Pusat Makanan Big Tree, Ipoh

As we haven't been here for quite a while, we decided one Sunday morning to check out this place once again. Erm.....the famous "tai she kiok liu fun" is still here and just as good taste wise but the porridge stall has changed hands. The previous porridge stall offered a variety of tasty porridges but not this current one. Less variety and not very tasty. The chee cheong fun is not too bad. More chilli sauce would make it better.......according to me lah. The nasi lemak is only so, so. Looks nice but looks can be deceiving, huh. Err......unless we have a craving for the "tai she kiok liu fun" in future, I don't think we would be going back to this place anymore. Or....... we would just go to the other "tai she kiok liu fun" next to this place. By the way, the coffee had a burnt taste to it. Wonder what happened.
Pusat Makanan Big Tree is located in Pasir Pinji near Restaurant Tuck Kee.

Nasi Lemak

Chee Cheong Fun

Salted Egg Porridge

Yong Liu Noodles

The burnt coffee

Restoran Makanan Laut Villa, Kg. Cina, Sitiawan

As we were famished after a visit to the Tua Pek Kong Temple in Kampung Pasir Panjang Laut, Sitiawan one cloudy Saturday, we decided to stop at Restoran Makanan Laut Villa for lunch. Besides the normal dishes that we usually order whenever we are here, we also ordered a bowl of "ang chiu mee sua" (long thin rather fragile Chinese noodles cooked with red rice wine). Good ......but not according to Mum and sis. However, the rest of us gave it the thumbs up. So.....one man's meat is another man's poison, heh. The 'kung poh' mantis prawns was good although the prawns were a teeny bit hard. The steamed siakap teocheow style was yum, yum. The flesh was firm while the gravy was just the right mix of spicy and sour. The "kam heong" lala was "ho chiak". Not a single bad lala here, hah. The "choy tam" stir fried with garlic was a refreshing change from all the heavy dishes. Sweet and crunchy. The fried oyster though was not my cup of tea. Much prefer the Penang style. Too much batter here.
Restoran Makanan Laut Villa is located at 384, Kampung Cina, Sitiawan.

Fresh coconut juice - our favourite drink

Ang Chiu Mee Sua

Kung Poh Mantis Prawns

Steamed Fish Teocheow Style

Kam Heong Lala

Choy Tam Stir Fried With Garlic

Fried Oyster

Tua Pek Kong Temple

Tua Pek Kong Temple

Observations Of A Food Blob (2)

Have you ever wondered (if you haven't already), with news of young children going missing while playing outside or whatever popping up every now and then, you will still see young children out running around on their own without an adult in sight to keep a protective eye on them? I will never, not even if I live 9,999 lives, understand why some parents still think it is safe for their young children to play outside their homes or in public places unsupervised or worse run errands for their parents alone without an adult by their side. Just go to any shopping centre and you can see small kids running around unsupervised while their parents are busy looking at the shelves. A child snatcher doesn't need much time to abduct a small defenseless child - only a few seconds................... and the parents will have to live with a lifelong regret and heartache. Why can't some parents get it into their heads that times have changed aaaand human kind has changed...........for the worse?????? Is that ''tidak apa" attitude worth it, hah?

Restoran Kwee Hoe, Lawan Kuda

On the way back from Kuala Lumpur last year, we decided to stop at Lawan Kuda for dinner since all our stomachs were already complaining like mad. Without any idea which restaurant is good, we randomly stopped at Restoran Kwee Hoe located at the Main Road of Lawan Kuda. Erm......it seems our choice is not a good one orrr.........maybe we didn't know what to order??????. Anyway, the dishes we ordered were nothing to shout about lor. The pork ribs (pai kuat wong) were quite hard leh. Gave our jaws a real good workout but the sauce was okay. The steamed fish was quite bland......surprisingly. Lots of "tau cheong" but cannot taste the "tau cheong" if you get my meaning. The hot plate beancurd was passable. First time I see hot plate beancurd with Chinese cabbage or am I "katak di bawah tempurung" again, heh, heh. The stir fried potato shoots with garlic was not bad though.

Steamed Fish

"Pai Kuat Wong"

Hot Plate Beancurd

Stir Fry Potato Shoots With Garlic

Food For Thought (27)

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (Confucius)
Hmmm..................

