Roadtrip- Perak (Part 2)

Ahh, took me a long time to post the second part of my road trip to Perak- what's with the Year of the Rabbit?

Ever since we've leapt into this new year, I've been so very busy and neglecting my blog. Pictures are stacking up but just no time for a post!

And so we're back to my day 2 in perak..woke up to a cheery morning, all hungry as we make our way to the all famous Foh San for dimsum.

Since it's a weekday, the crowd was manageable and we got our table immediately. For those who are still unaware, Foh San is now a large dimsum house, double storey and looking very grand.

But what about the dimsum?

Maybe I didn't have their dimsum for many years.

Everything was just average, though luckily, none tasted bad. The only dimsum we ordered that I rather enjoyed was the steamed scallop dimsum.

After stuffing ourselves with dimsum, we took a short walk around the nearby streets..and took a rest and dessert stop at Funny Mountain Soya Bean.

Next, Alicia wanted to buy her egg biscuits from Chin Han Guan while I went to pick up the meatfloss biscuits.

If you have the meatfloss biscuits fresh, it's undeniably delicious. There's a few types of meatfloss biscuits- meatfloss+lotus, meatfloss+pandan, meatfloss+salted egg+pandan/lotus. I do find the combo with salted egg too decadent- the meatfloss with just the lotuspaste was delicious enough for me. Not cheap though, was RM21 per box (for those with salted egg) and RM15.60 (for those without).

Time flies quickly and before we know it, it's tea time! hehe.

We decide to have white coffee at Sin Yoon Loong..

But before that, Alicia's friend recommended us to try the egg tarts and char siew puffs at Nam Heong just opposite of Sin Yoon Loong..

Though it seems highly popular, both were not to my liking..

The char siew puffs were slightly salty with a tad of sweetness and had a aftertaste that I didnt like (I cant describe it, but something like flavouring). Yicky.

The eggtarts on the otherhand..

Had thick, floury pastry and dry egg custard. Not enjoyable too .

Luckily the white coffee was satisfying

Thick, rich and had the kick.

The toasted kaya butter bread was just a filler. No complaints though.

We took a walk around the Ipoh railway station before we left..

Nice structures for picture taking and well maintained.

After saying goodbye to Ipoh, we made our way to Taiping...one of the wettest town in Perak (and Peninsular perhaps?).

It was drizzling when we reached and everything just looked so dull...

Not letting the weather doused our high spirits, we checked in to our hotel and quickly made our way out to town for another snack :p (time is the essence here coz we're here overnight and some eateries were only opened at specific hours..hehe).

My sis-in-law, who is from Taiping, reminded me to pop over to Larut Matang foodcourt, to try her favourite 'wet' char keoy teow. This Teo Cheow styled fried CKT was definitely different from any I've tried before- it's with sauce, laden with fishcakes, fishballs and char siew. It's delicious nonetheless, and eating it on such a cold weather really satisfy me.

The kuih stall was purported famous..

And we had a couple. And left unimpressed.

Only when I was back in KL later that I realised we tried the wrong kuihs..they were popular for their kuih talam/ seri muka :(

Alicia, who's intent on trying every popiah as long as the eatery serves it got her wish..

Very wet and mediocre though..

Wash it all down with their signature drink in Taiping....

Do-re-Mi- which is a mix of nescafe and barley. First sip was of barley fragrance and ends with coffee taste lingering in the mouth. Acquired taste, I rather enjoyed it, while Alicia just finds the combo darn weird.

We snacked on later at night, but not worth mentioning as it rained harder when night falls and we were not able to try some food that we initially planned to. :(

Chin Han Guan Biscuit shop is located at 145 Jalan Sultan Iskandar, 30000 Ipoh, Perak. Tel 05-254-5126 (it's better to call one day in advance to order the meatfloss biscuits to avoid disappointment, esp on weekends)

Larut Matang Food Court is located at Jalan Panggung, Taiping, Perak.

