Feet care - see a podiatrist

Have you ever had a corn on your foot? You know, it's really uncomfortable as the corn gets larger. Each step you take, you feel something poking into your sole.

I never had a corn until about 4 years ago. I went to the little park near our house in BU and played some impromptu badminton, without the proper shoes - and taa daa, I had the first corn in my life. And the sad thing about corns is, once you've had one, chances are that they tend to recur, at exactly the same spot. It's so true that we have to keep our body well and in good condition - one little breakdown, and your parts are never as good as they were before.

The first time I had that nasty little thing removed, I didn't know better. I went to my company's panel clinic, Klinik Famili at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. The doc there said sure she could remove it. But she performed a mini surgery! Went for my little corn with swords drawn, needles piercing, blood letting and bandages rolling - youch! I couldn't walk properly for a day after.

When my corn reappeared, I thought there's got to be a better way. I researched about podiatrists and whether there were any in Malaysia. Very few, but I found one in Sunway Medical Centre. I had to get a referral and that same Klinik Famili was very offended and reluctant to refer me to a "podiatrist" because a GP could do it for me (I don't think the GP even knew what a podiatrist is!)

Ah, professional feet care at last! The podiatrist removed my corn in about 10 minutes, with a scalpel BUT there was no blood, no pain, no anaesthetic, no needles, no bandages - it was marvellous. And I could walk and run normally immediately after that. The podiatrist said GPs do not know how to treat feet problems like corns etc but there is not much awareness about that here in Malaysia. In hindsight, I should have sued Klinik Famili for their negligent treatment of a very minor foot problem. And Klink Famili is on the panel of so many government bodies - hmmph!

Now that we are here in Ipoh, I had to find a podiatrist. I had very low hopes of locating one here (Ipoh being a small city and all) but to my amazement and delight, my husband found a British podiatrist practising here in Ipoh! We visited her last weekend and she removed my corn using the same painless method as the podiatrist in KL. Even better, she massages the feet briefly and she is able to do reflexology too. We were informed that she will soon be providing her services to Kinta Medical Centre.

So, the next time you have a foot problem - corn, ingrown toe nail, fungus on your foot - do check out a podiatrist.

Hunting for a good dentist in Ipoh

Now that my family is settled in Ipoh, I need to locate services such as dental, facial, medical etc. here.

For paediatricians, I have tried Dr. Lim in Fair Park, Dr. David in Ipoh Specialist and Dr Tang in town. My children don't really take to Dr. Lim as he appears rather grouchy. Dr. David is thorough and caring, but he is extremely popular and there is always a long wait for him. Dr. Tang is now our regular paed.

My hunt for a good beautician is still ongoing.

As is the hunt for a good dentist. We still go back to KL for that. But just this week, my maid's molar tooth flared up again, causing her pain and discomfort. It definitely has to go. The nearest dentist to us is Kuan Dental Clinic in Ipoh Garden South. It is close by, and you don't have to wait long.

I guess the reason is because Kuan Dental is very pricey, and as for its quality, I am not very impressed. I was charged RM 90 for my maid's cleaning, scaling and antibiotics. The dentist on duty said that the molar was impacted and infected. It can only be removed once the infection clears. My maid's feedback to me was that the dentist (a middle aged lady) was quite rough and she felt quite a bit of pain during the scaling. Also, my maid said there was spray all over her face! Not to mention quite a lot of bleeding. Sounds like a bad job to me.

Scaling done by a good dentist should not feel too uncomfortable and there should be little bleeding. My dentist in Desa Sri Hartamas always cleans thoroughly yet gently.

As for surgical removal of the molar, Kuan Dental told me it would cost RM650. I checked with another dentist - Dr. Teh on Hume Street - and I was told it would cost RM350. That's a huge difference! But we haven't tried out Dr Teh yet, so the search continues......

Hoi Seng Restaurant, Ipoh Garden

Hubby suggested that we invite his brother and wife out to dinner tonight. We decided to try the relatively new Hoi Seng restaurant in Ipoh Garden, just next to the post office.

