Pau Loong: great steam boat buffet in Teluk Intan

it was a long journey to Teluk Intan but when it is to celebrate one of our frens bday, no choice lor...

we followed LingSim's car all the way, and if i were to go on my own again, i would definitely could not find this place.

Not very sure where it is, but it is not very far from town centre. The restaurant is just beside the main road, called PaoLoong. Huge from the outside. when we just step into the place, practically most of the tables are full. busy waitress and waiters running up and down, and not to forget, they were wearing santa's hat oredi to celebrate Christmas. that is awful early to do so, dun u think?

the main menu is steamboat buffet, which cost about RM 23 per person. worth it? IF u were comparing to other buffet then it is definitely worth it. if u are talking strictly on how much the food is worth, then all the steamboat buffet is just made to make money.... that is how the biz survive. anyway, service was not too good. it took a while before they actually served the soup for the steamboat. by then we oredi had much of the other cooked dishes.

BUT the food itself is impressive. the range of steamboat ingredients are the usual seafood with range of fishes, sotong and other stuff. we had lots and lots of cockles. by the end of the day, i swear to myself for the coming month will not touch any. the usual fish and meatballs were there. nothing to shout about but definitely whole range is there. be it the prawns and the crab were ok. dun expect to see abalon or fresh oyster here.

it is the range of other cooked dishes that are impressive. depending on time, there are different cooked dishes. we had black pepper chicken when we arrive. later there were deep fried chicken and right before we left, there were fried fish head. those were the hot dishes. outside the restaurant were grills and teppanyaki. all included in the bills. ingredients include the usual chicken and lambs. plus there were sausage and ham. the chicken were sort of marinated well, but in the process of cooking, it was too salty for my taste. more like better to eat with rice. dessert included the usual pastries such as tarts, fruits with different dressings. there were also free ice cream with limited choices and ice kacang. kids would love the popcorn too. drinks were aplenty with soya bean, ice lemon tea and free flow of tongsui. did i mention there actually shark fins soup also? though probably there were only 1-2 slice in each bowl. the fact it is free flow is nice.

overall, it is a very nice outing, though far, worth the trip. the fact that we ate for 2half hours (excluding travel time) would prove the point. though the steam boat was not the most impressive one we seen but the range of other food was good. it became not steamboat buffet but rather buffet with choice of steamboat.

ratings: 3half poink! (cut poink due to the price..)

comments: long drive. make sure fast before coming.

Harry Potter 7: hairy potty...

imagine teaching your child bout toilet training... hairy potty...

dun worry, the franchise is far better than tat. however, the same cant be said bout the film.

Harry Potter 7 : the deathly hallows opened yesterday, and we managed to catch the movie. due to the unpopular GSC in ipoh, we were able to get ticket with good seats while in TGV ipoh the movie is sold out early.

It picked up where the last movie/ book ended. Dumbledoor is dead. Harry Potter continued his fight with Voldermont, who grew powerful and control even the ministries of magic. the whole movie...well, cant think of any significant moment, the whole show is about Harry and his gang searching for The holcrux, which is part of Voldermont and trying to destroy it in order to kill Voldermont. and in the process, the tiny house elf died. worrrrrr.....

that is the problem in this movie. nothing much seems to happen. the pace is slow. real slow. even TheStar reviewer agreed that someone can fall asleep inside the cinema. the atmosphere is definitely better, the cinematography is excellent. i like the harry potter movie darker and more mature. but that doesnt warrant the movie to be slow and uneventful. acting was ok. but stil feel weird watching the leads trying to churn out emotions. totally believable.

anyway, i seldom get restless in a movie. but 2 hour plus plus is definitely more than wat i expect. too bad it is not at home, if not i would have watched it in 2x the speed.

ratings: 1 half Poink! (give face d...)

comments: if u are a HP die hard fans, go watch it. if not, just ask someone to tell u the story or just google the story. then wait for part 2.

