Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice @ Green Town, Ipoh

Finally something Halal from Ipoh for a change? Yes I know, I’ve not been an ardent hunter for Halal cuisine in Ipoh for more reasons than one. Firstly, there are only a mere handful of Malay restaurants (read : restaurants; a proper eatery with air-conditioning unit and proper menu) in Ipoh; and I think I might have tried the most premium of all; Laksamana Cheng Ho. And that was not good.

Nasi Padang @ Restoran Simpang Tiga Ipoh

Restoran Simpang Tiga is a famous chain of Nasi Padang restaurants originating from Indonesia, with five branches operating over in our neighbouring country. Nasi Padang resembles our very own Malay rice with dishes, or “Nasi Berlauk”, albeit with a little tweaks here and there. The Nasi Padang moniker actually pays tribute to the origin of the food;, whereby Padang is in fact a city in West Sumatra of Indonesia

Clean & spacious ambience, with decor reminiscing of Minangkabau influences. Even most of the staff are from Indonesia. The Bergedil is a potato patty with minced meat, while Tempe Kacang is an addictive side dish, yet supposedly pose healthy benefits

Nasi Padang is the epitome of Minangkabau cuisine, but most of the dishes have already been incorporated into the array of Malay dishes commonly found in rice stalls all over Malaysia. The spread of dishes at Simpang Tiga was mind-boggling to an extent, with not less than 20 dishes being offered on the afternoon we patronized the outlet.

The huge space occupied by the restaurant (at least 4 shoplots in Greentown Square of Ipoh – a new business centre in the heart of the city) allows a large seating capacity, perfect for functions, or dinners to be held at the premise. The design of the restaurant exudes a traditional, rustic charm, with two main seating areas being Indoor (with air-conditioning) and Outdoor (al fresco style).

Ipoh Street Food - Cheap but Tasty

Ipoh is famous for its street food (or hawker food) more than the restaurants, cafes or bistros. Have your doubts? Stop casting them, and kindly allow me to bring you for a ride around town, for some of the most delicious and cheap street food in Ipoh.

Medan Selera Stadium is one such food court; A pool of stalls occupying the whole stretch of lots under those classic zinc roofs, fixed plastic tables and stools,  and still practising the ‘order from the respective beverage stall’ rule. Which means that if you’re seated within the zone of A stall, don’t push your luck and order your drinks from the B stall a few lots away. Lest you feel like testing the waters, or rather, patience of the traders.

The fried noodles stall named Seng Loong (ironically, a moniker that the legendary Jackie Chan has been adopting over the years) numbered 32, is opened from 7.30am until 3.00pm, serving his brand of Char Koay Teow to the breakfast-brunch-lunch crowd. Technique-wise, the noodles was fried with sufficient ‘wok hei’, or heat from the wok, resulting in the dry, smoky and charred slivers of flat rice noodles intertwined with yellow noodles (I opted for the mee and ‘hor fun’ combination), generously mixed with bean sprouts, chives, prawns, and of course, eggs. Still far from the Penang’s almost orgasmic varieties (notably, Sin Wah at Pulau Tikus market, and everyone’s favourite Ah Leng Char Koay Teow on Jalan Dato Keramat) but Seng Loong’s one of the better ones in Ipoh, I reckon.

The Wantan Mee in stadium is another crowd-puller, for you can ask any Ipohan for good wantan mee in Ipoh, and this one in stadium  is bound to be mentioned. Another stall, numbered 36 … or 22, I forgot which opens at night, while the other opens  from morning until noon. Go figure. But the row of stalls are one after another, running about 200metres in total, at most?

Other appetizing hawker fares found in Medan Selera Stadium are for example; Ais Kacang (Shaved Ice with Condiments and Sweet Syrup), Nasi Lemak (early in the morning until lunch) with a killer ‘sambal sotong’ (at the far end of the rows, nearer to the swimming pool), Sri Asoka Corner’s Banana Leaf Rice (click for my post on the famous banana leaf curry rice), Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun, and many others. If you’re on a tight budget, one hand feeding the mouth while the other’s working round the clock, then you’re in for a treat, as a meal at the food court rarely touches the RM10 mark. Unless you go crazy with the orders, that is.

The bowl of fiery looking prawn mee (or Hokkien Mee, as they call it in Penang) was tapau-ed (takeaway) and savoured at home this afternoon. Yeah, very fresh recollection of the slurpilicious experience. Hehe …..

