Long bus rides, good food, tropical-like surroundings - these things are what you get to experience in a trip to our neighbours Malaysia. The trip to Ipoh in particular had more of the annoying long bus rides but also plenty of good food to savour. And talking about good food, I do have plenty of pictures and thoughts that I would like to share on them.
Before I have even set foot upon Ipoh, I knew that the town had a real variety of delicious foods available. Ipoh Hor Fun, Tau Hway, Chicken rice.....and the list goes on.
The only drawbacks of going to Ipoh by bus is that the journey takes almost 8 hours and you can say that in my 3 days 2 nights trip there, almost a quarter of the time was spent on the bus and that is definitely not something worth going through.
However, for a guided tour that cost only around $270, with a great stay at LostWorld Hotel, with all meals catered for and a theme park(which included a time at the hot spring) to experience, I would still say that it was a real value for money trip even if the travelling time was torridly lengthy.
Apart from the hot springs, the real highlight of the trip was none other than the parts where I get to enjoy my meals. The restaurants I went to were decent but the best foods were still the ones I got to try during my Free and Easy Time.
The first of those was the Tau Fu Huay I tried that was right beside the LostWorld hot springs.
Before I even got a try at the Tau Fu Huay, I was amused. What? Malaysia has got hot springs? I don't remember that Malaysia has got any volcanoes that the hot springs could come from. So after much probing, I discovered, oh, the hot springs actually come from the mountainous area a kilometre away.
What strikes me as weird is that the hot springs are only hot during the night. I simply wonder why. Perhaps it was due to the large crowd that is around when the theme park is open. The nighttime experience at the hot springs was wholly different and provided much warmth, or rather, heat, that made my sleep all the more comfortable after the soaking of the hot springs.
Tau Fu Huay:
Enjoying a serving of Tau Fu Huay after the hot spring soak was a pleasant experience. The Tau Fu Hway looks unspectacular, but its authentic taste was unmistakable. It had the smoothest texture as compared to the other Tau Huays I tried in Singapore and although it had the same honey flavour as the Rochor beancurds, it wasn't as sweet as the Rochor ones. Instead, it had a sweet flavour that wasn't overpowering.
Unfortunately. the guided tour restricted me towards only this Tau Fu Huay stall in Ipoh and I did not have the chance to try out other outlets. What I do know is that there are plentiful of other such stalls around but the most famous of which is named Funny Mountain(奇蜂). It is in close proximity to the venue of the chicken rice place that I am going to write about next.
The pricing for the Tau Fu Huay at Lost World costs 3RMB and they sell herbal jelly and mochis as well.
Qi Feng Tau Fu Huay Address:
49, Jalan Theatre,
30300 Ipoh, Perak.
Near Fuh San Timsum
Along Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar, 30300 Ipoh, Perak (near to the Tanjung Rambutan taxi stand)
Contact: 016 595 0369, 05 546 9968, 012-516 1607
Tau Fu Huay at 1 Ringgit and Soya Milk at 0.80 Ringgit
Lost World Address:
No.1 Persiaran Lagun Sunway 1
Sunway City Ipoh 31150
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Chicken Rice:
Lou Wong Chicken Rice at Jalan Yau Tet Shin is a famous brand in the town of Ipoh. The stall is usually jam packed with customers especially during mealtimes and weekends.
To get a seat in this venue, reservations in advance are mandatory otherwise, you would be disappointed. Their famous dishes are the chicken feet, beansprouts and the Ipoh Hor Fun.
The beansprouts especially have a freshness that are unlike those found in the supermarkets. According to the shopowners, the beansprouts are grown and watered with fresh well water which contributes to the refreshing taste. It does not have the stench and overwhelming taste that is accompanied with beansprouts and it is also crunchy which serves as a decent appetizing dish.
Moving on, there's a saying that goes that you need to eat more chicken feet so that you can have strong legs. I do have my reservations about this saying and perhaps it is true but there can be no mistaking the taste of the chicken feet they sell at this place. The skin and tender meat is smooth and its taste so addictive that you would simply want to take more of it.
The Ipoh Horfun has the same soup base as the meatball soup they serve(which I really love). It is quite salty but endearing at the same time. The Hor Fun is soft but not outstanding. However, I would still think that it is an interesting taste that is still worth experiencing.
Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wang
No.49 Jalan Yau Tet Shin
30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Contact: 05 2544 199
Zhi Bao Chicken:
Sorry I do not have any photos of this dish. I took it for granted initially. It looked extremely oily and did not seem that it was worthy of any pictures. After I took a bite at it, I felt that the chicken was quite tasty just that it was extremely oily like what you would expect from such a dish. The stall that sold this chicken is also along the same stretch of road as the Funny Mountain Tau Fu Huay shop and the Lou Wang chicken rice stall.
Lost World Desserts:
How can I miss out on desserts? The Gula Melaka with Ice Cream at the Restaurant right beside the zoo in Lost World theme park and the Ice Cream Waffle sold there were cheap(Ringgit 4.50 for the Gula Melaka Ice Cream, 7 for Ice Cream and additional cost for toppings) The Gula Melaka had an intriguing taste much like a hybrid taste of chendol and rice cake while the chocolate syrup over the crispy waffle for the Ice cream waffle was the pick of the bunch.
The main courses of the Nasi Goreng Kampung and Grilled Chicken cost Ringgit 8.90 and 12.90 respectively.
Most of what I have written about are all around the vicinity of Lost World and only the chicken rice and Zhi Bao Chicken are the exceptions. The reason why is due to the fact that we did not venture out of the area on the second day and spent most of our time at the Lost World Theme Park. The only time we left that area was when we did our shopping at the new shopping mall at IEON. Buying the book," Love Rosie" there was a real blessing in disguise. It was a great read that killed much of my time on the bus.
It was still a good getaway from Singapore and I simply can't wait for the next few trips to come over the next month or so!
Krabi, Myanmar and Vietnam here I come!
So with that, Peanut has left a marker on another food place.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
Signing off,
KY
