Lunch in old Ipoh Town: Loke Wooi Kee Coffee Shop

When I was in Ipohon my way back from KL one day, I was wondering about this old place where my dad used to bring us when we were kids for a stopover lunch in the old town when someone mentioned the word 'lunch in Ipoh' in the car.

It has indeed been a very long time since we stopped over in Ipoh for lunch or any meal, for that matter ever since the barrier was constructed to split the road to KL and into Ipoh; causing inconveniences to most road travelers and although I used to drop by Ipoh for breakfast in the past.

Besides, I do have memories of dropping by Ipoh during my childhood as we used to travel to Penang (northern region) to visit grandmother and then occasionally stopping by the old town of Ipoh for lunch or dinner; depending on the time of arrival at the state.

Ipoh is the capital of the state of Perak; a state located between the north and south of Peninsular Malaysia; although slightly towards the northern part and is one of the larger states on the map. Having several counties or small cities under its wing, Ipoh is still the most prominent name uttered by most locals; from both the state and even other state dwellers.

The development in Ipoh may not be as rapid as it is in the metropolitan capital city of Kuala Lumpur, but it certainly has its own uniqueness and exotic offers through its age-old heritage and charm.

Besides temples and natural limestone caves, Ipoh is the other food capital of Malaysia; rivaling that of the island of Penang with its entirely separate menu and culinary delights made famous from the old-timers who have survived the ages of change and evolution.

Driving into the old town of Ipoh, everything seems like it was preserved from its yesteryears; although of course, that does not mean there is no development at all in this charming city.

There are a few modern shops/outlets taking over the pre-war shophouses lining the streets; blending in with the memories of yesterday in the backdrop.

While navigating my way through the busy streets during the mid hours of noon, I placed an immediate call to dear old daddy to ask for the name of the old coffee shop he used to bring us for a round of old town culinary delights whenever we stopover in Ipoh.
Thankfully dad's memory still serves him good (although he complains of being forgetful sometimes) and he gave me the name of the place in an instant and coincidentally, we were just around the corner and found the shop just a few feet away from us.

Parking coupons are required here in Ipoh, and one can easily get a book from the nearest shop; usually these mobile/cell phone or even photo shops are selling them.
Scratch off the date and time and place them on the car's dashboard; stating the duration you will be parking based on the amount you have scratched off and you are good to go.

Ahhh, the old school Loke Wooi Kee coffee shop does not seem to be that old school anymore considering the fresh facelift it has been given with a new coat of paint and a brand new signboard.
There used to be a department store across this shop and now, it's no longer there.
It is no wonder that I cannot find the coffee shop earlier for I was focused on looking for the department store and an old school and rustic coffee shop.


Spot the coffee shop at the end; with the green board and a truck parked in front of it.


It may have changed on the outside, but once I stepped inside the shop, it seemed like it was almost the same as yesterday though of course, they repainted the walls and also re-arranged some of the tables.




The reason we are here in this coffee shop...
A bowl of Chicken Hor Fun (Flat rice noodles) cooked with chicken broth; aka Kai See Hor Fun (in Cantonese)



At a glance, it may look not seem like it is anything special and one may even wonder the extent of making a stopover in the middle of a trip down the highway for a bowl of flat rice noodles?
Now, that's where the specialty comes in; not the broth, nor the chicken or the prawns you could see in the picture above.
The drawing factor lies in the smooth and silky texture of the hor fun; or the flat rice noodles produced in Ipoh which seemed to surpass that of the other versions found all over Malaysia.
Yes, the hor fun is smooth and seems to slide right through the tongue into the throat! No kidding...



The locals attributed the silkiness of the rice noodles; which are handmade by the way, to the ingredients and perhaps, one of the secret power ingredient lies in the source of the water which flows from the natural limestone caves. Well, that was what rumors say anyway, and the state is famous for its bean sprouts which are exceptionally juicy and fat in size and also soy beans among many other things.
Myth or fact? I think it is more like something which everyone believed in until today :-)

Another one that I used to remember from my childhood days was this; that I introduced to hubby.

The Pop Soda with Ice Cream 



It is basically a fizzy drink; usually a 7-Up (I call it the old-school drink) with rose syrup sugar and an ice cream.



Pour in the fizzy drink and the ice cream will just float; yes, it is a science experiment in food ;-)

Fishballs and fish cake with glass noodles




Ipoh Popiah; a slightly dry version compared to the Penang popiah and this is stuffed with minced pork as well (Penang ones are usually with seafood; shrimps/crab meat/mantis prawns)



We tried a plate of the Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun available in the shop (Teluk Intan is another town in the same state)



Hmmmm, mixing the different types of sauces seem to taste a little weird and we just could not get used to the taste of this chee cheong fun; preferring the Penang version and even the original Ipoh version which hopefully I would get to blog about sometime.

The place may be the same and the memories of the place would remain in me as part of my childhood for many more years to come. Much has changed in the coffee shop; although most of the old vendors are still around but I guess, it's best that way for the good things never change, don't they?

*I must plan a road trip to Ipoh someday again, it's been a while since my last trip!*

Glutinous Rice and QQ in Ice desserts?

