KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Old Town is always a pride of Ipoh people with the origination of White Coffee, curry noodles who made their name to foreign land, hor hee that attracts patrons from other states and other scrumptious variety of food. For me, it is a place that stir up nostalgia because it is a place where my parents brought me for afternoon tea since young before Starbucks, Coffee Bean or the air conditioned Old Town Kopitiam came along.

Enough said about the aromatic white coffee at Nam Heong. I’m going to introduce this particular dim sum stall that gained their popularity through the hot selling egg tarts and cha siu pastry. It is rare to see patrons that can resist the buttery-smelling pastry. Over 1000 tarts are sold on normal days but the sales shot up to double during public holidays.

With the flaky pastry shells, the egg tart looks like it would fall apart any time. Handle with care, it exclaimed. I was expecting a somehow gooey smooth and silky egg custard but it falls short of my expectation.

Anyway, the cha siu pastry is to die for! Succulent barbequed pork in sweet sauce is embedded in a parcel of crispy, flaky puff pastry. Need me to say more?

Kedai Makanan Nam Heong
Jalan Bandar Timah
Egg tarts and Cha Siu pastry from Nam Heong Dim Sum are sold at RM1.30 each (buy 10 free 2).
Opens from 7.30am to 4pm ( sold off as early as 2 pm)

Read Also:

Ipoh Old Town Food Crawl (from bfast to tea)

Tea at Ipoh Old Town

Macarons? Is it the coconut laced chewy cookies? Not to be confused over macaroons and macarons, macaron is actually these ethereal dome-shaped cookies with a beautiful ruffled layer beneath. Not to forget the heart melting cream filling sandwiched between.

It is something that I wanted to experiment with since ages ago those horror stories about macaron failure refrained me from doing so. Glad that I joined Sunny’s class, I realized that with the right technique and ingredients, baking macarons is such a breeze!!

So I’ll let the pictures do the talking while you guys gasped (or rather surprise that this girl also can bake?!).

The Making…

Taaa-Daaa!

The Entrements…

Yut Kee has been around since 1928, serving cups of local-style brew and traditional fare as patrons discover a taste for nostalgia. It is atmospheric with its dark wooden chairs, round marble tables, old portraits and hand written menu hang on the wall.

Hainanese are generally labeled as excellent cook in whipping up westernized Malaysian dishes during the pre-war era, and the founder of Yut Kee is one of them. The restaurant is passed down to Jack Lee, and eventually his son who stand at the cashier all the time. I guess that the secret recipe is still very much similar within the family.

I’ve been here for quite a number of times, on weekends it is so blissful where the elderly reading newspaper with their cuppa but weekdays lunch hour crowd is catastrophic sometimes. Fret not because food is served in a jiffy despite the crowd.

Hainanese Pork Chop (RM7). The pork fillet fried in a batter is served with some good ol’ sautéed onions, peas and potatoes. The Worcestershire based sauce goes really well with the pork chops and potatoes. Somehow, it gives me a very homely taste, with the healthy looking brown sauce, mum’s style potatoes and no fuss fried pork fillet with simple marinates.

Roti babi (RM 7) sounds politically incorrect but it tastes good. It is filled with meat stuffing consisting of fried minced pork, onions, carrots, crab meat and spices. The light and fluffy bread is dipped into egg batter to be deep fried. Dunk it onto some Worcestershire Sauce and you are in seventh heaven.

Do try their belacan fried rice and salted fish fried rice too, you’ll be amazed at how good the fried rice taste. Other than staples such as noodles and rice, patrons can opt for bread toasted the old style using charcoal and to bring home bottles of home made kaya and belacan too.

Yut Kee Restaurant

35 Jalan Dang Wangi

(Opposite Capital Square and Wilayah Complex)

Tel. 03-2698-8108.

Opens from 8am-5pm daily, closed Mondays and last Sunday of the month.

It was raining cats and dogs, and we actually braved the traffic snarl from KL to Kota Damansara because we knew that the dinner hosted by Chef Steven is going to be a reward for all the hassles gone through.

Double Happiness “Seong Hei Lam Mun” (RM 13 per 100gram) is served in a jiffy because everyone was famished by then. When it came we were pleased with the presentation of the dish: the re-assembled lobster, tail inverted, with the flesh sashimi-ed to be eaten is served on a bed of ice. The translucent chunks are so sweet and crunchy, especially after seconds of boiling in the superior soup. All of us enjoyed it immensely.

Later in the meal, the head, is served ala braised yee mee style. It was another stunning sensation because the broth is surprisingly sweet and the yee mee is done perfectly, not too soggy and not too hard.

Eight Treasured Duck (RM 80). According to Chef Steven, the duck is marinated and braised until fork tender, then glazed in its own simmering sauce. A deft cut from the cleaver revealed the outburst of ingredients such as chestnuts, chinese mushrooms, button mushrooms, carrots, chinese sausages, lotus seeds, ginkgo and wood fungus.