I had seen the place come up next to the post office on my trips sending out packages and also when the kids and I have roti canai for breakfast. Seemed like a pretty big building for a restaurant. Fellow blogger Motormouth had already tried out the place and posted his review on his blog. So tonight I took some pointers from his blog and ordered 3 of the dishes he had tried - the Shanghai Pork Ribs, Deep-Fried Lotus Roots with Salted Egg and the Hoi Seng Bean Curd.

We got to Hoi Seng pretty early as the restaurant said we couldn't reserve a table for 6 as they had run out of tables that size and only had large tables. We were told to "walk in" preferably before 7pm. Actually, we needn't have worried. There were plenty of tables available. True, there weren't many small tables but no matter, we had our pick of any of the tables for 8. But the place filled up quite quickly after 7.15pm.

The Shanghai Ribs were tender, meaty with plenty of sauce to dunk the plain buns in. Funny thing was, the waitress called it "Wuxi Pork Ribs" in Cantonese. Now, we had been to Wuxi in China last year, where they serve their famed Wuxi Pork Ribs, and Hoi Seng's ribs is nothing like that. Well....maybe the restaurant just wanted it to be mysterious. The deep fried lotus roots were quite nice, but tonight, not as crispy as it could have been. The bean curd was good, and managed to actually suit my fussy 4-year old's palate.

We ordered bean sprouts (good) and black pepper fish slices (not peppery enough). Overall, the food was above average, and we would return to sample the other dishes on the menu. My kids had no problem with the ambience too, which is a plus point.

Hokkien Mee (Tai Lok Meen)

I took my kids out to lunch in Ipoh Garden South (I know, it's a school day) because yesterday while buying herbs at Soong Kong, I spied 2 ladies eating the black, thick noodles that I love so much at the Sentosa Ria coffee shop next door.

I grew up eating Hokkien Mee or Tai Lok Meen (big fat noodles) in PJ and I so miss Hokkien Mee; however, it is not an Ipoh dish, so there is a dearth of places that sell it here. And even those that do, don't match up.

As I discovered today. It looks good enough, but there was just no "fire" taste to the dish; the black sauce used failed to deliver the salty-sweet taste that is trademark to a good Hokkien Mee; and the fried pieces of lard were not numerous enough nor crispy enough. I took away a packet of the Hokkien Mee for hubby and he too said, "fail".

There is one other place that sells a kinda passable Hokkien Mee - an old uncle and wife who run a stall in a coffee shop (sorry I can't remember the name) opposite Yum Yum Restaurant on Persiaran Greenhill.

Sigh.....I would be glad to find a good Hokkien Mee in Ipoh.

Restoran Makanan Laut Yam Yam, Ipoh Garden South

This restaurant is one of my brother in law's favourite restaurants. So, we've been there several times with them.

The restaurant serves Chinese food, and the taste of its dishes are moderately good. My brother in law and his wife love the sweet and sour crabs, chilly crabs (any crabs) there. Other dishes they like to order are the pork patties....strange, I can't remember any other outstanding dishes there. What I do remember when we paid for dinner there is the outstanding price! Rather expensive for a non-air conditioned place.

My kids are not impressed with their sweet & sour pork.

Dim Sum in Kao Lee @ Ipoh Garden

We decided to try some place different for dim sum last Sunday. The usual popular restaurants would be crowded, so we trooped off to Kao Lee in Ipoh Garden, near Wooly's. An uncle had recommended this place to us.

It was easy enough to find parking at 10am, and we waited about 5 minutes for a table. It was bustling inside the restaurant but there weren't queues like you would see in Ming Court.

You can get all your favourite dim sum items here. Their specialties are pasted onto a wall, with pictures, so you can pick which one you would like to try. I picked the Chinese-sausage rice (lap-mei fan), my favourite New Year rice, to go with our other dishes. It was rather dry and crumbly, as Kao Lee does not use glutinous rice, just normal rice. The kids liked the char siu pao enough, while the other dishes like siu mai, har kao, chee cheong fun, congee, wu kok .... were passable. Perhaps lacking in a distinctive flavour one would find in the other famous restaurants in town.

Still, if you don't want to jostle with crowds and have people watching you while you eat, you could try this neighbourhood dim sum restaurant.

