Tandoor Grill: elegant way of Indian dining

There are many superb Indian eateries around, and probably I am not the best one to recommend any since I have limited dining experience with them in Ipoh. However, I assure you that Tandoor Grill is one of the more popular joint, even to those who do not frequent Indian cuisine.

Located near to Greentown business centre, this is the same vicinity as the old MP steamboat (currently the new OIC restaurant). One would not miss the stand alone amazing building, which I assume was renovated from one of the old Ipoh bungalow. There are ample carpark at the back of the building, therefore no worries about not able to find a place to stop by.

The ground floor of the building is the usual restaurant with a few private  rooms for individual functions. The place is spacious, with the darken lighting that suits fine dining. Upstairs consist of a ballroom, big enough even for a wedding reception.

On arrival, the staff would gladly show us to the entrance, and the service is definitely on par with any other expensive restaurant. The menu is the typical Indian fare, with a good range of choices, from the usual naan and tandoori to the dessert. I would not be the best person to review this as I have very limited knowledge on Indian cuisine, but to an usual customer as me, the food is rather good. I really enjoy the naan, though it is not the best ones I ever have, but certainly above average. The tandoori chicken is also up to expectation, with the juicy meat, without being too dry. The rest of the food is up to expectation, I really enjoy the briyani too. For the budget consious, one can come here for buffet lunch which would cost RM28.90 per person.

Given the good food, and great environment, this would be a good place to dine. However, gathering the opinion of my friends who frequent Indian cuisine, the common thoughts were this is not the best Ipoh have to offer in term of taste. The rather costly price also would deter me to come here frequently, but probably only once in a blue moon. Still, this would be a good choice to pamper myself whenever I feel like going Indian.


ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: if lunch, do come earlier to avoid the crowd. for dinner, come later as the food tends to be slower at 7pm. (we waited rather long for food when we arrived for dinner one of the days)

Tandoor GRill
No 9, Jalan Chin Choon
Ipoh, Perak
05-2525995

Greentown Dimsum Cafe: Finally dimsum for everyone

I basically adore dimsum. However, there is a drawback for dimsum, most of which is not halal. I am not trying to be racist, but dimsum had been only available for non muslim before this. Greentown Dimsum Cafe changes this.

Situated in Greentown business square, in the newer complex of building opposite David's diner and opposite MP restaurant is this new halal dimsum joint. Just beside the road, in the same row as Berlitz and Chatime, this place is packed during lunch hour.

The main attraction of the restaurant is dimsum. Expect the normal siumai and hagao (meat dumpling and prawn dumpling) to be there in the menu. However, do not expect the slightly more complicated ones such siulongbao (soup dumpling). The main question is how does it taste since now one ingredient is less and probably substituted with chicken (my assumption) instead? Actually the siumai and hagao is not bad. One would not miss the non-halal version here. However, since there are so many good dimsum place around, and Ipoh is basically famous for good dimsum as well, the dimsum here is rather OK. Not to say the dimsum is below average, in fact it is quite good. Just that there are many execellent dimsum shop around. Beside the staple dimsum which seems to be on all the tables, expect the normal dish fare such as fried noodle or fried rice. The claypot rice was a bit bland, and probably not their forte. The tomyam fried rice which I ordered was average since I prefer my tomyam fried rice to be spicy hot which this version is on the milder side.

The lunch is courtesy of one of my officer so I am not sure how much do it cost. Expect the normal price of RM3-5 per dimsum and RM5-10 for the usual rice/ noodle dish. The service is fair in view of the packed restaurant. Do not expect the fine dining decoration or environment here as this place is not trying to be pretentious. It rather mimic the simple dimsum restaurant, no deco, come eat, chat and leave concept. Overall, the fact that this is a halal dimsum restaurant is a plus point. Dimsum to dimsum comparison, there are definitely better choice, but this is the place to enjoy simple dimsum with Muslim friends.

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: halal dimsum. need me to say more?

