Cawan Mu: local cuisine fine dining style

It was a plesant surprise to see so many new shops in Taman Siber, Taman Song Choon and Botani area in Ipoh. Tucked deep inside Taman Siber, is this new cafe, Cawan Mu, part of new boutique hotel 1969. The restaurant, is really really nicely designed, even sitting without the the food gave a visually comfortable satisfyingly experience. The menu is on a electronic tab, and every inch of the diner is classy. The service of course is hotel class, which add to the dining experience.


The food offering, is rather bland on the other hand. Although they do promote fusion local cuisine, the offering felt more local cuisine in fine dining style. So you would not find fusion to the extent of nasi lemak sushi, or curry pasta. What we get is more of nasi lemak, nasi bryani or nasi hujan combination with ayam masak merah, ayam rempah or rendang ayam. The choices are rather limited, besides the chicken rice combination, there are 2-3 noodles selection such as curry noodle and laksa, western breakfast, one salmon main dish, pasta and subs. The food is nice, though not ground breaking. Pleasant but probably would not stand out among the many shops or restaurant in Ipoh.



I really hope they expand their menu, many of the local favourite such as chicken chops are missing. The menu seems heading towards kopitiam style of offering. In one corner there is a small bakery which the buns and pastries do look delicious. Maybe I will try it on a different outing. While dining here will not save us money, this is far from burning a hole in my pocket. Expect the main dish to start less than RM20 which is very reasonable compare to some of the fine dining or western restaurant in Ipoh. The only thing I felt was pricey are the drink which is priced very near to the main dish.

Would I return? I would, for the dining experience, and the price is just nice for the visit. For the similar food, I would still stick back to our usual western diner spot in Pasir Puteh.

Ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: sometimes, we just want to pamper ourselves...

Cawan Mu
1, Jalan Lapangan Siber 1
Bandar Cyber,
Ipoh

De Classroom: still lots to learn

Eating out for valentine is not an easy task. Fine dining? Some are fully booked, most would only serve their special designed set menu. And with the crowd, I doubt the dishes would be worth the price. Call me cheap skate but I would still enjoy the dinner with my wife no matter what the food may be. So, we decided to try some new places which we have not been.

Ipoh old town boast of many newly set up eateries, including pubs, boutique restaurants, cafe and even fine dining. And one can even have a nice dessert here, all within walk-able distance from each other. We actually came across De Classroom many times, mostly while catching pokemon last year. Situated opposited Happy 8, it is in one of the side roads in old town area of Ipoh, within the vicinity of Plan B.

Entering the restaurant I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the cheesy name, the place appears comfortable, with a tinge of class. Ample space occupying 2 shop lots, with high seats providing some privacy to most of the tables. There is even a small electronic bell on each table to ensure attentive service without waiters/ waitresses hovering around.

Obviously with the setting, we can easily guess the menu would be mostly kopitiam derived eastern and western offering. We were happy with the selections but had mixed feeling about the food though. The first dish to arrive is our all time favourite mashed potato (RM5.90). The potato is obviously pre-mixed, as most restaurant would use, for convenience. We would not fault that, but what differentiate some from others would be the gravy. Here, the mushroom gravy has a heavy taste of umami inside, coupled with the sesame on top, it boast an oriental feel to it. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I would say it is quite pleasant. My creamy chicken pesto pasta (RM17.90) is a huge surprise. The portion is humongous, even for someone my size. The whole dish is too heavy on the cream which is a double edge sword. The first few bites was heaven, but finishing the last half was a tedious task. At the end, there was this feeling of "jelak" and I do not think I would touch any creamy dishes for the next few weeks. Lyn's garlic creamy butter chicken (RM16.90) was a contrast to my pasta. The chicken portion was just right. The butter garlic sauce, however, also felt heavy. There was adequate garlic taste to it, but the butter cream taste was too overpowering. I missed this small stall in the old Astrol hawker centre in Ipoh which made the best chicken chop with golden sauce.

Although with all my criticism, eating here is still a pleasant experience. The price is really affordable with the this type of menu and settings. The ambiance is truly comfortable, but in the food department,there are more to learn.

ratings: 3 half poink~!
comments: worth a try. at least the food is better than some so call fine dining which burn a hole in the pocket and the stomach as well.