Remember this place named after a famous and intelligent scholar in China; Scholar Tong Pak Fu? (Read here)
Well, we have recently revisited the place during the weekend; to relish the tastes of the desserts and also to battle the heat and high humidity from the crazy weather we have these days, besides spending time like the old days (before marriage :-)



As I have previously described the place, I shall jump directly to the desserts we ordered to save the time of reading through my lengthy description on the place alone (yes, I do know that I can be extremely lengthy with words sometimes;)

The Glutinous Black Rice Ball with Coconut and Mango 
(Hubby is a fan of glutinous rice, as most people are, with the exception of yours truly as it gives me indigestion)



Huge cuts of fresh and sweet mangoes are a to-die-for for mango fans out there.



Glistening with pride in the light; the generous lump of sinfully rich glutinous black rice



This is definitely a place to be for anyone who has a sweet tooth and a soft spot for glutinous black rice as there are many varieties of the black rice served with many more different ingredients.

Sunmelon with QQ Balls; fruity and refreshing delight me more with its vibrant flavors bursting with sourness blended with the sweet scent of the sunmelon.



The spoonful of the 'popping' QQ balls; which sorts of 'Pops' and then burst with a little sourish juice when you bite on them.
Cute, but I would prefer the chewy black pearls anytime :-P



(My favorite shot; and for those of you who have 'liked' my Facebook page and feel that this is familiar, yes, this is my cover photo for the page at the moment :-)

Our desserts...before we devoured them!




I enjoyed the lovely and picturesque photos/paintings they hung on the wall; depicting the beautiful Suzhou; the place of origin of Scholar Tong (oh yes, I have been to Suzhou too and I can vouch for its beauty!;-)



We had the whole cafe to ourselves at that time and there was so much privacy.
I guess we were just lucky to be there during the non-peak periods or else, there are usually patrons there throughout the day too.

Maybe the next time we should try their other signature desserts; but we will need to come in a larger group; 4-5?

Steamed Fish with Plum Sauce

One of my favorite type of steamed fish is this version made by my mother-in-law; using a fresh whole fish (could be any fish from snapper to grouper) served with the sweet and slightly sour taste of the plum sauce.

Steamed fish with plum sauce (by MIL)



Knowing that I am a big fan of fish, she would prepare fish; typically fish fillets which are boneless and safer to consume (fear of choking) and she can be so creative at times.
Of course, my mummy does the same for me at home too :-)

The plum sauce can be quite thick in its texture; a little like honey and is best for meaty fish like snappers, in my personal opinion as grouper, when it's fresh and steamed, tastes good on its own already.




For some reason, I never did like the head of the fish to face in my direction when I am eating because it just makes me feel uncomfortable and I could even lose my appetite and interest in the fish altogether (and that's big as I am a fan of fish, really!)




As MIL is away on a trip at the moment, I could only enjoy the photos and miss her cooking.
I suppose I should be picking up some basic cooking skills soon? :-)
Love the taste of the plum sauce with the fish...



Now I have two mothers, and it's not hard to figure out why we stay in for dinner most of the time, is it?:-)

French Toast with Shrimps

Breakfast on a Sunday morning means crowd and fighting for parking/table space, especially if you are out during the peak hours of the morning.

An ex-housemate/varsity mate whom I am really close to was up in Penang for a visit and we agreed to meet up for dim sum breakfast on Sunday before she departs back to KL, but unfortunately the crowd was just too overwhelming for us to even find a place to stand let alone hover over a table, and I suggested to her another place where I used to frequent which had higher chances of finding a table.

It was quite crowded too, but at least there was at least a wider space in that area and we could find a table easily with no hassle. 

It's not that it is not popular, but it is just located in a more secluded area and also occupying a much larger space compared to most restaurants.

While we were busy catching up on our lives, hubby brought back the dim sum (Self-service on Sundays) for us to enjoy.

Steamed Fish Balls with beancurd sheets 

Oh, I missed this! It's really hard to find good steamed fish balls in dim sum restaurants. It's funny, really, when this is supposed to be the simplest, yet I often find versions which were either too soggy or just not fresh at all.

This, is one of my favorite versions here.

Steamed shrimp dumplings

Minced meat rolls with tomato sauce




Lady fingers stuffed with fish paste served with fermented bean sauce



Our spread of dim sum which hubby took while we were busy chatting and we did not even realize that he had taken so many of them!



What caught my eye had to be this...



This is an interesting combination of fried eggs and shrimps atop the bread; and it tastes just like French toast with shrimps.
I find this a really creative idea; although it may take some time to get used to the idea of fusion; mixing the east and the west in dim sum revolution.



What do I make of it?
Like I said, it takes a little getting used to, but it's not half that bad either.

It's interesting, and I must say, an impressive attempt by this dim sum vendor, who constantly strives to come up with bold and innovative styles of food to add to their menu.

What is your most interesting dim sum yet? ;-)

Food, drinks and fun on Sunday

Last Sunday night, dinner was with a bunch of friends cum ex-colleagues at Station One, Queensbay Mall to celebrate a friend's birthday as well as catching up with each other after some time.