Noodles at Chee Wah

We had noodles for dinner last night. Usually the kids would be thrilled as it isn't rice, but when I said we were going to a coffee shop-style place, they complained. "Why not 1919?", they wailed. They were set straight about not expecting every meal being in a posh, air-conditioned place, and besides their uncle would be joining us for dinner. That helped to cheer them up a bit.

My hubby had been telling me about this place for sometime. That they had very good "loh shee fun" (white, short,slippery noodles nicknamed "rat tails") but also that it is quite, erm, a messy and uh, "not so clean" looking coffee shop. Aha, that's not so very inviting. But, in Malaysia, you know and I know that the good food is served in run-down-yet- popular places.

So, Chee Wah is located on Jalan Che Tak in Ipoh, near the Caltex petrol station. The shop sure looks old and dirty. The proprietor wisely does not seat anyone inside the shop, they set up tables outside. Oh and the shop starts serving pretty late, from 7:30pm onwards. We were the first to arrive at 7:25pm.

Our first dish was fried mee hoon/ vermicelli. Quite well done and tasty. Then came the dozen fried chicken wings - another house specialty. Piping hot and well marinated - the chicken wings and drummets disappeared in a jiffy. Then the star arrived, claypot loh shee fun. It comes boiling merrily in the claypot and the proprietor brings along the eggs in his hand to crack them into the pot for you. Then you stir the egg in yourself. At first look, it is soupy, eggy, with lots of bean sprouts and some minced meat but very insipid and pale in colour. Not like the ones you get in KL. I am a KL girl after all. But the proof is in the eating, and it was delicious! Full of flavour, fragrant, with the bean sprouts adding crunch.

Kizuna Japanese Restaurant

Since moving to Ipoh, we have not eaten Japanese here. We had initially planned to go to Kedai Makan Sri Maju for the beef brisket noodles tonight but due to some delay, we could not get there early enough. And on weekends, it is notoriously difficult to get a table there if you don't arrive early enough. So a change of plan was needed - out of the blue, hubby said why not try a Japanese restaurant near Tesco. Wow! A decent Jap restaurant nearby? The kids were excited too.

Before we went, I did a quick check on the blogs. I read 2 blogs by Ipoh-ites who reviewed Kizuna quite well. To be safe, I tried to call ahead for a reservation but they were fully booked! Just walk in...they said.

We had the soft shell crab roll (RM6), which was quite good. But the cheese korokke (a fried cheese ball) was more of a potato ball than cheese ball (RM9). The chicken katsu don (RM12) had generous slices of cripsy fried chicken and seaweed pieces on top of the rice, but the taste was heavy on mushrooms which threw the balance off. I had the fried bento set (RM24.80) which had 4 slices of sashimi, shredded cabbage salad, and several pieces of prawn, squid and vegetables that were crumbed and fried - unfortunately, the batter was much too thick. We also ordered extra chawan mushi (RM5) for the kids. Hubby didn't say much about his gyu shoga bento set (RM24.80).

After reading what the blogs had said, I was quite disappointed with the quality of food at Kizuna. As you can see from the prices, it isn't cheap either.

Cake houses

There are several cake houses in Ipoh. Of course you will see the chain-franchise types like King's, La Manila, Secret Recipe and Baskin Robbins. But I tried 2 family-run bakeries in Ipoh Garden.

The first was Seasons Cake House, which sits along the same row of shop houses in Ipoh Garden as 7 Eleven. The first time, we bought a Power Rangers 3-D helmet cake for my boy. Hmm, can't say that the helmet turned out quite as I would have imagined. The second time this year, we bought a Thomas Tank cake for my son. The rectangular picture was cute enough but for both cakes, much too sweet.

Then later this year for my girl's birthday, I decided to try a different cake house. It sits on the same row as Maybank in Ipoh Garden and is called Yohan, about 2 doors away from KFC. I ordered girls' perennial favourite icon, Barbie, as the theme for the cake. It turned out beautifully and everyone who came for dinner that night ooh and aahed at the cake. And the orange sponge cake was light, tasty and just right in terms of the texture of the cream as well as sweetness. Of course the birthday girl got to keep the Barbie in the cake too!