All In Cafe: nice western surprise

mash potato (RM4.80)

 There are too many cafe/ kopitiam around with pseudo western dishes which basically are just steak and pasta. However, once in a while we did found some restaurant which are slightly above the rest with slightly more authentic western dishes. We went around Greentown business centre for dinner before a movie and bump into this new restaurant: All in Cafe. Now, the name was not very original. And with the track records of restaurant around in this area, most of them would not last very long. Somehow, this area is rather jinx for eating place. Then again, most of the shops in the past were just mediocre at best.

carbonara pasta with mussel (RM12.80)

Just go around the square, the row of shops behind Astro, one will bump into a unremarkable signboard. The shop was rather quiet when we went in. The place is minimally decorated. Mind you, I am all in (pun intended) for minimalist design but this deco is rather bland, with just black ceiling and wooden bench. And the bench is rather stiff and not comfortable at all. Service is good, but then again, we are the only table occupied so would not expect much competition for attention.

The menu is essentially western choices, with the normal steak, chops, burgers and pasta. The selection is slightly more than the usual kopitiam but still less compare to places like Hot Jack. Although we were the only table, the food is rather slow. So while we waited patiently, we had a bad feeling....

mozzarella grilled chicken (RM19.80)

Boy, were we so wrong. The food is good. The mash potato is clearly was factory made not the one made from fresh potato but the gravy is so nice with a tinge of herbs. The grilled chicken with mozzarella is brilliant. The meat is juicy, not too oily. Cheese just melted and blended in with the meat. Was it the best? Not so, but memorable still. Colleen had high praise for the french fries which came together as side dish. With bit of spice and salt, the fries is just nice, not so oily but crunch-ly deep fried. Mine was the cabonara pasta with mussel. No choices of pasta there except spaghetti but it was alright for me. The pasta is not too creamy which some of the cook may go overboard with. Pasta with too much cream, while is delicious, will leave the stomach feeling uncomfortably full for a long time.  The mussel brought just the right amount of seafood freshness to the dish.

Well, despite on all the shortcoming, we still enjoy the food and felt it was worth the wait. We still felt it did not dethrone the top western restaurant for us, but it was a good start.

ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: considering the uncomfortable bench, slow service, and not so cheap price.... I would still visit for the good food.

Taste Good: fried mee cafe style!

I had blog about Taste Good in Kampar a while ago. My recollection of the place and food was fairly good. That was until my friend told me to try the original Taste Good in Ipoh. " the main one is way better". So, my journey for the supposedly famous Buntong fried mee began.


Taste Good is a series of 3 restaurant at the time of writing. The 2nd branch is in Kampar which I blog earlier. The newest one is in Ipoh town. And my destination is the one and only, original Taste Good restaurant. Situated in town, opposite Tower Regency hotel, the same row as Pakeeza, smack at the corner.

Entering the restaurant, one have the familiar deja-vu sense that this is another kopitiam or cafe. Colourful deco. Staff with uniform. Electronic ordering system. Very spacious table. Air conditioned space. It is really spacious, even more than Old Town. Staff is rather courteous, polite, always eager to serve. All this made the eating experience here enjoyable. My guess that this is open at lunch as well, although my experience here was dinner.

fried beehoon + kueitiao

fried mee + beehoon

chef recommended "wa-dan-ho"

The menu is the same in all 3 restaurant. Imagine eating the road side chinese fried mee. Yup, that is "da-chao" for you. The usual fried mee, meehoon and kueitiao. On top of the list would be the chef recommended "wat-dan-ho" or Cantonese style kueitiao (RM 8.50). It is so unique that it is served in a bowl. The taste is of a better wat-dan-ho with lots, lots of gravy. So much that it felt eating kueitiao soup. I enjoyed that, though not many will agree with me. However, at the end of the meal, even I feel so full. The fried beehoon, kueitiao and mee all would share the similar taste (RM7.90). It is of the wet style of frying, and the taste is rather good, though it is too oily for some. There is also some simple pseudo-western dish such as chops, and rice available but for that, one probably would choose other place.

