Chinese Street (Tang Ren Jie): dessert without the sweet moment

I always lament that there is no dessert shop in Ipoh compare to Klang Valley. A place where you can get decent peanut paste or sesame paste (fasenghu or jimahu). There is plenty at least in Klang Valley that really serve decent good dessert.

Walking in De Garden, we came across this shop on the ground floor that boast about their dessert. IF anyone still do not know where De Garden is, it is not somewhere near DR Park or Polo Ground in Ipoh. Basically it is the complex across JJ near Ipoh Garden side of town.

The shop is rather small, with only one shop lot, compare to others. There is only this young man manning the tables, and he is really accommodating even though there are plenty of other patrons. The shop literally meant Chinese Street or Tang Ren Jie. Must be good place for dessert, we thought.

The menu is simple, 2 pages of dessert, from the paste, to the steam dessert, to the boiled dessert (leong sui). Minimal light food for selection is also there. Good selection. Seldom had we seen such large selection of dessert. And the pattern of the food is just nice to eat with desert. Food such as pao, tart and sweet dessert is always there.

Then the dessert came. OUCH. We were expecting much more. First, the peanut paste (jimahu) (RM3.90). There was lots of clump inside there. The smoothness was bit "artificial". I highly suspect that this was not cooked in the kitchen with peanut but was mixed with hot water with the fast cooked version in packets. Either that, or it is not cooked well. Like those fast cooked powder version, it lacked the aroma of peanut. However, this was only my suspicion. Nothing substantiated. Second was my steamed milk with ginger (RM5.90). I had never tried steamed milk before, so I cant really comment much. It taste like a taufuha with heavy full cream milk smell. However, once mixed, I cant taste the ginger at all. Might as well, just order the plain one, cheaper still. My wife was not so keen on it, but I like the taste. Saving grace in a sense.

Overall, we do not have much choice here. Given the environment and the air con, this is still a decent place for dessert, just do not expect the dessert to be excellent.

ratings: 2 poink!

comments: low poink for the fatal way of cooking peanut paste. Had not try other dessert so cant comment much-la.

TangRenJie

GR-2, De Garden,

No 3, Persiaran Medan Ipoh,

Medan Ipoh, Ipoh.

05-5487300

open whole day

Fortune Buddies: funny little film

My wife and me was basically traumatized by the last Chinese movie we watched in cinema: I love (hate) Wing Chun. That was a classical example of how not to make a movie, even though it was a Chinese New Year one.

So, we approached this movie very very carefully with near to zero expectation, since it is a free ticket, there is not much harm. And surprise surprise, it was quite a funny decent movie.

In the same league as typical chinese new year movie this one two years by TVB, this story rides on the success of a variety show by Lisa Wong and her 3 sidekicks, better known as Fook Look Sau. Basically same name as the 3 Gods in chinese folklore, the movie is far from supernatural. And luckily Lisa Wong is not in the movie.

The movie just follow the misadventure of 3 young chap. Wong Cho Lam plays 1/3 of the 3 losers who wanted to marry his long time girlfriend played by Fiona Sit. The father, played by Eric Tsang, was not convince of his capabilities to take care of the daughter so ask him to earn a HUGE sum of money before he would agree to their marriage. Cho Lam enlist the help of the other 2 losers played by Lee Si Jit and Yuen Siu Cheong. The 3 of them device a plan for street show as wrestler. By coincidence they manage to beat a professional wrestler from US. So they came back for revenge, and that is supposedly to be the highlight of the show.

There are so many cameos by TVB and other actors, actress. Besides, the acting is spontaneous, not pretentious, and the chemistry is rather good. The jokes are really funny at some point, and not low class as WingChun. For example, the last wrestling tactic was supposedly from angry bird, and that was rather funny how they imitate it. Yes, the story was bit far fetch at times, dredgy at times especially in the middle part, but one can live through it.

Probably the movie will remind you of one of those movies in Chinese New Year, but the good thing is, the movie really do entertain.

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: though the jokes are lame at times, it did what it set out to do, to entertain.

Farmhome: the novelty of having porridge steamboat

I had never been a fan of steamboat. The food, I meant. Well, I do love the fun of fighting for fun during steamboat when I was a kid (come on, no one eat like a gentleman when they were small). I do love the current trendy steamboat buffet style which often comes with grill (notable good ones in Teluk Intan). However, I never actually enjoy the food in steamboat. I do like some of them fresh, but given the price, I would probably like my meatballs n fishballs from stalls. I would also enjoy the mini steamboat (lok-lok or local satay celup) from the stall. Cost less for more.

