Italia Mia: older may be better

There is a saying in Chinese, the older the ginger is, the hotter it is. In other words, the veteran excel in their field for the experience. The same goes for restaurant. Italia Mia is not new, in fact it is one of the earliest western restaurant in Ipoh. Veteran, in a way. Where some other restaurant had closed down, Italia Mia managed to weather the storm of onslaught of all the recent new restaurant.

Just wander around Sunway rows of shops next to Giant hypermarket, and one would not miss this shop by the main road. We manage to come all thanks to Groupon. The offer is too attractive to resist. I must say, the service is one of the best we ever had. Despite being a customer with groupon voucher, the team of waiter and waitress treated us so well, they made us felt like we were dining in a 5 star restaurant. The surrounding felt like any small bistro with a touch of home here.

The menu, is typically western so expect the same main course of meat, pasta, and pizza. First, seafood pasta (RM26) is a variant from bolognese base. The dish depend rather less on herbs but rely more on the seafood. Surprisingly, the seafood taste really good. Even the accompanying prawn is prepared so well that it is so nice to eat it on its own.  Totally out of this world, though I prefer a cabonara cream base. The smoked salmon pizza (RM26) also impress me a lot. The chef did not save on the cheese and it was a wonderful pizza abundant with taste. The only drawback is that the salmon taste was easily shadowed by the cheese. I still prefer my crust to be thin, but this will do for the dinner. The dessert with panna cotta and tiramisu also surprised us with the portion. Usually, the desserts that comes with set or voucher are so tiny in size that I could finish it all in one gulp but here, the dessert comes as it is one of the starters. Impressive, though bit sweet and heavy for my liking.

In the end, Italia Mia really made my night. Now, I understand how did it stayed on for so long even though it is not in the more popular side of town for food. It is that good.

ratings: 4 poink~!
comments: high poink not for the food, though it is good, but for the combination of food, service and the surroundings. And the fact that the restaurant had been very generous with us

Italia Mia, 
10, Persiaran SC1 2/1, 
Sunway City Ipoh, Perak, 

Simple Coffee: hidden coffee get-away

I do not usually review coffee joints. Firstly, I do not fancy them. I do not believe paying so much for a cup of coffee which I enjoy for a fraction of the price in my favourite mamak stall. Secondly, I really do not know how to differentiate between good and not-so-good coffee.

But this is my rather first designer coffee experience in Kampar, so here goes. Simple Coffee is tucked beside Old Town Kopitiam in new town. From the outside the entrance is small, and it looks like just a small coffee shop. However, stepping inside, the shop extend to a bigger space with nice design and comfortable settings. Different seats design, artistic photos of coffee on the wall, and a counter fit for any barista, this place is definitely a nice place to hang out. Very comfortable indeed.

The range of coffee is abundant, not too complex to scare away a coffee amateur like me though. The usual range is good enough. The coffee tasted good, though I am not in the position to say whether the beans are flavourful enough or not. I enjoyed my cappucino (RM8.90 for a hot cup) as much as Colleen enjoyed her iced hazelnut chocolate (RM10.90). The pasta looks good, not too expensive surprisingly, though I have yet to try it. The dessert looks good as well, but sweet offerings are not my choice for a late night drink.

Overall, this place definitely surprise me the moment I step inside. Spacious, comfortable, and really nice place to hang out. However, given the price, I would still frequent my favourite mamak stall.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comment: It could be better, if they serve decaffeinated coffee for Colleen.

Simple Coffee
G-3A-2, Lot 126029,
Jalan Timah 3,
Taman Bandar Baru
www.facebook.com/SimpleCoffee

Buddies Noodle Bar & Cafe: dining the experience rather than the food

It is a busy weekend, with a few reviews to complete. Coincidentally, there was a few chances to eat out, prompting me to choose all new places to try. Back home in Kampar New Town is this place I always wanted to try. Come on, with a name like Buddies Noodle Bar poke at my curiosity. Is this a place to hang around? (thus Buddies) or noodle station or just a friendly bar?

Kampar new town is not a big place, just locate the Old Town, Simple Coffee, Alley John and you would reach Buddies. From outside, the place looks real modern. Looks like the usual new boutique cafe. Inside, the deco is really impressive. Minimalist with book theme on the wall, with real life books jutting out from the wall. Not many people were there even on a Friday night, therefore the service was attentive.





