Ipoh - Eat, Ride & Eat again; 15 June 2013

We met up with Ashley & his wife Cynthia together with Johnny at the NKVE petrol station at 9.30am. Also there was Alex who dropped by as he wanted to test out the second-hand Ducati he intents to purchase. After a brief chat over KFC's diluted coffees, we headed north to Ipoh via the PLUS highway. Alex's intention was to exit at Rawang and turn back to PJ but at the end of it, he rode with us more than half the way as he was really taking a huge liking to the bike. Men! *eyes rolling*

Incidentally, Ashley rides a Kawasaki Versys 1000 

Pix of Versys 1000 taken on 16 June - belongs to Ashley

while Johnny rides a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 custom. We rode on Zacboy as Mr7211 is not ready for long distance riding. Nope! Not because it is not road worthy but simply because it lacks the proper tools for travelling. We have yet to install the back rest & the carriage rack due to out of stock for the latter. No luggage room means no overnight stay, period!

We met up with Mark's family (Ashley's first cousin) at Mark's residence near Simpang Pulai for lunch. We had a hearty & sumptuous meal cooked specially for us by Mark's wife; Saineh a Sabah Kadazan. Kadazan is one of the several ethnic group found in East Malaysia. Here's more about this ethnic indigenous group. If I wasn't told she was a Kadazan, she could easily pass off as a Chinese. Their off-springs a girl and a boy are truly Malaysian. You see, Mark's eurasian.

Little did we know their hospitality was to the MAX!!! There was traditional kuih-muih (local delicacies pictured above) and Ethopian coffee (brewed fresh, mind you!) post lunch! Such warm hospitality extended to us despite us meeting them for the very first time. Now, that is truly Malaysian hospitality! Thanks Mark & Saineh for extending us such a warm & friendly hospitality while we were "imposing' on your weekend with loved ones.

In the background, Mark our superb host. Ahem...he is being "trained" to refrain from serving until I have taken pictures for my blog. Ohhh...he is such a doll, don't you think so? Or was it my stern voice that says "HEEEYYY...I need to TAKE A PIX for my blog" that scared him off? Who cares! Picture taken, incident long forgotten!!??!! *snickering*

                     This pulut panggang or literally grilled glutinuous rice was awesome!

The glutinous rice was slightly salted with a touch of santan (coconut milk), not too overbearing, the rice was fluffy yet not too soft nor too hard (it happens if it's over-grilled). It bites off nicely. The fillings of dessicated coconut with marinated spicy shrimp was not too spicy nor too salty. I would have love to eat more but I need to watch my weight as well as cholesterol...so...*sadly* one would do.  

If you had been following my blogs, you would know that I like beans, particularly red beans. This topping is not red beans but pulut hitam or black glutinuous rice. But it does look like red bean, doesn't it?  The fillings were made from beans though. Generous serving of fillings, not to sweet, beans well mashed and it complements the bland topping/mold. This is one of the "spin-off" traditional Chinese/Nyonya/Hokkien "ku-kueh"...or kuih-muih in Bahasa Malaysia. The green & red ones were the ones I grew up with, this pulut hitam version is the first I have seen. Perhaps, I haven't traveled far and wide yet, hence, yet to chance upon this kind. Anyway, this too was a delight to savour. 

After some enquiries, we found out from Saineh that she bought them from a shop in Taman Ipoh. The shop that retails these delicious kuih-muih is located between a shop named Hollywood and another shop of which she can't recall the name. So, if you want to know where....well...take a tour of Taman Ipoh, find the place and then tell me where exactly it is, OK?   

Thanks again Saineh for going all out in ensuring that your guests are well fed and taken care of. *BLURP*....bursting at my seams already. Good lunch & great tea-time... Next, up we go on the bike to check-in to our hotel....MH hotel, Ipoh for the night.

This is our room....

I fell in love with the star...the starfish. I liked the color coordination & simplicity of the room. Its cozy & clean.

A view from the entrance into the room.

We rested until 7pm and then Rocker57's colleague came to pick us for dinner. After much discussion on what & where to eat, we landed up here.....(where? Down there....see below....)

FYI, this wasn't our option. But the one we wanted to eat at was filled right up to the road (normal sight in Malaysia if the food is good) so we landed with this. But then again, still a famous eatery in Ipoh, ok?

Ong Kee Restaurant at Jalan Yau Tet Sin, Ipoh. This is opposite the famous tourist attraction Restaurant Lou Wong. 

I learnt that locals prefers to dine at Ong Kee. Oh well, to each its own.

Pictured here from left : Lee Mei, Cynthia, Ashley, Johnny and Rocker57.

The MUST have...ta-daa..... Ipoh bean sprouts. The bean sprouts are thick, short and juicy, unlike those found elsewhere in Malaysia which looks under nourished ....hehehe...meaning long, thin and not so juicy. Apparently the spring water in Ipoh makes the vegetation here flourish.

Steamed free-ranged chicken doused in soya sauce & oil. Sprinkled with few dashes of pepper & garnished with spring onions.

Used to eating farm reared chicken, free ranged chicken meat are firmer and harder to chew. But these are quite easy to chew compared to some I've patronised before .

One can have a choice of noodles (see picture) or plain white rice (errr....no need picture, right???). 

Between the six of us, we took 50-50...i.e. 3 noodles and 3 rice with additional 1 bowl of noodle and 1 small bowl of rice. Inclusive of drinks, the bill came to RM75

As the night was still young, we adjourned for a short Ipoh night tour and then we stopped at Secret Garden for a night cap.

A picture doesn't tell a thousand words, seriously. This is actually Kilkenny in a Guinness glass. Hehehe...

We were led to understand that they were short handed that night as the bar tender was not around. But service was bad and we had to repeatedly remind the waiters & waitresses for our orders. This glass of Margarita took an hour to arrive! But as we were out of towners & have no place else to go, we decided to "chillax" and enjoy our company instead of getting annoyed with the atrocious service rendered. 

Thanks Ashley for footing the bill and giving us a treat. Cheers!!! 

We called it a night and agreed to check out & ready to leave by 9am as we have new company joining us tomorrow. To know more, stay tuned for the upcoming blog.

Until then....