Chong Chew Kedai Kopi, Kanthan Baru

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Jason

Have not heard of Kanthan Baru? It’s a small village, located nearby some industrial area about 20km away from Ipoh. Some people would say that hidden gems are usually not found in strategic places… that why we call it “hidden”, right?

I have not set foot into Kanthan Baru for many years. My colleague mates used to stay in Chemor, which is about 5 mins drive. We would gather at his place to do our college homework and have supper with their parents in Chemor or Kanthan.

I got to know about this shop thanks to Motormouth. He got to know about this place after watching Taste with Jason (Axian) on Astro AEC and he couldn’t wait any longer to try their Hakka offerings. But since there were only two of us, we just ordered a few items to be shared between the two of us. The Hakka lei cha (pounded tea rice) came with different types of chopped greens, condiments and a pungent chlorophyll-smelling broth – this was actually my first time trying lei cha and it was quite a pleasant surprise, as it wasn’t as bad as I perceived. But I didn’t really add all the broth to the rice, so it was still acceptable.

Pink-dyed dumplings called “cha guo” are also sold here with various of savoury fillings. It is quite difficult to find these nowadays, so when we saw these, we actually gone overboard by ordering too much (*gasp). Available in shredded yambean with peppery dressing, preserved vegetable (mui choy), grounded peanuts, dried shrimps and Chinese chives, I love the yambean and peanut version.

Authentic Hakka yong tau foo (we call it yong liew) are hard to come by, as the key ingredient for the stuffing lies in the minced salted fish. Fish paste + finely minced pork + salted fish = heavenly combination but due to the time-consuming process and cost, most proprietors would just omit the salted fish. In Chong Chew, they skipped on the salted fish as well, but they substitute it with an ingredient that rarely make an appearance in Hakka or Chinese cuisine – fennel seeds. Used extensively in Indian cuisine, fennel seeds acts as after-meal mint or used to flavour the curries. However, the combination of the yong liew with fennel seeds were surprisingly nice, adding a little bit of omph to the morsels.

And something for the real breakfast, chee cheong fun with curry pork skin and long beans. Those mentioned above does not count. 🙂

Chong Chew Kedai Kopi
282, Kanthan Baru,
31200 Chemor, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel: 05-201 7616/012-518 3382
Directions: You can read it here.

*The map does not point to the exact location of the shop, it is just a reference on the nearby spot.

The Charm of Ipoh Old Town: Kedai Kopi Ah Chow

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Jason

Continuing from our first stop, we made our next stop at Kedai Kopi Ah Chow (literally translated as Ah Chow coffee shop), which is located at the row of shops behind Hong Hin. A mere walking distance, anyone could just hop over to Nam Heong (where the Old Town White Coffee idea were born), Sin Yoon Loong, Sun Yuan Foong, Hoong Tho for a quick coffee dose. The Motormouth needs his caffeine fix, or else he would be limping back to the car while screaming that his head hurts and unable to walk in a straight line.

Ipoh Old Town has come a long way to what we see today. Still remember how my parents would bring us siblings to Sin Yoon Loong for breakfast on Sunday morning before dropping us over to the old uncle barber at Pasar Jalan Patrick (Patrick Street Wet Market) for haircut. We were merely in primary school then.

Back to Ah Chow; tables were mostly occupied when we arrived, therefore we had to share ours with a guy and his daughter. And his daughter would pose whenever we points our cameras. Couldn’t resist to post this up. 🙂

One can trust the avid coffee drinker such as Motormouth as where to look for a good ol’ cup of coffee or teh tarik (pulled-milk tea). Ah Chow serves a potent concoction of my favourite Ipoh beverage – the sweetness and bitter note were on spot and perfectly balanced. I’m not die-hard coffee fan but if I could choose, I would only go for Ipoh’s white coffee (not the instant Ipoh white coffee, though!).

Their soft-boiled eggs on toast are one of the better ones (I had toasts with cold soft-boiled eggs before, the horror!) as those folks at Ah Chow will only prepare them upon ordering and not in big batches as the fast-food chain would do. Crisp, buttery toasts paired heavenly with the runny yolks. A few dashes of pepper and soy sauce elevate the experience to higher note. The toasts with butter and their home-made pandan (screwpine leaves), egg and coconut jam (pandan kaya) was another good choice if you don’t fancy soft-boiled egg.

Other than those mentioned above, Motormouth claimed that their HK chee cheong fun, curry noodles and roasted pork were not too bad as well.

Came across this sundry shop across the street. Look at those clogs and biscuit tins! Nostalgia…

Kedai Kopi Ah Chow
31, Jalan Bandar Timah,
30000 Ipoh, Perak.

Business Hour: Opens from early morning (6am) till late noon, around 1pm-2pm.

The Charm of Ipoh Old Town: Hong Hin

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Jason

Not long ago, I blogged about the 83 years history of Yut Kee. And barely 6 months after that, we were surprised by the news (well, maybe not to everyone) that government has set their eyes on the neighbouring Jalan Sultan and its nearby vicinity (including partial of Jalan Petaling a.k.a. Chinatown) to be converted into a upcoming MRT station.

I might not like Petaling street that much but for loyal old-timers who thronged that place for their daily errands or routines, imagine what will be-fallen them when that day comes. Things certainly will not be the same anymore for them. It’s really a shame that heritage and history have to be sacrificed in the name of development.

Hence, I came up with this pilot post on Ipoh Old Town. This old part of Ipoh used to be my favourite hunting ground for breakfast and it still is even to this day. Rapid development has not invaded Ipoh yet, but no one would know what future lies in beyond.

Alright, back to food. My parents told me that this eatery sells Hakka taufu, which is supposingly stuffed beancurd with minced fish paste and salted fish mixture. However, it always missed my mind until last month – together with partner-in-makan, I finally made my way here. Most eateries in Old Town are crowded to the max especially on weekend, but the reason behind it is debatable – whether that particular place is really famous or people are coming over because other places are full?

The Hakka noodles served wasn’t the same as we usually get from Yin Yau Kui (moved to the opposite shop and called Restoran Paris now) or Toast & Roast. Reason – the absence of minced meat. Instead, the Hakka noodle was just used as an alternative choice for those who might dislike yellow mee, beehoon or hor fun. The noodles did not made us going ooohs and aaahs but the yong liew did, particularly the fishballs (huh, not the beancurd??). By the way, if you have no idea what liew to choose from, just leave it to the aunty to decide for you. And shockingly cheap, the fishballs were priced at RM0.30 and beancurd at RM0.50 per piece! Where to find such price tag in Klang Valley!?

With this, part one of the charming Ipoh Old Town is done… for now. Let’s hope that part two will be up soon (assuming that my upcoming schedule won’t be drown with classes or my PlayStation 3 does not beckon to me).