Restoran Xin Xiang Er Nong, Ipoh

We happened to pass by this shop one morning and on a whim, decided to hop in and check out the place. Quite a number of stalls here lor. "Yong liu", pan mee, curry noodles, seafood noodles, chee cheong fun, herbal duck noodles, etc. Dad ordered from the "yong liu" stall and he said the curry is only so, so but some of the "yong liu" are quite tasty. Mum ordered the chee cheong fun with pork skin curry. She said it's no good at all. Gluey some more lah. Sis' order of chicken koay teow soup is ....... well.......the soup itself is good but when eaten with the koay teow, it becomes bland. My order of curry noodles looks nice but very deceiving, you know. Quite bland without any curry taste. Wouldn't know what I am eating if I closed my eyes. The shops's coffee is quite good though.
Restoran Xin Xiang Er Nong is located at the corner of Jalan Foo Eng Lin and Jalan Tokong, Ipoh.

Pusat Makanan Chha Yong, Ipoh

Since we haven't been to the Ipoh Garden South area for quite a while, we decided to come here searching for food one rainy Sunday morning. At random, we hopped into Pusat Makanan Chha Yong. Hmmm.......not many people around. Maybe it's still early, not even 9.00 a.m. yet. After all it is a Sunday and it is raining. Anyway, they have a pan mee stall, a curry noodles cum chicken koay teow stall, a fried noodles stall, a chee cheong fun stall, a wantan mee stall, etc. The wantan mee is not bad, the noodles are springy while the wantan would not give you the feeling that you are eating more wantan skin than meat. The curry noodles, on the other hand, has an overpowering taste of curry powder, so, no more repeat orders of this one. The fried noodles are yum, yum. This stall will also fry your choice of noodles with chilli if you requested it unlike most fried noodles stalls who would just give you a small plate of chilli. The Chee Cheong Fun is not bad either although the chicken curry is not spicy enough for me. Worth a try.
Pusat Makanan Chha Yong is located at the corner between Tingkat Taman Ipoh 11 and Lorong Taman Ipoh 1 in Ipoh Garden South, Ipoh.

L-R : Wantan Mee, Curry Noodles

Fried Noodles

Chee Cheong Fun with Chicken Curry

Observations Of A Food Blob (1)

Have you ever noticed (if you haven't already), that a lot of people are very attached to their mobile / smart phones or tablets or whatever communication gadgets you have nowadays. These people and their gadgets are practically siamese twins, if you know what I am getting at. They cannot stop fiddling with their gadgets, not even while waiting for the cashier at the supermarket check out counter to finish scanning and packing their purchases. Call me old or call me odd, but I cannot for the life of me see what is so interesting that they cannot bear to look away from their gadget for a teeny weeny moment. As for me, my smart phone stays in my pocket more than in my hand. I only play with it when there is nothing else that requires my attention. What say you?

Kedai Kopi & Makanan Chun Heong, Bangsar

As we happened to be at Lorong Ara Kiri 2, Lucky Garden in Bangsar one very hot afternoon some time last year, we tossed a coin to decide on which coffee shop we should go in for 'makan'. Anything to get away from the sun lor. Kedai Kopi & Makanan Chun Heong was the outcome. Waah... packed to the gills and bursting at the seams. Finally found a table right at the very end of the shop. Oops, from the frying pan into the fire. Very, very hot and stuffy leh. Anyway, my wantan mee was good. Ho chiak. Very stringy, the noodles, and the soup was flavourful. Quite generous with the wantan too. The fish porridge was good too, according to our friend was with us. Smooth and yum, yum. As for the herbal duck noodles - ooooh, very good, was the verdict. Full of flavour and the duck meat just fell from the bones - not chewy at all. Hou sik. Very generous serving.

The yum, yum herbal duck noodles

Restoran The Little Ipoh, Ipoh

Since we happened to be in the Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple area one Sunday morning, we decided to hop in at random to this corner lot for some breakfast. Erm..not much on offer loh. Pan mee, prawn mee, chee cheong fun, fried noodles, wantan noodles and fried chicken. Sis settled for the prawn mee while I went for the chee cheong fun with pork skin curry. The prawn mee looked nice but tasted otherwise. No prawny taste at all, according to sis. My order of chee cheong fun was not bad - the curry was quite flavourful. The parents' order of sui kau noodles was given the thumbs up from both of them. Mum said the soup was clear and flavourful while the noodles (slightly thicker than the normal wantan noodles) was springy. The sui kau was yum, yum, they said.
Restoran The Little Ipoh is situated at Medan Lagenda 1, Taman Lapangan Permai near the Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple.

