Jen Jen Restaurant

Having read the Ipoh Echo's food section, delightfully written by See Foon, we decided to seek out Jen Jen for breakfast one Sunday morning. With my daughter's finicky apetite, we were fast running out of places to eat.

As See Foon had enjoyed the char kway teow at Jen Jen, at least I could be sure my daughter would eat something!

We arrrived at 930am to a well patronised Jen Jen (if you are coming from the direction of the Store, take 12 o'clock at the MGS roundabout and turn left into a smallish road just before the Tow Boo Keong temple).

After a brief wait, we managed to secure a table and placed our orders.

The char kway teow was served in quite a large portion with lots of bean sprouts, prawns and pieces of lard. It was fragrant and definitely better than a lot of mediocre char kway teow out there. But I have to say, that we still like the char kway teow at the Hollywood coffee shop in Canning Garden, just a touch more than this one.

The kai see hor fun was a "pass". Somehow, I found the soup just a little too sweet. My kids' favourite kai see hor fun is still the one sold at Kong Heng in old town.

But my husband and I both enjoyed the mee yoke (har mee). The soup was bursting with the flavour of prawns and had just the right reddish colour. It could have done with a little more kangkung and slices of hard boiled egg. Still, it was good enough.

Well, this is certainly a coffee shop we would go back to for breakfast in future. Will sample the other fare next time.

Inconsiderate parents at Sam Tet Primary

I wonder if it's a Malaysian mentality or Asian mentality. Whatever it is , it's plain selfish and inconsiderate.

Everyday I have to endure the traffic congestion at my son's primary school when I send him to and then fetch him home from school. After school, I tend to go 20 minutes earlier to find a parking spot to wait for him.

Therein lies the demonstration of the inconsiderate behaviour of some Malaysian drivers.

Parking space is a rare commodity around the school. Being ingenious (by necessity), most parents picking up their sons will squeeze their cars into multiple rows along the narrow road in front of the school, still allowing one narrow lane for vehicles to drive through. Now, there is a tiny rectangular parking lot right in front of the school and abandoned cinema (which only heaven knows why such a building at such a prime location has been allowed to fall into such a decrepit state - only the Ipoh Town Council would know) which can accommodate 3 rows of carefully parked cars (about 20 cars in total).

I just cannot comprehend why some parents parking in this rectangular area would deliberately place their cars at an odd angle, thus preventing the formation of 3 rows needed to optimize the use of space. Sometimes, instead of accommodating 20 cars, only 12 cars or so can fit into the area.

Today was a prime example. A car entered the rectangular area just before me, and 2 rows had already been formed on the right and left, with 2 spaces left in the right-most row. I expected the lady to move straight through the empty middle space to form the last row. Instead, she placed her car midway between the right row and the empty middle row, obstructing my passage and laying waste to a good 10 parking spots in the middle row. I sounded my horn when she alighted from her car and spoke to her to move her car into the middle. She was reluctant but fortunately there was another parent standing nearby who immediately supported my suggestion and asked the lady to move her car. Faced with such objection, she got back into her car and formed the 3rd row, but was only willing to move forward a few spaces, when she could have driven right to the end of the rectangle. She would not budge further. I was not in the mood for further fight today, as I had to see my son's teacher.

How do our children learn good ethics and civic mindedness from their parents when the very parents tasked with this important duty themselves lack the necessary social manners?

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.

Chritmas roast turkey from Maria's

Our 3rd Christmas in Ipoh, and this year Christmas dinner was held at our house instead of at my inlaws' place. The menu consisted of the traditional roast turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, fried broccoli and cauliflower, grilled lamb shoulders and fried rice (a bit weird I know, but it was on request).

Father-in-law bought the roast turkey from Maria's Cafe, which has quite a good reputation. And indeed the main dish of Christmas dinner did not disappoint. The turkey was tender and moist while the stuffing was the best I have ever had (I usually detest turkey stuffing). The bird that FIL ordered was about 4.9kg, small if you compare it to the larger sizes Maria's has - the turkeys go up until about 8kg.

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Our 4th Christmas in Ipoh (2011) was celebrated with a Christmas lunch instead of dinner, and with a roast chicken instead of roast turkey!

Not all the family was around, hence the smaller scale of celebration.

Lost World of Tambun - surprisingly good fun

It's been a great year-end vacation. And I managed to bring the kids to the Lost World of Tambun, almost 2 years after moving to Ipoh!

We went with 3 other moms and their kids so we had very good company for the day. I went with extremely low expectations, so when we got there, I was rather impressed with the Lost World, finding it way above my expectations.