Axian Dim Sum, Taipan

Decided to pop by to Axian's a few weekends ago, as we were on our way to Taipan area. Since Axian is such a famous food presenter, his restaurant should serve ok food, right?

Parking was quite a breeze, the restaurant is located at the quiet end of Taipan. We were quickly ushered to our seats...

There were only a few special items to be ordered, the rest were served direct from trays/ steam trolleys.

We had quite a number of dim sums, think it's best for me to summarised per below....

The Good

Of that many dim sums I had here, sad to say, there were only a couple which I find were nice..

Bacon and mince pork roll

Smoky flavoured bacon were rolled and filled with juicy mince pork, pan fried with sweet sauce. The combination was wonderful and complementing, we all enjoyed this.

The lau sar bun..

A rather common dim sum dish now, Axian's version was rather decent. The filling was runny, yet thick- went well with the light, spongy bun. My mum did complain that it was too rich for her liking.

Steamed pork balls in chinese herbs..

I didn't take individual shots of this dim sum as my parents were hungry and I didn't want them to wait. But I think you could guess which one's the pork balls. The mince pork was very fresh and sweet, Axian boast of using high quality, organic pork which presumably gives a more intense flavour to the dish. The bitterish herbs went well to balance with the pork, I really enjoyed this dish.

The average Joes

Following the same picture above, the bean curd roll- it was good, but I find the thai sauce did overpower the light aroma of this dim sum.

The fried carrot cake was quite nice, the charred sides added bits of crunchiness to the soft carrot cake.

The deep fried yam puff..

One of my must order. Axian's version was decent- the yam wrap was quite thin, the filling was generous and not too salty.

The deep fried prawn roll

Just a tad too oily for me. Else, it's quite a tasty treat as the prawns were springy.

The century egg and shredded pork porridge

Well, I didn't try this, my dad had did. I asked how was it and his only reply was "Ok". So I categorise this as average :p

Steamed char siew buns

The filling was nice (skewing towards the sweet side), but sparse. The buns were soft, but just too thick.

The Bad

Chee Cheong Fun

Was served cold. The Chee Cheong Fun was thick.

Stuffed bitter gourd..

Just tasted artificial to me. Weird. Over fried? Too dry? Maybe.

Both the steamed pork ribs and steamed chicken feet (in my earlier picture) tasted bad to me too. The pork ribs were chewy and bland while the chicken feet, again tasted artificial to me. Ugh.

Will I be back? No unless I really had to.

Axian Dim Sum (Taipan Branch) is located at 32 Jalan USJ 9/5n, UEP Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Dim sum@ Jaya Palace, PJ

Whenever I crave for dim sum in PJ, it's not hard for me to decide on Jaya Palace. The dim sums there reminds me of those in HK (almost) and the portions are generous. On weekends, the restaurant is bustling- large families, children running about, peals of laughter can be heard frequently. Only thing missing was the pushcarts filled with piping hot dim sum.

Their dim sum menu had quite a selection of steamed dim sums, deep fried dim sums, porridge, noodles, appetizers and roasted meats to choose from. Since there's only 2 of us that day, I cant order that much :(

The har gau..

Thin skin with a generous filling of succulent prawns. Good way to start our brunch, piping hot prawns warmed our bellies immediately.

The special siew mai..

Jaya Palace's version reminds me of the siew mai served in Lin Heung, HK. Well, looks alike, but I must say, this one tasted better. There's 3 types of siew mai in this plate- one topped with pork liver, the other with stomach while the last was with quail egg. The toppings were not impressive, it was the meat that got my vote. The pork was chopped coarsely with mushroom and prawns-the combination was luscious, springy and delicious.

The deep fried turnip must be eaten fast..

The crust was nice and flaky when it's piping hot, it does feel a tad thick when it's cold. The filling of turnip came juicy, slightly mushy and aromatic, a nice contrast to the crunchy skin. I've tried this a couple of times and I noticed the filling differs on several occasions. Sometimes, it had a thin layer of cheese in it.

