Ipoh Famous Tau Fu Fah [豆腐花 or Soya Beancurd] - Funny Mountain [奇峰传统古式豆腐花豆精水]

Singapore has no lack of shops selling soya beancurd; we even have one local brand that managed to break into the tough Japanese market. Therefore, i didn't quite understand what was the big deal about Ipoh's tau huay.

And you know what was the amusing thing about this supposedly very well known shop in Ipoh? It was known as Funny Mountain; a name that sticks to your brain like super glue!

Funny Mountain appeared to be a takeaway outlet but peculiarly, customers were welcome to order and either eat while sitting on the two wooden benches or, standing up (in the shade or under the sun). Any other area to sit comfortably while you enjoy your soya milk drink / beancurd? No. 

There was a third option; an informal drive through where an employee would take down your order and pass you the items shortly after! My Ipoh colleague has also confirmed that you can choose to have your beancurd and soya milk drink in the comfort of your own car and pass the crockery back once you are done!

As blur tourists to the city, we were lucky to have gotten the wooden benches as we visited during the off peak hours! Even the guy who brought us there were surprised there was no queue! 

Soya Beancurd 

豆腐花  

This definitely surpassed my expectations! Smooth with an intensely rich-with-soya consistency yet without the subtle tardiness found in some notable beancurds, the key to its goodness lies with the sweetened syrup. It didn't give me that excessive sugar rush sensation and there was just something special about it. Best was the price though; RM 1.00 a bowl! 

Soya Milk Drink 

豆精水

As with the tau fu hua, the soya concentration of the drink was unmatched and i can bet that if the Great Kon was with us, he could easily down four to five satisfying cups in one sitting! 

For me, i kowtow to the temptation after stepping out of the shop and purposely walked back to purchase two bottles (500 ml each) of delicious soya milk! 

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Location

49, Jalan Theatre, 

30300 Ipoh, Perak

Food Map

As above (red border). According to my memory, i think the actual location should be across the lane towards the left on the map. Rest assured, it would be easy to find. Look out for a queue that was made up of cars!

Opening Hours

From 10.30pm, while stock lasts.

Price (Eat In) 

Soya Beancurd - RM 1.00 

Soya Milk Drink - RM 1.00

Price (Take Away)

Soya Beancurd - RM 2.00 

Soya Milk Drink (small) - RM 2.00

Soya Milk Drink (big) - RM 5.00

Four Seas Fish Soup (四海鱼汤) @ Albert Centre Food Centre [Near Bugis MRT]

Confused.

I was on the lookout for this supposedly famous porridge stall in Albert Centre but i found two stalls and both didn't boast a queue typical of reputable, well known food stalls in Singapore. To add on to the confusion, this was during the morning peak when porridge should be quite a common staple. 

While i was deliberating on which to patronise, mom stepped in (think she could not stand my indecisiveness) and strongly recommended the fish soup from this Four Seas stall. Coming from my mother, the food should not be too bad! 

With green leafy vegetables topping the clear broth, i initially thought i have misunderstood my mom's definition of "good". By all means, it could have bloody meant "healthy" which is seldom delicious.

Thank god the soup was actually incredibly flavourful although the vegetables have balanced out the saltiness that could otherwise be complained upon by health fanatics. Frankly, it was perfect to have a bowl of plain rice to go with the soup! Fish meat wise, the slices were a bit too tough for my liking. 

You know what's so great about the fish soup from Four Seas? The appearance of deep fried pork lard in the soup! Now we know the true reason for its flavourfulness! 

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Location

270, Queen Street, Stall #01-106, 

Albert Centre Market And Food Centre 

(near to Bugis Village and the famous Guanyin temple)

Price

Fish Soup - S$3

Rice - S$0.30

Additional Information

Mom's usual order was the fish head soup from Four Seas. By the way, she mentioned that we should always visit in the morning as the afternoon session is helmed by the older brother who doesn't cook as well. 

Ipoh Dim Sum Galore - Restoran Foh San [富山茶楼]

If i have had my way, i would choose to have dim sum in all the three mornings i was in Ipoh. They were inexpensive, the variety was wide and dim sum was all about having breakfast in a relaxing manner!

So, for the second day running, i opted for dim sum but this time round, it was to patronise the competitor situated directly opposite Ming Court; Restoran Foh San. 

In the blogosphere and online realm, there were many reviews of the two aforementioned dim sum joints and you often could find comparisons between the two. Recent reviews appeared to weigh better for Ming Court and here's where i come in to give my two-cent worth. 

Note: for the three of us, we didn't manage to squeeze in as much as we want to and given the expansive dim sum menu, there is a chance that this review would not be as comprehensive. On the good side, at least you have a better idea on what to order and what not if you happen to visit the Ipoh in the near future.

Let me start with a general statement - the quality of dim sum was of a higher standard when compared to Ming Court and despite the higher pricing model, Foh San was much more generous with the "liao" (fillings), making the eating experience way more satisfying.

Even the worst of the lot could hardly be tagged as inedible in my dictionary; the fried prawn rolls above were just lacking in some unique excitement! Siew mai could have performed better with a softer texture.

