Not food as in starving for sustenance... But, travel to enjoy (read 'indulge' in) certain select foods!

Ohhhh, where do I begin.... Breakfast? Lunch?? Dinner??? By the days... - Day 1, Day 2...? Or most outstanding meal? Hmmmm, or should I say, a lip-smacking mmmmmmm....!! And yes, it's a well-known fact that Malaysians love their food, and will travel practically anywhere for food! 

Hence, when the family planned a short trip up to Ipoh, a town North of the capital Kuala Lumpur (KL), it's not surprising friends asked, "Ohhhh, for the food, right?" Lol.... I just thought of Ipoh as a destination as I haven't actually toured the place - we usually only pass through Ipoh while on the way to the more popular Penang island. So, this was to be a discover-Ipoh-as-a-holiday-destination-type trip. Which I must admit did turn into a food-seeking trip in the end! One can't deny destiny...

Bear with me - if I can't squeeze everything into this one post, there will be a part 2... Without further ado...

Meal 1: Chicken Rice

Steamed or/and roasted chicken served with (imagine this) the most aromatic rice cooked in the juices of a broiled chicken! (If my cooking terms are spot on...) In Ipoh everyone loves the beansprouts as it seems from the nearby limestone hills flow the exact right quality of spring water that feeds and produces the crunchiest, healthiest sprouts of beans (see the white veggie thingys; I'll provide close-ups in awhile...) Ipoh locals boast nowhere else will you get any beansprouts of the same quality. Lettuce topped with a generous sprinkling of fried garlic and its oil, sesame oil and light soy sauce.

Steamed, drenched with the right mix of sauces.... or....
Steamed, drenched with the right mix of sauces.... or....
...roasted, one can’t go wrong as both types of chicken are juicy and tender morsels, never dry
...roasted, one can't go wrong as both types of chicken are juicy and tender morsels, never dry
Ipoh’s very own beansprouts! Fat, short, crunchy and juicy...
Ipoh's very own beansprouts! Fat, short, crunchy and juicy...
Lettuce lightly blanched and dressed with light soy sauce, sesame oil and topped with delicately fried garlic
Lettuce lightly blanched and dressed with light soy sauce, sesame oil and topped with delicately fried garlic
You will definitely ask for extras of the rice - cooked with chicken juices and ginger, and I’m guessing some garlic maybe... absolutely to die for! It’s good enough to just eat it on its own
You will definitely ask for extras of the rice - cooked with chicken juices and ginger, and I'm guessing some garlic maybe... absolutely to die for! It's good enough to just eat it on its own
We ordered fish balls (errr, I missed getting shots of it! You can see it in the topmost photo) and pork balls - these were firm, with a solid bite to them!
We ordered fish balls (errr, I missed getting shots of it! You can see it in the topmost photo) and pork balls - these were firm, with a solid bite to them!

How good was it? The four of us had to add another two more portions of chicken and rice, before we sat back and declared, we couldn't eat another bite! And we made another trip on the last day for lunch before we returned home. That's how good it was!

Where?

The sign reads: Lou Wong Beansprouts (tauge) Chicken (ayam) Restaurant
The sign reads: Lou Wong Beansprouts (tauge) Chicken (ayam) Restaurant

Note: Both KL (the capital city where we're from) and Ipoh, are now in Phase 4 of the covid restrictions which is pretty relaxed; inter-state travel is permitted, however we got to wear face masks when not dining, social distancing is still practised. Outdoor and indoor dining is allowed, so we chose to dine al fresco. It was a nice cool evening, with light breezes.

Supper!

We had to go check out what else was around the corner (short drive away) since we had early dinner; not that we were hungry, but just 'curious'.... 😅

Google told us there was a dessert lane nearby... Alas, most were gone when we arrived, and they were closing soon. We managed to order these two to share, and a dessert later...

Char Koay Teow - flat noodles fried in extra hot fire (the secret to great fried noodles or rice, they say...) with beansprouts (there it is again... Ipoh loves its beansprouts!) chives, lots of garlic, chili, egg, and cockles, shrimp, chicken or pork is optional.
Char Koay Teow - flat noodles fried in extra hot fire (the secret to great fried noodles or rice, they say...) with beansprouts (there it is again... Ipoh loves its beansprouts!) chives, lots of garlic, chili, egg, and cockles, shrimp, chicken or pork is optional. 
Claypot Yee Mee - yee mee being the brown (pre-fried) noodles cooked in veggie broth with an egg dropped in to be beaten into the soup (Tip: do that before the broth cools)
Claypot Yee Mee - yee mee being the brown (pre-fried) noodles cooked in veggie broth with an egg dropped in to be beaten into the soup (Tip: do that before the broth cools)
And Ice Kacang for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream! That’s shaved ice topped with black jelly, cendol (that green stuff which is rice flour strips + pandanus flavour & natural colouring), peanuts, cream corn and kidney beans, drizzled with red syrup, palm sugar, condensed and evaporated milk.... and there might be more ingredients even!
And Ice Kacang for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream! That's shaved ice topped with black jelly, cendol (that green stuff which is rice flour strips + pandanus flavour & natural colouring), peanuts, cream corn and kidney beans, drizzled with red syrup, palm sugar, condensed and evaporated milk.... and there might be more ingredients even!