Hence, eating in Farmhome not really excite me. However, it had been eons since I last came here, it would be interesting to come back again for a meal. And it really did not change much. The place still remain as how I remember it to be. Situated in Pasir Pinji/ Pasir Puteh area, just drive along the road heading to Ipoh Airport, and you would see the shop. If heading from Tiger Lane, across the flyover, it would be on the left side before hitting Pasir Puteh proper.

The restaurant gave a homely feel, much because of the deco. The place also run by a family as you can see siblings (I presume) running around serving guest. The menu still remain the same after all these years, only the price changed. Depending on the number of guest, you could order the small, medium or large set. Of course the larger ones would have more variety. We order the special variety set (RM35) which is just nice for 3-4 persons. There is the usual meatballs, fishballs, lots of vege, few mushrooms, chicken meat, udon and few prawns which are not exactly very fresh. Put into a boiling pot, and there you have it, instant steamboat. Then again, you still have to pay for the porridge which is RM1.80 per person, but the porridge is free flow so you can add it later inclusive of the payment.

It may sound simple, but there are few exceptions here which are good. First, it is porridge instead of soup based. I know, now we have lots of option elsewhere from the normal herbal soup to tomyam and miso. I had even tasted other porridge steamboat elsewhere, but the porridge here really taste like porridge. Not too thick until you cant do steamboat, not too watery either which would end up being few rice in water. The steamboat is done in claypots not steel, which, to me is ideal to maintain the heat and for porridge steamboat. In addition to that, add bit of soya sauce and sesame oil which is provided as well, the porridge do taste really good.

In addition to that, there are other side addition as well. Did not actually read through, but the favourite ones we added was chakuai (RM3.50) . Overall, it is real nice for a change, definitely a good porridge steamboat, but steamboat nonetheless.

ratings: 3half poink!
comments: tired of steamboat, think porridge

Farmhome Restaurant
51, Laluan PinjiSeni 4,
Taman Pinji Seni, Ipoh
012-5088603

Gunung Rapat Ramly Burger: home version of FatChoy burger

Few things some may notice on me.

1) I do not really like black pepper sauce (especially on my chicken chop). However, I really like to buy FatChoy burger from McD every year, even though its more of a gimmick to make them fatchoy instead of us.

2) I do not usually blog bout burger stall, although I had been a fan of road side burger ever since my student days. This is due to a simple reason, though most of them are good, only few are

exceptionally brilliant, and most are similar to each other.

By coincidence, we bump into this superb burger stall. Situated in Gunung Rapat Ipoh Jaya night market site, exactly in front of 7-11, is this simple burger stall manned by a young Malay chap. The stall is simple, there was not even a name on the cart, just simple Ramly burger. Yeap, there are least 3-4 burger stall along the same road, but just look for the one exactly in front of 7-11. ( the one further down the road near the specs shop is also good as well).

The burger patty is the same Ramly burger. Once grilled, the size shrunk, and the taste is good, though one can get the same taste by buying the same patty from any hypermarket. The way the patty is cooked here is not exactly the best. I had seen those who skillfully split the burger in the mid into 2 piece and grill it separately. This chap did that but rather simpler.

The bread is cooked nicely. Bit on the crispy side, so the consistency on the first bite was good. What life the burger above the rest is the sauce. Instead of the usual chilli-tomato-mayo sauce, the chap has a whole box of his own secret recipe style home made black pepper sauce. The girl in front of me even added: " bang, tambah banyak sikit balck pepper sos, OK!"... since it is much in demand, this should be good. As expected, the sauce really blend well with the whole burger. It really remind me of the McD version which comes out every year during CNY. The pepper smell is not heavy to cover the whole meat but enough for me wanting more.

Price? Rm6 for a chicken special + banjo, both "black pepper sauce tambah banyak-banyak". Good for a satisfying supper.

ratings: 3 half poink! (minus poink due to the fact much improvement can be done for the patty; and the fact I am not a fan of black pepper)

comments: gives me idea.. maybe in the future there are burger with sweet sour sauce, sweet corn sauce, white sauce....

