I Eat Ipoh

Here is the Rojak I highly recommend ordering a plate of if you at “Big Tree Foot” to have the famous “Liu Fen” (also known to us Singaporeans as “Yong Tau Fu”).
I found it very fresh and tasty with a perfectly balanced sauce. The peanut element was very fine, more like a powder really. But the kicker for me has to be the “Har Bing”, a locally-produced prawn biscuit which you can add on.

Although there is, quite literarily, a big tree growing through the roof (swipe to see the video), this food court is not the original location of the famous “Big Tree Foot” or “Dai Shu Geok” “Liu Fen” (that’s what the locals in Ipoh call “Yong Tau Fu”). They use to be located just a couple of metres away where a copycat has taken over. Not that it matters because the neverending crowds at the existing location makes it look perfectly plausible as the spot where business took root.
As you enter the very spacious casual food court, you can see a large variety of the “Yong Tau Fu” (or “Liu Fen” which is what the locals in Ipoh call it) laid out in colorful rectangular baskets. Cut big and chunky, they are freshly prepared and fried. Just grab one of the colorful round baskets from the stack and help yourself to whatever you like. Even if something you want has run out, just wait for a while because the team keeps track of the food and replenishes quite quickly.
One of the special items you should not miss is what looks like a thick golden brown disc. Called “Sah Gok Liu”, it is formed from turnip with fish paste, plus a sheet of beancurd skin to hold its juicy, soft sweetness together. Personally, I prefer the vegetable items as I find the style of fish paste here, to pair very well with them. The eggplant, green chilli and twirled up long beans were my favourites. Unlike the style we get in Singapore, there is no sweet sauce to dip or splash over. Instead, only a tangy chilli sauce is available but it does the trick. You can also opt to enjoy your “Yong Tau Fu” with the noodles of your choice.
If the Rojak stall is open, do order a plate to try as well because it is really good, especially with the unique-to-Ipoh crunchy “prawn biscuits” which you can add on.
To wash it all down, the ice-cold milky red bean drink is the one to get.

Coffee at this coffeeshop is strong, thick and fragrant but one of the food items you should not miss is the simple Eggs on Toast which honestly, tastes as good as it looks. Besides the soft-boiled eggs which are cooked on-point, I attribute its above-the-norm tastiness to the white bread which somehow tastes nicer than the ones we get in Singapore.

Third time’s a charm with this decades-old restaurant in Ipoh. On our previous trip, we had made two unsuccessful attempts to dine at Restoran Cathay (or Cathay Restaurant) after hearing about their old-school style of Hainanese Pork Chop and Chicken Chop (RM 13.80 each). Luck was on our side this time.
Regardless of the meat, I was told prep starts the night before. Upon order from a customer, the chosen meat is floured then smeared with a bit of beaten egg before it meets extremely hot oil. After turning a gorgeous golden brown, it goes on to a waiting plate laid with fried potatoes and token slices of tomato and cucumber. The pour-over of the tomato gravy embellished with a few peas (because it ain’t Hainanese Pork / Chicken Chop without it) is the final step.
I would say this is an eatery to visit if you miss the taste of old. In my experience, it is impossible to find a sauce that tastes like this in Singapore. At least that’s my opinion having tried this dish at numerous places and finding the sauces being all about the tomato rather than the traditional savoury-sweet, East-meets-West tomato with soya sauce blend. Between the pork and chicken chops, my preference would be for the latter as it’s tenderer and somehow, a little bit tastier.

For an explosion of deliciousness, you need to order the “Wai San” (Chinese yam) Noodles with Baby Abalones, Pork Skin Puffs and Mushrooms. The gravy is thick and sweet from seafood stock while the noodles are soft, similar to 拉面 (“la mian”). My whole family enjoyed this dish a lot.

This was my first time trying this vegetable cooked in this way. Previously I had only ever eaten it raw but I found it tasted just as good cooked. It retained its inherent succulent crunch and absorbed some of the flavour from the stock it was stirfried in to really tasty results.

Instead of the usual boiling method, the Fishballs here which are made from “Sai Tor Yu” or Ikan Parang, are steamed. They are large and taste very fresh. If you like fishballs, you need to try the ones here.

The Fresh Prawn Wantans here are so good. There is nothing padding up the filling so all you get is pure seafood. Very sweet, firm and bouncy and wrapped in thin dumpling skin. Shiok 😋

My parents’ unanimous favourite from our recent trip was “Ipoh Lucky Seafood Restaurant”. No prizes for guessing what their specialty is 😆.
The must-order-or-you’ll-regret signature is the “Wong Kum Chok” or 王金粥 or Golden Porridge. Loaded with small pieces of crabmeat, clams, dried scallops and other seafood, it is incredibly tasty and possesses a sweetness beyond all our expectations. Cooked on the watery side, slurping up bowl after bowl is too easy. And trust me, you’ll want to.

Having savoured the local specialty of 大头虾 (Big Head Prawns) prepared in other ways, my sis-in-law @laiyoongchin decided to order the crustaceans cooked with “hor fun” for our recent dinner at East Ocean Seafood Restaurant Menglembu. It was stupendous! The roe from the lengthwise-halved giant prawns gave the gooey gravy a deep orangey-brown tone and a rich umami sweetness. In fact, I’d go as far as to say eating the prawns took a backseat to slurping up the rice noodles in that unforgettable gravy.

With its two components of glutinous rice and kaya, a form of deconstructed “kueh” is what this is. Try it you must though for the sticky grains are cooked to optimal chewiness and that copper-coloured kaya is shockingly fragrant and rich.

French toast freaks, this is a beauty you should consider throwing yourself at. Fat and puffy, it’s got the subtlest of crunch to match the cushion. Accompanying kaya is good but I have to admit, the one gobbed on the glutinous rice at “Kedai Kopi Keng Nam” was better.