My choice would be Yohan in Ipoh Garden.

Under the tree, Jalan King

Just got back from lunch with the family. We went to Jalan King, Pasir Pinji, where there is a collection of hawker stalls. The place has seen some improvement as there is now a zinc roof for more cover.

We ate at the fried and wet yong tau foo (char liu and sap liu) stall. It is always busy and the sign says it is open from about 9am to 5pm. There is a big selection of fish paste stuffed into different kinds of vegetables like lady's fingers, brinjal, bitter gourd, even into yau-char-kwai, and then fried. The stuffed yau-char-kwai was quite different, and very cripsy! An interesting fried vegetable done here is the "sa kot" or "sengkuang" or "yam bean". The pricing is very reasonable - 50 sen a piece.

The fried veges are accompanied by noodles from the same stall. You can either have it dry and mixed with black sauce, or with soup, or in asam laksa broth. Yum! The asam laksa is sour and tangy. The meal came to about RM18 for our family of 6. A caveat though - no air cond, not too tidy, old tables and chairs. If you're ok with that, go for it.

Foh Sun Dim Sum Restaurant

We tried to go for a dim sum breakfast a few weeks back on a Sunday at "Dim Sum Street" , but the queues and the wait just proved too much for our young family. First we tried Ming Court; definitely no-go; the lines were snaking out the door. Then we tried Yuk Fook Mun; queues not spilling out the door but it still looked to be a long wait. The new Foh San wasn't opened then. We ended up at the Central coffee shop at the corner of the block, having rice dumplings, hor hee and mee jawa.

So today, a Friday, we decided that it would be a much better day to try Foh San. Hubby took the morning off so we could go. Whoa! The place was packed and we still had to hover around for a table. Don't people in Ipoh work? My mom said there looked to be a lot of retirees eating there. Sigh.....so Ipoh is a town for the old folks? Ipoh-ites, you gotta do something to make this town more vibrant and bring the young blood back here! Wait a minute, there was that change of government, chosen by the people, which could have made a difference to Ipoh, but then something nasty happened...........???

We ordered 2 porridges - fish and pork balls. Smooth and broken, just like how Cantonese porridge should be, and the pork balls were huge. My girl liked the porridge. We had 3 variants of the traditional "siu mai" - alright, but nothing outstanding. Chee cheong fun was passable but didn't quite impress.

There was an interesting "pau" that was all spirals on the outside with a hole cut out at the top and crowned with a mushroom. Inside it was steamed glutinous rice - nice innovation and quite delicious. The "sang chau lo mai fan" however was a pale, bland presentation that disappointed. To finish off, we ordered the fried prawn foo-chuk with mayo sauce. Overall, the food wan't bad but with all the hoo-ha, not that fantastic either.

Uplands @ Bandar Baru Tambun

Gated community living continues to pick up steam in Malaysia. KL has numerous such developments as developers respond to house-owners' demand and preference. There is much debate abroad as well as in Malaysia about the pros and cons of such developments, even the legality of prohibiting non-residents from entering such an enclave unless invited by a resident.

KL folk might be surprised to learn that gated or guarded communities are also sprouting here in Ipoh, at a price much lower than in KL/ PJ. We like to visit show houses at new housing areas, so over the weekend we went to Uplands at Bandar Baru Tambun, developed by Total Investment Sdn Bhd (TI).

Uplands is situated within Bandar Baru Tambun or BBT for short, a highly successful development by TI comprising terraced houses. Word about town is that people generally like houses by TI because they do not compromise on quality, the workmanship is good and the design of the houses is innovative, modern and practical. TI also puts a great deal of effort into its showhouses - every new launch would have a fully completed and furnished house alongside a standard unit (unfurnished) for prospective buyers to view. This is a good service as buyers can have some idea how to do up their house. And more often than not, the showhouse is quickly bought - lock-stock-and-barrel - as it saves the new owner the headache of renovating and furnishing. Just move right in with your belongings!