Yoke Fook Moon: dimsum for dinner

We all know that Ipoh had plenty plenty of choice for dimsum, especially breakfast. All the restaurant for dimsum is up to par, with plenty of dimsum selection from the normal ones to more innovative choices. However, come dinner time, selection for dimsum is very limited, probably the only few choices is those in the stalls.

Yoke Fook Moon do served dimsum for dinner, opening its door at 6.30pm. For those who do not know where it is, it is exactly the same row as the new FuShan, near YoYo bus stop (used to be Alishan bus stop), or just behind Exelsior Hotel in Ipoh Town.

One of the main choice for restaurant beside FuShan and Ming Court, one can expect more from this place. And that is what one will get. Newly renovated, the place is comfortable. Like any dimsum restaurant, once seated, the waitress will come over offering choices of different dimsum for selection. Once chosen, she will mark it in your receipt.

Do expect good dimsum here. The steamed and fried dimsum is aplenty. The normal siumai (pork dumpling) and hakao (prawn dumpling) is good. Though not brilliant either. The HK chucheongfun is as always, good in this kind of restaurant, though I always prefer those in stalls, and from Teluk Intan. The wukok (yam pie) is nice, not so oily but crispy at the same time. The fish ball was a bit of let down though as there is nothing special regarding it. There is the normal deep fried choice which is just norm to me.

Overall, expect the price to be as usual as well compare to other

dimsum restaurant. Still, it is better compare to the ridiculous pricing at FuShan.

ratings: 3 half poink! (considering the price)

comments: good dimsum, good pricing, nothing spectacular though, but definitely do not disappoint.

Hot Jack: surprise little gem in Pasir Puteh

Motormouth had been a reliable source of food guide. On my oncall day, where am too lazy to go far, yet yearning for some good western food, browse through motormouth website would be good for an idea where to go.

Tucked inside Pasir Puteh, along the the main road from MunChung towards Station 18 direction, the restaurant is at one of the corner on the right side of the road. If one would drive along that direction, the shop is before hitting on what used to be Shatin Food Court.

Hot Jack, a name which really belittle its food. I would have thought this would be one of those kopitiam food joint with few chicken chops as pseudo-western food. Surprise, surprise. The place is rather comfortable, staff are ample to entertain any request. The shop has more than enough air-conditioner to keep the place cool. The tables are placed in a way the shop appeared spacious. There is a continuous flow of customer, and there is a reason why.

At first, the menu came, which is just a few piece of A4 photostated paper. Ouch. Not good, but once I browse through the choice, it was a surprise. There is only very limited Asian selection, mostly rice, which is only limited to one page. The rest are rather western, mostly chicken, fish, lamb etc with the usual pasta. True, they do not served more exceptional food such as pies, or lasagna etc, but the selection of steak, chops are more than enough.

Food finally arrived, in HUGE plate, making the dish look small in comparison. But in actual fact, it is rather adequate even for someone as big as me. First, my Italian chicken chop with lemongrass (RM13.90) is really an eye opener. The meat is rather tender and juicy, not chewy at all. The taste is nice, and the sweet and sour sauce elevate the taste even further. Served with the usual coleslaw and mash potato and fries, the dish is really filling. Wife's pan grilled fish with cheese and spicy tomato with parmesan (RM 14.90) is even more impressive. The fish meat is rather thick, though the dish appeared small. The chef is never stingy with the amount of cheese, and even more parmesan on top of the dish. Each bite itself is cheesy, but not too much to cover the taste of the fish. We were so impress that we added mash potato (RM3.90) to our order. It is home made, rather than the machine made ones. It is nicely done, with some bite size chunks among the grind potatoes.

Overall, with the kind of mid range pricing, this is rather more than what we expected. The food here is definitely worth more elsewhere, and the taste is up to par with other more expensive restaurant. The food is more to mainstream though, unlike places like Tammys which rely heavily to spice and herbs (to my liking). Definitely will visit again.

Ratings: 4 poink! (additional poinks for the price), 3 half if just considering the food alone

comments: the final drawback was the 6& service charge.

Cafe Hot Jack

1, Jalan Pasir Puteh 1

New Pasir Puteh,

Ipoh05-3221090

Lunch & dinner

Cap Americe, First Avengers: one of the better ones....