Boneless Fish with Meat Paste (RM 18). The chef painstakingly deskins and debones the fish, chopped the flesh into slivers, reassembled the glue-ish slivers and sheets of thin fish skin to the fish head. I’ve tried the same boneless fish at Ah Lit and Banting’s Beggars Chicken place, I think that mei chi xuan’s version flares well.

Dried Oyster with Stuffing “Hou See Fatt Choy” (RM 50). Another surprise of the evening. The rich mouth-feel of the sauce with the bouncy fish paste with strains of black moss, slightly gamy oysters is simply divine! It is always startling to discover that dried oyster (hou see) and black moss (fatt choy) is match made in heaven. Hou see is usually spotted whenever fatt choy is around, vice versa.

Salt and Pepper Fish Baits, Pak Fan Yu (RM 20). Whitebaits dressed in light batter, are deep fried and served over a light seasoning of salt and pepper. It was too bland for my taste bud though, would prefer a heavy seasoning of salt and pepper.

Fried Potato with XO Sauce (RM 15). Being the carb lover, I enjoyed the texture of crunchy stir fried potatoes and the flavor of the XO sauce.

Pumpkin with Tofu “Wong Gum Moon Ngok” (RM 20) is definitely something light to end the day. The golden-brown concoction of pumpkin goes well with their home made silky smooth tofu.

Dear bulging tummy, I’m so sorry, the tofu is not the end yet! It was very thoughtful of BBO to bring us some Lychee and Chestnut Light Cheese Cake, and I just can’t say NO to desserts. Please allow me some space, will ya?

And so, the night ends with a beautiful rendition of birthday song for Christine and some sharing session with Chef Steven.

What makes the menu so interesting is the way the new dishes all emphasize texture and the contextually auspicious name. When is better then, to have the auspicious food for Chinese New Year? Do make a reservation in advance for the Chinese New Year menu.

Restaurant Mei Chi Xuan
No. 32A1, Jalan 5/10,
PJU 5 Dataran Sunway,
Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

Tel: 03-61416122
H/P: 016-2783089 (Steven)

Read Also: First Visit & Second Visit

Well my Korea trip few months back was fun while it lasted; met a lot of nice people along the way so it was great. Guess one of the most prominent aspects of the trip was Korean hospitality. These are the nice people that left us making a vow to spread the word about the how the very fascinating Korea and her people.

We knew that it is a great time to repay their hospitality when ajashi (uncle) made a pit stop at Malaysia to see his son. Victor suggested dinner at Robson Heights, well even the celebrity floggers raved about them, so Robson Heights it is.

The first dish was their signature pork ribs (yat zhi guat) with deliciously sweet and tangy sauce were melt in your mouth tender. Oh my god, we were having a great time gobbling on the fall-off-the-bone ribs. When I mean fall off the bone, they do really fall off with a few shakes.

Deep fried butter squid (Nai Yao Sotong). I like their way of serving where a generous amount of chicken floss was sprinkled on top of the dish. The squids, encased in a light batter were slightly chewy but we enjoyed every bits of it. The texture was the fun part I guess. You can’t go wrong with butter-laden food and high-carb indulgence; nor can anything deep fried taste bad after all.

Herbal chicken was served in a Chinese crock pot within minutes. The chicken was surprisingly moist and tender after long hours of soaking in the herbal concoction.

Steamed Marble Goby (Soon Hok) is the star dish of the night. Fresh from the tank, the meat is lean and moist with a mild flavor. It costs a whopping RM 140 per kg but believe me, it is promisingly delicious.

The obligatory greens – Mixed Vegetables with Macadamia Nuts. Vegetables such as sweet peas, asparagus, arrowheads (nga ku), lotus roots, celeries and deep fried macadamia nuts are stir fry in a smoky soy garlic. The topping of flaky dried squids gives it an extra flavor and texture too. It actually gives eating green the devious way because it feels like munching on some crunchy snack food.

It was an evening filled with laughter, credits to ajashi’s sense of humour. Communication is not a problem over here because he’s not a typical ajashi with monosyllabic English ability; in fact he speaks fluent English.

The total bill? RM 350++. The great deal of time spent talking and catching up with each other? Priceless. (thx Meena!)

Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant
10B, Jalan Permai,
Off Jalan Syed Putra, 50460 KL.
Tel: 03-2274 6216

I’ve heard myth that getting hooked on having banana leaf rice will doomed me to a bloated fate. Too much of good thing will make me a sinner of calories and fats afterall. But..but..but… I just have to do it, those nasty cravings strike from time to time that I found myself to be a regular at Sri Nirvana, Sri Grand City and Kanna Curry House.

To avoid the crazy lunch crowd, we came here for dinner from time to time. We love sitting under the shades of trees and dine or perhaps just sip a cool glass of Bru Coffee and coconut drink.

The chiller right in front of the entrance is showcasing all the marinated seafood and poultry; just pick the victim and they will get it done for you. Lined up alongside inside the restaurant, are trays after trays of cooked Indian dishes.

I was hooked after I took a sip of Bru few months back and it has become my default drink at a banana leaf rice place. It gives the taste of a perfect filter coffee, but comes in a relatively lower price. Trust me, it’s the best coffee with fresh cow milk you could sip anytime of the day.

