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.
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