Bunny's Ipoh Makan Trip With Friends

Hunny took Bunny to Ipoh for a brief breakaway in early September. We were joined by friends from KL and PJ for a eating trip. We started off by having breakfast in Foh San. Foh San is famous for their fresh and tasty old school dimsum and was housed in a very old building (read Breakfast Day 2's entry) but they have shifted to their new premises this year and have lost its charm as well as modernized their menu...*sigh*...another heritage gone. Gone is another era of the old time feel where once we could see old timers bring their birds in cages to show off whilst having a cup of chinese tea and some dim sum.

I didn't take too many photos but you are welcomed to see another friend's blog on Foh San as he took the most pictures.

This is one of the modern dim sums which is made from bitter gourd and minced pork. I like it as it has a hint of bitterness paired with fatty saltiness. A some what healthy steamed dumpling.


The steamed fish balls. My Hunny said it tasted nice and fresh.

The Yam and Pork Deep Fried Dumpling (Wu Kok). Char Siu like pork encased in yam, battered and deep fried...not too oily and it's yummy.

The Char Siu Bao...fragrant with a mixture of fatty lean meat.

The Big Bao (Tai Bao) is often eaten as a meal of it's own due to its big size. You can smell the fragrance of the ingredients and chinese wine when it is served.

The interior....WOW!!! A hard boiled egg and marinated chicken meat and some preserved sausage cooked with chinese rice wine. I only ate the skin...not the filling...

Another view of the Big Bao.

Here is a full table shot of what we had.

All the enthusiatic photographers taking a shot of the dimsum.

The Dim Sum meal for 7 of us cost RM85. We were saving our tummies for more food.

Next up, we went to Ching Han Guan which i visited last year and they were busy making mooncakes. All the mooncakes are still handmade and not mass produced by machines like the other brands in the market. They are sold out on certain types everyday and hence need to make alot to cover the market demand.

Here you can see the sifu (skilled master) working non-stop flattening the dough, filling it and shaping it into little balls filled with the yam paste.

The balls are then pushed into the wooden block moulds to create the square mini mooncakes that will be baked.

6 pieces for RM8.80. Very nice and not too sweet. I love the yam paste filled mini mooncakes. Yummy!

Next up, we went to Kek Lok Tong to walk walk and shoot some photos. We then went to Loke Wee Koi and Kong Heng of which I left the photo taking to WaiSekMeow as he has not eaten at these places before. We had ice cream soda float and pang dai woon juice (Pennyworts/daun pegaga besar) and shared some Gai Geok Bao (Chicken feet skin wrapped with chicken liver and gizzard which is then roasted and marinated with a char siu like sauce)

Next up, Roger wanted to get his passport photo taken and off we trotted to Jetfynn's studio. Jetfynn is another photo member of shutterasia.com of whom we are of acquaintance with. I will blog about him in another entry.

After that, we drove about 60km from Kampar to Tg Tualang not knowing that it could have been accessible from Batu Gajah's way. Tg Tualang is famous for their freshwater prawns. We had 2 types of freshwater prawns and that cost us RM155 for that 2 dishes. Freshwater prawns in my opinion tastes best if cooked like Sang Har Meen (egg sauce noodle) style. Hunny don't fancy them as they lack the prawny taste that sea prawns have. Please read WaiSekMeow's blog for a full review.

After the prawns, we drove back to Kampar for their famous charcoal claypot chicken rice. When we reached there, my mood was spoilt by my Sales Manager who called to scold me for the absence of my Sales Promoter and that really marred my mood. I was so angry that I couldn't take any steady photos or even enjoy the claypot chicken rice. From now on, if I am on holiday, I will make it a point not to pick up my phone if it's work related. As usual, do read WSM for full review.

From what I have eaten, I felt it was nice because it had the nice charcoal heat taste but other than that...it tasted normal. My Hunny enjoyed the "Farn Jiu" (crispy rice pieces) that are usually found at the bottom of the claypot.

That concludes my Ipoh makan trip with friends and all that we ate came up to roughly RM48 per person. Some foods were hits and misses but it was the company that we enjoyed the most. I can hardly wait for the next trip. It was fun going out with this group :)

Bunny Eats Dim Sum in Sg. Buloh

Hunny and I went to Sg Buloh for Dinner Tonight. We decided to have dimsum as we were too lazy to drive out to Nambawan for dinner.

1. This is the shop front of the Dim Sum Restaurant and it's well known for serving dimsum at nights.

2. The lady boss recommended us to try the Thai Style Deep Fried Tofu Salad. It was nice and refreshing however at RM5.xx, it's a bit too pricy.

3. The Kau Choy Gao or the Chinese Chives Steamed Dumplings at RM4.50. Hunny loved it as the chives didn't over power the taste of the prawns. I also enjoyed it as it wasn't oily and the prawns were crunchy but lacking the fresh prawn taste though.

4. The Steamed Pork Ribs which were not too fatty but Hunny found it bland as he was used to heavier tasting dishes. RM3.00

5. The 2 shellfish dimsums that we tried.

6. Lala Dimsum with fish paste topping. Mediocore at RM2.60

7. Mussels and pork paste served in salty egg sauce. It was different but I prefer a dryer more intense salty egg yolk taste. RM4.50

8. Siu Mai. We didn't like it as it was rather plain compared to the earlier fancy dimsums that we tasted. RM2.60

9. My favourite! The Har Mai (Prawn with Pork Paste Steamed Dumplings). RM4.50

10. Look at its prawns!! So generous! As generous as Ipoh's Foh San. It was a delight biting thru the thin skin and crunchy prawns but it was lacking the prawny taste though.