Within seconds, plain white rice and veggie dishes are served on the large sheet of banana leaf laid upon you. Other than the obligatory veggies, I always request for an additional serving of Papadums and Tairu yogurt (it’s free).

Beneath the chapping and cracking looking skin, the deep fried chicken is actually very succulent and tender. It is not your usual deep fried tumeric chicken, but an extravagantly spiced chunk of chicken with an Indian flavour. The chicken is so good that it has made me into violating a strict discipline in resisting a second order (one of my new year resolution).

The curry mutton is another mind blowing food with cooked to perfection mutton pieces and pleasantly spicy curry gravy. I’ve heard horror stories of Indian / mamak stalls use Panadol as a cheaper source meat tenderizer. Maybe I can choose to feast on curry mutton instead of swallowing the pills during my feverish time.

No complains on the tosai too, slightly tangy with crisp line and soft centre.

It is very thoughtful for them to let us chew on some caraway seeds after a heavy meal to freshen the breath. We were told that its essential oil is found in many mouthwash, toothpaste and chewing gum available in the market too. We will definitely remember to chew on these breath freshener after an Indian meal because we are the thoughtful bunch.

No 29, Jalan 17/45, 46400 Petaling Jaya
03 7958 4814
Open 7 days a week 7am to 10pm.
Located between a row of shops just behind Lisa de Inn.
Branch at Bandar Sri Menjalara Kepong, same row as De Foodland.

See Also: Sri Nirvana Bangsar, Sri Grand City PJ, Yong Suan Nasi Ganja Ipoh (MUST TRY)

In Ipoh, eating“Zhu Fan” is so popular that in fact we have the saying among ourselves (or maybe just my family, but who cares? :p) that Ipoh is a land distinguished for its “Zhu Fan” culture. Choose from kuey teow, mee hoon, yellow noodles or rat tailed noodles to assorted seafood or poultry, each zhu fan is made to order. The cook will use a huge metal saucepan to boil the broth and cook the noodles over large fire in a jiffy.

Apparently Fai Kee is a place that comes highly recommended by families and friends for their zhu fan. So here we are, on a Sunday morning, idling at our table in anticipation of a bowl of goodness.

First to arrive on our table is the pork noodles (RM3.50). There’s something about the noodles combined with the savory broth, firm springy noodles, pork slices, intestines and lightly crisp greens.

Seafood noodles (RM 4) have been the star of the table. The bowl is a tangled nest for big fat, curled shrimp, thick slices of stingrays, lalas, squid and shitake mushroom. A generous portion of firm noodles, delicate sweet broth and a wide selection of seafood goes into making it a delicious affair. You can actually have three bowls of these with the price that you pay for Yu Ai’s. Grin

As bloated as I’ve gotten on the noodles, I’ve started yearning to snack on the deep fried minced pork(RM3.50). The bite size snack is crispy on the outside and slightly chewy and juicy inside.

I applaud Fai Kee for their efficiency and courteousness despite the ridiculous large crowd. Do hop over to EatinOut to take a peep at the infamous garoupa fish slices noodles (must order).

Restoran Fai Kee (same row as Overseas and opposite Hotel Excelsior)
28, Jalan Seenivasagam,
30450, Ipoh.
Tel : 012 – 4546111

A simple grilled fish or a plate of fresh seafood is always a guarantee for an excellent meal. There is this grilled fish stall that we frequented over the months, it serves as a quick yet satisfying dinner most of the time. Albeit an unrefined atmosphere to dine in (just another hot and stuffy food court), the food served is always rewarding.

We were sitted right in front of the stall, which we would choose to avoid usually. The smell will just retain on your hair and clothing in a moment. Such sacrifices were made for the sake of catching the cook in action.

You can choose from a wide array of seafood, e.g. sting ray, squid, prawns to get the grilled treatment. DO request for a plate of white rice to tone down the spiciness.

The presentation is straightforward, our grilled to order stingray (RM 15) was served with a spicy sour condiments of cincaluk and lime juice. The fish was grilled to perfection with crispy golden brown layer and the flesh was succulent and sweet. Stingray with ammonia smell is a total rip off, but we smell fresh ocean breeze out of this. We actually think that soft bone of stingray’s wing is actually the best part that we mouth it down without second thought. Slurp

The lackluster squids come slattered with spicy sambal, teeny weeny bits of dried shrimps and shallots provide a crunchy dimension to the enjoyable chewy squid. It was good, but not spectacular compared to the grilled stingray.

Feeling adventurous, I opted for Stew Rice (Braised Pork with Preserved Salted Vegetables) instead of my usual order of Mee Yoke Prawn Noodles. It turns out to be a mistake. I have never had a problem with too much of fats or leans, but the dish is too salty that I frowned while struggling to finish it off.

You’ll know that the yao char kuay (chinese crullers) is something not to be missed, judging from the long queue. Selling at RM 0.70 each, the deep fried goodies is really good.

See Also : Lim Mee Yoke SS2 (Day Time)