Sui Kau Noodles

(L-R) Prawn Mee, Chee Cheong Fun with pork skin curry

Food For Thought (26)

I once read somewhere that we should not judge another person until we have walked in that person's shoes. Hmm........yes, unless we are that person, we do not know why that person did what he did or behaved like he did. So........must do my best to remain open minded to all possibilities.

Chinatown Seng Kee, Kuala Lumpur

After working up an appetite jostling with the crowd at Petaling Street, we decided to have supper at Chinatown Seng Kee located at Jalan Sultan, a few doors down from Swiss Inn. As the place was pack to the gills, we were taken to another shop lot down the block which, according to the worker who took us there, also belongs to his boss. Oh well, whatever, as long as we get to eat. We ordered the claypot low shi fun, fried roast pork, sang har meen and fried sui kau. The claypot low shi fun is not bad in the beginning but it sort of turned sticky and stuck together in a clump towards the end. The fried roast pork is too sweet. Too much sugar, I guess, until the roast pork stuck to our teeth. A little less sugar would make this dish superb. The sang har meen is only passable - cannot taste the prawn in the sauce. As for the fried sui kau, we all agreed that it was too salty.

Claypot Low Shi Fun

Sang Har Meen

Fried Roast Pork

Food For Thought (25)

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. (Confucius)
Hmm.....is this what is meant by ''beauty lies in the eye of the beholder"??????

Food For Thought (24)

Buddha once said "You, as much as anyone else in the universe, deserve your love and respect."
Yup, if you yourself don't love and respect yourself, how can other people love and respect you hah?????

Pang Kok Seafood Restaurant, Ipoh

Since Mum is taking the day off from the kitchen one Sunday, we decided to go to Pang Kok Seafood Restaurant for dinner. After placing our orders, we settled down to wait. Hmm....don't have to wait long, probably because not many customers around (not even 6.30 pm yet). First to arrive, Dad's order of 'Yong Chow' Fried Rice. Comes with a fried egg sunny side up. Hard to tell about the sunny side up part though since it doesn't quite look that way. Dad said it's only so, so. He has tasted better 'Yong Chow' Fried Rice elsewhere. Then, it was Mum's order of  'Kai Lan' Roast Pork Rice. She said it's not very tasty - quite bland actually. Next, it was sis' order of 'Kam Heong' Mantis Prawn Rice. This one got the thumbs up from sis. Very tasty and flavourful, she said. Finally, it was my order of Claypot 'Low Shi Fun'. Comes with a raw egg which had to be quickly stirred into the piping hot 'low shi fun'. This one is not bad. Smooth and yummy.
Pang Kok Seafood Restaurant is located inside Tesco in Medan Ipoh Bistari, Ipoh.

Kedai Makanan Mee Sun, Ipoh

As it's been quite a while since we ate at this place, we decided one morning to go to Kedai Makanan Mee Sun for breakfast. Oops......the sole purpose of our visit to this shop, the prawn mee stall has closed shop. So, Mum settled for the pork noodles. Too bland, she said. The pork intestines had a bitter taste; evidence of a shoddy cleaning job..........orrrrr......... is it part of the recipe????? Dad's wantan mee was passable while sis said she can only taste the pepper in her pork belly noodles and nothing else.The pork belly itself was rather tough and chewy. On the other hand, my order of chicken curry noodles was quite good actually. The curry was thick enough to stick to the wantan noodles while the chicken meat was tender. Aaannnd........the coffee has gone down the drain. Cannot taste the coffee at all. Wouldn't be able to tell it is coffee if I drink it with my eyes closed. Not going back to this place ever again.
Kedai Makanan Mee Sun is located at Tingkat Taman Ipoh 6, same row with Scotch Pub & Restaurant in Ipoh Garden South.