Honestly, this is my first visit to this chain cafe outlet although they seemed to be hitting it everywhere in town and their presence is constantly publicized through the radio commercials. I used to think that they were no different from any of those coffee shops turned bistro cafes or something along that line, but I was amazed with the wide variety they have on their menu as I was browsing through the pages.

I love the bottles used to serve the large-sized juices/drinks (MYR6.90)



(I am always fascinated with bottles like these, or large jars :-)

Put them together and what do they remind you of??




The food; Grilled Fish Fillet (MYR26.90)




Portion was a little lesser than what I would have expected for the price charged, to be frank.

Chicken Chop (MYR15.90)





Deep Fried Fish Fillets ( I can't remember the exact price, but I think it was around MYR17-19.90)



A sandwich; I am not sure which one as this was ordered by one of them at the table





Overall the food, was just average for my personal tastes but hey, the day is not about me as it was more of a gathering and also, the objective is to celebrate our old friend's birthday, so here comes the Tiramisu cake which we surprised him with





A slice for you?



A post which I had nothing much to write about as the photos are just what meet the eyes and they are nothing that rank that high on my preferences list so I let the photos do the talking and focus on the mood of the celebration/gathering :-)

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Friday!!

Meet Fresh Taiwanese Desserts

It is not everyday that we eat out, and when we do, it is not really a sin to pamper ourselves a little more, don't you think?

We have been wanting to try this place for a while now, and last weekend was the right time as we enjoyed our quality time together after dinner.
Making our way towards the new shopping and lifestyle mall which has yet to be officially launched; Gurney Paragon has already rented out spaces on the ground floor to several avid restaurateurs and entrepreneurs eager to get their businesses started early before the opening and to attract their very own crowd of regular customers.

From the looks of it, this looks like a new stylish and hip lifestyle mall to cater to the growing population of tourists and locals on the little island known as the Pearl of the Orient.



Meet Fresh is the Taiwanese desserts outlet which had caught my attention for several months now; since I have received the brochure about it notifying of its soft opening back then but we did not have the opportunity or time to check the place out.



Located towards the left end from the main concourse, the outlet was bright in its exterior to welcome its visitors. (or maybe, I just love bright colors myself; and yellow is just so cheerful!)





Seating was free and I was quite pleased that it was not too crowded on a Saturday night; or maybe I was just early. After our ordering and payment at the counter, we were to wait with our receipt and a buzzer which would vibrate to inform us to collect our orders when they are ready.



This reminded me of my dining experience in Perth last time (here)

They offer many choices and some of their selection reminds me of the last Taiwanese dessert I tried here
It led me to think whether they are connected in any way, but seems like they are not as they are two separate entities though some of their selections may be slightly similar (not totally similar).

We ordered two; a dessert bowl and a so-called drink.

Honey Bean + Brown Sugar Cubes + Herbal Jelly + Black pearls bowl and the Mung Bean Ice Blended.



Note why I mentioned that it was a so-called drink as there was a funny story when we ordered this drink as the lady at the counter was trying to tell us that it is not a normal drink, but rather one which would require us to 'eat' from it instead of drinking it.

I laughed at it initially and found it a little ridiculous, as after all, most of these drinks do contain the chewy black pearls and mung bean which we do need to 'eat' from it anyhow so we just told her to go ahead with the other and that we are fine with it.

I totally got what she meant when my drink arrived!
Mung Bean Ice Blended (MYR5.50)



Seriously??
This is more solid than liquid and though it stated ice blended, I didn't think that they would take it so literally to just give me ice instead of a perfect blend where there's a little liquid???
I mean, why can't they just do like what others do with the ice blended red bean, like this one?



Taste wise, it was really ice! It did not taste that bad, but we left it to melt and I would strongly suggest to Meet Fresh to really include a little water to make this a drink!
It tasted great when it finally melted, really!:-)
That's what I call a drink, and I couldn't help but giggle when the lady at the counter handed us a straw as we were leaving so that we could finally 'drink' from it when it melts!
Haha, how sweet and helpful of her and to think I thought she was kidding with me earlier!

The dessert bowl was not too bad; the Honey beans combined with brown sugar glutinous cake, herbal jelly and black pearls (MYR6.50)



I originally wanted the version with lotus seeds, but they have run out of it (*disappointed*) so we opted for this and glad that it did not quite disappoint me.
The glutinous cake was actually a slightly solid version of a 'herbal kueh' and was quite an interesting complement to the overall taste of the desserts.

We did enjoy the desserts; though I would still prefer Ice Bowl anytime due to their wider variety in the desserts selection and more of those which suit my personal tastes :-)

However, Meet Fresh is not bad; and they are affiliated with Share Tea and Wong Kok Char Chan Teng; all available in Gurney Paragon as well.
Meet Fresh has an outlet in Gurney Plaza as well, and I won't mind going back to try the lotus seed version which I originally wanted (I love lotus seeds, who doesn't??)

I do hope they improve the Ice Blended Mung Bean soon, and add more varieties to their menu!:-)