A Whiff of Lemongrass

Part 2

One of the reasons why we headed out early to Ipoh was because we wanted to try the dim sum at the famous Foh San restaurant. Foh San is well known for its char siew pau and tai pau, and regulars will tell you that if you arrive after 8.30am, there won’t be anymore left.

It’s a shame that road names are changed around the country, presumably to do away with the imperialistic connotations associated with our “colonial fathers” in keeping with the old road names. Several road names have been changed to the names of present sultans and glorified politicians, but in changing the names, are we also deceiving ourselves into believing that the past never existed? Incidentally, there is a radio ad right now campaigning Malaysia’s 50th year of independence in 2007. The ad says that Malaysia turns 50 next year. Malaysia has a long history, not as “Malaysia” but as “Malaya” or “Tanah Melayu” before that, but nevertheless, is it right to say that we’re only 50? Anyhow, the reason why I brought this up was because we couldn’t find Osborne Road in Ipoh, and realised, in the process, that several road names had been changed. :-

We arrived at about 9.30am, so we were fully prepared for the absence of char siew pau, but we were still keen to try the other stuff. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we all exhaled a “wow” in unison at seeing the huge crowd, either seated or waiting to be served. It certainly appeared to be popular, not only with the tourists, but also with the locals.

The restaurant is bright and cheery, mostly due to its open concept which lets the sunshine in. Despite what other people may say, we experienced good service with a smile everytime we asked for something. Most of the waitresses are old “aunties”, and one can’t help but to warm up to them.

The dim sum was certainly delicious. A selection of pictures of the dim sum we consumed is shown below.

We were lucky enough to get ONE char siew pau, which we promptly, and fairly, divided into four parts. 🙂 We pronounced it good, and agreed that our trip to Ipoh wasn’t in vain.

The entire meal was very reasonably priced. At approximately RM40 for four of us, we agreed that we could never get a similarly priced meal of dim sum back in Kuala Lumpur.

The aunty and uncle manning the payment counter, despite having stern looks, were actually very pleasant. It was definitely a good start to our day in Ipoh.

Restoran Foh San

2, Jalan Osborne,

30300 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel: 05-2540308

Part 1

Bouncing Barbie will turn 25 (again) tomorrow, and Pretty Pui, Ecstatic Eeyore and I planned a road trip to Ipoh to celebrate her birthday. Ipoh is located about 215km away from KL, and yours truly volunteered to be the driver for the day. Armed with our trusty X-trail, we began our journey at 7:30am today.

Driving to this city north of Kuala Lumpur, I realised that despite having travelled all over the world, there is so much to be proud of here in Malaysia. Sometimes, the most beautiful thing can be right in front of our eyes, but we miss it because we’re too busy looking further.

It was a lovely Saturday morning. The weather was warm, there were blue skies and the only imperfect moment to that beautiful morning was the slightly off-pitch sounds emanating from Pretty Pui’s throat as she sang along to Peterpan, an Indonesian band.

The endless chatter, the anticipation of good food and the approaching scenery of limestone hills near Ipoh kept me alert throughout the journey.

The subsequent few blogs will document our food adventure into the realms of the wonderful city of Ipoh.

I hate the school holidays.

Other than the fact that the roads are just a little less busy in the mornings.

God forbid if you’re crazy enough to venture on the roads between 9.00pm and 10.00pm. The droves of people who take their families to shopping malls during the school holidays is mind-boggling, and as everyone well knows, Malaysians love maximising their time, so it isn’t unnatural to find people leaving the malls only when it’s closing time, i.e. 9.30pm – 10.00pm.

So when we decided to go to Goon Wah Restaurant at Kuchai Lama, it didn’t come as a surprise to us that half of Kuala Lumpur was out on the roads as well.

Finding Goon Wah was not that difficult thanks to Eeyore’s knowledge of Old Klang Road and Kuchai Lama. But I think that if I were equipped with a reasonably good map, it would not be difficult to locate the restaurant.

Finding a table is a little more difficult. Goon Wah occupies two shoplots, one of which is air-conditioned. All the tables were occupied when we arrived. But within 5 minutes, we were shown to a table.

It didn’t take long before our orders arrived. First up was the Chu Cheong (pork intestines and stomach). The strong smell of the intestines and stomach were masked by a generous amount of garlic, red chillies and dried shrimps, while still retaining the crunchiness. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Next came the Lo Hon Chai (chinese mixed vegetables). We thought it was pretty ordinary, and will probably never order it again.

The star attraction, XO fish head noodles, was served boiling hot in a claypot. The soup, despite not being as “creamy” as some other restaurants – presumably this place uses less milk? – had a nice fishy taste with the right amount of tanginess. And the noodles…thick white noodles…soft, yet not mushy, with a nice bite to it, and its texture a cross between asam laksa noodles and marshmallows. I could wax lyrical about it, but one would think I was off my rocker.

The claypot lou shue fun (literally translated as rat tail noodles) was slightly different from what I am used too. Normally, it is a little on the greasy side, but this lou shue fun was dry and not oily. Served with minced pork and egg, it was delicious.

Our final dish was Kau Yoke (pork) with yam. It may be extremely sinful, what with layers of fat and meat cooked in dark soy sauce, but the taste was heavenly! Eeyore happily “wiped up” the sauce with the steamed mantou (buns).

I think I died and went to heaven today.

Goon Wah Restaurant

G13, Jalan 3/115C, Block KP2,

Taman Kuchai Jaya,

Off Jalan Kuchai Lama,

58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-79820048/79840722

Fax: 03-79820163