Uplands is a guarded development comprising semi-detached houses. The first phase Type A did very well at its launch earlier this year, and now TI will be launching Type B. Type A has 4 bedrooms upstairs, a guestroom and maid's room downstairs, plenty of room for the whole family. There is also a little set-in area which could be done up as a courtyard or an indoor garden. The whole house feels very spacious as the layout was well considered, with no wasted corners. Type A sells from RM588,000/- for a 45'x85' standard lot.

More on other gated communities in Ipoh, to come.

Honey Cempedak

There is a little place about 37 km north of Ipoh, past Kuala Kangsar, called Liman Kati New Village. Small village, small population. But there is a cempedak grower there whose trees produce "honey cempedak". Apparently the grower has quite a large clientele. Happened to pass by the new village so we bought a fruit back to try.


Its flesh is a deep yellow colour; texture is smooth and soft but not mushy; and its taste - honey sweet, like its name; seeds are small and rounded. Depends whether you like cempedak (or its relation, the nangka or jackfruit) as I know some people who are turned off by its smell. Same phenomenon with durians, I suppose.


We ate it as is and had it fried, as well. By the way, we could eat the seeds too - tastes like a nut. Just bite right through the seed. (I don't know whether you can eat the seeds of all cempedak varieties)

Citrus Wine & Dine

We decided on Citrus for lunch this Sunday. My son had seen the restaurant on one of our drive-abouts and been hankering to try it for some time. Both my kids prefer western food to rice.

We arrived about 12.45, which is my preferred time. I don't like to go at the same time as other diners. We were the first customers - at that time, that is. The waiting staff were very attentive and prompt with their service. The kids were all smiles upon entering the restaurant, indicating that the surroundings were to their liking - air-cond, clean, comfortable, nicely decorated. Rather particular, my kids!

The proprietor had given some thought to the menu, as there was one for adults, one for little boys and one for little girls. The kids' menu consisted of identical items, just the presentation was different. Sweet. We ordered 2 sets - one with cajun chicken, the other the spaghetty aglio olio - spaghetty bolognese, potato wedges and nuggets with mash for the kids.

The aglio olio was delicious, tasty and fragrant. My cajun chicken, however, could have done with more seasoning, as the taste didn't quite emerge. Kids liked their meals, which came with a Vitagen each - better than offering colas, so that was another thoughtful point by the proprietor. The side of potato wedges was quite large and nicely done. Coffee was a strong brew and the milk was served warm, while the bread and butter pudding that came with our sets was just right in sweetness and softness.

Citrus obviously pays attention to details such as the warm milk, changing the cutlery according to your order, providing boy or girl plates/ cups. The waiter also noticed immediately when my daughter dropped her fork and came to replace it pronto. We will be going back to Citrus.

Bee Gaik Dining Place & Buffet Catering

We've seen this restaurant in Ipoh Garden South many times as we drive around the neighbourhood. Name sounds so Hokkien. So we decided to try it.

For dinner, we ordered the Assam Curry Fish Slices (they were out of fish head), Tung Po Yuk (braised fatty pork), bean sprouts fried with salted fish and golden bean curd. Prices of their dishes have all gone up, as can be seen from their menu where the old prices have been pasted over with new ones. Bee Gaik staff said they couldn't keep the prices as before on account of rising pork prices and everything else. Even with falling oil prices, food prices continue to rise and the government can't do anything about that (?).

The curry fish was delicious and I soaked my rice with the curry sauce. My hubby said my plate looked like some Indian rice! The bean sprouts were good and the salted fish fried till crispy - can't go wrong with Ipoh-grown bean sprouts! The braised fatty pork was tender and juicy with lots of gravy to dip the plain white buns that came with the dish.

While the restaurant is rather cramped, and noisy (all the chatter bounces off walls), the food was good and pricing reasonable. My children still like 1919 better, but we'll go back to Bee Gaik to try out their other dishes.

Bee Home Cafe (Sharon's Laksa)

This Saturday, my family and I decided to try out Sharon's Laksa in Taman Ipoh Perdana, which my hubby had read about from another Ipoh blogger. The blogger had rated the Laksa highly. I always enjoy spicy foods, so was looking forward to lunch on Saturday.

