This is one of my back dated post… The pictures have been residing in my hard drive for some time… Heh. Went to this place last month with Eddie, Ken and Jeffrey for lunch on one fine Sunday after much discussion between us. Essence Plus, claimed to be serving healthy meals and highly recommended by my ex-boss, located opposite Tesco.

From the menu, I realized that they serve mostly Shanghai dishes, although I doubt that those dishes authentically originated from Shanghai. Heard from my ex-boss that the owner is a Taiwanese, though.

Eddie’s Lamb Stew South US Style. Sounded like grammar error eh? But it’s written like that in the menu. The lamb chunks were tender but albeit too dry and tastes bland too. And guess what? I’m starting to get tired of rice moulded in round shape like this… @_@

The coleslaw came up next. Tastes pretty ordinary, nothing to rave about. And yes, we eat it with chopsticks.

Drunken Chicken. Basically this dish is chicken steamed with rice wine, gei ji (wolfberries) and Chinese herbs. I think the chef added too much wine and it’s overpowering the taste of the chicken.

My Spicy Potato Noodle. Now now, I thought the noodle supposingly made by sweet potatoes but it turns out to be chewy translucent noodle (similar like tong hoon or glass noodle but thicker). And the spicy broth tastes like Mah Lat (a type of spicy soup originated from Taiwan which is famous for it’s hot, flaming properties) but luckily for me, this one is milder.

Ken’s Potato Noodle in Savoury Chicken Broth. Look almost exactly the same like my order except the broth. Tastes pretty bland…

The star of the day – Shanghai Pearls in Rice Wine Brine. Not exactly real pearls lah, they’re balls made from rice flour (tong yuen, to be precise) with red bean filling, served with fermented rice grains in syrup and rice wine mixture. The pearls were soft and chewy with the right amount of red bean fillings, while the rice wine syrup has the right balanced amount sweetness and wine in it. Have it warm… it’s a great comfort food.

Shanghai Xiu Long Bao with crabmeat (dedicated to Xiu Long Bao… heheh…) Honestly, I never had any Xiu Long Bao before so I don’t know whether it is the authentic ones. These baos were filled with some crabmeat chunks, and dark coloured liquid which tastes like something in between black vinegar and soy sauce. A bit salty for my tastebud. Can’t really taste the sweetness of crabmeat (covered up by the sauce?) and the skin is not very thick.

Overall, the main course here is not very fantastic but desserts and side dishes were acceptable. The waitress were helpful though, patiently explained the dishes to us with smile. But the environment is kinda noisy with kids running around and warm due to one of the air-conditioner is out of order.

Essence Plus
No. 9, Jalan Medan Ipoh 6,
Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh,
31400 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel: 05-545 8678
(Same row with 1919 Restaurant & Gallery, opposite Tesco and Y2K disco)