While it is smaller than its big brother Sunway Lagoon in KL, its smallness lent it its own charm, cosiness and ease of getting around. I like that. And its location is far, far superior to that of Sunway Lagoon as the Lost World is cradled by lush green mountains on all sides, giving it a very tranquil, picture-perfect setting. Wonderful.

The kids had their squealing fun on the dry rides (very few, but enough for me), the wave pool, building sand castles on the artificial beach, bobbing along the canal in our rented rubber tubes, and of course swooshing down the 2 large water slides. I went with my 5-year old girl on one of the big slides and I admit that I was scared! Yiikkess!!

The train ride around the perimeter of the Lost World is a great way for you to see what else you would like to do there. We got off at the Petting Zoo and the kids enjoyed some close contact with the furry and scaly kind. We didn't have time to visit the cave or paddle boats. Next visit.

We ended the day with a dip in the famed hot spring pools of Ipoh. Something that Sunway Lagoon does not have. Highly recommended for a day of family fun.

(picture from http://www.dromoz.com/community/place/?id=986)

Teaching by example.....

.... is really more powerful and effective.

On our recent holiday to Australia, I had the chance to demonstrate kindness and consideration.

My family and I were on a tram which was rather packed. There was only standing room left. Not a problem for most people used to commuting and for the young. After several people got off and others got on at a stop, there were spaces enough for my kids and I to sit. But just then, an elderly Australian lady came on board.

Naturally, I got up and offered her my seat. She was carrying a large handbag which I offered to hold for her while she made her way slowly to my seat. I noticed a middle-aged but still-fit Australian man who was seated (he should have been the one to get up!) eyeing the exchange, and several other commuters in the tram smiling at me. When it was time for us to alight from the tram, the elderly lady thanked me again and wished us a lovely day.

As were walking the streets of the city, my 5-year old daughter said, "Mommy, you were kind to that old lady. She was old. People thought you were nice. Next time I will be kind too".

My heart warmed. Lesson taught and learned.

Sun Hup Kee (Sin Hup Kee)

Having read so many good reviews by bloggers about this place, as well as personal recommendations from family, we finally had dinner there. As recommended by blogger Motormouth, we called to book in advance for an early dinner at 6.30pm.

Still, when we got there the place was packed out! And we had no table! With the advance booking we only had to wait a couple of minutes, in which time the waitress took our order. We ordered the classic dishes - pan fried chicken, kangkung belachan, sengkong taufu and the 3-yolk steamed egg.

My review - the pan fried chicken (kon chin kai), which is the most raved about dish, was fair but not outstanding. Small pieces of chicken, dry with thick sticky (and yes, tasty) sauce on them. I was rather disappointed since most of the Ipohan bloggers are practically in love with this dish. Guess my KL taste buds are different from those in Ipoh.

The sengkong taufu was actually quite bland and dry. The kangkung belachan was not as fragrant as some other restaurants' while the steamed egg was acceptable. But what is outstanding was the price - only RM33 for our family of 3 adults and 2 kids! Extremely reasonable. Maybe that's why people like to go there, perhaps?

Malay Food in Ipoh - Restoran Tasik Raban

We finally tried out the well-known Restoran Tasik Raban near the Balai Bomba HQ close to the Stadium Sultan Azlan Shah for lunch today. The restaurant started out somewhere near Sauk (near Kuala Kangsar) at Lake Raban. The story goes that some VIP in Ipoh loved the food so much that the restaurant owner was made on offer too good to refuse to open up in Ipoh.

Well, the food was really tasty. I am not that well acquainted with Malay food, and this restaurant is famed for homestyle Perak-Malay cuisine - but I certainly enjoyed all the dishes that we ordered.

I used to be repulsed by "tempoyak" (a durian paste that is fermented and mixed with chillies and spices to be eaten as a sambal/ sauce) but on trying tempoyak here, it was fabulous! The traditional sambal that goes with "ulam" was also great.

While I was picking out my ulam, a Malay gentleman asked me "Orang Cina tahu makan ulam juga? " (The Chinese know how to eat ulam too?) I smiled and replied, "Tahu, sebenarnya saya sangat suka. Lagipun sekarang kan 1Malaysia?" (Of course, actually I love ulam. We are all 1Malaysia now.) Wouldn't our PM Najib be proud of my response??

The place is supposed to be famous for its grilled fish (ikan bakar), but we didn't order any today. Well, reason enough to go back again! We had ulam, "urap" (salad-like dish with coconut and chillies and "pucuk paku"), sambal sotong, tempe cooked in sambal, rendang and french beans fried with tumeric and egg. All were eaten with hearty appetites and I finshed my big plate of rice. (the kids had their take-away KFC snack plates there, though!) I bought some home for our maid's lunch - she said it was delicious and reminded her of her mother's cooking at home!

Well, looks like everyone agrees that the food at Tasik Raban is good.