20 Oct
Ipoh Food Excursion I – Nam Heong, Kwong Heng, Sam Poh Tong, Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken, Onn Kee Taugeh Chicken, Yuan Wah Snow Beer
The title is self explanatory. Together with my usual partners in crime, we drove back to my lovely hometown, Ipoh and practically nonstop binge eating through out the week. I’m now having a hard time adjusting back to our usual de-lata lifestyle here at KL.
As usual, the balik kampung rush has choked the highway to death. Time flies when we were having fun gossiping and before we knew it, the Simpang Pulai toll is just few kms away.
1. Nam Heong
After dropping our stuff off at my place, our food excursion began with Nam Heong – the local antidote of Starbucks.
We were half famished with hunger after the long drive and the aroma of coffee whetted our appetite. Nam Heong’s coffee is as good as always; aromatic and smooth with a slight acidic note. Forget about Starbucks or Coffee Bean when you can get the best version for only RM 1.50.
The dim sum stall located inside Nam Heong is well known for their cheap and tasty offerings too. However, the quality is not consistent, just like the soggy and greasy yam puff that we got the other day.
The safest bet is always their egg tarts and cha siu pastries.
Excerpt from my older posts: “With the flaky pastry shells, the egg tart looked like it would fall apart any time. Handle with care, it exclaimed. I was expecting a gooey smooth and silky egg custard but it fell short of my expectation. But the cha siu pastry is to die for! Succulent barbecued pork in sweet sauce embedded in a parcel of crispy, flaky puff pastry. Need me to say more?”
We shared a plate of CKT from the supposingly famous stall called Lam Fong. It was decent, but nowhere near Penang’s CKT.
Kedai Makanan Nam Heong
Jalan Bandar Timah
Egg tarts and Cha Siu pastry from Nam Heong Dim Sum are sold at RM1.50 each
Opens from 7.30am to 4pm ( sold off as early as 2 pm)
Few steps away from Nam Heong is a nostalgic toys and snacks shop. Just going through all the old school snacks and sweets brings back a warm glow of nostalgia. Still remember those chocolate sticks, candy coated chocolate with a shape of “8″, Ding Dang & Tora chocolate coated biscuit balls? They are all my favourite childhood snacks!
2. Kwong Heng
We proceeded to Kwong Heng for more food.
Excerpt from my older posts: “Every time we visit this eatery, it’s a tussle for tables and the hawkers will rushed to your tables and laden you with choices, its a bit irritating for me but yet its their culture.
The main dish that customers go for is the pork satay. The old man who run the stall has a habit of thrusting plates of satay at your table. Just eat as many sticks of satay as you want and the remaining sticks of satay won’t be accounted for. I would recommend the innards satay even if you will scream at the sights of it! Trust me, take a bite and you won’t regret ”
The Yau Yee Ong Choy and Ipoh style Chee Cheong Fun in Kwong Heng was quite good too. If you are wondering what’s with those Hello Kitty figurines, it’s to represent our friends from sugarsugarbeanbean who were there with us in spirit.
Kwong Heng
Jalan Bandar Timah, Ipoh Old Town.
Next to House of Mirrors (Thean Chun).
Open mornings and afternoons only.
3. Sam Poh Tong
Did some sightseeing during meal intervals. Marvel at the sight of those beautiful limestones at Sam Poh Tong, Kek Lok Tong and Perak Tong.
4. Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken
Excerpt from my older post: “Salt-baked Chicken is loosely translated as ‘Yim gouk kai’ in Cantonese. It is prepared by using paper to wrap the chicken with chinese herbs such as Dong Guai and Gei Zhi (wolfberry) and covered with salts in a big oven. With this cooking technique, the meat will not lose its tenderness and the essence of chicken can be preserved as well. The combination of salt and herbs gives the meat a unique flavour.”
Aun Kheng Lim Restaurant
Theatre Street
(opposite Martell house or near Bak Gong restaurant in the city centre)
Tel: 05-254 2998
5. Onn Kee Taugeh Ayam
How could we missed the famous Ipoh Hor Fun? Somehow I prefer Onn Kee opposite the oldest and most established name of Lo Wong, but patrons came from other states will still prefer to have a taste of Lo Wong’s nga choi gai.