We had so many choices for summer blockbuster this years. Spoil for choices. But not necessary a good thing. Thor was rather decent but far from good, transformer is lame to be transformer. Everyone says bad things bout green lantern decided not to watch it. XMen first class was good, but still lack the depth compare to the comic.

Captain America: First Avengers did receive some good reviews, making it a obvious choice. I had never had any interest in Cap in the comic world, I do not like any heroes running around with the flag around the waste, wearing feathers on his helmet. Too ridiculous for me. However, considering that Cap was created in the midst of war in 1941, probably that is forgivable.

The story is the usual origin story, Cap initially is a skinny guy with big heart and courage. Got picked into a secret government project (against the Nazi), turn into a super human with super speed, strength etc. The scientist got killed in the process, making him the only super soldier around. Like another female agent (expected!). Fight some Nazi especially their super natural-science branch Hydra. Meet its head honcho the RED SKULL, foil his plan to destroy US, in the process got refrigerated for life until unfrozen in present day. Tadah! Add Nick Fury to the end of the show, and you have a 2 hour long introduction/ prologue to the Avengers movie in 2012.

As a stand alone movie, it is not too bad. Acting was good, the romance was rather believable. Even the story was not as corny. Dialogue was witty. Tommy Lee Jones one liner was actually funny at the right moment. However, the film lack a good climax, Red Skull plan to destroy major cities in the world lack the OOMPHH. Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving also lack the villian in him. Oh, he did a good job, but compare to his portrayal of Agent Smith in Matrix, this is nothing.

Overall, it is a fun ride, but still a prologue to another great movie (I hope). Treat it as such, and the ride would be better. Otherwise, it is just another run of the mill superhero movie.

Ratings: 3 half poink!

comments: when is Dark Knight movie coming out????

Sen Mei Fong: phoenix rise from the ash

Yeah, it is time to add the figures to the cholesterol level again. So, bunch of us decided to pay Tanjung Tualang another visit for nice seafood. Since the food is not from sea anyway, but river, would you still call it river-food? Beats me.

Anyway, from friend's recommendation, Sen Mei Fong is our choice this time. Tanjung Tualang town is rather small, and all the restaurant do aggregate around the market, so just drive around and one will find the shop. It in the middle of one of the small roads.

The shop was burnt down few years back. And there are lots of photos to prove this. Not very sure whether it is built back again on the same site or not, but judging from the sunday crowd, it did not affect business. There is even photos of popular HK star, Sit KaYin eating here; probably the food is nice.

Coming to Tanjung Tualang, prawns must be on the dish. We ordered 3 prawn dishes the other day. The "qingching" or steam prawn was bit disappointing. It is good, but we expect brilliant. The prawn meat was good, but someone lack the freshness there. Dont misunderstand me, the prawns are fresh, swimming happily in the aquarium, waiting for their turn, but they lack the sweetness along in the dish. The 2nd prawn dish was "laiyao" or ?butter prawn. This was nicely done, one of the better ones I had tasted. Prawn meat nicely blended into the butter. Bit of spice but not too hot to take the centre stage. Really good dish to go along with rice. 3rd prawn dish was "gonchin" or ?pan-fried prawn. It was not as dried as I thought, but the taste is equally good. The prawn is so crispy that one can eat the shell together. Just nice!

Other dish that we ordered did not disappoint at all. Crispy tauhu was good just like that. I am still not sure what the century eggs were doing there as it did not blend in with the tauhu. Kaku vegetable, was nicely done, though I am not sure how it was really cooked. The last dish to arrive is the crab. Cooked in "kamheong" style with bit of spice in curry leaves, it is rather nice, though by then, we had bitten more than we could chew, so it did not appeal anymore.

Overall, good food. We paid RM30+ each for the HUGE amount of food here. Worth it? Probably, coming here is rather for the novelty. I am sure there are other place who cook equally good food for cheaper price or less travel. But coming here, the food would not disappoint.

ratings: 3half poink! (minus for the rather steep price, but then again, most shops here would charge the same price)

comments: do come and taste it for yourself.

Fook Kee: popular choice of claypot chicken rice

It falls back to the same question everytime. Where is the best claypot chicken rice in Kampar? Everyone seems to have an idea that I have the answer. Well, I dont. It is not like I eat claypot chicken rice everyday. And, everyone has their own favourite place anyway.