De Classroom Restaurant and Cafe
55-57, Jalan Market,
30000, Ipoh
05-2412140

LC N LY Cafe: comfortable dining before AEON BIG

Has it been that long? Yup, seems like I bid farewell to 2015 without much special dining opportunity, so is the beginning of 2016. However, since I am near Falim, Ipoh for Aeon BIG CNY shopping, thought that would fill my tummy first before embarking on filling up my car boot with mandarin oranges. On Ong's recommendation, we visited LC N LY cafe, just across Aeon BIG Falim. It is easy to locate, given that the row of shops in front of the hypermarket are relatively unoccupied.

mashed potato with black pepper sauce (RM6.20)

The front deco is rather new, clean and enticing. The inner deco has a tinge of minimalist approach, the tables are comfortably spaced apart, which are rare since most restaurant wanted to max out their patrons. The staff are one of the most attentive waitresses I had encountered. Then comes the menu.

XO fried rice (RM11.50)

As expected, the list is full of fusion kopitiam type offering. The usual pasta, fried noodle and rice, chop and breakfast set. The price range is reasonable, one would expect to spend approximately RM10-20 on food alone.

Since Lyn saw her favourite on the menu, we opted for the quick mashed potato, served here with black pepper sauce (RM6.20). While we were still debating whether the potato is freshly mashed (since the were some chunks) or made from the conventional paste type (beside the chunk, the rest was too finely mashed), both of us agreed that the sauce was too empowering. The amount of black pepper was too much that it shadowed the potato, and we still felt the hot pepper aftertaste after finishing the dish. We could recalled that this experience was similar to what we encountered in Taiwan when everyone asked us "yao jia la ma?" (" do you want you dish to be hot?") and they ended up adding hot black pepper sauce instead of chilli sauce. We did enjoyed the potato, just that we preferred the sauce to be less hot.

grilled chicken with mushroom sauce (RM14.60)

Lyn's grilled chicken with mushroom sauce (RM14.60) was nice. The chicken was evenly grilled, and juicy. The portion is not big, but there were always the fries in case the meat was not enough. I was browsing online and one of the blogger recommended XO sauce fried rice (RM11.50). To be fair, the chef did not skimp on ingredients, as there are shredded chicken and luncheon meat stir fried along with the rice. However, the taste was lacking. Not salty enough, I end up pouring lots of soya sauce in the dish. And I did not taste much XO sauce in the dish. It was a pity, the dish was fried well, with nice "wok hei", but at most, it was a good fried rice, without much taste from XO sauce. Then again, I might be spoiled as I had tasted much better XO sauce fried rice, mostly in those Hong Kong style chachanteng (of course, they may charge more).

Despite all that, dining here is not bad at all (probably our taste palate expected differently). In fact, it was quite an enjoyable outing. Given the reasonable price, the average food, there are many patrons around. There are quite a number of other dishes which I would want to try again in the future.

ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: reasonable price, good location before shopping, and wide range of dishes.

LC N LY Cafe
15, Persiaran Menglembu Suria
Pusat Perniagaan Menglembu Suria, Ipoh
0166063698

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

Tea place: regularly average

This will be a short review, since this is a short visit to this relatively new joint. Come to think about it, it had been long time since I really eaten outside (minus the family gathering in our usual Chinese restaurant). After our 31st Dec shopping in Tesco Bercham, we decide to go around the area for supper. Coincidentally, my friend's clinic is just beside this shop. Am unsure whether how long this shop had been functioning, but it look decent and new enough for me.

Tea Place is situated in the row of shop opposite Tesco Bercham. This is the same row that house 2+1 Steam Boat Buffet at the corner. From outside, the layout looks like the usual Taiwanese dessert house. Inside, it felt more like any other cafe. This has to be one of the most spacious eateries I have ever been to. Service is fast, considering the small crowd even prior to the new year countdown. I would not blame the patrons, since this is a relatively quiet part of Bercham. The most happening place this side is Giant Bercham, and everyone know that the branch here is a dying one.

The menu is the usual kopitiam fare minus the focus on bread and coffee. Instead, one will find the focus on Taiwanese dessert. The usual bubble tea and ice shave. The food on the other hand is more Malaysian with the usual fried noodle, nasi lemak and rice varieties. We ordered Tornado sensation (RM6.50), which mimics the dessert from Black Ball. With flavored shaved ice as base, just add different toppings to come out with this combination. However, the combination felt bit short of expectation, and felt more like eating toppings with mouthful of ice. Black Ball, on the other hand, is more superior (though not perfect) with the topping and the ice tasting as a single dessert. On the other hand, the fried kueitiao  (RM 5.90) is one of the better version. Though simple, like any other "da cao" stall, it taste quite good with good taste and enough "wok hei". Even by finishing the whole dish, one would not felt too bloated, unlike some cook who used to much oil.

It is still an average shop at best. The good thing here is the ample parking space for all patrons. If I stay in this part of town, I may come here at times for a good supper with comfortable seats.

ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: good food make up for poor dessert.

