Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken & Kuay Teow [老黄芽菜鸡沙河粉] - Seriously Overrated @ Ipoh [Malaysia]

Whenever i chanced upon an Ipoh travelogue programme on television, the narrator / guide would usually recommend this dish known as beansprouts chicken (芽菜雞 / nga choy kai)! And the most famous of them all is Lou Wong (老黄) which was the first to offer it. 

Before i start with my review, let me ask you a question; when you first heard of beansprout chicken, what was the image that came to your mind? Mine was a chicken stuffed with an enormous amount of beansprouts! 

Beansprouts

The truth wasn't as complicated as i expected - it was, simply put, a plate of very plump beansprouts that wasn't as spectacularly tasting as claimed by many patrons. Whatever the case, i heard that these special Ipoh-cultivated bean sprouts were supposed to be very nutritional.

Steamed Chicken

Coming from a person who loves chicken rice, i have to say the steamed chicken in Lou Wong lacked the smooth, juicy tenderness i personally enjoyed although the use of kampong chicken had resulted in a more muscular texture that was pleasurable as i slowly chewed down the meat! 

Kuay Teow

This was quite a surprise! The flat noodles were extremely smooth and slurpy; sending the broth splashing all over my mouth as i unknowingly took a big scoopful. The soup wasn't elaborately seasoned yet exuded a plain deliciousness that appealed to my parents and i. By the way, the beansprouts tasted much better in the soup! 

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Location

49, Jalan You Tet Shin,

30300 Ipoh, Perak

Food Map

As above (red border) 

Price

Bean Sprouts - RM 4 for 2 Persons

Steamed Chicken - RM 23 for 3 Persons

Kway Teow - RM 1.50 a bowl

Ling Sen Tong Temple [灵仙岩] - Cavern of the Immortals @ Ipoh City [Perak, Malaysia]

A stone throw away from Nan Tian Tong Temple is yet again another religious abode. And this time, we literally cut across the garden of 南天洞 along a connected pathway.

Ling Sen Tong is not really a cavern, at least not on the same scale as the others i visited on the same day. The Chinese name would be more appropriate to signify its true background as the character 岩 means rock / cliff. 

The appeal of this attraction has to be the many statues of gods, deities and other characters installed all over the place; providing a fantastic backdrop for obsessive photo-takers! So, be prepared for many pictures in this post! 

Essentially a mixed Chinese temple honouring both Taoism and Buddhism, Ling Sen Tong was set up in 1967 although the current vibrant design is attributed to 1983 when the temple was rebuilt.

On one side was the legendary flower-fruit mountain (it was somewhat small) where the monkey king resided together with his band of protective primates! 

A relatively scary looking dragon without the majestic aura!

Datuk Gong - native to Malaysia and Singapore, it actually refers to local guardian spirits and is comparable to the worship of earth god (tu di gong). 

I am foreseeing a serious maintenance problem in time to come! Look at the paint peeling off from the wall and ceiling. I can bet that it would not be long before the management decides to remove the incense coils altogether to prevent further damage to the paintwork. 

It was already 1pm when we arrived at Ling Sen Tong and my stomach was already growling for food to replenish the energy lost in climbing up Nan Tian Tong! Hence, i didn't take as many photographs as i would love to. 

From the second level where you can see my mom seated comfortably in the shade. Honestly, she was actually wondering what time i would finish my exploration! 

God of Fortune! As Chinese New Year is coming, i make a small donation for a red packet that was packed with four numbers! Singaporeans would know the use of these four numbers; shall share the number with all of you at the end of the post.

Open rooftop that would make a fantastic spot for a barbecue session! 

View where you can find Nan Tian Tong next door and Sam Poh Tong further away. A person who loves to explore temples should reserve around 3-4 hours to check out this stretch that has a total of four temples.

Four heavenly gods standing their ground, giving one the illusion that they were gigantic guardians defending the temple against any evil beings. 

I did mention they were gigantic, didn't i?

Down the second level again - please hold on to your kids as the handrails might not necessarily be provided on both sides! 

We had the whole place to ourselves! The perks of travelling on weekdays even though i am still surprised since it was the school holidays for both Malaysia and Singapore.

See, more statues!

Dad didn't realise this was the burial ground for the founder of the temple and his wife, and offered to help me take a picture of me standing in front of this "nice" pagoda! Piangz! 

Ground level; albeit the other side.

Bodhisattva of Compassion and Mercy; Guanyin who is one of three popular Buddhist figures. The other two being Buddha himself and the Smiling Buddha. 

The tallest statue in Ling Sen Tong; don't think you need to ask me who is she right? 

A memorial plaque dated 1995 narrated the story of the temple, including the beginning, the rebuilding and the completion.  

Step into the main prayer hall and the first thing that caught my eye was the black peeling ceiling! 

Angle of my camera lens seemed to suggest that the statue had fused beautifully with the natural rock, creating an inferno from the stick! Truthfully, i could not remember if it was indeed so. 

Some old pictures placed in the main hall. 

Finally! Humans other than the caretakers and us to liven up the atmosphere in that stifling weather. They were kindergarten kids on a school trip; children nowadays are so blessed! 

Another dog like stone lion! 

As with many temples, Ling Sen Tong also has a wishing well. But what amazed me more was that there were a lot of "chances" for you to wish a wish. 

The "well" was a long stretch of enclosures housing different statues for you to throw coins to your heart's content! That was so bloody considerate! 

To deter thieves, it is necessary to install metal bars. When looking from afar, many of us would have thought they were metal enclosures holding animals! 

Another deterrent using water.

Sighz, knowing fully well that this was a money making mechanism, i could not resist throwing a few coins to the zodiac animal i belong to; the adorable, mischievous, cheeky, clever monkey! 

Now, here's the 4D number i was given.

Let's buy for the two days. HUAT AH! 

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Location 

Gunung Rapat, 31350 Ipoh, 

Perak, Malaysia

GPS Location

4°33'58"N 101°6'50"E

Kopi Sin Yoon Loong - Originator of White Coffee @ Ipoh City [Perak, Malaysia]

When anyone speaks of white coffee in Ipoh, the one name that frequently pops out is Sin Yoon Loong which was opened in 1937 and said to be the creator of the much loved white coffee! 

I could not stomach another cup of coffee after having one at Nam Heong (note, this was also after a heavy dim sum breakfast meal at Ming Court) but made it a point to visit on the third day, before we left for Cameron Highlands. 

While waiting for the caffeine loaded beverage, we ordered the chee cheong fun! Even without the sweet sauce, the smooth texture and palatable taste appealed to us, although i also have to give credit to the fresh shallots that added to the fragrance and made for a varied texture. 

Toasted bread was a failure in my opinion - the bread had a bad tasting staleness that could only be remedied (albeit barely) by the thick and aromatic custard kaya!

Finally, the white coffee! Honestly, an utter disappointment as it was way too bitter with a lingering tardiness! And i think they neglected to add sufficient condensed milk! Mom and dad, veterans of Southeast Asian coffee, had Kopi O in the same shop and expressed similar disappointment! 

Put it this way, it was bad enough for me to proceed to another coffee shop to have another cuppa white coffee! 

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Location

15A, Jalan Bandar Timah, 

Ipoh, Perak, 30000, Malaysia

Website

http://www.mycofe.com.my/

Price

Chee Cheong Fun - RM 3.00

1 Kopi, 2 Kopi O, 3 Slices of Bread - RM 6.10

Additional Information

Dad had yong tau foo from the same coffeeshop and commented it was cheap and good!