We arrived at about 12.45 pm, and the restaurant was empty. Service was prompt enough, and Sharon herself was there. When we said we had come to try her laksa, she was pleased. For us, we ordered Sharon's Siamese Laksa and the Sambal Lou Shu Fun. For the kids, we ordered the Chicken Chop and Fried Udon, along with a side of fried won ton. While waiting for our orders to arrive, we went outside to check out their al fresco dining area. Would be pretty pleasant at night.

The Siamese Laksa was tasty and creamy, but not truly the Siamese style we had expected. Perhaps it is Sharon's own interpretation. It was just a bit too sweet. The Sambal Lou Shu Fun, lacked the "fire" or what Chinese call "wok hei", thus tasted rather bland, save for the spiciness of the sambal. My son seemed to enjoy the chicken chop, but for the price of the chicken chop here, I would prefer to have Fantasy Cafe's chicken chop set which consists of soup and bread, the chicken chop with fries and salad, ice cream and tea or coffee. Real value for money and not bad in taste! My little girl enjoyed her Fried Udon, which came with slivers of chicken meat and cabbage. The fried wonton was alright, but there are places that do much better fried won ton, like Hoong Tho in Old Town.

By the time we left, the restaurant had served only one more table of two ladies. Pretty quiet for a Saturday. We probably won't be going back for Sharon's Laksa.

Life in Ipoh

Pleasant. I believe I could use this word to describe life in Ipoh. Although possessing city status,Ipoh just doesn't have the energy of a city like KL. Even Melaka feels much more vibrant and "busy" compared to Ipoh.

This could be due to the appearance of Ipoh, which lacks skyscrapers or intimidatingly tall hotels or vast blockish shopping centres. The "city" area is made up of old prewar buildings that have been refurbished (or not) and the newer shops which look like those shops you see in Desa Sri Hartamas. It doesn't give a very city feel to the place, more suburban. Ipoh folk also dress much more casually compared to the KL-ites so there isn't much to look at unlike Jalan Raja Chulan where you could sit around the numerous cafes or stalls and "people watch" all those trendy office workers, shoppers and tourists.

The economy here is much smaller though. There aren't many MNCs here and I guess the only Malaysian company that employs a good number of people here would be Taiko Sdn Bhd, holding company of listed KL Kepong. With so much resources and land available, one wonders why Ipoh just hasn't caught up. Melaka and Johor earn from Singaporean visitors. Ipoh is too far north and sandwiched between the capital KL and manufacturing hub Penang - or so the excuse has been given for umpteen years to explain the lack of development in Ipoh. Be an education centre, then. Go out on trade missions and invite foreign education institutions to set up campuses in and around Ipoh, offer them incentives that beat KL. The standard of living in Ipoh is slightly lower so that would be a plus for students, and with the double tracking rail up (when it is up) and also newly resumed flights to Singapore in 2009, the Perak state govt should really pump up its marketing. But that is a topic for another day.

I am glad that, unlike KL and PJ, which have been stripped of leafy green tress, it is rather green here in Ipoh. The main roads of Jalan Gopeng and Jalan Tambun have nicely manicured road shoulders that converge at the antique fountain smack in the middle of the round-about leading into/ exiting town. At least the trees planted by the local council are "real" trees with branches that spread far and lush leaves, unlike KL and PJ where DBKL and MBPJ in their wisdom, have chosen to plant ridiculous non-shade-providing palms. Just because Malaysia in in the tropics doesn't mean we have to make our cities all look beachy, and windy, you know. What happened to all those grand raintrees and flame of the forest?

I noticed that Ipoh folk are more laid back and friendly. The shopkeepers all have a moment to chat with you. And there is less of that "hurry up" feeling whenever you go out to run your errands. Back in Damansara Utama or SS2 in PJ, I always felt hurried - heck the parking (or lack of) was enough to drive one ballistic.

Luckily for me, I am not a pathological shopper. If you are one, you might not survive in Ipoh. There are only Kinta City and Ipoh Parade, which carry brands like Jusco, Cold Storage, Padini, Nike, Royal Sporting House, G2000, Poney, and the main gents and ladies clothing and shoe lines, but on a much more muted scale. Of course there are lots of independent boutiques around, but style-wise, nah. You would be running screaming back to KL to shop!