Mom complained the char siew pau was too savoury although i personally found it to be tastefully made. It was only later that i discovered she only took the filling! Wah lau eh, no wonder lah! Eating it with the steamed dough would have balance out the savouriness.

Lor Mai Kai in a porcelain bowl.

Not too bad even though my pick would be the lor mai kai from Ming Court, which won with its signature wine soaked chicken that was superbly delicious! 

Chee Cheong Fun.

The excellent thing about this was that it came with prawns; i was half expecting all chee cheong fun in Ipoh to be serve "filling free" after the waiter in Ming Court stared at me incredulously for asking if the chee cheong fun comes in prawns or char siew. I have to admit though that the sauce was uniquely superior in Ming Court.

Contained in such a delicate bowl, the heart was bumping on what goodness i could possible find inside this double skin steamed milk!

Embarrassingly, i treated it merely as a version of beancurd that was richer and milkier; a combination that strangely didn't appeal to me. For me, beancurd (tau huay) is always preferred over this Cantonese style dessert, which i could never get why people like it. 

What i did like was the mango pudding! The consistency was amazingly compacted, resulting in a perception that you were getting more out of this pudding than other similar offerings by competitors. Shiokness to the max indeed!

My tiny stomach was already at the verge of surrendering at this moment yet i could not control my mouth when the auntie pushed the cart to my table and whimpered "okay, give me one".

I didn't regret as it was fantastic! Couldn't really describe the actual taste but it was a perfect combo of brinjal, fish paste, spring onions, onions drizzled with what seemed to be a mysterious sauce. 

The lack of space didn't deter me from ordering a hot plate of steamed Chinese chestnut cake! On one hand, the crunch of fresh Chinese chestnuts was invigorating for an early morning; on the other hand, the texture could have been more solid. I would also prefer to have it cold. 

There were many more i would wish to try! However, i had to leave it for my next trip to Ipoh. You should see my dad's black face when i suggested having dim sum again the next day. Guess he has had enough dim sum!

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Location

51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, 

Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia.

Food Map

As above, with red border.

Website

http://fohsan.com.my/

Price

We spent RM 62 in total; totalled 12 items with RM 5.50 being the most expensive one. 

Day One: Ipoh - Cameron Highlands - Kuala Lumpur Trip 2013

Although it is factually incorrect from the subject, i am going to talk about the night before, when my parents and I checked in to the Transtar office at Golden Mile Complex for my first trip to Ipoh.

My past experience travelling on a Transtar coach from Genting Highlands back to Singapore left such a deep impression on me; i decided to book with the same company to Ipoh. Cost per person, including fuel and insurance surcharge was S$40.17.

The coach that came to pick us up at 10pm was Lionstar (Transtar's subsidiary). I would have been fine with this arrangement except for one issue; the bottom section of the reclining chairs was not working! Seriously, for an overnight coach? The driver was also blasting loud music in the first half of the journey and i am sure my nose got a few whiffs of a lighted up cigarette! Thanks to the above "issues", I barely clocked two hours of sleep!

A toilet (and smoking break) was scheduled at around 3am. Oh, i guess i didn't mention that this coach would stopover at three different cities; Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang. When the bus pulled up in front of Puduraya, i thought we have boarded the wrong bus! 

Arriving in Ipoh Amanjaya terminal at 5am was totally unexpected! The parents caught some sleep while i checked out the rest of the terminal. The terminal is located fifteen kilometers away from Ipoh city and the standard cab fare was said to be an exorbitant RM 30. Honestly, with all these hassles, i think it might be easier to take the more expensive plane route next time.

There was a transit hotel with very basic amenities (which means only a bed). I was willing to fork out the RM 20 an hour rate just to rest my tired self but as there are three of us (max was for two persons), mom made the final decision to just take the cab to our designated hotel. 

We didn't manage to check in to French Hotel (totally expected) but the friendly frontline staff did allow us to leave our luggage with them as we explored the city very early in the morning. Furthermore, she even passed us a food map and directed us to our first meal in Ipoh. 

Jalan Leong Sin Nam where we had breakfast at Ming Court Hong Kong Tim Sum (明阁香港点心)! The street is also known reputably as the dim sum street where i counted at least four different Chinese restaurants offering dim sum! 

After a short chat with the cashier in the restaurant, we took to the streets again for the next item on the itinerary; white coffee! Apparently i am not the first person to check with her as she immediately pulled out a map and directed me to a reputable shop where we can have our caffeine fix. 

It was not even 8am and this barber was already open for business! The chair and retro decor reminded me so much of my childhood in the 80s! 

I can roughly make out that the Chinese characters were saying 施比受更有福; which means it is a blessing to give rather than to receive. Very creative for the artist to use the window as part of the character.

Eye catching buildings! Add two more colours and it shall henceforth be known as the rainbow stretch. Look closer and you should be able to spot a lady directing the traffic at this busy intersection. 

Ipoh is divided into two main sections for tourists; the old town and the new town. New town was in fact not very new; being developed way back in 1908! 

