she, the epicuriousgirl.

Does the sight of this woman in her red beret-like headgear & goggles make you salivate? Her char kway teow (CKT/炒粿条) has been claimed to be one of the best by many though I don’t remember the taste as the last time I had her plate of lardy goodness was years ago. Hearing that one has to queue by her stall under the hot sun to get their own CKT was a big turn off for me. Why else would people label her as the “Diva”?

So imagine my surprise when I was driving past Lorong Selamat and saw that this lady diva has since set up shop. And they serve! Lol. The coffeeshop – Kafe Heng Huat looks spanking new. And yes there’s only CKT there… and drinks. But any other thing you crave has to be ordered from the other coffeeshop. It’s allowed, but you’re reminded to take out the bowls/plates yourself when you leave to put it outside the gate.

I suppose there’s no need for any introduction for Penang’s fried CKT – flat rice noodles stir-fried with its signature ingredients of beansprouts, chives, eggs, chinese wax sausage, succulent large prawns & cockles. Waiting time was about 20 mins, which is already considered fast by her terms. The fragrance was full of “wok hei” which was greatly enhanced by the use of charcoal fire and vast amount of cooking oil. Sure enough, the rice noodles were oily but tasted divine, esp. with the slightly charred edges to the rice noodles. Portions were small, but enough considering the liberal amount of lard & cooking oil used the grease streaked dish.

So, my verdict? Even if the diva’s CKT tastes great, there are other CKTs in Penang that are similar in taste and less oily. But if the words cholesterol doesn’t even exist for you, by all means, dig in! And don’t even bother going to the one at Sisters’. Can’t compare.

Kafe Heng Huat
Lorong Selamat,
Penang.

other reviews;
- waisikkai

we made an unplanned food stop in ipoh due to the heavy rain on the highway which was making driving quite a chore. yet surprisingly, the city remained dry. malaysian weather, go figure. despite not having researched on where to eat earlier, we were quite lucky to stumble upon the 2 ipoh “nga choi gai” (芽菜雞,bean sprouts chicken) kings. Lol.

Standing at the junctions between Lou Wong and Ong Kee, it took us a moment to choose which restaurant to go to. Somehow the bigger “Lou Wong” seemed to shout “tourist trap” to me hence we ended up at Ong Kee. Lol. This is without me knowing the history and difference between these two restaurants. Decided purely based on 1st impression.

The Ong Kee we went to wasn’t the air-conditioned one, but had quite a quaint, old-school feel to it. The metal stools have seated countless satisfied customers, and the mosaic tiled floor missing a few tiles due to the busy traffic. Tables and chairs have been arranged outside in preparation for the dinner crowd but we chose to sit inside instead. Lucky we did as it started to drizzle as we were nearing the end of the meal and many customers made a mad rush for whatever few empty tables inside.

The chicken, which is cooked after being immersed in hot water (which is turned off as soon as it reaches a boil) with various seasonings & ingredients tastes silky, smooth and tender. To reheat the chicken, hot soup is poured over it and quickly drained. Then, soy sauce is drizzled over the chopped chicken before being served. The soy sauce really compliments the chicken well.

The other must-have dish is of course the local bean sprouts, which is notably shorter and fatter than the ones we’re used to in KL. The bean sprouts here have been seasoned with soy sauce, pepper and a lot of spring onions, but that only added to the yum factor of the juicy and crunchy bean sprouts. I took several helpings despite normally avoiding the stuff. Lol. Well, it was really good! And people say it’s all due to the hard water of Ipoh due to the limestones.

Instead of rice, I had to have the other Ipoh famous – “Sa Hor Fun” (沙河粉) which is white, flat rice noodles. Once again, these are delectable, as they are so smooth that they glide down your throat easily. I opted for the curry gravy coz it looked so inviting! Of course I wasn’t disappointed even though I do have to admit, it’s better to have the plain soup version or plain rice to accompany the chicken, as the curry’s taste can overpower the subtle taste of the chicken.

I have always loved these meat balls. Bits of seafood (cuttlefish I think) are added inside to give it that extra flavour and the texture has such a nice bite to it. A must order everytime if I know it’s available.

