Food For Thought (40)

Jumping into the 13th General Election fever, there is one thing that puzzles me very much :

Why are there people attacking other people for supporting one party or the other? I thought we are all supposed to practise freedom of speech and democracy...........and respect for other people's rights????????

Wantan Noodles (T & V Restaurant, Ipoh)

After years of searching, we finally found another of our childhood favourites......wantan noodles from the uncle who came around our neighbourhood every morning making the familiar "tok tok" sound with his bamboo clappers. We are glad to say that even though his son has taken over the business and have moved into a coffee shop, the taste of the wantan noodles remains unchanged. The noodles are still springy and not gluey at all. The wantan are still as yummy and juicy. And the soup is still as sweet and clear as before.
This stall is located inside T & V Restaurant in Taman Desa Kencana, Bercham near Public Bank and opens only in the evening.

Dry Version

Soup Version

Tai Woo Dim Sum Restaurant, Ipoh

As the aunt is here for a visit, we decided to go for a dim sum breakfast one Sunday morning. Finally settled on Tai Woo Dim Sum Restaurant located along Tingkat Taman Ipoh 11, Taman Ipoh Selatan, Ipoh. Erm....not very outstanding.....their dim sum. Worth mentioning are the fishballs and "kwai fah" cake. They have 2 types of fishballs - handmade and the normal dim sum fishballs. The handmade ones are only passable unlike the other fishball which are tasty. Their woo kok has a tuna filling - something different. The "kwai fah" cake is my favourite - very refreshing and not too sweet. This place is worth checking out though.

"Kwai fah" cake

Food For Thought (39)

A wise person once told me :
"If you have chosen your path in life, then do not compare yourself with others."
This wise person also told me :
"Do not envy others for the material things they have because you do not know their actual situation. You do not know the sweat and tears and blood that is behind it"
Hmmm....would comparing myself with others means I have made the wrong choice??????
Aannd......I don't envy others for what they have because I might have something even better.....something money can't buy. Why do I say this? A friend once told me she envies me because even though she can have anything money can buy while I have to count every ringgit that I spend, she couldn't buy what I have but she doesn't.........happiness and family ties.

Restoran Ting Hao, Ipoh

Since Mum is not cooking dinner, we decided to go eat at Restoran Ting Hao in Kinta City Shopping Centre, Ipoh. My order of black pepper fried udon didn't look at all like it's name. Didn't look fried nor did it taste fried. More like black pepper sauce poured over the udon. Not good at all. Wonder why they called it fried when it's not. The yong chow fried rice is also not good. No "wok hei" at all. The "kailan" roast pork rice, is, meanwhile, only passable. Came to the table a bit cold already. Wonder how long they left it on the counter before bringing it to our table. The standard here has dropped since our last visit. Definitely no repeat visit from us again.

Yong chow fried rice without any "wok hei"

Does this udon look fried?

"Kailan" roast pork rice

Observations Of A Food Blob (11)

Have you ever noticed (if you haven't already), that whenever there is a marathon or walkathon or cross country run or some other event that requires the participants to be either walking or running or whatever on the road, the roads along the route are not closed to traffic? Isn't this dangerous not only to the participants but also to the other road users? Accidents.......and fights........ can happen, you know. What's even worse is, some event organisers do not even engage the help of traffic police. Participants are left to do their own thing along the route.........meaning they will take up the whole width of the road with scant regards to vehicles coming and going on the road. They seem to think they owned the road during the event. Don't they value their life and limbs? Why are the event organisers so irresponsible?

Poon Choy (Canton Palace Restaurant & Lounge, Ipoh)