Traffic jams? Much much less than KL. Happens only for brief spells at the peak of the usual to school- to work, back from work-school times. And Ipoh drivers move at a slightly slower pace, too. I am always overtaking them.

Scenery? Great. Ipoh is hemmed in by limestone hills all around. So when you are up on the flyover, you can see the green, rolling hills which does good for your soul. Air quality? Good, and being further up north, thank God Ipoh is spared the haze. The sky is almost always clear,blue with white puffy clouds.

Food in Ipoh

In the few months since we moved to Ipoh, we have tried out a few places and the kids and I have decided which ones they like or don't.

For breakfast there's Hollywood, a coffee shop in Canning Garden. It is probably the only Chinese coffee shop I know of which is pork-free. So there is a good-sized Malay clientele, which I think is great. You know, the muhibbah thing and all. The first time I saw so many Malays eating there, I was rather puzzled. Well onto the food that Hollywood serves. My son likes the Hong Kong style chee cheong fun done with prawns. The beef brisket noodles is quite good, as is the char kuay teow, though there are 2 different vendors of char kuay teow, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. The roti canai vendor there is so-so, and the Ipoh sar hor fun in Hollywood does not do the dish justice. It is much more delicious in other shops in Ipoh. There is a "pisang goreng" vendor there who sells a good variety of fried snacks.

I love roti canai, capati, tose, you name it, and it must go with good dal or fish curry. When we first came to Ipoh, I was quite disappointed as the standard of mamak food just can't compare to KL. The rotis were either too crispy or not brown enough and the dals and curries too weak. But happily I found one to my liking - Bukit Merah Curry House in Ipoh Garden. As for banana leaf rice, we like Kalai's in Ipoh's Little India section.

Of course there is the perennial favourite, Kong Heng, in Old Town, Ipoh. Most of the food there is pretty good. Sotong kangkung, pork satay, sar hor fun, chee cheong fun, laksa (nice and tangy). If it's full out, you could always hop next door to eat in the House of Mirrors or Tien Chun, which serves similar food to Kong Heng. Tien Chun does a great baked caramel custard - it sells out real fast.

For rice dishes at lunch time, do try out Koh Kee which is located just opposite the House of Mirrors in a little non-descript alley. All the food dished up tastes yummy with a homey flavour. We love it! And not too expensive either. Hoong Tho, not too far away from House of Mirrors (nearer to the Kinta Flats) serves up nice tasting noodles, and fried wan ton.

As for dinner, my kids love 1919 Restaurant and Gallery, which is opposite Tesco. Air conditioned, nice ambience and great waiting staff. I must say the training for their waiters is excellent. On Mother's Day, as we were leaving, the waiter wished me Happy Mother's Day. The manager there, Stephen, is real friendly and accommodating. If you are going on a weekend, do call ahead to reserve a table. It's that full.

Long-established Tuck Kee in Pasir Pinji gives great value food, and does not disappoint in taste. It is always used for wedding dinners, so beware. And the queue just outside Tuck Kee for the restaurant's char siu and roast duck snakes around the corridors! Some where near Tuck Kee in Pasir Pinji under a cluster of old trees is a collection of stalls. Locals call it "Tai Su Keok" which literally means "at the foot of the big tree". Lots to choose from and cheap. Fried yong tou foo with noodles, laksa, porridge etc .

Ipoh doesn't have much to offer in terms of Western dining, but there are Italia Mia (Sunway City); Brewster's and Miner's Arm (in town); and Fantasy Cafe for cheap and fast western sets (on the Road where Elim Church and Ave Maria girls' school are). Of course there is the exorbitantly priced Indulgence, which I have not tried. Apparently the price of food in Indulgence is as expensive as 5 star hotels in KL.

More of my accounts of food in Ipoh will come later.

In Ipoh - my feelings

Ipoh is a nice enough town (or should I say city). I am not unfamiliar with it as my grandparents lived in a little town just outside Ipoh.