I was rather excited when I saw that steamed beef balls was in their menu..

Alas, it's not the texture I was looking for. Sure, the centre was pink and pretty, but the texture was rather fishball like, rather than the mince meat version that I much preferred. Taste wise, it was decent though, the beef was fresh and bouncy to bite.

For steamed spareribs lovers like me, please make sure you order this!

The sauce was light and aromatic with wine, the ribs was smooth and supple while the yam bits at the bottom of the plate came as a wonderful complement to the spareribs. Yums!

The stir fried carrot cake was a disappointment though..

We were so sure that it'll taste good as it smells excellent and looks mouth watering. Most unfortunately, it was too salty. I've never reordered this again on my other visits, maybe I will...one fine day.

The xiao loong bau on the other hand, got our votes..

The soup filling was robust and smooth, the meat moist and went delightfully with the vinegar sauce.

Another one of my must order- yam puff

An enjoyable version, the yam paste was velvety and the filling was not too salty.

Though we were stuffed, we had to end our meal with some desserts :p

The ubiquitous chilled mango puree with pamelo. I seriously had low expectations of this dessert, how different can it be? Yes, well, the ingredients were the same, but the preparation definitely made a difference. The puree was creamy and the texture was obvious from blended fresh mangoes. The level of sweetness was perfect, ie, not too sweet. Satisfying way to end the meal :).

I cant recall the exact amount we paid, but it averaged about RM30+ per pax.

Jaya Palace is located at Wisma LYL, Jalan 51a/223, Seksyen 51a, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. As Jaya Palace is a branch of Imbi Palace, guess PJ based fans of Imbi Palace dimsums have a closer alternative now.

Have you Lou-ed? :)

Am back- well rested and feeling very prosperous indeed (from the non stop eating since pre CNY :p)..
From all the eating and drinking, am sure many of us have eaten multiple lou sangs :p, but if you have not, there's a few I've tried, maybe can help you with some decision making? :D

Extra Super Tanker

With a name like that, one would assume that the portions are gigantic. I guess so since the captain actually prevented us from ordering some dishes as she deemed that what we've order 'were too much and we cant finish it". hmmm.

We had half portion yee sang (RM33)

This was the smallest, most miserable portion of yee sang I've ever seen. Size aside, the taste was ok- very old school taste other than the fact that they used olive oil for a healthier alternative.

Funny that they say about being healthier eating coz the dishes they recommended were rather sinful..

We had the roasted duck served with their steamed bread (RM78, full portion)..

The roased duck was delicious; it was very juicy, the meat was nicely marinated with some herbs flavour while the skin was crisp. The carved duck meat was stuffed into the homemade buns, with some deep fried yam, fried dried shrimps and sweet bean paste. I find it too oily- having the plain old roasted duck was better.

Other dishes we tried was the Thousand Layer Tofu and some chicken with fish paste and cheese (not in menu, it was recommended by the restaurant)

The thousand layer tofu was nice to go with rice as the sauce was rather salty. The tofu was quite fragrant, the layered mince pork goes well with the salty sauce and sauted shalots.

The deep fried fish paste, chicken, cheese dish was too rich for me. The cheese was oozing, the deep fried skin retained a lot of oil and even the century egg slices did not tone down the richness. The honey mustard dip was nice though.

The final part of the dinner ended with the Lap Mei Farn ( Waxed sausages rice, RM60)

Freaking huge pot, the waxed sausages was served in a separate plate. A quick mix and we get a yummy bowl of fluffy waxed sausage rice. Very nice though we suspected that the sausages were steamed separately and the oil was poured over the rice before serving (rather that steaming together with the rice pot).

Jaya Palace

It was a busy night when we went for dinner at Jaya Palace. There was a wedding reception, a company dinner and us, walk-ins...Not sure if the quality was compormised since it was a very busy and messy night.

Many of our initial orders were "not available" or "sold out". :(

So we settled for the Yee Sang..