Dad treated us to a dinner of "Poon Choy" on a Saturday night at Canton Palace Restaurant & Lounge, in Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh. Having placed our order over the phone two days earlier, we went there to discover that there has been a screw up about the time........an hour later than what we had said over the phone (3 times too, I must add). We were told by our waiter that we have to wait for about 40 to 45 minutes........he was very apologetic about it and was humbly explaining to us what happened when another guy who seem to have more authority interrupted him to say that we only have to wait for between 15 to 20 minutes. Okkkk, fine (some of us have worked in the service industry before).......we decided to keep track of the time and what do you know.......our "poon choy" arrived 40 minutes later. In the meantime, we were served a plate of stir fried "choy tam" to line our stomachs (so to speak) while waiting for our "poon choy" to arrive.
Anyway, that issue aside, the "poon choy" was good. The serving is too big for 4 persons........more suitable for 6 persons.......had to "ta pau" the rest, heh, heh. (Know something, the "poon choy" tastes even better after it has been left overnight leh.) The items in the big pot included prawns (quite big prawns too), roast duck, "char siew", broccoli, Chinese cabbage, Chinese mushroom, stewed pork, etc. This dish comes with 4 different types of sauces, all of which are tasty. Digging into the pot to see what else are there under the layers of food is fun too. Good topic for conversation around the table. By the way, there is complimentary dessert of iced snow fungus with wolfberries drinks for us......don't know how this arrangement came about. Forgot to ask. Service at this restaurant is good...........attentive and prompt. Polite and humble too. This, we like.
Canton Palace Restaurant & Lounge is a corner lot at Jalan Medan Ipoh 6, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh.

The Poon Choy

The sauces

Something to pacify our growling tummies while waiting for our delayed order

Special Dedication

Our deepest condolence to the families of all the policemen and soldiers who gave their lives protecting our beloved country's sovereignty. We are so very sorry for your loss. They are truly our heroes. Our heartfelt thanks to all of them. God bless their souls always.

To those who made idiotic comments about this whole sorry situation (you know who you are) :
Don't be stupid. This is not funny.

2 6 Coffee Shop, Ipoh

Having heard about this popular coffee shop in Ipoh old town, we went to check it out one Sunday morning. Ooooh.........lots of customers even though it is not even 8.00 a.m. yet. We ordered the prawn noodles, curry noodles (both soup and dry version) and pork noodles. The prawn noodles comes without the usual kangkong and the soup is a bit on the sweet side......like they added sugar or something. Same goes for the curry noodles (both soup and dry version). Perhaps they did add sugar into the gravy.......something which is not our cup of tea. All the 3 came from the same stall, by the way. The pork noodles is not bad though. The soup is flavourful although the pig innards are like rubber. Worth trying, nonetheless.
2 6 Coffee Shop is located at Jalan Panglima in Ipoh old town.

Curry Noodles

Dry Curry Noodles

Pork Noodles

Prawn Noodles

Observations Of a Food Blob (10)

How many of us can actually say "I can live without my mobile phone for one week"? From what I see, a lot of us are very attached to our mobile phones / tablets / whatever else is out there. I am very out when it comes to this kind of gadgets, ok. Observe a family having dinner in a restaurant............each member would have his/her eyes glued to whatever gadget he/she has in his/her hand instead of talking to each other.........very quiet, the table..........too quiet. No communication at all. Or are they texting / emailing each other??? Where's the togetherness you get when you are with your family?
My mobile phone is only for emergency use. I hardly ever make calls on it.........maybe once in 3 weeks or more. If it is not for work commitments, I would actually prefer not to own a mobile phone. Even then, most of the time, I would switch off my phone the moment I finish work. I prefer to remain unreachable after office hours. I have a life besides work, you know. Whatever is so important that the office has to "kacau" my personal time can wait until the next day when I turn up at the office. So, the thing I really cannot wrap my head around is, what's the big deal about remaining connected to the world 24 hours a day????????

Restoran Makanan Laut Villa, Sitiawan

After a recent visit to Ding Leuk Kong Temple in Simpang Dua, Sitiawan, we decided to, ............again.......... go to Restoran Makanan Laut Villa in Kampung Cina, Sitiawan for lunch. Again......we ordered the choy tam stir fried with garlic. This time, the choy tam is not crunchy. A bit hard actually. The steamed fish otak style is very good though. Looks and tastes like nyonya style even though they call it otak style. The fish is fresh and the sauce is yum, yum. Very generous with the sauce. Can hardly see the fish underneath it. Goes very well with plain white rice and we 'sapu' it clean off the plate. The Kam Heong Lala is still as good as ever....according to me lah. After lunch, we also stopped at a house nearby to buy their hand made 'mee sua'.........the only mee sua that agrees with me because the Sitiawan hand made mee sua would not turn soft and gooey after being cooked. One thing I can't stand is soft gooey mee sua, yuck.
Restoran Makanan Laut Villa is located at Lot 384, Kampung Cina, Sitiawan.