However, if one would stroll along Jalan Idris, which is parallel to the main Jalan Gopeng road in old town, one would see multiple claypot chicken rice shop just beside the road. On the northern end of the road, which is just opposite an old cinema, near the main Kampar ACS field, there is this old shop Fook Kee. If the direction is still poor, look out for Watson, and it is in the same row.

Operating at night, the place is usually full of people waiting for tapao, waiting for food, waiting for seats. Seems popular. Bit odd considering that the shop is rather run down, old looking but relatively clean. Service is not tip top, the lady in the shop did warn us that food will arrive bit late due to the long waiting list. However, considering the BIG crowd, food do come rather fast.

Then one may think that the food must be really good to attract so many people here. Well, lets see. The usual fare, claypot chicken rice is served in small (RM5), medium (8.50) or big (RM10) size. There is the option of adding sausage, or salted fish. The portion is relatively huge, considering that probably one big pot could easily accomodate 4-6 person. If all consist of huge appetite people, probably 3 then. The taste is rather good, as good as other stalls. The burnt rice on the bottom of the pot is nicely done, just nice for the crunchy consistency, without much burnt smell. The rice is fragrant, with sesame oil. Taste did not disappoint, the chicken is nicely marinated. However, the whole combination is rather oily. You can see the rice literally shine in light.

The other option to go with the rice is obviously vegetable. As always, I would always order bean sprout to go along. Here, it is cooked OK, bit dry for my liking. Although, the bean sprout here could not compare to the fat and stubby ones found in Ipoh.

Overall, crowds dont lie. The food here is good. However, not exactly excellent compare to other stalls. It all depends on personal taste. The portion is big, and therefore at the end of the day, food here is cheap. Is it worth the wait? Considering the crowd, food do come faster than I thought, but the oily side turns me off.

ratings: 3 half poink! (extra half cause I used to come here when I was small)

comments: taste good, big portion (translate to lesser spending) BUT huge crowd, oily rice.

Nanyang Kopitiam: comfortable place, too bad food is not as great

Since parents had their own dinner plans, my wife and I decided to go back to Ipoh for dinner. After few meals eating out Jap and dimsum, both of us wanted something simpler and probably less exaggerated, and couple with the fact we were too lazy to drive far for food, we decided to just eat nearby in Gunung Rapat.

This is not our first visit to NanYang Kopitiam. It is conveniently situated next to YaoHan cakehouse, and CIMB bank in Gunung Rapat, similar row as Secret Recipe. Just beside the main road in Jalan Gopeng, one will not miss this row of shop. I presumed that the working hours included both lunch, dinner and also supper time.

First, the deco is rather homely. I love the black and white picture on the walls. Next to the ones found in Old Town, this probably is one of the better ones. The spaces between the tables are spacious, unlike some of the joints which squeeze the place to accommodate more patrons. Patrons usually are not many, and I seldom see people smoke outside either. The service is rather homely, always with a smile. I really feel comfortable eating here. I can still recall the last time I was here was nearly half year ago while having supper with my cousins.

The range of food is the usual kopitiam list. A must would be the usual bread based. Next is the local oriental food, the nasi lemak, noodles, rice etc. In addition to that, some simple western dish such as chops and fish chips. I can recall the toast were rather nice, though not brilliant. Tonight since it suppose to be dinner, both of us ordered something heavier. Wife ordered chili pan mee (RM 4.80), the panmee was rather ok, however, the whole dish came across like dry panmee with bit of dry chili on top. My impression of a good chili panmee would be on the chili, probably in addition of the dry chili, one may want to add Taiwan style chili sauce. Bit disappointing. Next was my pandan nasi lemak special (RM4.90). They ran out of pandan nasi lemak so substitute with chicken rice. However, the dish was rather small, (even for my wife), the sambal was as if one spoonful, and the fried chicken that came along with it, is sooooo skinny. The sambal lacks the oomps also.

In the end, it was not a satisfying dinner, however, given that previous experience was not as bad, this only teaches me a lesson that I would prefer to come here for the tea and bread rather than the heavy meals. Plus, the food is halal, so even Muslim friends can come here for a drink. On top of that, the price is rather cheap given the place and the usual kopitiam style of food.

ratings: 2 half poink!

comments: drink and bread and chat, probably that is what one may want to come here for.

NanYang Kopitiam

294, Jalan Gopeng,

Ipoh

05-3138215