From the same stall

Pork noodles with the bitter pork intestines

Food For Thought (23)

What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you. (Seneca) 
Hmm.......yes, perhaps, that's why I am a happy person. I don't really care what other people think of me as I can't control other people's thoughts and I don't waste time and energy over things I can't control. As long as I am not doing anything wrong and I have done my best, I am happy because I passed my own QC. What you think hah?

Hon Kee Porridge, Kuala Lumpur

After finding the breakfast at our hotel not to our liking, we popped down to look for some at Petaling Street. Walking along Jalan Hang Lekir, we spotted a lot of people having porridge for breakfast and decided to join them. After all, most of the time, a lot of people can't be wrong, no? Apparently, the raw fish slices porridge is very popular, so we ordered one to try. We also ordered steamed chicken porridge and chee chap chuk (pork innards porridge). The porridge arrived piping hot to our table. We quickly stirred the raw fish slices into the porridge so that it can cook to the right degree. Uncooked or undercooked or overcooked fish or any kind of meat for that matter is definitely not up there on our list of 'ho chiak' food. No sirree. Personally, we find that the porridge is nothing to shout about. We had better ones elsewhere. The raw fish slices were smooth though and so were the steamed chicken. Other than that, nothing special lor. Buut......if you happen to be in Chinatown, this place is worth checking out, if not for the porridge then for the fish slices and steamed chicken.

Food For Thought (22)

Someone once advised me to welcome anything that comes to me but do not long for anything else. I followed this advice and I find that I am a happier and more contented person because of this practice. Wanna give it a try????

Breakfast at The 5 Elements Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

On one our trips to Kuala Lumpur, we decided to stay in Chinatown to do a spot of shopping. Annd.....we ended up staying the night at The 5 Elements Hotel at Jalan Sultan in Chinatown. Since breakfast was included in the room rates, we decided to give it a try before hopping down to Petaling Street to look for some more food. Yes lah, I know, we love to eat. Can't let anything edible passed by without checking it out. Hmmm..............the offerings were not bad but the taste.........erm.........well, that's another matter. The fried noodles tasted a teeeny bit sour. Don't know why lor. The fried spring rolls were not crispy at all (like they have been sitting in the tray for hours) while the meat balls were a bit bland. However,....... the fried potatoes with onions were quite tasty. The fruits, especially the winter melon, were not fresh at all......quite yucky leh. Anyway, this hotel is a good choice if you want to stay overnight in Chinatown .................... unless you are more used to the 4 or 5 star kind of accomodation lah.

Some of the food that we tried out during breakfast

The breakfast buffet spread

Kopitiam Zero One Two, Ipoh

Hah! Found some photos we took of the time we went for ''makan'' at Kopitiam Zero One Two. Let's see....Loh Mee : tasty. The gravy was not sticky even though it's thick. Slightly spicy and comes with pig's intestines and "low mei" (a first for me). Mee Jawa......quite ordinary. Tasted better after putting in the sambal that came with it. The Penang Char Koay Teow was good at the beginning but towards the end turned slightly not so good. No idea why leh. Big portion though. Curry noodles (dry version) was not as good as it used to be. Something seems to be missing from it. Buuut.......the "siew yoke" (roast pork) that came with it was yum, yum, all crsipy, crackly skin and juicy tender meat. Prawn mee......erm, not that good lor. No prawny taste. Chee Chap Chuk (pig innards porridge???).....good but I've tasted better ones elsewhere.
Kopitiam Zero One Two is a corner lot located at the junction of Jalan Peh Kee Koh and Jalan Liew Hone Ket near Econsave, Ipoh.

Curry Noodles (Dry version)

Mee Jawa

Loh Mee

Chee Chap Chuk

Prawn Mee

Food For Thought (21)

The lust for power is not rooted in strength but in weakness. (Eric Fromm)
Yup, I agree completely. Power hungry people comes last on my list.

Restoran San Chai, Ipoh (Huh? Again?)

