Roadtrip- Perak (Part 3)

Can you write another post soon? Enough of vegetarian as the main page of your blog.
A friend asked me recently.
Ok, I have to admit, I've been neglecting my blog for sometime now.
Yes, the thought of 'retiring' from food blogging has crossed my mind many times recently and am still seriously comtemplating the decision.
But, I still have a friend reading my blog, and for that, I shall continue to blog. For now.
I'd better wrap up the Perak trip- the final part of it.
The third day of our road trip and we woke up to a rainy, dull morning in Taiping.
Sigh, I guess it garnered the "wettest" town in Peninsular for a reason..
Cold morning means hungry tummies and we promptly made our way in seek of Kaka, my sis-in-law's favourite breakfast place whenever she's back in her hometown.
It was full house at Kaka's, obviously a favourite haunt for the locals.
The owner, sensing we are 'not from Taiping' was very nice and led us to available seats. He recommended some popular choices to us, which we agreed to have.
Nothing beats boiling hot broth warming up the body on a chilly morning. We had a bowl of kuey teow soup noodles each, and shared a bowl of porkballs and fishballs.

The soup was light, yet had a sweetness from the pork bones. The flat noodles was smooth, lovely to just slurp it all down. The accompanying homemade chilli was a popular side 'dish'. Well, I'd rather lable it as side dish as most diners take it by the spoonfuls, dunking into their soup or dipping each noodles mouthful generously with chilli.

The meatball and fishballs were nice, but the braised chicken feet was a choice most patrons preferred, which I didnt get to try as my traveling partner dont take such 'delicacies' (the portion was too large for me alone :( ..).

After our satisfying breakfast at Kaka's, we went for a short walk at Taiping lake, since the rain stopped and this seemed to be our only window of opportunity to pop over :p.

Very trainquil, misty morning, Lake Taiping is picture perfect.

You must pop over to enjoy such serenity.

The walk left us slightly hungry, which led us to Restoran Air Kacang Taiping.
We heard that the popiah here was ultra good and we were here to be convinced :p
Are you a fan of wet popiah?
If Yes, then I concede, this was by far the yummiest wet popiah I've ever tasted. It's extremely good, the sengkuang was well cooked and juicy, the rest of the complimenting ingredients were fresh and delish as well. *thumbs up*
The soya milk (i had mine hot and mixed with tau foo fah) was quite nice, but the tau foo fah was not as smooth as Ipoh's.
Satiated from makan, we left Taiping..making our way back to KL..
The weather turned, it was getting hot as we travelled down south. Alicia suggested a stop over at Kampar- for me to pick up the curry chicken bun and for her to get her ais kacang fix.
The ais kacang place was almost deserted- it was way past lunch time, we were the only patrons.
Hmm, I definitely have my reservations.

Still, we were there and ais kacang we must eat. Alicia happily ordered her own tailor made version of ais kacang- she only wants it with red beans and peanuts.

Mine was the original flavour, ie, all ingredients included.

FMK's version was very old school- the shaved ice was thick and uneven, the evaporated milk and gula melaka was generously drizzled all over the dessert, the cendol, red beans, cincau, agar agar, corn paste all brought back wonderful memories of childhood :). If you are looking for refined version, please skip this.

I went to collect the famed Kampar curry chicken bun.For those who are not aware of Kampar's famed produce, this is a very large bun with curry chicken "parcel" hidden inside the bun.

The taste was ok, the bun was soft and a tad sweet, perfect to mop up the curry gravy. I just feel that they should have provided more gravy- there was just too much bun and too little gravy.

Our final detour was to Lata Kijang, a breathtaking waterfall hidden in the jungles.

Though the heat was sweltering, the air was much cooler then moment we were near the waterfall.

The sound of water gushing, birds chirping and insects twittering does wonders to relax one's soul and I felt so at ease when we walked towards the waterfalls.

We were treated with beautiful scenery, of flowing rivers and rajah brookes (theres more here than I've seen in sarawak!) floating all around us.

But of course, nothing could describe the majestic scene that befell us when we reached the clearing..

Simply breathtaking.