The menu, is kopitiam style with the usual pasta selection and chop rice. Though not as extensive as some set-up, the selection is abundant  to choose from. Up until this point, it is still a good experience, considering the prices were student range. Then came the food. My pork chop rice (RM14 for set) with gravy disappoint so much. The presentation is exactly street version; what I would get from any stall in any coffee shop. The difference? The stall ones would serve a bigger portion, and probably more tasty one too. The meat is so thin, and grilled too lightly. Not juicy at all, coupled with a mild gravy, this dish was too light for my taste. Colleen's aglio olio with ham (RM12.90) is actually not bad. The blend of taste and herbs and spice is rather nice on the taste bud. However, the pasta is too dry without adequate oil. The core of any aglio olio lies on the olive oil and garlic, not the herbs and spice. My impression for the 2 dishes is that the chef is trying hard to save some money by cutting down on the meat on my dish and the olive oil on the pasta. The dessert is the saving grace for the whole dinner but it was too small a portion though.


Do not get me wrong. It is still a nice dining experience judging from the comfortable setting, but probably the only reason to come here is the dining experience but not for the food.

rating: 2 poink~!
comment: street food with exotic dining experience may work for some people, but I still prefer my food over the setting.



Buddies Noodle Bar and Cafe
2392, Jalan Hala Timah 4,
Taman Bandar Baru, Kampar
05-4661962

De Dine: run of the mill lunch within expectation

Did not realize Ipoh Garden East have so many new restaurant. For the farewell lunch for an old colleague, she suggested this new restaurant, De Dine for a try. Located in Ipoh Garden East area, just look for Aberdeen or the old My Point (did not know it was closed down recently), and this joint is just in between.

It was a Friday lunch but there are not many people around; most probably due to the choices aplenty and this considerably new unknown joint. Good for me, as I prefer a quiet lunch with friends. With the limited patron, service is attentive. The deco on the other hand, IMHO, is rather plain. Undecided whether to go the simple approach, retro, or high class dark black, it ended up being a blend of everything with motifs of flower on the wall. Hmmm... However, we are here for the food.

The menu is strictly western, which is another good point. Too many fusion cafes churned out too many ordinary or less than ordinary food around. We decided to go set lunch just to save the burden on my pocket. Therefore, I could not comment much on the other offerings, but just on my set. There is option to upgrade the set of the day (RM18.90 for only 1 choice) to any main course in the menu, which ranges from pasta to chicken, for only RM5. The set comes with drinks, of course, soup, main course and dessert. The soup of the day is pumpkin, which I enjoyed. Though it is not the best, it definitely works well as a starter. The main course is spicy squid aglio olio pasta. Not many people enjoyed that but weirdly I do. Partly due to my high tolerance of spiciness and hotness, which I think blended up nicely in the dish. What we ended up with is a pasta dish which stimulate the taste bud very well. Then again, a good aglio olio should find a balance between the simplicity and the complexity of taste. Again, as much as I enjoyed it, it is still did not surpass the few pasta dish I had in recent weeks in other place. The dessert, on the other hand, is the winner of the set. Pudding base with bit of coconut slice, works very well to end the dining experience. Too bad, the portion is so tiny to fit inside the set lunch.


Overall, the experience is as expected from a decent good restaurant. Being averagely decent is not a bad thing, considering the many below-par restaurant around.

ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: probably lower poink due to the fact that I treated everyone for lunch. When my wallet hurts, it hurts my taste bud as well. Yup, I am that kiam

De Dine
24, Jalan Medan Ipoh 3,
Bandar Baru Medan, Ipoh
012-5225366

King of Mahjong: inconsistent CNY fun

This probably will be my finale to the CNY movie bash. Ah... the mindless funny movies with not much sense and yet manage to attract a cinema full of viewers. Given that I am very supportive of local product, King of Mahjong is my natural choice.

Sort of a joint effort, King of Mahjong boast of stars powers from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Therefore expect to hear a good mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin, with cameos from familiar faces all over the 3 regions. Chapman To shoulders the responsibility as the main attraction and he is fairly predictable in his role. Mark Lee plays the villain, and appears very comfortable.  The rest of the supporting crew play their part well enough to make sure the show did not sink.