But having to treat Ipoh as my city now, that was something different. I consulted my inlaws on where to go to buy what, which roads were best to take, how to find tutors - all the usual questions you would expect to ask being new in town. Unfortunately, my parents-in-law still work and have a very busy life, so I had to rely on my husband's brother's wife who doesn't work and takes care of my inlaws' household for advice.

This was the least pleasant part of starting life in Ipoh. To put it simply, my sister in law and I don't get along (surprise surprise!!). It was never deliberate on my part and I can honestly say I try to be nice to her, to try to connect each time we meet, but all my efforst are met with her stony, sullen, no eye contact, monosyllabic responses. I literally have to prod and pry information out of her. For example:

Me: Where can I go to buy stationery for the kids?
Sis-in-law: Mubarak.
Me: (holding on to my temper) Uh, where is Mubarak?
Sis-in-law: Old Town.
Me: (grinding my teeth now) Oh. And which part of Old Town?

Helpful huh? I don't think I got depressed. Thank God I am not prone to it. But I did feel very alone and you know, my husband is really from Mars. He did not notice, or maybe didn't think it was a big deal, that I was having some issues adjusting. It would have helped a lot if he talked to me about the move, how I felt, took me under his wing to show me Ipoh. But noooo. My hubby is the type who likes his wife to be independent, you know. All that nicey, romantic, supportive stuff fades after marriage I gues.

So yeah, I did get snappy and my hubby and I had big monumental fights in Ipoh. Seriously. And the renovation work on the house was driving me nuts! And my hubby is control freak and fuss-pot supreme. "Why is there a scratch on the wooden floor?", "Did you notice the metal grill wasn't done right?", "There's some stain on the marble floor". Give me a break. All day long I hear drilling and knocking, workmen trudging through the house, dust and cement all over, following the workers around and giving them old newspapers and rags (to the point we ran out of rags and I had to cut up my older T-shrts) endless cleaning, finding that my brooms were going missing daily, fetching my son to school and back on unfamiliar roads (I found a better route on my own - no thanks to you know who).

And you know, now that I don't work, I feel this control issue. Lilke I don't have any. When I earned my own money, I had a voice, authority. Now, do I? I have to check with my hubby on anything to do with the house. Then he says, but you can have your opinion, it's just that I may not agree with you all the time. Great. On the other hand, he says to me to be independent and take charge. And when I do, and when he doesn't agree with the outcome, we have our fights and he says "Why couldn't you have checked with me first? Is it so hard?" Behind their facade, I think all men are MCPs, control freaks and have huge egos.

Thank God for email. I emailed to my friends a lot and that helped me to vent. They gave words of support and advice. It really helped. Never disconnect with your friends. I miss my Mommy!!

Making the move to Ipoh

If you've ever done a move before, you will know it involves a lot of headache. If you were single, it would be much easier but with kids and a terracehouse full of 8 years of living, memories and stuff bought over the years, it can be quite a herculean task. And I was left to deal with the move mostly on my own as hubby was too busy working. Oh and in the middle of that I also had to resign from my job and wrap up my work in the office.

Movers - they cost a lot of money! And I was not prepared to pay RM3k to move my stuff although it would be a lot more convenient. I contacted Continential and Crown relocaters, whose services I ultimately did not use. In the end, we just rented a 10-tonne truck that came with the driver and his 3 assistants - that cost me RM1,200.

We also consulted for suitable dates to do the move. You know, us being Chinese and all.

With money saved meant my maid and I became packers. It took us about 5 weeks of daily packing to get our stuff taped into boxes. In between I had to ensure my little girl was entertained, otherwise she would be climbing into the boxes or trying to help us. Clothes that we would use upon arrival in Ipoh went into suitcases, as did the kids' toys, books and stationery. Each packed box was numbered and labelled with its contents, and also entered into my master list. My master list also contained all the other to-dos: get my son enrolled into his new school in Ipoh, disconnect phone/electricity/water, pay any outstanding bills, update new address for all our accounts/ friends, get standby supplies of medicines etc.

Needless to say, I lost weight during the process. Come December 2008, we emptied our house onto the truck, walked around the house with mixed emotions and drove off to our new life in Ipoh. I recall it was rainy that day, which only added to my melancholy.