Baking Fun

To be honest, I'm not much of a cook. I am very very blessed to have a good maid who has worked for my family for almost 6 years now. She came young and inexperienced about all things Chinese and Malaysia, but today she is an experienced maid with good cooking skills.

(who says Malaysian employers don't treat their Indonesian maids well??)

Anyway, that's another topic.

With CNY just round the corner, I did my usual shopping for biscuits and cookies. My my! Everything has gone up in price by RM1-3 compared to last year, and the cookies are loosely packed to top it off. No value for money anymore.

(Eh, government - you have to do something to tackle inflation. Your rakyat is saying this loud and clear)

So I determined to do some home-baking. Uncharacteristically gungho and tireless, my maid and I have successfully baked several batches of butter cookies, pineapple tarts, peanut cookies and kuih bangkit (alas, for the kuih bangkit, the results were not so satisfactory). Overall, we are pleased with our efforts. Homemade, quality assured, much more economical and very fulfilling.

I am so glad I found an excellent baking-goods supplier. It is called Intrico and is located in Ipoh Garden, along the same row as Wagner Piano (the row of shops is perpendicular to Wooley Food Court. ) Intrico faces a row of link houses, and if you come in from the main road, there should be a 7Eleven at the corner. Just drive straight on and it is on your left.

Intrico sells everything I need - the right kind of flour, butter, cheese, chocolate, molds, baking tins etc. Even if you are an amateur baker like me, their products can make you seem like a pro!

Leow Ah Ham's popiah

Ahh, this is an old timer indeed.

I remember eating his popiah with my parents when I was in Standard Six! Then we moved to KL where I grew up. Now I am living in Ipoh - funny how life takes a circle sometimes.

Anyway, this old timer has really aged. His hair is almost gone, leaving him with white wispy threads. Apparently he hasn't peddled his famous wares for some time, but he has now reappeared and sells his popiah in a lane behind some link houses. There is a bright yellow kindergarten there and the lane he has chosen also faces a T-junction (Jalan Keliling if I am not mistaken, intersecting with the road that will lead you to the Mobil Petrol Station and Pizza Hut traffic lights in Ipoh Garden South).

After dinner tonight, we finally stopped to buy Mr Leow's popiah. Unlike other popiah, his contains a myriad ingredients, the most unique being crab meat. Mr Leow operates from late afternoon until about 8pm.

Choy Kee, Ipoh Garden

We've driven past 2 old-style non-air cond eateries in Ipoh Garden many times at night. And we've marveled at how packed they were. And we commented that we should try eating there. And, we finally did tonight.

At first, we said we would try Yeh Lai Ong, which is located on the row of shops facing Ipoh Garden's Post Office, and on the same row as AmBank and our favourite mamak shop, Bukit Merah. But after checking out some blog reviews, we decided to go for its neighbour, Choy Kee instead.

We arrived at about 6.30pm, not wanting to fight with the crowd. Our dishes were foo-yi yau mak (cos lettuce fried with fermented bean curd), chicken steamed with salted fish, pork ribs, fish slices fried in black pepper sauce and salted-vege with bean curd soup.

Everything was well done and the taste went down well with us. The price was also very reasonable - RM54.