Roadtrip- Perak (Part 1)

2010 was coming to an end, I was in my unwind mode when Alicia suggested for a roadtrip to another state.

Lets do a roadtrip before the year ends!

And lucky me, although it was a very last minute plan, my boss approved my leave application without batting an eyelid :p

And after much deliberation, we decided on Perak, a place I've rarely visited and very keen to explore :D

Yik Mun- goodness in a pau?

We started with breakfast at Tanjung Malim- specifically to try it's famous paus. Though there's branches selling Yik Mun pau in KL, we figured the original place would be serving delicious version. Ordered the curry chicken pau and kaya (coconut jam) pau with a hot cuppa hainanese coffee.

So did we find bliss in these babies? Nope. The filling was sparse and mediocre in flavour, the pau was too thick and a tad dry. A rather wasted effort to look for this place.

Since breakfast was unsatisfying, we moved on for brunch at Pun Chun, Bidor for the duck noodles and woo kok..

After having 2 meals in a row without much walking and burning off the calories, we popped by Teluk Intan, to say hi to Alicia's friend.

While waiting for her, we explored the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan.

A quaint little structure, it's still nice to check it out. Though we were very tempted to try the food in Teluk Intan, we were rather pressed for time and decided to move on for a late lunch at...

Sitiawan- Kg Cina's road to seafood temptation?

Maybe it was a Sunday, the trunk road to Sitiawan was a busy one, full off tiongers (my nickname for those irritating tailgaters) yet when we reached Sitiawan, it was awfully quiet.
We found Kg Cina, the road was peppered with many seafood restaurants, but just could not find the one I wanted to try.

Alas, we were famished and tired, so we settled for the next rule of thumb- which restaurant was the most crowded..

And we headed for Restoran Makanan Laut Villa..Quick order and even a faster than expected serving, we were soon having our hot meal.

Fibre to start the meal..Stir fried yau mak. Vegetables was fresh and crisp. Good.
Next up, the fried or-chien.
Hideous looking. But absolutely mind blowing delicious. I had a few versions of good or chien in Penang (the crispy ones) and in KL (crisp with huge or chien), but this version, got first spot in my hall of orchien fame. When they served us this dish, I was wondering why the usual chilli sauce was not provided. One bite into this and I understood why. The egg-flour batter was so well seasoned, it tasted fantastic on its own. The exterior was super crisp yet the inside was fluffy and light, almost souffle like. So darn good, I wished I had the whole plate to myself, but the super generous me obviously shared.hehe.

The waitress recommended the Vietnamese style prawns..
The sauce was just ok, I was not over the moon with it. I cant deny though the prawns very fresh and sweet.
And ended with a large plate of steam lala.. Sweet, sweet, sweet! The soup was very sweet from the natural flavours of the lala.We liked this, wonderful to warm our bellies since the weather was turning dreadful...
Overall a enjoyable meal here that only costs us RM44.
We were so stuffed from lunch that we spent the remaining time in Sitiawan looking for their famed biscuits..Alas, luck was not with us, they were not opened on sunday :(
We looked for James cendol, yet equipped with a bad map, we did not find it.

We did however, ended up at a cendol stall near The Store which turned out delicious too.

Amidst the cold drizzle, guess my senses (or goosebumps) were heightened- this bowl of cendol was ultra cold.hehehe. Not a wasted effort as the cendol was very smooth and melted in my mouth in an instant. Very nice indeed.
We said goodbye to Sitiawan as it rained cats and dogs.....

Detoured to Kellie's Castle, Batu Gajah

Filled with rustic charm, who said it's haunted?? I think it's an interesting place to just walk-about and relax. Ooo, and to check out the number of blushing bride and proud grooms taking their wedding shots there.hahaha.

We finally made our way to Ipoh...
Dinner was a simple affair, we were too bushed for elaborate searching of new, grand food. Ended up at Thong Sui Kai for hawker fair..
Alicia was persistent to seek for her egg in sweet broth. And her wish came true.

Such a happy camper to find her 'treasure'.

I had the mixed fresh fruits with shaved ice..

Cooling on a warm night...

Horhee..

Noodles was smooth, soup was tasty.

Rojak was a tad too sweet..

I could even feel the crunch on sugar in the rojak...
And to wrap up the dinner, a duck parcel (wrap)

So very delicious, how I wish I was not stuffed and could order half a dozen more!

And that wraps up our Day 1 of the roadtrip, a long yet fruitful one...

Yik Mun Tanjung Malim Pau is located at 6043 Jalan Slim River, 35900 Tanjung Malim.

Villa Seafood Restaurant No 384, Kg Cina, 32000, Setiawan, Perak. Handphone 019-574591, 012-4698118.

Thong Sui Kai (Dessert Street) is located opposite of Sam Tet Primary School (opens from noon till late night)