Cool water, musical sounds of nature. Such a precious gift from Mother Nature and I hope this place will be maintained as such for many years to come.

As we head home to KL, I am happy that I get to appreciate what Perak has to offer- and I hope I will get to revisit it soon in the future :)

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.

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)

Restoran Onn Kee, Ipoh

Last weekend, we went for a short trip to Penang..well, you've guessed it, it was an eating trip :p

And first pit stop for us was Ipoh, for some bean sprouts chicken (ngar choy gai) and we went to Restoran Onn Kee.

Onn Kee is as famous as Lou Wong, another ngar choy gai establishment located just a few shops away. They have their own fan base, though there's also a number of people finding it over rated.

Me? Well, as long as it taste good, it dont really matter being over rated or not..hehe

My first visit to Onn Kee was about 7 years back and I do pop by here whenever I'm in Ipoh.

Usual orders would be the beansprouts

Short, juicy, plump sprouts looks so gorgeous compared to Klang Valley scrawny, dry version. Delicious. And we always wonder why. And we'd always answer to ourselves..must be the water in Ipoh..haha

I've always loved porkballs..but they recommended a mix of fishballs and porkballs I still prefer the porkballs with the strong cuttlefish flavour. Yummy indeed. Fishballs paled in comparison.

Some hor fun (flat noodles) to go with the ngar choy gai..Dry version and soup version. Very smooth and just glides down our throats. Must be the water in Ipoh..hehe

And the other star that completes the ngar choy gai pair..

the chicken..The chicken meat was smooth, juicy and sweet. Though it does not look that appealing, the skin had a lovely texture; springy and smooth. Soaked lightly in the sauce, the combination is very tasty indeed.

Total bill was RM36.40 (for 4 person)

We left Onn Kee with a very full stomach, but we still managed to have a bowl of lovely tau foo fah before we left for Penang..woohoo

Restoran Onn Kee(Tauge Ayam) is located at 51, Jalan Yau Tet Sin, Ipoh.

Kedai Makanan Rasa Lain, Bercham

Our last stop for the day trip to Ipoh was to Kedai Makanan Rasa Lain at Bercham. It took us quite a while to find the restaurant as it has been a long time since the girls went to this restaurant.

SF wanted us to try the dishes here as she said that the seafood is fresh and tasty. Was glad that SF made reservations as it was full house when we reached :)

Though the restaurant was crowded, we didn't wait very long for our food to arrive..

Their specialty would be the claypot dish. You choose the seafood of your choice (in our case, we took prawns) to be cook in either vermicelli or porridge. When we got our pot, I thought we ordered soup..I figured they used the same soup base, just add in rice or vermicelli..and wah lah! I must say that this is delicious, the soup was heavily infused with wine and drenched with the sweetness from the prawns. And the prawns..goodness, it was so fresh. The meat was springy to the bite, the texture was simply beautiful.

Next was the lala..

Chung was so excited, he quickly took a piece of lala and SL screamed No! No! SC have not taken a shot yet!!! The poor guy was so shocked that he quickly rearrange the lala back to it's old spot..sorry Chung! Well, I guess the wait was worth it as the lala was lip smacking. Fresh lala cook in chinese wine, soy and sesame oil tasted superb, the flavours blends in beautifully. We could not stop eating this at all...

We were also recommended to try their homemade yu wat..But when it was served, it's actually yu dan (fishballs). Disappointment aside, I took a bite and were glad I get to try this too. Very springy, think you could play table tennis with this..hehe. Good nonetheless.

Needed some balance to our diet, hence the veg...Was ok..

We wanted to have crabs and we decided to have salted egg crabs... Not the best I've tried, but yummy enough..We were really full by the time we were done. So was the cat sitting next to me..We fed it with loads of seafood..hehe

Total bill was RM103.20.

Kedai Makanan Rasa Lain (Wei Bu Tong in Mandarin) is located at 69, Persiaran Medan Bercham 2, Pusat Bandar Baru Bercham, 31400 Ipoh, Perak. Tel: 012-5128407/ 012- 4853085/ 016-5675349