Tea Place
42-1, Bercham Bistari 1,
Medan Bercham Bistari, Ipoh.
05-5492352

OIC: try to look past the cheesiness

I had meant to try OIC for a long while. I had been passing by the place in Ipoh Garden south festival walk area for a few times, but everytime, I ended up at Suhshi Zento

Anyway, imagine my surprise when OIC open in Kampar. And to add to the surprise, it is such a enormous joint, it felt like the main branch compare to the rest of the branch. It is situated in the corner of the row of shop opposite Kampar Gravel Pump museum, within walking distance to Grand Kampar Hotel in Kampar New Town.

Still, I had to wait for months before I got the chance to come here. Coming back from Ipoh, my stomach was growling for food, so me and Colleen decided to stop by for brunch. It was 11am, and the place is still relatively empty. Service is rather attentive given that there are not that many clients. The place appeared spacious, however, the decoration is really cheesy. Imagine colour changing LED lights on the ceiling. Better still, imagine them heart shape. Yup, I can imagine this to be a 80's version of a drinking pub.


Next comes the menu. As expected, it is the usual kopitiam stuff. The pseudo western choice, the Asian rice and noodle, some bread derivatives, and don't forget the pasta also. However, for a big place, the choices are really limited. Imagine only few types of pasta (the usual bolognese, carbonara and aglio) and the usual chicken chop with mushroom/ black pepper sauce. The focus here probably would be eastern delights as there are more choices in term of rice and noodle variants.

We wanted something heavy so Colleen ordered the fried noodle (mee, beehoon) with duck eggs (RM6.50). The presentation, again is rather cheesy with custom printed heart shaped OIC plates. It is the usual charkuetiao with the duck egg; one would expect to pay up to RM5 for a dish in the usual stalls. It is surprisingly nice, though could not beat the roadside stall version for the lack of "wok-hei". I can really taste the duck egg unlike some stalls which the noodle taste overpowered the egg so much so that it would not make difference in between duck or chicken eggs. However, the bean sprout was a bit on the raw side, but it did not sink the dish, luckily. Next, is my carbonara spaghetti with duck slice (RM 13.90). The carbonara sauce is really disappointing. Given the price, I would expect a better rendition but the although the sauce is creamy, there is not much taste which led to a bland dish. However, the roast duck slice is the saving grace here. Nicely roasted, it has the perfect amount of charred smell with the aroma of duck meat. It had been a while since I tasted such nice duck meat. The RM2 addition for the set lunch was bit disappointing though. The extra RM1 for the soup of the day made me felt like being short changed. I know it will be the usual "mix-with-water" cream soup, but the amount is so little that I practically can finish it at one gulp.

Overall, dining here is rather average, but there are few gems here and there. Worth a try.

ratings: 2 half poink~!
comments: look past the cheesy deco. And there are even steamboat at night, I heard.

OIC Cafe Kampar
2198-2201, Jalan Timah
Taman Bandar Baru
Kampar
05-4660128, 4658268
open for lunch, dinner until late supper

Crossover: decent surprise in the Kopitiam world

This is another case of the English translation did not fit the Chinese one. The Chinese name would be literally translated into 10 mile stop, probably referring to a stop in a long journey. How it could translate into Crossover? Well, let that do not deter you to this place. In fact, this kopitiam style joint is rather decent.

cheese baked rice with roast pork (RM 11.90)

It is located in Festival Walk Ipoh, within Medan Ipoh Bistari. For those who are still not familiar with this place, just go behind Tesco Ipoh Garden, beyond Ipoh Garden East, there is this new cluster of makan-place, where one will find Kizuna or Michaelangelo pizza. The 2 shop-lot felt rather spacious with ample space for the smoking and also non smoking sections. Service is fast and decent but do not expect out of the world first class service here. It is the basic no non-sense kind of treatment everyone will get.

Next, come the menu. Typical kopitiam food, though this may lean towards Hongkie style of cha-chan-teng food rather than localized kopitiam selection. Good range of noodles, udon, ramen and the likes, together with the usual pseudo-western chicken chop. Expect also the typical rice and cheese baked rice together with few selections of pasta. Of course, on top of the lot, is always our own local nasi lemak with wide range of curry/ sambal/ chicken selections. Generally the price range is rather reasonable, as one would expect less than RM10 for each dish. Now, that sound pricey for an average Ipoh resident but considering the mushrooming higher class restaurant (imagine Plan B or Burps n Giggles) this is rather decent.