11. Dessert of Deep Fried Lotus Yam Paste Balls. I forgot to ask the price though. Hunny enjoyed it and it came in servings of 5 balls.

12. Look at the smooth not too sweet filling...Hunny enjoyed all 5 balls as I was too full to eat and I still had porridge to eat.

13. My bowl of century egg lean pork congee. Very traditional congee with pei dan and I did think the pork tasted more like chicken strips though...

14. Hunny asked if there were any other special dimsums that the shop had and the lady boss recommended Keong Yong Tao Bao (Ginger Garlic Beancurd Skin Roll)

15. Hunny enjoyed it as the whole combi worked. The Ginger Garlic topping was not too spicy but was really fragrant. Even I enjoyed the topping. Combined that with my congee, my tummy felt so nice and warm.

16. The contact card for the restaurant. They are open from 10am till 2pm and 7pm till late. Best to call the lady boss to check for further details.

17. The map there.

Hunny and I will definitely go back there with more friends so that we can try more dim sums. Our total bill was RM59.60 (inclusive RM19 worth of takeaway for bfast next day).

My 2nd trip there 2 weeks ago was a not so happy story. We barely ate but yet we were charged RM40! We didn't even call any mussels this time...!

Dim Sum in Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33

One Sunday, Hunny wanted to go Digital Mall..so we decided to have Dimsum at Oriental Pavilion at Jaya 33. The service there were attentive and good but Hunny and I prefer the dimsum at Happy Garden which I blogged about in here...

1. Chicken Feet...We felt that there was something missing...and it was the salted black beans taste..there weren't any in it...





2. Har Gou (prawn dumpling)...the skin was thin and the prawns were crunchy but no prawn taste...it's as if it's been frozen and lost its prawny taste



3. Forgot what dumpling this was but it tasted good




4. I didn't like the egg tart...it was dainty but its pastry wasn't flaky enough and the custard was clumpy and liquid-like...I prefer Tong Kee egg tarts!!!








5. Mushroom Siu Mai (there were bits of mushroom encased with the minced pork filling)



6. Char Siu Bao ...didn't like it as the bun sticks to the roof of the mouth and the filling inside was pathetic



7. Fishballs...ok only



There were also a plate of roast pork belly but the pictures didn't turn out nice. One word of advice is to let the roast pork rest so that it cools down and form its crunchy skin and melty fatty layer. I didn't wait and ate it n found it so-so only but then after a while i ate the next piece, it was heavenly but my grouse was that it was not salted enough.

This breakfast was pricey too...we paid RM60 for this! We won't be returning so soon for dimsum at this place.

Overall, I prefer the dimsum at Happy Garden. Tasty and good for value.

p/s : Hunny took the photos using my camera...

Ipoh Food....So So Yummy!!!!

I have held back blogging on this as I feel so hungry each time I look at these photos again...Now that I am full after lunch, this is the best time to tell u all about what I ate in Ipoh.

Breakfast Day 1

1. Green Juice - Pegaga Juice or Pang Tai Woon

2. Pork Tummy White Pepper Soup with Kway Teow Noodles

3. Sinfully Delicious....tender and chewy....

Breakfast cost us RM8.50 for 2 glasses of pegaga, 1 bowl of pork tummy kway teow and 1 bowl of spare ribs double noodles.

Lunch Day 1

4. We ate Roast Meats here...

5. Roast Duck, Roast Pork and Vegetable Stew...

6. A closer look at this crispy skin lean duck...

I think this meal was below RM50....not too sure...but not exceeding RM50 for sure...

Breakfast Day 2

7. Foh San DimSum...reached here at 7am plus plus...the place was packed!!!

8. We ate quite little as my tummy wasn't awake yet...we only had loh mai kai (glutinous rice chicken), egg tarts, char siu bao, siu mai and har gao....

9. Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork). The filling was yummy...not too sweet and there was a mixture of lean meat and fats (more lean than fats) and some onions in char siu sauce. Really yummy...

10. Egg Tarts - Warm custard...yummy but I much prefer Tong Kee's flaky pastry...

11. The Art of Releasing the Loh Mai Kai from its bowl...

a.) Tip the bowl over and use the chopsticks to help ease the rice out...becareful..it's hot!!!

b.) After it loosens, this is how it looks like sliding out of the bowl...use your chopsticks to push out any that might still be in the bowl....

c.) Voila...all out and ready to be eaten.

This was the best loh mai kai the both of us had in ages. The rice was not too oily or mushy. The chicken and the marinates tasted just right and was fragrant from a touch of chinese rice wine...

12. Siu Mai - The pork filling was very fresh and there was no gamey porky taste. It wasn't too oily too...

13. Har Gao (Prawn Dumpling). 1st time I eat such fresh prawns in har gao...best thing...it was pure prawns inside the skin...no pork meat fillers like the ones I get in KL...

14. A whole dumpling...

15. One Bite reveals....Prawns!!!

16. There were an average of 3 to 4 medium sized prawns in each dumpling!!!

The DimSum meal for 2 of us plus Chinese Tea cost RM29.00

Lunch - Day 2

17. Before we left Ipoh, we had pork satay...first time I ate pork satay....I enjoy the satay pork blood the most....the intestines were interesting and the pork was only so-so....

This Lunch cost us around RM25.00 as I had takeaway too....

I am very eager for the next makan trip to Ipoh. I hope it'll be very soon...