What did we do in Ipoh?

It was already past midnight ( 3 a.m.) when our Ipoh friend, Jenn suggested an impromptu road trip to her hometown. So, off we, Team Spontaneous went! We departed from KLCC in Men Yew's car. Well, he's not only a seasoned hiker and good swimmer, but also a professional driver! I immediately fell into a deep slumber when the 2.5-hour journey started (I could only fall asleep if the ride was smooth). The other friends, on the other hand, kept engaging the driver in conversation to keep him from sleeping. LOL

We arrived at Jenn's place at 5:30 a.m. Her parents were awakened to a phone call from their daughter, and they were so surprised to see their daughter came back home with 3 little cute boys. Of course, we were kicked out of welcomed into the house (so nice of her parents!). Jenn's mum swiftly neatened up a bedroom for 3 of us to stay in. *Lights off and we (excluding me) could finally get a nice sleep*

We had our breakfast in the late morning at one fairly renowned (not the best according to most food reviews and critics I read from the Internet tho) Dim Sum eatery, Chooi Yue Dim Sum.

Chooi Yue Dim Sum 翠月楼点心  @ Ipoh Garden South

Image courtesy of www.hungrygowhere.my

There were quite a number of patrons on that day (Sunday if I'm not mistaken) but not full to the brim probably because we came a bit late (around 11 a.m.), and there were not many choices available from the Dim Sum menu.

Ernest was excited to indulge in Dim Sum 点心!

There was a trolley carting some Dim Sum dishes for us to pick for. We did not really bother whatsoever and just simply picked a few dishes that came into sight since we would have lunch at Jenn's parents' restaurant after that.
 

I have to say that we did enjoy some of the Dim Sum dishes at Chooi Yue like this dumpling

 and this.

CaterBest Restaurant @ Jalan Bercham

We made a beeline to Jenn's restaurant, CaterBest Restaurant after our pleasant light breakfast at Chooi Yue. CaterBest is one of the few certified Halal restaurants serving Chinese cuisine in Ipoh, and it has been in business for over 15 years. Jenn's dad is the chef.

Take a glimpse at what we had! *Excuse my bad photography skill! I was busy eating so I did not make it a point to take decent photos!*

If you asked me if the food was nice, I would probably tell you YES because after all, it's free!


AIS KEPAL a.k.a ICE BALL @  BITS & BOBS, Kong Heng Square

Well, this famous ice ball was literally a huge ball of compressed shaved ice drizzled with flavoured syrup of your choice.

I opted for Sarsi flavour. For the uninitiated, this huge ice ball has a long history in Ipoh, making it one of the fondest childhood memories among the baby boomers and Gen X in the good old days of Ipoh. Today, located in the heart of Ipoh old town (Kong Heng Square), Bits & Bobs brings back the joy and reminiscent of this childhood dessert at the price of Rm 3 each (it used to be 10 sen 20 years back!).   

However, it was nothing too fancy; in fact, it would be quite messy to eat as the ice ball would melt in no time!


IPOH WHITE COFFEE AND EGG CARAMEL CUSTARD

White Coffee is the icon of IPOH! And I urge you all to travel to Ipoh to sip on a nice hot cup of white coffee with old-fashioned toasts by the side before you die! I used to think that people were just exaggerating about how different the white coffee in Ipoh is from other places; but believe me, it's really different in terms of the coffee aroma! *I have no idea where this coffee shop was* By the way, I did not really enjoy the egg caramel custard.

Take a closer look...

That froth tho...


TAU FU FAH @ FUNNY MOUNTAIN TAU FU FAH 奇峰豆腐花

Now, this place is very very famous for their Tau Fu Fah (Soy Bean pudding)

We bought 5 bowls for 5 of us and had it in the car.

Rm 1.20 for 1 small bowl. I would say that it was very nice considering that it had a very nice silky texture, perfect to wash down our meal.
  

Kai see hor fun & Nga choy @ Onn Kee Restaurant 安记芽菜鸡沙河粉

This was our last stop before heading back to Sunway, Selangor.

Another signature dish in Ipoh is Nga Choy Kai (芽菜鸡Bean Sprouts Chicken), but we did not bother to order that when we were here at Onn Kee because we just wanted to have something plain and light since we were still full. So we ended up ordering Kai See Hor Fun (鸡丝河粉 flat rice noodles in clear broth) and Nga Choy (Bean sprouts dressed in light soy sauce as well as sesame oil). This restaurant seemed to be very popular among some celebrities from the film industry but in my opinion, they should improve some of their workers' attitude towards their customers.  

From the left, Jenn and her friend