Perak Palates Paradise (Part 1 of 2)

As I was saying, there is no shame in holidaying with the kids LOCALLY. We did it when we were young, and God forbid that my offspring should grow up thinking it is their right to get their passport stamped everytime the school holidays come. Too bad, if in their essays on "what I did during the school holidays", their classmates tell the class about dining at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in London, or they went tracking to the Tiger's Nest Monastery in Bhutan, and stayed at the USD2000 a night Umar Paroi resort. Nah, no no no, my character building involves cheap holidays, if possible, national service, and cheap eats along the way. Nothing sends more shivers down my spine than parents who tell me, "My kids eat only haagen daz", or "My kids don't eat in coffee shops, because no air cond". Trust me, they exist, these little brats.

So, here we are, bundled up in the wife's bus, heading towards Ipoh. Why Ipoh? Oh, there's free accommodation there for us. A relative's house. The kids get to play with their cousins, from dawn to midnight, the place has as many computers as a small cyber cafe, ....it really doesn't get any better for them. Which kid would rather be looking at art in the Louvre, rather than romping around with all day playing Runescape and other interactive games and ......indulging in some token outdoor activity?

I've been craving for the famous Pun Chun Duck Noodles in Bidor for years now. It's the nostalgia, of a carefree youth gone by, I guess.








Their famous yam puff and kaya puffs. Well, I found neither to be much to shout about, to be honest. But it's not bad either. A nice breakfast.


Wantan noodles. The noodle texture is nice and "song", but I dont know about these northern charsius that all look a bit too red to be real. Wonder what kind of red dye they use.

The famous Ngap Toi Mee. (Duck drumstick). Actually, it is rather yummy. The soup is a nice herbally soup, with chinese wolfenberry, strands of tong kuai, etc. I would have preferred the soup to be hotter. I like my soups piping hot. For some reason, it wasn't. Anyway, my breakfasting experience was completely ruined when one kid knocked over his newly arrived glass of Milo ice, spilling it over the brother who then wailed like a woman who's Dolce Gabanna had had red wine thrown over it.....roll eyes. Kids these days. I swear they, the boys, especially, could do with a good dose of Outward Bound School, or better still, Royal Military College.

Another 40 minutes later, we were in Ipoh. Before my bro in law moved up, it was inconceivable that I would ever vacation in this sleepy town. Even Ipoh folk express surprise knowing we're going there for holiday. I have to say, the Ipoh Kueh Teow in Ipoh is EXCELLENT. Unlike Hainanese Chicken Rice in Hainan Island, which is absolutely gross. But that's another story altogether.

No trip to Ipoh is complete without eating at my favourite Ipoh Hor Fun shop.

Rumour has it that Ipoh girls are all beautiful because of the water that trickles down the limestone hills. Obviously its a myth. However, it is true though that their taugeh is super plump, and juicy.

Moving on in the food crawl, next stop, dessert. Ipoh Coffee at Sin Yin Loong, and caramel custard. The coffee is divine. Nice and kau, if a bit diabetes inducing. I think any specific order for kurang manis, in any language, just falls on deaf ears. You might as well be telling them, I want to sleep with your mother.

Sweet, sweet and more sweet. Not exactly my thang, but well, once in a while, and also not to appear too antisocial one indulges. I am not a caramel custard fan, but I can see why the fans would ooh and ah over this one. Silky SILKY smooth. Gorgeous texture.

We then went in search of the famous Tau Foo Fa "drive in", a hole in the wall, basically, but with queues of beemers and other luxury cars awaiting their turn for a bowl of this. 80 sen, and worth every cent. Smooth and almost creamy.

Dinner was the famous ngar choy kai. (Bean sprouts and chicken). It was pouring torrential rains and we got out the sampan to row to the restaurant. Malaysians are unperterbured, and don't mind getting their feet wet as long as their stomachs are warm.

I did learn something new though. When you order rice, its only white rice. They don't serve the yau fan (oily rice) that we've become accustomed to here. Even the Ipoh Chicken place here in Jln Gasing serves oil rice. Apparently that's hainanese chicken rice. Distinct from Ipoh Chicken Rice. Nor do they serve those chilli sauces. But good, nevertheless.

For sake of expediency in downloading the page, I shall break the post into two.