However, given that I had watched Adrian Teh's previous movies, this year's offering disappoints me. The story is so typical that it had been used so many times, so much so that it felt like drinking expired milk. A master (in this case, mahjong expert) goes into hiding after winning a big champion. A arch nemesis manage to track him down, challenge him to a contest. Master refuse to comply, however, later change his mind after something happens. Master wins (or sort of win) in the end. The end. From all those gambling movies in HK (all the mahjong movies), the cooking movies in HK to Kara-King from Namewee boast the same formula. Yawn.....!

The humour is rather inconsistent. There are some genuine funny moments that tickle you, but there are more humour that seems rather childish. The sound effect for these moments kept reminding me, " oh, we are suppose to laugh at this point". Even the highlight finale mahjong match felt bit stale. The camera works are nice for some shots with some excellent pans. I suspect the censorship meddle with some sequence as a few stretch of the movie felt disjointed.



Despite the big name, this remains a very local flavoured movie. However, the production team decided to go along the direction of Raymong Wong style of CNY movie and Wong Jing style of humour. It may work for them, but will not work for a local movie. We have our own flavour which is unique. Think the Journey. Think Woohoo and 天天好天. Think 笑着回家. These are the good local CNY movies that mix CNY humour with good doses of family values. Even Adrian earlier work with Aniu, the Wedding Diary is better than this.

rating: 2 half poink!
comments: extra poink since bulk of the movie is shot in our own backyard, Ipoh

Tea Warmer Treat: Don't judge a restaurant by the name

I realize it had been quite a while I do not come visit Medan Bistari, the area behind Tesco Ipoh Garden. There are a few new eateries here, and some to replace old outgoing ones. Right at the corner in the same row as Redcom computer shop, is this new restaurant replacing the old joint that supposedly to specialize Penang cuisine.

My first impression of TWT, Tea Warmer Treat is "what is that name?!". I can understand TSG, and still would accept STG, but TWT? The name did not make any sense to me. But from outside, the place look decent and nice. In fact it looks like a dessert joint rather than restaurant. You know, the place where people will come for a drinks and cakes. Step inside, and we were greeted with a warm cozy surroundings. The tables are spaciously placed, the decors are typically for any boutique restaurant and every table would nicely seat 2 to 4. The whole place shout fine dining. The only thing that did not impress me was the running lights on the way; felt that it did not fit into the class of the whole place. The service was attentive and friendly, which was a nice way to start my dinner.

The menu is western, with a few choice of mocktails. It did not boast a whole range such as the more budget Hot Jack, but leans towards fine dining restaurant like Citrus. Expect to spend at least RM20 per person for main course here. Did not try the specialty tea though, will do that next time. For some reason, I decided to go veg today and ordered the trio mushroom aglio-olio (RM18). Surprisingly it was one of the better ones that I tasted. The taste is delicious with spice. What makes it a winner is a tinge of hot spiciness which lift the dish to another level. The combination of spice blended nicely not to overwhelm the mushroom which suppose to be the star of this dish. The only drawback is that I felt the dish is tad bit oily. Then again, this is aglio olio. Colleen ordered citrus dory (RM23) which is another impressive offering. The fish is nicely done, not to overcook the meat. The taste of citrus just nicely complement the fish as not to overshadow the meat. The best part is the mash potato, which is made from real potatoes (not the powder offerings from most kopitiam). The taste of butter is really empowering (I like butter) with a tinge of saltiness. Most people may not like it, but I simply love the taste. Last but not least on my order was passion fruit mojito (RM9. Nothing to shout about but still good enough to replace the real deal.

Despite the price, the million dollar question is would I return. I guess I would. It was a really good dining experience. Although I advocate that good food should not burn a hole in the pocket, but the taste here is really tempting.

ratings: 3 half poink~!
comments: would rate higher if the price would be slightly cheaper, but then again, with all the boutique restaurant nowadays, the price here would be considered as reasonable.

Tea Warmer Treat (TWT)
30, Jln Medan Ipoh 1D
Medan Ipoh Bestari
31400, Ipoh
05-5417176
www.facebook.com/twt.teacafe