Where?

Literally, Dessert Lane or Tong Sui (sweet water) Kai (lane/road) - I missed getting a shot of the place which was actually a lane of stalls, as it started drizzling when we finished, and the second time we went, it was raining cats and dogs! Yeah, poor excuse, but the truth! 😉

Kopitiam Culture

Literally meaning 'coffee shop' in Hokkien (a Chinese dialect) Everything you could possibly want! Basically it is a shop with as many as three to 10 stalls, depending on the size of the shop. Some might even be double shop lots, hence the number of stalls under that one roof increases. Noodles, rice, fried, soups, specialty, regular menus, desserts, drinks, and what-have-yous. 

Koay Teow Soup or Hor Fun; flat noodles in soup (top left) - another Ipoh speciality, supposedly that spring water (again) makes the smoothest, slurpiest (if there is such a word.... you know what I mean...) most slippery (a good thing) flat noodles in the whole country - Ipoh dares make that claim! No one had better challenge them on that! Here, you see some yong tau foo pieces (soy skin filled with fish paste, fish balls, meat balls/patties)
Koay Teow Soup or Hor Fun; flat noodles in soup (top left) - another Ipoh speciality, supposedly that spring water (again) makes the smoothest, slurpiest (if there is such a word.... you know what I mean...) most slippery (a good thing) flat noodles in the whole country - Ipoh dares make that claim! No one had better challenge them on that! Here, you see some yong tau foo pieces (soy skin filled with fish paste, fish balls, meat balls/patties)
Smooth... slurpy.... slippery hor fun!
Smooth... slurpy.... slippery hor fun!

You can't have kopi (coffee) tiam (shop), without coffee, right?!  Most kopitiams will have their own brand and blend of local coffee, roasted to their own specific perfection, then brewed, mixed, poured in their own individual style. 

’Kaw’ (strong, thick) white local coffee, worthy of a kopitiam!
'Kaw' (strong, thick) white local coffee, worthy of a kopitiam!
Prawn mee (shrimp noodles in spicy soup) - sliced pork, beansprouts and shrimps, of course!
Prawn mee (shrimp noodles in spicy soup) - sliced pork, beansprouts and shrimps, of course!
Some dim sum - siu mai (left), har gow (top, centre) and fried wan tan on long rectangular tray, centre... And loh mai kai - the three saucers of glutinuous rice topped with chicken pieces and Chinese mushroom
Some dim sum - siu mai (left), har gow (top, centre) and fried wan tan on long rectangular tray, centre... And loh mai kai - the three saucers of glutinuous rice topped with chicken pieces and Chinese mushroom 

Many of you might already know Dim Sum or Tim Sum. Minced prawn/pork/chicken or a happy mix, in little tasty morsels or parcels, steamed or deep fried.  Siu mai, fried wan tan, har gow (shrimp dumplings) are some of the more popular types as seen here, and little saucers of loh mai kai, or glutinuous rice with chicken. All very yummy!

Roti (bread) goyang (shake/shaking; shaking bread, haha...)
Roti (bread) goyang (shake/shaking; shaking bread, haha...)

And if all the above isn't enough, then you must make some space for a Roti Goyang, literally means shaking bread... haha, that's the poached eggs that shake or jiggle on the toast! And there's no better place than a kopitiam to prepare the best 'roti goyang' money can buy! Toast with poached or half boiled eggs over it - you smash the egg up all over the toast, add pepper, a pinch of salt and eat it! 😄 

Seeee.... like this... 👇

And to end it all on a sweet note, how about an egg custard tart... Fresh from the oven, baked in the shop. Right in front of your eyes... 

Wanna a tart?
Wanna a tart?
You know you wanna... See how pretty it is. Pastry light as air, crumbles in your mouth, custard fragrant and smooth as silk! 😋🤩
You know you wanna... See how pretty it is. Pastry light as air, crumbles in your mouth, custard fragrant and smooth as silk! 😋🤩

Where?

Kedai Kopi Nam Heong (Nam Heong coffee shop or kopitiam) - that’s the queue outside when we finished! Good thing when we arrived for early lunch, it wasn’t as bad, we only had to wait for a table of four
Kedai Kopi Nam Heong (Nam Heong coffee shop or kopitiam) - that's the queue outside when we finished! Good thing when we arrived for early lunch, it wasn't as bad, we only had to wait for a table of four

If you think that's all, noooooo... you're sadly mistaken. You've underestimated Malaysians... 😄 I find I can't squeeze all the food we ate in this one post - errr, I might bore you or worse, have everyone upset with me for making you all hungry! Until the next post.... part 2 should take care of the rest of the food we sampled!

Have a great day, enjoy your breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper! 👍😊