Reign of Assassins: sweet kill

First thing: the show is good. not brilliant, not great, just good.

still showing in the cinema i think, this story portrayed a retired assassin wanting to lead a normal life, so change her face via face off style... got married before her past caught up with her. why? she was keeping half of a dead monk's body that was believed to grant their wishes.

cliche. not big deal on the story.... though there are lots lots of holes in the story. like how did some character who was supposed to be murdered in the show become so "geng" in kungfu.

the theme is simple, even assassins are human, the story is about chance for a change. if u can look past the logic of certain things, the story are quiet nice. forget how the surgeon can perform face change surgery using "worms".

the acting was solid, backup by Michelle Yeoh. the only thing is they stupidly change her voice to someone young and sweet. ouch! y change something like tat, the whole show i was snickering when she speak. come on, if they can change the face, surely they can use worms to eat bit of the vocal cords too to make her sounded different. Big S provide decent performance here, but all she did was take off her clothes. Better than the girl from 14 blades la.... Shawn Yue was nice in his "i am so ambivalent" mode...

the moves? swift, and fluid. clean. though u can clearly tell there are place where they used wires. i still prefer donnie yen style... ouch, that hurts.

overall, nice show, enjoy it! Malaysia boleh!

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: nice show for the weekend. no need use much of brain, got naked lady, and people killing each other....and top of that, nice kungfu swordplay.

Pakeeza: North Indian fare

it was rather unusual that the family wanted to try something for dinner from Chinese style, so why not try Indian style... and wat better to try North Indian dishes....

We arrived to Pakeeza, and it was nice to find the place was renovated, and it did look more posh now. Really clean, and the funny thing is they got so many waiter/ waitress, enuf for each per table. Not so cost efficient but then again, i'm not the boss, so who am i to comment. it is situated just across the road from Tower Regency, some where near greentown, excelsior n Hosp Ipoh

I had been to India, including North side, so I tot i could tell the authenticity there.. lol, rather proud of me to do so... we order simple dishes, the alor gobi masala was my favourite, surprisingly. i am not a vege lover, but the cauliflower cooked with potato was really genuine delicious. something like wat i did have when i backpacked in India. the tandoori chicken was nice too, though bit on the dry side. For a quater chicken u only get 2 pieces. wow, that is rather "kedekut" lor.... the sambal sotong is definitely something from local... and seriously, it was a disappointing. the portion was big but they never cut the sotong, and it tasted weird. i suspect they didnt dry the sotong before cooking so it tasted bit "hanyir" so to speak, smell fishy..they were nice enuf to throw in curry free of charge, then again, they charge it to the rice..

overall, the price for all those and drinks come up to RM 50 for 3... not too bad. so u b the judge, would u want to come here....probably for the vege, chicken not the seafood....

ratings; 2 half poink!

comments: nice if u wan some real Indian fare with comfortable setting. if not, might as well go to any nasi kandar place... but they seldom have the other authentic dishes....

Sidewalk: sidewalk take centre stage

according to my wife, this place existed since she was still very young. hmmm... i do believe that.

there is not many ice cream palour u can find in ipoh. probably the other that cross the mind would be crazy ice cream, but it was not as near to the taste of sidewalk.

sidewalk is just on the row of shop opposite Wooley food court and "mushroom stall" in Ipoh garden. u have to look for the shop in the middle of the road as the sign may not be that clear. look for a music equipment shop and u cant be far. the problem is the shop is only open at nite (i think) so dont come too early.

the deco is rather homely, with a small fountain in the middle. magazines are around although bit old. the place is just enough to make u feel comfortable to enjoy the ice cream.

the menu is just concentrated on ice cream combination. different themes are there. my favourite is butter scotch while my wife order crunchy gravel. others also have funny names and different presentation. the toppings are rather fresh and suit the theme. im not very sure whether the ice cream are home made or not, though i suspected otherwise.

only on the last 2 pages of the menu u would find other food, which are the basic sandwiches or pasta. then again, u wouldnt come here for other food.

prize is rather pricey though. it would cost bout RM 6-10 for the ice cream combo depending on the topping and scoops. given how "kiam" i am, i would still say it is worth it.

every outing here would leave me with a smiley face.... who doesnt love a good ice cream?

ratings: 4 poink!

comments: do come here for the ice cream, u can always have other food across the road first....

Restoran Jia: Local delight

a typical Chinese dinner would consist the usual dishes, chicken, pork, fish, vege..... it just matter how u cook them. and as time goes by, u probably had tasted every possible varieties. so the next thing to consider is how good they taste.

there is this restaurant which my family usually frequent in Kampar. Restoran Jia or JiaHaoYueYuan restaurant is just situated on the side road opposite to KFC in Kampar old town. not that difficult to locate.