There is a very easy way to identify which is which by using the Kinta River; the area to my right (east) is the New Town whereas to my left (west) is the Old Town. 

Old Town where you can find many heritage buildings! A good trail to take when everyone is not as tired and sleepy as we were on that day! 

Mom gamely posed for my camera. 

Spotted a playground we know Jovyn would thoroughly enjoy! Damn, we really do miss her on those five days we were in Malaysia. At times, i am just glad she wasn't there to display her spoiled tantrums! :P

Finally had my first original cuppa white coffee from Nam Heong!

To be totally frank, Ipoh exudes a lot of old charm (i even chanced upon an ancient printing press machine in Star Printing Works) and this might not necessarily sit well with people who might have the impression that everything is clean, renovated and all shops would be open for business.

My observation over the two days i was in Ipoh was that many shop houses were badly maintained with quite a number already out of business.

Some revitalisation works were ongoing and i sincerely hope they would eventually result in buildings that can capture Ipoh's glamourous heritage.

One perennial icky problem was the huge number of pigeons.

What goes in must come out and with so many birds sleeping in the old town, the droppings can be massive! I have even seen with my own eyes; employees scrapping the dried shit off the ground with a garden spade!

Let's move on to more eye-pleasing pictures; do pay the Ipoh Tourist Information Centre a visit where you can find informative brochures and helpful maps.

An old Volkswagen beetle driven by an elderly slowly trudging along the road!

Checking out the iconic Ipoh Railway Station, War Memorial and the Ipoh Tree. For detailed information, please feel free to click here.

This is the Sultan Idris Shah State Mosque; a unique feature was its many orange domes. We didn't step in as we were unsure if it is open to the general public.

Other buildings for your viewing pleasure!

A small altar honouring Datuk Gong was placed against the wall; instead of a statue, it was a face-like stone that took the place.

Dating back to 1929, this iconic three-storey townhouse (Han Chin Pet Soo) housed a miner's club with access given only to their members. 

Popped by the nearby concubine lane which was in a sorry state of disrepair. Check out more pictures via the link here. 

Water meters with a protective cover. My guess is that this was more for security to prevent users from tampering with the meters. 

Old school lorry that used to be frequently seen on Singapore's roads. In the past, such lorries also doubled up as hearses for Chinese's funerals. I am aware because my late grandfather's (maternal) coffin was loaded onto the lorry before we departed to the cemetery. 

My heart skipped a beat when i saw my mom checking out the plastic containers! There is no way i am going to allow her to buy in Ipoh and carry them all the way back to Singapore! No matter how dirt cheap they are!

Canine and feline spotted - there were definitely more cats than dogs in Ipoh. By the way, please look before your every step on the streets; i encountered little bundles of 'gold'' every now and then.

A stretch of shophouses selling religious items related to Chinese customs and festivals like praying cups, paper money, statues of gods, customised ancestral tablets etc. 

Shop selling Ipoh's famous pastries and biscuits! Having been accustomed to food tasting in other parts of Malaysia, i am amazed that it is not the practice in Ipoh. Hence, i didn't even buy a single bag of their signature biscuit; heong peng! 

Would you dare to stay in such a run-down building? 

ABC Pets - a good-sized pet shop located very near to the French Hotel. My intention was only to look at our four-legged fur friends but i was shocked to find snakes, iguanas, porcupines etc for sale too!

Besides the many varieties of birds, a number of less common cat breeds were also available; like the hairless Sphynx and ultra adorable Scottish Folds.

There was even a baby monkey! Having worked in the pet industry for a good part of my adult life, it was sad to see animals being caged and bred for profitable purposes.

Anyone can help to translate? I only know Tak Boleh is "Cannot". [Update: Thanks to Ms Jenny Tan, the translation is "Cannot Throw Rubbish Here"!]

At this point, it was 11am - All of us were dead tired and the weather was so bloody hot! However, we were still an hour ahead of the earliest check-in time. So, we stepped into KFC.

12 noon - checked in successfully to French Hotel although i had to upgrade the accommodation as the one i reserved was still in "housekeeping" mode. For my review on French Hotel, click here. 

Had a great shower and after three hours of rest, it was time to hit the streets again! Gerbang Malam is a night market in Ipoh that opens from 7.00pm until 1.00am. 

Walked past a cemetery which i think belonged to the nearby St. Michael's Church. I intended to visit the very next day to take some photos but time didn't permit. :(

Ipoh Parade - one of the bigger shopping centres in Ipoh that had a cinema, bowling alley, Kbox (karaoke), laser quest, Kids Zone and Parkson (a departmental store)! As you can see, it was undergoing upgrading when we visited. 

Spent a relaxing late afternoon in Ipoh Parade and had fried chicken in Marrybrown before going back to the hotel to have an early night as we need to wake up early the next day.

Oversea restaurant has a branch in Ipoh?! For those who wonder why i am reacting this way, the charred char siew i had at its main branch in Kuala Lumpur was the best until the spot was taken over by Kay Lee. 

Last picture of a neighbouring apartment block that seriously need a new cost of paint job. 

We retired for the night shortly after reaching the hotel. It was a long time since i last slept at 8pm!