Many believe the water source with the right PH from the mountains surrounding Ipoh is the main secret behind this special delicacy- Cantonese Hor Fun - 河粉).
The fatter version of beansprouts – only available in Ipoh. Best to be dipped with the combination of chicken oil, dark soy sauce and sesame oil that make up the sauce. You can feel and hear the crunchiness of these bean sprouts while indulging in it.
The nga choy kai – 芽菜雞 that is extremely smooth. I saw them soaking the whole cooked chicken in ice water to retain the juicy and tender texture of the chicken.
braised chicken feet, chicken innards, canna lily bulb in it’s original states, nice wat dan hor from Tuck Kee next door.
Restoran Onn Kee
No 48,51,53
Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Ipoh.
6.30 pm to midnight
my family <3
Ipoh’s Specialty – Pomelos
Saw some cute little pastries in conjunction of Moon Cake Festival
6. Sun Yoon Wah Snow Beer
And finally, washed it all down with a glass of icy cool snow beer 雪花啤酒. Chilled at the certain temperature, layers of flaky ice is formed once the beer is poured against the chilled glass, just like an ice blended beer!
Posted by Christine on October 20, 2009 at 10:52 pm
great post dear and thx again for offering us accommodation and the full of FUYOH itinerary!
i want more nam heong egg tart and yim gok kai
[Reply]
Posted by claire on October 20, 2009 at 11:45 pm
hi…greetings from IPOH-ian from http://www.reanaclaire.com
I am so glad to come by to read what u wrote about ipoh, the places u have been for makan… even being an ipohian, i love to know what others say about ipoh, where to eat, what to eat… it gives me some suggestions where i should go.. hahaha…at times, i myself find it so difficult to find food here..
[Reply]
Posted by Ming Na on October 21, 2009 at 12:33 am
In fact, except for their coffee, there is only one type of food that worth trying – the Hakka noodles. Ipoh folks don’t eat the morsels and egg tarts at Nam Heong as they are real lousy compared to Kampung Simee’s Choy Kee’s egg tarts. If you go to Kwong Heng again in your next trip, please try the kai see hor fun as it is quite authentic and tasty.
[Reply]
Posted by SimpleGirl on October 21, 2009 at 8:54 am
yea, Lou Wong soup is horrible now….Onn Kee is better comparatively
[Reply]
Posted by allie on October 21, 2009 at 9:35 am
I love the char siew pastry and the ipoh taugeh! Yummy..
[Reply]
Posted by Lisan on October 21, 2009 at 10:39 am
Maybe you should bring your friends to some other places which you have not reviewed before. Here are some of restaurants/ stalls in Ipoh that I think worth a review too.
- Koh Kee Restaurant – it’s located at the small lane directly opposite Kong Heng. Their specialties are crispy skin chicken, “hung xiu” fish head, “3 wong tan”, stir fry watercress with belacan and roasted pork.
- Xian Yuen Long kopitiam’s white coffee
- the new Foh San restaurant
- honey chicken at Menglembu’s Wai Sik Kai
- Ah Tuck’s Chee Cheong Fun at Pasir Pinji (http://www.bigboysoven.com/2008/12/the-dying-art-of-a-good-delicious-the-best-chee-cheong-fun/)
- Cowan Street’s beansprout chicken
- Buntong “liu fun” (aka yeong tau fu) or Tai Shue Keok (Big Tree) @ Pasir Pinji
You should bring your friends to where the locals eat.