This is the typical restaurant, the big type, the one those who handle wedding dinner. One of the reason why we come here often is that we know one of the owner. But there are other things.

the menu is the usual type, not written down on anything. when u sit down, the captain will come to take your order, and if u are not sure, he will recommend something for u. the dishes are not fanciful or innovative. this is even not the place to eat "chicken bread" which somehow Kampar is famous for. the range of dishes were just as u can find in any Chinese restaurant. But it was nicely done. taste were usually consistent n good.

on this day, we order "4 heavenly King" which was bit on the dry side. The lemon pork rib was surprisingly good. not the usual lemon chicken, this had a tinge of cream to it, making it more like a fusion variant. The vinegar pork legs was my favourite, made like how it was make in the usual family manner. My favourite dish of all time was "choupou" taufu, which is really nice to take with food.

price? this is definitely not cheap, but not cut throat either. wat do u expect from such a restaurant. it will set u back probably Rm10-15 per person on average. asking for fish would set u back further.

bottom line, this will definitely be one of my favourite restaurant. but mind u, wedding dinner done here is not up to standard yet...

ratings: 3 half poink!

comments: for a normal dinner, do come here, otherwise look for more innovative cuisine.

HengKee: Claypot chicken rice in origin

come sunday dinner it will be family dinner time. it had been a while since we all take claypot chicken rice. probably since we all are from Kampar and this is THE place for claypot chicken rice, we all take it for granted.

a lot of people ask me where to get the best claypot chicken rice (CCR) in Kampar. the truth is, i dunno. everyone have their own favourite. seems my family like to come here which may not be my first choice. HENG KEE stall is situated opposite Pizza Hut, just in the road parallel to the main road in old town. Cant miss it, as it is in the corner shop. opening daily at 6pm, this stall is the only one operating in this coffee shop at night.

averaging RM 4-6 per person (depend on how many pot u order), this is a good example on how the local claypot chicken rice taste like. This is the 2nd generation operator but the taste remained authentic. nothing fanciful like the ones u find in KL (eg. yam chicken rice which was my fav). it is just chicken plus rice. However, u can still add salted fish or chinese sausage. And there was other side dish such as vege or chicken intestine.

Taste is good, the chicken taste, not so salty, just right. the rice as expected, is fragrant, with nice "fanjiu". overall, it remained a gastronomic delight to eat here. The vege is normal, with the usual oil plus soya sauce.

in addition to that, tourist from out of Kampar can buy the famous chicken biscuit here also. Still, with the number of people here, it may not be as many as other places. seems that the older generation preferred to eat here. probably the taste is rather modest, which suited their taste.

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: good sampling of how the local CCR taste. definitely not my top of the list but still good enuf, especially there are ample parking nearby, and lots of tables around.

[close] Pasta House: Pasta for dinner!

remember there was this time when steamboat places were mushrooming everywhere? yup, as predicted, not all can withstand the wave. beside the highway, in Ipoh Garden south, even MP had to close down (or shifted, like i care...).. so this new shop, Pasta House took over.

From the outside, it really look like it w

as taken over rather hastily, and the yellow signboard did not look that pro. rather cartoonish for my liking. For anyone to find the place, this shop is in the old MP steamboat restaurant, beside the north south highway, in Ipoh Garden South. For easier access, enter via wedding station, and just turn right.

surprisingly, the deco was nice. very spacious. clean. and the mirror definitely add to the impression the place is bigger than it is. then came the menu. as expected from a pasta place, at least 2-3 pages full of pasta choices. from the usual carbonara, bolognese to more elaborated "country" theme pasta. price ranged from rm10-20, reasonable for a place like this.

we only ordered 3 dishes, it came in HUGE plate but the portion may not fill the plate. however, do not let this upset u, as when u finish the meal, it is definitely more than enuf, cause most of it is creamy. the more conventional bacon mushroom pasta was great. the bacon was nice for my taste. the "austalian" pasta was a bit weird for my taste, as it is just fish n chip on top of a pasta. n the dory fish was rather small in size, every bite is more of batter. "newzealand" pasta on the other hand, was more conventional with grill beef on a carbonara based pasta. the beef however, is rubbery, makes me wonder whether it is a buffalo meat.... HOWEVER, the chef do know how to cook his pasta well, i just like his creamy version.

in the end, all of us enjoy our pasta there, though not the best we ever had, but definitely something to enjoy in ipoh.

ratings: 3half poink! (the extra half being, at the end of the meal, there was a lucky draw, sponsor by Tabasco, so we end up going back with 3 miniature tabasco sauce. )

comments: comfortable, nice food. will definitely come again to try out the rest of the menu... wonder how a "malaysian" or "thailand" theme pasta would taste like.