Went for breakfast at Restoran San Chai this morning. Mum again chosed the curry noodles with "liu" and this time the noodles were not overcooked, heh, heh. My order of fish fillet soup with "lai fun" from the pork noodles stall was erm.....ok lah if you are into the not springy type of "lai fun" but the soup was tasty enough. Comes with a generous serving of fish fillet, shreds of lettuce and slices of bitter gourd and garnished with fried garlic. "Lai fun" is a type of noodle made from rice flour and/or tapioca starch. The one made just from rice flour will not be springy. Dad and sis opted for the fried noodles and prawn mee respectively. Dad's fried noodles was passable, according to him. Maybe it's because he prefers his fried noodles to be drier than this one. Meanwhile sis was quite pleased with her prawn mee although she said it could be better. Still, it was tasty enough.
Once again, Restoran San Chai is located at the corner of Persiaran Bercham Selatan 1 and Persiaran Bercham Selatan 8 in Taman Desa Kencana, Ipoh.

Fish Fillet "Lai Fun" Soup

Fried Noodles

Food For Thought (20)

A very wise monk once said that we can only find peace of mind by embracing the imperfections of life by knowing that imperfection is the nature of the world.
Erm........I guess if I can't change a situation to suit myself then I would have to either accept the situation or change myself to suit the situation????

Hokkien Mee (Restoran Kim Lian Kee, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur)

On a trip to Kuala Lumpur, we decided to have dinner at Restoran Kim Lian Kee at Jalan Hang Lekir in Chinatown. Hmmm.......lots of people apparently had the same idea buuuut......we didn't have to wait long for our order of Hokkien Mee to arrive. Apparently, their Hokkien Mee is one of the best in Kuala Lumpur if not the best. Erm....weeeelllll.....the first few mouthfuls were good but it sort of went down the drain after that. Don't know why. Could be because it had started to turn cold????? The Hokkien Mee didn't arrive at our table piping hot leh. The sambal belacan is .............. errrr......not spicy and not fragrant at all. Maybe we are too used to the spicy and fragrant kind that we get elsewhere lor. But you don't have to agree with us lah. Worth a try if you happen to be Chinatown, nonetheless.

Hokkien Mee

A better choice would be to sit outside to soak up the Chinatown atmosphere.

Pusat Makanan Paloh, Ipoh

Having read an advertisement in a local newspaper about the opening of a new food court in the Bercham area, we decided to check it out one morning. Err......not many stalls are opened for breakfast lor. Tried the chee cheong fun with pork skin curry. Nothing special but at least it is not gluey like some. The curry had quite a strong taste of curry powder - something which I detested. Sis tried the claypot yee mee. Oh dear.....bland, bland and blaaaaaand. Not enough ingredients to make the soup??????? The yee mee itself smelled a bit funny too. Not fresh or inferior quality??????? Nothing in this claypot yee mee except for a few pieces of "choy sam" (mustard greens.......I think), a couple of slices of fish cake and a small bit of mince meat. The parents' wantan noodles? Not too bad. The soup is clear and flavourful and the wantan noodles are stringy. Heh, at least all is not lost. Erm... the prices of the food listed at each stall seemed a little higher than normal leh. Don't think there will be a repeat visit from us. There are lots of other places that serve tastier and cheaper food elsewhere in Ipoh.
Pusat Makanan Paloh is situated at Medan Bistari 3, Medan Bercham Bistari, Bercham, Ipoh.

Claypot Yee Mee

Chee Cheong Fun with Pork Skin Curry

Food For Thought (19)

Somebody once told me that freedom is the ability not to care what other people think of me. Hmmm......I am free???

Restaurant Analakshmi, Penang

On a recent trip to Penang, we stopped at Restaurant Analakshmi for an Indian vegetarian dinner. This little place is tucked away at the back portion of the Temple of Fine Arts at Babington Avenue, Penang. The food served here is surprisingly good but if you love really spicy food, then you will find that the curries served here are not spicy at all. Probably it is to cater to the taste buds of the diverse guests that frequent this place. Here they don't charge guests for the food. Instead, they rely on the guests themselves to pay according to their capacity. All the food served here are prepared by volunteers. Apparently this place attracts quite a following from the usual lunch crowd in the afternoons to families dining out in the evenings. Lunch is buffet style while dinner is ala carte. Worth giving this place a try especially their mee rebus (yum, yum, ho chiak leh). Erm...sorry about the quality of the photos. Took them with the camera of my little mobile phone mah.

Some of the food that made up the ala carte menu for dinner

The rice sets on the ala carte dinner menu

Nice environment to enjoy our food, no?