At only RM3.00 (yup, you’re NOT seeing stars) per bowl, the proprietor is in fact from Penang, and speaks minimal Cantonese. A little spicier than the average ones, but the reddish hued broth is such a sweet, spicy and of wholesome goodness, complemented perfectly with 4 shelled prawns, water convolvulus (kangkung), lean pork meat and bean sprouts. You can choose to include pork ribs instead of meat, depending on your preference.

The Popiah stall has changed hands. Maybe not many realized this fact, but old timers would have noticed that the stall does not serve laksa anymore. The aunty who popularized the Popiah has in fact, retired and the stall is currently under the helm of another. Not sure if they’re related, but the quality of the Popiah remains tip-top, with the same big servings of either the original steamed popiah skin, or the crunchy deep-fried variant. And the unforgettable slightly thick sweet sauce smothered on top. At RM1.70 per piece, you’re paying for the quality, the taste, AND the legacy.

Ipoh Street Snacks Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah, Happy Fried Dough & Tong Sui Kai Desserts

Mention Tau Fu Fah, also known as Soybean Curd, or Soy Custard, and almost instantaneously the image of white-as-snow, silky smooth curds made from soybean emerge in one’s mind. And if you’re wondering where to get the BEST Tau Fu Fah in Ipoh, Funny Mountain‘s the place to go, hands down.

WHAT Mountain you ask?! FUNNY Mountain. That famous soybean stall, almost renowned throughout the land of Malaysia, which may be the first Tau Fu Fah and Soybean stall that provides excellent Drive-Thru service. Yeah, you can literally enjoy your bowl of Tau Fu Fah in the comfort of your roaring engine, and risk perforating that ozone layer with another hole or two.

While we’re still on the subject of snacking around in good old Ipoh, kindly allow me to introduce my personal favourite stall that sells amazingly sumptuous, yet greasily-intimidating Chinese style of fried dough, made up of an amazing array of snacks such as fried bread sticks or youtiao/yau char kwai, batter-fried sweet potatoes, yams, and the perpetual favourite of ours – The Fried Nin Gou, or New Year Cakes.

Come the later hours of the day, what if you’re craving for something sweet (and savoury to some extent)? No worries, the ever present, ever crowded Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street) is conveniently opened for business, catering to the late night crowd, or hungry souls wandering after a perfect night out.

Banana Leaf Meal @ Samy Restaurant, Chemor

Samy Restaurant is one of the household name, a force to be reckoned with, so to speak, in this part of Kinta district. Serving delectable Indian banana leaf cuisine, the place is routinely packed with factory workers from the various industrial parks within the vicinity, namely Tasek, Chemor, Kanthan and Sungai Siput. On weekends, even tourists stop by for a finger-licking good meal while on the way to Kuala Kangsar (using the trunk road).

Be there early, before 12pm if possible, to beat the crowd. But the patrons here do not mind sharing their tables, given the fact that the set up mostly consists of long tables (ala canteen style), thus strangers may be sitting next to each other, licking their fingers while seemingly in trance from the addictive curry dishes.

First up, march into the shop, all the while stealing glances at the counter up front, picking your dish of preference. From curry chicken to dry mutton curry, as well as crabs, de-shelled prawns curry and squids, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Lest you come here with a few companions (makan kakis?), you’ll be better off picking ONE dish, rather than being ambitious and try one of each!

A Good Malay Food

Let’s talk about good Malay food for a second. Or, seemingly, the lack of it here in Ipoh? Pardon the ignorance, but save for a few worthy choices (the tried and tested outlets, as well as some highly-acclaimed stalls like the famous Nasi RM2 over at Stadium Ipoh), it has never occurred to me to do a complete Halal food run here in Ipoh.

Don’t get me wrong, for I love nasi padang, nasi kerabu, nasi dagang and of course, nasi lemak just as much as I like Char Kuey Teow, Popiah, banana leaf curry rice and Roti Canai. For me, there are way too many lacklustre Malay warung (food stalls) out there in Ipoh; serving the ever-so-generic Malay-Thai style Tom Yam, nasi daging merah, telur dadar and such.

So here we arrive at this stall parked within a small, inconspicuously-quaint kopitiam on Clare Street (Jalan Mustapha al Bakri), masquerading itself as just another coffee shop from the pre-colonial days, yet promising so much more during lunch hour. Hai How‘s the name of the shop, and this stall selling Nasi Berlauk (Malay curry rice with dishes, almost like Nasi Padang) commits itself to serving authentic Malay cuisine to the lunch crowd