If you
have any insights or recommendations, feel free to drop a comment below!
XX
Eunice C.
4 comments
I love the kaya puff to the max! Awwwwww
ReplyDeleteCome to Ipoh again! :p
Deletesummer grad visit? now u make me want to turn back time .. to when i was a student and had the freedom to travel
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will have time for travelling too :)
Delete