Chicken chop ramen (RM 6.50)

I cannot resist anything with cheese although I may know that I will be disappointed, again. But cheese baked rice with roasted pork (RM11.90)? I could never say no to that ever! The rice is fried before baking with cheese making it one of the better ones. Even without the cheese, the fried rice is well enough to eat with the roast pork. Did I mention the roast pork? It is one of the better one I tasted. Just nice proportion of the fat and meat plus, it is nicely roasted. Of course the cheese did not affect much of the taste, in fact, the cheese was rather bland. Overall, this is one of the better cheese baked rice. Though it is not cook with herbs as in Tammy's but least it is well fried and better than the chain Hongkies cha-chan-teng's around. Did not manage to taste the other dish, but according to the rest, the chicken chop ramen soup (RM6.50) is average but the chicken piece is too small. The tomyam seafood with udon (RM8.50) is also average but the soup base is over the sour side bit. There is nothing special about the drinks though.

Tomyam Seafood with udon (RM 8.50)

The place is rather packed with customers during the lunch hour, and probably that itself is a testimony to the food here. The whole dining experience is rather good, definitely not the best out there, nothing spectacular but I would definitely return again. At least for another dish with roast pork.

ratings: 3 half poink!
comments: Decent priced kopitiam is diffiicult to find in Ipoh. This is one of the decent priced ones, with good food.

Crossoever
No 2-22, Festival Walk Ipoh,
Jalan Medan Ipoh 1
Medan Ipoh Bistari
Ipoh
05-5453781

Spice Of Penang: street delight in comfy seats

First of all, I had to apologize of not blogging much. Not that I had left the blogosphere, but the fact is my HTC Touch 3G had finally retired for good. Therefore, I am stuck with my old Nokia phone at the moment without any camera. Somehow, blogging about food without picture is rather tasteless. At least at the moment, using Colleen's phone to capture the pic, which in turn is definitely better than my old HTC anyway.

As usual, during my on-call week in Ipoh, gave me many chance to eat out. Bringing mum-in-law along, I chose somewhere rather new and decent. The new shop lots behind Aeon/ Tesco in Ipoh Garden would be a smart choice since there are many, many new shops mushrooming there (provided they can last, they tend to open fast, and close down as equal).

Spice of Penang, as the shop name suggest, probably house a kopitiam style food under a air-con environment. Located at the corner of the complex, just go from Tesco towards the new row of shops, look for the same row as Redcom (computer shop, with the biggest billboard there). I was there for dinner but I can safely assume that it should be open for lunch as well. Not very sure whether it is a chain, but likelihood there is others in the same chain in Penang or KL as well.

The shop is small, sort of open air but the ventilation is good. Although new, the workers are decently welcoming. Tables are spacious for a small shop, surprisingly. Deco, is as expected, not the star in the shop.

tumeric rice with roast chicken (nasi kandar style)

The menu, oh my, is sort of full of varieties of street style dishes. From nasi lemak to nasi kunyit; from fried noodle to fried rice. The usual chicken chop. Cant find any pork dish though. The other thing missing is soup noodle, which I do not miss anyway. The drinks is the usual ice, tea, coffee and cendol. This would remind you of Old Town or Pappa Rich kind of menu. So, how is the food.... surprisingly good. This remind me when Old Town is still a shop instead of a chain. How they use to make good nasi lemak before it got generic. The food is really fast, considering the whole shop is full of patrons.

nasi lemak with rendang, OTK style

First, mother-in-law ordered nasi lemak with rendang ayam (RM6.90). The whole presentation reminded me of OTK. The taste is rather good. Like how OTK was before they go chain. Colleen asked for nasi kunyit with ayam panggang (RM9.80). Bit of the pricey side, but the tumeric rice (not nasi pulut though) goes quite well with the roast chicken. The taste reminded you of the nasi kandar, especially the sauce where I would ask for "sos campur-campur". Both of the chicken shared a same shortfall. I guess they are "grilled" in a oven, where both the chicken, despite the above average sauce, is too dried. Too dried until it is rather hard, and without any juice. Though it may be crispy, but if anyone want it to be crispy, they can just deep fry the bird, so to maintain some juicy feeling when you bite into the meat, rather than as if biting into a toasted bread. Mine was tomyam fried beehoon (RM 5.90). Although the taste is good, many would do it as well. It was too wet for my liking though, I prefer mine to be dry. And it was laking the "wok-hei" of something that is fried right out from the wok.

tomyam fried beehoon

Despite all my complains, the whole dinner, as a whole, is rather good. Given the choice, the environment, the fast service, I would definitely come again.

ratings: 3 poink!
comments: it could be higher, but the chicken just drag it down. Definitely a good alternative for OTK or Pappa Rich.I believe with time, this can outdo the former two.

Spice Of Penang
30, Jln Medan Ipoh 1D,
Medan Ipoh Bestari,
Ipoh.