My colleagues and I all thought that we were lucky to stumble upon one of the more well-known restaurants (only found out after we got back to KL) as we did enjoy the food. And actually, we also made a visit to “Lou Wong” on another stop the same weekend and must admit, I still prefer Ong Kee, as their chicken had more of silky and smooth texture, as that befitting of the Ipoh Chicken status.

Restoran Ong Kee (Tauge Ayam)
No. 48,51,53, Jalan Yau Tet Shin,
30300, Ipoh.

Related Posts;
- everythingasian
- loopy meals

Driving between towns over the weekend for work is stressful but there’s always good food to look out for. Heh. Ate a lot of repeat stuff this time, so very few reviews will appear. Stopped briefly in Ipoh for dinner and was recommended this place by 3 men who were enjoying the famous Ipoh salted chicken (from Aun Kheng Lim) on their car bonnet as soon as they bought it from the shop. Best to eat it fresh and piping hot!

Tuck Kee is just a few shops down from where Lou Wong Taugeh Chicken Rice(老黄芽菜雞) is, and is quite small as it only occupies one shoplot. However towards the end of our dinner, noticed tables being placed on the roadside so I expect the dinner crowd is rather big.

One of their recommendations was the chicken feet and they served us quite a large plate of it too! But the chicken feet are nothing like those with chinese mushrooms, deep fried before being cooked. These are small and petite in comparison and just braised until tender and flavourful. Like the fact that these are smoother than the deep fried wrinkly ones. Lol.

Ordered the Stir-fried “Sa Hor Fun” (沙河粉) which came in a slightly wetter presentation but did not lack flavour to the abundance of leafy vegetable, shrimps and crispy pork lard in it. We dug in quickly as we were already famished by then.

As Ipoh’s Kway Teow or Hor Fun is so famous, decided on another Hor Fun dish, the “Wa Dan Hor” (滑蛋河), which is stir fried flat noodles topped with a silky, egg gravy. So imagine our surprise when this soup bowl of some sticky, thick egg “soup” was served. And it’s so thick that it manages to cover the noodles entirely. But still, it was silky and glided down my throat easily. It was a little on the bland side even if the noodles was fragrant. Simple ingredients such as leafy vegetable, shrimps etc were used, but there was an abundance of cripsy pork lard again. Some were as big as a garlic clove!

Tuck Kee didn’t do much for me, in all honesty, even if the food is simple and quite decent. But judging from the locals that flood in, it’s an old favourite. So if you’re in the area and don’t feel like having chicken with bean sprouts, why not venture in here?

Restoran Tuck Kee
65, Jalan Yau Tet Shin
30300 New Town,
Ipoh.

other reviews;
- ipohwav3
- food4thot

I must admit I never thought I’ll be excited about eating in Tapah. Yet, as my colleague continued to sing praises about the Kung Po Wong Sin (宮保黄鳝) or stir fried spicy swamp eel, I began to look forward to our next stop.

The restaurant we initially wanted to go to was not open so we had to settle for second best, his brother’s restaurant. afterall, people do say “cast in the same mould” etc so I’d expect similar cooking skills. the restaurant is just a short drive away yet somehow the road’s name managed to elude me.

Our first dish was stir-fried sambal petai, featuring the small, local, wild stink beans. The smaller sized ones are better than the bigger ones as they contain more flavour and are widely available around Cameron Highlands. Petai is reputed to do wonders for the kidney, so keep them comin’!

We also ordered Pepper & Salt mantis prawns, which is deep fried before being stir fried under high heat with salt, pepper, garlic, chilli and curry leaves. Love this and can never get enough of this prawn.

Last up was the dish we came all the way for, Swamp Eel cooked “Kung Po” style. The eel has been sliced thinly and stir fried with dried chillies, onions, ginger and some spring onions over high heat for that spicy “wok hei” taste. I quite enjoy this even if my colleague maintains that the other brother’s version is better. Maybe we’ll be luckier the next time.

Kedai Makanan & Minuman River Corner 河边食物中心
35000 Tapah,
Perak.