Steamed Fish Otak Style

Kam Heong Lala

Choy Tam Stir Fried with Garlic

Mee Sua, anyone?

This is where we get our mee sua from

Ding Leuk Kong Temple

Ding Leuk Kong Temple

Ding Leuk Kong Temple

Restoran First Mapo, Ipoh

Finally, we decided to go check out this place after hearing about it from friends. Wah.....good business leh. The claypot low she fun is good. The gravy is thick and tasty. The raw egg that comes with it gave the low she fun a smooth edge after being stirred into the gravy. The salted fish fried rice is not bad either. Lots of salted fish. Full of flavour. Same goes for the salted fish fried beehoon. The sambal fried low she fun is good too. They don't scrimp on the ingredients lor. Quite generous with the dried shrimps. Very fragrant. The best of this lot has got to be the tomyam beehoon. Perfect blend of spicy and sour with lots of mushroom, fish cakes, tomatoes, etc. Yum, yum.
Restoran First Mapo is located along Jalan Medan Ipoh 6, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh, Ipoh opposite Tesco.

Sambal Fried Low She Fun

Tomyam Beehoon

Salted Fish Fried Rice

Claypot Low She Fun

Salted Fish Fried Beehoon

Special Dedication

To the parents of William Yau Zhen Zhong :
Our deepest condolence to you on the passing of your beloved son in such tragic circumstances. We are so very sorry for your loss. Be strong for your other children.

To all other parents and guardians of children :
Never ever leave children unsupervised no matter what the situation. A split second is all it takes for those opportunists out there to grab it. One teeny weeny careless mistake might result in a life time of regrets. This is one gamble all parents and guardians should not ever think of taking. Surely, you do not want to live with "if only" for the rest of your life...........???

Call us paranoid but whenever we go out with young children, we hold on to their hands and never for a moment do we let go. Having the child or children within sight is not good enough for us. 20 meters away is still within sight but are we fast enough to cover the distance if someone were to grab the child? No, this is one risk we have no intention of taking. And, we do not assume that the child or children is with another adult when going out in a group. Sending a child alone to the washroom while eating in a restaurant or to the cutlery station to get cutlery while eating in a fast food restaurant is a big no, no for us. Nor is letting a child go alone to a stall to order food when eating in a coffee shop, hawker center or food court. Even letting a child play alone on a ride in a theme park while we go to another ride is also a big no, no. A child must always be accompanied by an adult - that's our rule.

Salted Duck (Wan Li Xiang, Ipoh)

Dad brought home a salted duck one day. Salted duck?? I have heard of and tasted salted chicken. But salted duck???? Erm....not too bad. Tastes almost like salted chicken but I still prefer salted chicken. Something about salted duck doesn't quite agree with my taste buds. Wonder what?????
Maybe it will agree with your taste buds?
Wan Li Xiang is a corner shop along Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Ipoh near Restoran Lou Wong Tauge Ayam Kuetiau.

Food For Thought (38)

Baby dumping...........why is it that it is usually ......... or is it always, the mother who is guilty? What about the father? After all, the mother didn't get pregnant all by herself .............. or did she??????

A Suggestion

My brand of punishment for the 6 ................ (feel free to fill in the blank with whatever adjective or noun that you like) who raped and killed the student in India :

Make them suffer like they made the poor girl suffer. No need to waste time and resources. After conviction, just throw them to the public and let the public deal with them. I am sure lots of people  would like to make these .................. pay for what they did, including yours truly who knows exactly what to do to these.............. so that they reeeeaaaaaallly know the meaning of the word suffer. That will really be good riddance to bad rubbish.

Chee Cheong Fun, Canning Garden

Since we are always passing by this van selling chee cheong fun parked under a tree along Jalan Canning Estate next to the petrol station, we decided to try it out one weekend. Not bad, you know. The sauce is thick and flavourful. Completely coats the chee cheong fun which is smooth and yummy. The portion is on the small side but good, nonetheless. Oh yes, the van can be found at this spot only on Saturdays and Sundays (and public holidays, I think), so, don't go looking for it on other days.