[Reply]
Posted by kampungboycitygal on October 21, 2009 at 11:02 am
christine: next time i go home will dabao for u ya
claire: haha same here. i tend to eat around gunung rapat n pasir pinji more. thats where me and my aunt lives.
ming na: the egg tarts at Nam Heong ok la, better than most egg tarts in KL. I agree about Choy Kee’s egg tarts! it’s the bomb! will do my post on that later I dun like kwong heng’s kai see hor fun, the broth is too sweet for me
simple girl: yeah big fans of onn kee n cowan street
lisan: i’m from ipoh too n i do agree that theres a lot more places worth trying
- Koh Kee Restaurant – my friend’s family business, been there many many times thats y a bit jelak now
- Xian Yuen Long – we did it in day 3, still prefer nam heong
- the new Foh – we did it in day 2
- honey chicken – yes my fave! n the mini wantan meen, but too far fr town la
- Ah Tuck’s Chee Cheong Fun at Pasir Pinji – hate the queue, need to take no. n wait
- Cowan Street’s – still prefer onn kee
- Buntong “liu fun” (aka yeong tau fu) or Tai Shue Keok (Big Tree) – went in day 2
allie: i miss pg food too!
[Reply]
Posted by ai wei on October 21, 2009 at 6:07 pm
dear, i also want more nam heong egg tart and yim gok gai! and 3rd road that heong peng. hehehe
miss that fun outing with you guys… when is next?
[Reply]
Posted by J2Kfm on October 21, 2009 at 10:42 pm
kong heng’s kai see hor fun is NOT good.
the good one is the Thean Chun, in my opinion, the coffee shop they call the Hall of Mirrors, next to Kong Heng.
[Reply]
Posted by thule aka leo on October 22, 2009 at 12:50 pm
my my… have u plan at least 2 days in Ipoh just to eat all those… not forget to mention sight-seeing!
only a handful of restaurants in Klang Valley that offer snow beer… suddenly crave for it tim…
[Reply]
Posted by Simon Seow on October 27, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Ah, I miss Ipoh food. Long time never been there already. Must add in to my travel list after I service my car kau kau.
[Reply]
Posted by Sue Me on November 4, 2009 at 7:55 pm
nice nice..i miss going back to ipoh and conquer the food before i come back to KL with a sad face. hahaha..btw where is the snow beer place ah? I saw the signboard before but it didnt cross my mind where is it..can tell me the location please? thanks
[Reply]
Posted by ipoh Food Excursion | KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL on November 15, 2009 at 6:33 pm
[...] Continued from Day 1… [...]
Posted by Jaclyn on December 5, 2009 at 11:57 am
Hai guy,
Sry for disturbing you at this column, I have a stall in Tasek Square and we are selling home make noodles which I believe this is the 1st one in Ipoh and would like to get in touch with you. Can you kindly return a mail to me at my e-mail add to let me know which is the way for me to get in touch with you. Your co-operation is much appreciated and hope to hear from you soon.
Tks a lots……………
rdgs
Jaclyn
[Reply]
Posted by meg-meg on December 13, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Satay at Kong Heng! DUH! Disgusting! Do you know that those not eaten on your plates will be the next Customer’s servings? I guess you don’t know about this do you? Yes Yes their practice for years and years. Now you consider that still delicious!! H1N1!
[Reply]
kampungboycitygal Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
meg-meg: we knew that, but the satays were untouched, as long as they don’t serve us with leftover peanut sauce. haha
[Reply]
Posted by Thomas Chua on December 13, 2009 at 6:56 pm
U r GREAT. I WILL detour into Ipoh on my next trip to KL. Tks for the recommendation. U Ipoh Chai knows BEST.
[Reply]
kampungboycitygal Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
thx thomas, we have part III, will post it up soon
[Reply]
Posted by Thomas Chua on December 13, 2009 at 6:57 pm
…and the beer….is simply o la la……..especially on a hot day. Cheers, Salute!
[Reply]
kampungboycitygal Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
yeah very very cooling. have u tried it
[Reply]
Posted by Ipoh Food Excursion III - The Best of Ipoh & Tanjung Tualang | KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL on January 7, 2010 at 1:18 pm
[...] four long weekends where we can do food excursions up north or down south like this (part II) or this (part I). However, if you do have time to do a food trip to Ipoh, please read [...]
Posted by Alvin on January 16, 2010 at 2:07 am
can i know the location or address for the Sun Yoon Wah Snow Beer??
[Reply]