Nice version and some sliced pears were used- gave a refreshing, sweet crunch to the yee sang. The sauce was not too sour nor sweet, which was good.

Other dishes we order were 2 portions of the roasted pork, Wayne's favourite. This was not the melt in mouth types, but solid meat, crunchy skin types. Goes well with the mustard but am still a loyal fan of melt in mouth roasted pork. The salt and pepper pork ribs was average. Meat was dry and marination was weird (to me). The beancurd was silky and light, which I liked while the braised white cabbage with dried scallop was delicious with white rice and comfort food for the hungry belly.

Everyone agrees that the smoked duck was excellent though...

The duck meat had absorbed a lovely, lingering smoky aroma. Still tender, the sauce went very well with the duck. Absolutely scrumptious.

Mei San Szechuan Restaurant

We wanted some halal lou sang and Mei Shan was very near our office..

The yee sang was the worst I've tried so far..

Why? Coz it was not fresh. Some ingredients were soggy. :(

Started off with plans for dishes, but ended with their buffet dimsum. The choices were aplenty and they serve very promptly too, but only a few dimsums were nice. Others were just average and no worries, none were bad. Think the steamed dimsums fared better, the siew mai, steamed otak, some steamed turnip and chicken in foil were all delicious. The longan pak hup dessert was very satisfying too.

Extra Super Tanker Restaurant is located at 48, SS20/10, Damansara Kim, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-77267768 / 03-77267769.

Jaya Palace Restaurant is located at Menara LYL, 12 Jalan 51A/223, 46100 Petaling Jaya .Tel: 03-79682000.

Mei San Szechuan Restaurant is located at Quality Hotel City Centre Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur

Emperor Q, Pavillion, KL

Have been many months since we met ES, so we decided to pop over to Pavillion for lunch for a lil bit of catching up..

Since ES works around that area, we got him to suggest a place for makan.

Emperor Q..the reply was almost immediate.

Ordering was quite easy; we wanted to snack on some dim sum, ES wanted his rice and boss wanted noodles. Me? I'll just eat what ever they ordered :p

Some High Mountain Tea before we start our meal...ES insisted we should have this famous tea from taiwan. The colour's light but flavour's pretty intense. Leaves a slight bitter fragrant aftertaste.

Somehow our orders were slightly distorted...the mains came before the dimsums..

First was ES's must have; Cod fish rice in hot stone. (RM13.50)The small chunks of cod fish was served raw, give the rice some good stirring and the meat's cooked. The rice was fluffy, had yummy sauce base and of course, had the charred bits which i like. And the cod was cooked just nicely, giving some juicy bits to bite into. Good stuff.

Boss wanted some noodles, so we had squid mee sua (RM20.80)

Ok, this was definitely not what we saw in the menu. But never mind, this portion looks bigger. aherm. Their mee sua is thicker...more ramen like actually. The soup's herbalish, thick. I thought I tasted something nutty in the soup base, boss and ES thought I was nuts. Oh well. Boss really enjoyed it nonetheless. The squid was mediocre, a tad chewy. I like the egg served in the noodles, hard boiled, but not thoroughly cooked. Lovely texture.

And our dimsums were finally served..

The fried carrot cake with shrimp (RM10.80)

Large portion of carrot cake with lots of shrimps.Was pretty good though more wok hei would have been much better.

Siew Mai (RM6)

Very juicy and sweet. Springy pork texture, I find this tasty.

The Char Siew Bao (RM5.80 for 2)

Though the bun's fluffy, it was slightly thick. But it was alright. Nice to have it steaming hot.

Last of our orders, deep fried yam dumpling (RM6)

The yam paste was creamy, the exterior crisp. The filling was delicious, just the right amount of tender, well marinated meat. Delicious.

We decided not to try their dessert, we went somewhere else for that..hehe (yes, we still wanted to eat..).

Emperor Q is located at 1st Floor, Pavillion Food Court. Next to Mercato.