Overall, the price is a bit expensive for something that you would eat at roadside, but considering the whole experience and taste, it is worth it.

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: imagine going to those kopitiam or cafe, but instead of coffee and bread, I came here to enjoy a authentic chinese fried noodle.

Taste Good HQ
23, Jalan Dato Seri Ahmad Said, Greentown, 30450, Ipoh.
05-2532211

KL Cili Pan Mee: exciting lunch experience

look out for the billboard

It had been a while since I took lunch in Greentown area. Since it is really out of the way on a normal working day; since I was around last week for a mini conference in Hospital Ipoh, took the chance to meet up with a few old friends for a nice lunch in the area.

KL Cili Pan Mee, or its chinese name "la-yi-la" literally means HOT as in spicy hot. Situated in Greentown business centre, it is along the same row as Ye Olde English. Not sure whether it opens the whole day, but my guess is it should be available for dinner as well. Deco is simple for a chinese restaurant, service and cleanliness is all up to par. No complain in that department.

cafe style environment

open air kitchen

The star of the whole shop definitely is the pan mee. There are many varieties, but the main chef recommended is the spicy hot pan mee. Warned by my friend that it could be too hot, but I took up the challenge and happy to report that, it was still within my spicy limit. RM4 for a small bowl (or RM4.50 with additional egg) is a slightly expensive for a bowl of pan mee but given the shop or cafe environment, one would expect to pay that amount. The noodle itself is not bad, although clearly not the best of the lot. Felt that it still lack the consistency but for what it lack in noodle, it make up in taste. Taste: good. For some, it may be really too hot, but I just love spicy so it strike a right cord with me.

spicy panmee

spicy panmee up close

Cant comment on the rest of the menu though, my guess is the noodle would be the same. Judging from the spicy pan mee, it should be as good. Nice lunch.

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: spicy, spicy. I just love spicy.

Good times Steamboat Buffet: out of steam...

many patrons even on weekdays

I am not a real fan of steamboat, so my review would be rather bias. Then again, I am a fan of buffet, and my last steamboat buffet outing eons ago in Teluk Intan was really remarkable and in Trillion Friends which was good. So, am looking forward to celebrate Tseng's birthday in Good times in Greenhill.



It is in town, near Hotel Excelsior, before reaching Hotel Regal Lodge. Parallel road to Crazy Ice Cream Parlour, same road as Overseas Restaurant. Probably one would not miss it since the restaurant extended out to the road, and sort of cordon off the area with red ropes in case someone would eat and run.



Since this few days had been dry in Ipoh, eating steamboat is NOT a good idea. The place is stuffy! Though it is spacious, and service is rather alrite, but the eating experience is rather not. The fan is not enough to cover all corners of the seats. And I prefer the ones with water droplets sort of to cool down the area. Even the interior with air-conditioner seems stuffy.

Few soup base to choose from. We chose the Tomyam which was really spicy and nice. The porridge based soup was a total disappointment. So much difference from the one we had near Ipoh Airport. SQ even describe it as barley water. Food? Well, the usual meatballs variant, vegetables and meat. Meat is good, I don't really like vege, and the meatballs variant did not excel. Probably that sums up the steamboat version. The cooked food section have rather limited offering, with the fried dished dominating. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, the yam rice (noted taro rice) is rather good. Did not try the udon though.  Drinks is as expected. The saving grace is the ice cream. Creamy. Add it with chocolate syrup and grind nuts, now that is nice!

Overall, approximately RM27 per person is not worth the food. Come on, would you eat RM27 worth of food in a dinner, I doubt it. However, for a place where you would eat longer, catch up with friends, and just sweat it out while eating, probably could consider this place. Then again, there are other better options.