Turf Club Laksa, Ipoh

A last minute decision to have lunch at Pusat Makanan Ye Sing located at Jalan Dato Megat Khas, Taman Bandaraya, Ipoh saw us all opting for the stall selling laksa (Turf Club Laksa). The Assam Laksa is good. Not too sour and not too spicy. Just right. The soup is quite thick too. On the other hand, the Siam Laksa is not that good. Not 'lemak' enough. The portions are a bit on the small side, so big eaters might have to order 2 helpings.

Assam Laksa

Siam Laksa

Special Dedication

To the 20 angels and 6 heroes who perished in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre :
Rest in peace and God bless your souls.
To the families of the 26 :
Be strong. Keep the memories of your loved ones alive in your hearts and remember them with a smile.
To the survivors :
Do not feel guilty for being alive. Instead, strive to be a better person because of this.
To all the other heroes who protected the children the best they could during the horror :
Good job. God bless all of you.
To the first responders :
We are sure you did a great job even though you feel like you didn't.

Our prayers are with all of you.

Spices Of Penang, Ipoh

Seeing this outlet that opened not too long ago, we decided to check this place out. Service is messy. The items that we requested (additional sambal, the bill, etc) either took ages to arrive or never arrive at all or the wrong thing arrived. No experience, maybe?????? Anyway, sis' order of kampung fried rice is a disappointment. Not tasty at all and the anchovies.......how long have they been left outside their container, ah? Tough as leather. My order of Penang spicy fried noodles is not spicy at all. Should have left the word 'spicy' out of the name. Then, customers like me would not have felt cheated. The noodles are also a bit too sweet. The chef added sugar?????? A definite no, no in my books. The pineapple fried rice is good though. Dad gave it the thumbs up. Mum's char koay teow is also good but a bit on the oily side. The assam laksa is also good, according to sis who came with her friend on another visit..........not as good as the ones in Penang but better than those in Ipoh.
Spices of Penang is an end lot located at Jalan Medan Ipoh 1D, Medan Ipoh Bistari, Ipoh.

Penang Spicy Fried Noodles that is not spicy at all

Pineapple Fried Rice

Char Koay Teow

Nasi Goreng Kampung

Ice Kacang

Cendol

Ocean Freeze (no idea what it consists of) and Strawberry Juice

Food For Thought (37)

Yes, this is true. While I was going through a difficult period, this person noticed I am not myself and cared enough to find out what's troubling me. On the other hand.......there are also people who noticed and even though they did not say anything, they quietly showed their support for me without asking what's troubling me.

The Artiste Cuisine & Lounge, Ipoh

To satisfy sis' sudden craving for burgers, we decided to go a bit high class and went to The Artiste Cuisine & Lounge for a burger meal. We ordered the fish burger and the chicken burger. Both come with a helping of french fries and some greens. The fish burger comes with 2 pieces of fish fillet. Erm.....the fish fillet is a bit tasteless though and soft. The sauce that comes with the burger is on the bland side too. The chicken burger fares a little bit better here. At least the chicken fillet is not tasteless. Comes with a small plate of brown mushroom sauce.
The Artiste Cuisine & Lounge is located at L1-3, De Garden, Persiaran Medan Ipoh, Ipoh.

Fish Burger

Chicken Burger

Sakai Cafe, Ipoh

On a whim, we decided to check out this cafe with a funny name in Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh.....Sakai Cafe. Erm....no customers when we walked in. Still too early for dinner, I suppose.......only 6 pm. The spaghetti in tomato sauce (chicken) is quite alright. The sauce is tasty and so are the chicken chunks. Same goes for the spaghetti in tomato sauce (seafood) although the seafood only consist of prawns and crabsticks. The spaghetti in cream sauce (seafood) is a bit too watery. Like eating spaghetti in soup. Flavour wise......not too bad. Meanwhile, the spaghetti in BBQ sauce (chicken) is good with the sauce carrying a hint of black pepper. Their mushroom soup is quite tasty too with pieces of mushroom floating around. The garlic bread.......yum, yum.......crispy and garlicky.
Sakai Cafe is an end lot located at Jalan Medan Ipoh 1, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh opposite Festival Walk.

Spaghetti in tomato sauce (seafood)

Spaghetti in tomato sauce (chicken)

Spaghetti in cream sauce (seafood)

Spaghetti in BBQ sauce (chicken)

Mushroom soup

Garlic bread

Drinks in gigantic mugs

This place is not half complete.....don't misunderstand