Ratings: 2 half poink!
comments: not bad. but something me and my wife notice. We kept drinking water during and after the food. Lots of MSG? Not sure.

Restoran Good Times
4 & 6 Jalan Seenivasagam,
30450 Greenhill, Ipoh.

Tel : 016 593 7771 / 012 524 3316

YeOlde English: nice reasonably price western pick

Ye Olde English, from the road side

business is so good that tables
are set up in the corridors
as well

It had been quite some time since the last time we paid YeOlde English a visit. There had to be a reason why the shop had been in existence for so many years despite the nearby restaurants changed owner few times. We decided to go to the one in Greentown business centre, just opposite O Place. In one of the corner, just drive around and one will not miss the green neon sign.

selection of cakes

The service is rather good despite full of customers. The menu is simple, basically western choices. That includes some delicious looking cakes. However, lately, the list expanded to include some local delights as well such as noodles. Expect the usual chops and steak, but did not find any pork served. Hmmm. bit disappointed there since was craving for a pork burger that night.

Grill fish

Chef chicken

The food. Do expect the norm. We ordered chef chicken (RM 12.99) which was served with french fries and coleslaw. The chicken was marinated with local spices, it just tasted like satay or rendang. Though it did not taste western at all, but I really enjoy the taste. Fries was bit soggy though. Not complaining since it is not the main star anyway. Grill fish (RM11.99) was next, it did taste good, not the usual frozen ones, but more like the better frozen ones. Served with wedges, but still, it tasted bit soggy like its fries brothers. Overall the taste is not bad, but the portion is bit small. It did look big on pictures, but both the meat and the fish is rather "thin" so it may satisfy my wife, but not me. I only felt full after finishing all the fries and coleslaw.

grill fish

Would I come back? Definitely, given the price of  most items here ranging from RM10-20 is really reasonable for a good selection and good taste. Taste is really up to par. But to call this great? There is still a far way to go.

Ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: extra poink for the price and combination. I prefer Hot Jack though....

YeOlde English Sdn Bhd
Greentown Business Centre

Dubliners Cafe: nice halal outing

Wehad actually passed by this shop many times. Those who knows me well will know that the main reason I always give this place a pass is I always go for

pork chop. But since today, I felt like giving the oink a rest, wife and me decided to pay this joint a visit.

Dubliners cafe, situated in Greentown business square, within stone throw distance from YeOlde English. Look for the old Oldtown Kopitiam site, opposite an empty space now used as car park, it is in the middle of the row of shops. The restaurant is there for quite some time, which is a good sign, considering across the road, there are restaurant which kept changing names.

This restaurant had all the deco as a contemporary cafe, hinting western food served. The interior is rather comfortable. Service is good, with a few young Malay chaps running the whole show. The joint is open for both lunch and dinner.

Food: you guess it. Halal western food. The range is rather good and diversify, from the usual chicken chop to chicken kiev; from pasta to fried rice. There is even a tinge of thai with somtam. There are pies and lasagna as well. First is my selectoin of Dubliners chicken chop (RM10.80). I thought dish with the restaurant name will sort of be the chef's recommendation. The chicken was not too huge, grilled with "special" sauce which is based on black pepper sauce. There are few pieces of vege on top, which is a nice idea. However, the taste, although being special sauce, is not so special to me, it just taste like black pepper sauce though not as strong. It was bit on the bland side as well. Lasagna (RM10.50) was ok to me though. I would expect it to be more cheesy, but for those who is not crazy about the yellow milk product, I guess the amount was just nice. The meat inside was nicely done. I had to admit that I have not tried many lasagna before, but I certainly taste better.

I would never say the food here is not good, in fact, it is up to par and better than most psedo-western kopitiam style western food. But I had higher expectation here, and the taste came back bit bland.

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: food here is actually alrite, average, but above all, it is halal, so it is accessible to everyone.

Dubliners Cafe

7, Persiaran Greentown 8

Greentown Business Centre

Ipoh

016-6283470