Ipoh Again!

Jalan here, jalan there. Petrol cheap, drive here, drive there. Domestic holidays are fun and cheap. Is it like what they're saying? Or is the government trying to keep the money within the country by promoting domestic travel? Well, if you're Malaysian, why not? If you're not Malaysian, why not? There's so many places to visit, things to eat and unique local food to savour. Where to go then? The nearest or the furthest state? Ipoh is just 2.5 hours away, highway speed limit in compliance. Drive faster than 110 km/h, the wind drag will cause your fuel consumption to increase. Save money on time or on fuel? You decide.

Our first stop was the Big Tree hawker centre at Pasar Pinji, reachable within 20 minutes after exiting the NSE at Sg. Pulai. Here, you can either decide to drive on to Ipoh or divert to Cameron Highlands for a cuppa of Boh Tea at their scenic plantation. But let's leave it for another trip, ok? So, at the popular hawker centre, we ordered the famous yong tau foo, fruit rojak with crackers. The dragon fruit drink helped me to wash down the delicious food. Rich in anti-oxidants, I felt healthier already! But being healthy is not the objective here. Eating a lot and lots of it, is. So, let's continue.

Buku Lima or 555, Sekeping Kong Heng -  they're located at the same location, just different parts of the locality. Plenty of cafes and trinket shops for to satisfy your shopping needs for unique stuff to decorate your home or to give away as souvenirs. And why are they hanging metal food net covers in the middle of the five foot way? For me to take a shot, I guess? Buildings of yore have their old world charm as they generate memories of the past, in the creation of the country to what it is today. One can imagine the different lifestyle and hardship as they toil with what little they had in those days. Jobs were scarce and jobs were kept for long.

What's awesome in Ipoh? Besides the numerous foodie locations, the pre-war buildings, the street art decorating the streets and the friendly people, nothing much. Wait! Or is there more to Ipoh? For one thing, you can achieve your 10,000 steps in this town. At Sekeping Kong Heng, one can't forget Yasmin's museum if you're familiar with her movies like Sepet and the others. The movies challenge society's pre-conceived ideas on religion and race, about love across religion and race, touching on humanity and the reason for being. They pose a question to society - accept or reject? You decide.

50 years ago, the kids used to suck flavoured ice balls. You can find Sarsi, and other syrups soaked in the ice, and have fun sucking the coolness to chill out in the hot, humid weather. It shouldn't cost more than 5 cents then, but it costs RM4.00 today. A good profit margin, huh? Well, before you go into the economics of things, better suck the juice before the ice melts and cause a mess on your pants. I was lucky not to have the juice drip on my pants because the folded paper drained it away from me. What's the 4D number for this kind of event? Beats me!

On we walked, to look for food to satiate our growling foodie stomachs. What do one eat in Ipoh? Without further, deeper delving into this question, chicken rice comes to mind. Chicken rice being my favourite food, it's only natural that we'd go for it. A few steps from the ice ball stall, Thean Chou hor fun was our target. At 1600 hrs, we'd be lucky to have it before it runs out of chicken and closes for the day. The drinks auntie was really fierce - make sure there's still chicken hor fun before ordering your drinks. The old uncle was generous and kind enough to eke out 2 bowls of hor fun for us. We're so eternally grateful to him, helping us achieve our foodie target.

With all the food and drinks and hunger satiated for the moment, back to the hotel we went. Sarang Paloh, right smack in the middle of town, renovated colonial shophouse, is an apt choice of location. But more of the resthouse later, at the end of this blog. After having a shower and a power nap, we're ready to continue on our foodie journey. Uncle Google brought us to the other side of town, to this place called Restoran Ayam Tauke at Jln Buntong. Again, we're lucky to arrive at 1945 hrs because the couple in the queue behind us were told to return the next day as they've limited chickens! After a 1.5 hour's wait, our boiled chicken arrived with the taugeh and we're so ever grateful for the delicious food.

Were we happy with the amount of food consumed? Well, I think we have a bit more space in our stomachs to spare. So, off we went back to the city and found this octopus offering in a shop selling guilinggao or turtle shell herbal jelly, if translated in the correct sense. Is it really made of turtle shell shavings? Well, it used to be so, in the past but no more these days. The crunchy octopus, dipped in nutty chillie sauce, managed to fill up what little stomach space we have. This would be the last meal for the night, we told ourselves. Averagely, we were eating and drinking every 2 hours. Did anyone ever die due to over-eating? Just Google it. 

We needed a walk, to help with the food digestion. From the time we were kids, a walk would help to ease the bloated feeling every time. So, where can we go at 2230 hrs? Shopping complexes would have closed and we don't do shopping complexes during our foodie trips. Parks would also be closed at this hour, so we're left with the Kinta Riverside Walk. A 10 minutes drive brought us to our destination, a place lit up with LED lights, similar to I-City in Shah Alam. Mind you, there's plenty of activity here. Rent a gyro board at RM40 for 30 minutes, watch three 3D movies in the VR booth, rent quad-cycles, listen to buskers crooning away with the guitars.

At 0030 hrs, it's time to call it a day and to get some sleep before the foodie sessions continue the next day. At 0700 hrs, it's time to wake up and by 0750 hrs, we left the comforts of the bed in search of food. It's good to be early to escape the crowd, and they'll come out in droves by 0900 hrs. Uncle Google brought us to Nan Chao curry mee, housed in a corner shoplot. Having thought it's an Ipoh version of curry mee, it tastes more like Sarawak laksa though.

After an hour at the shop, buffeted by toasted bread with kaya on top of the curry laksa, we're ready to walk again. Just beside the shop, there's a street art lane with red umbrellas hung overhead and graffiti art on the walls. You have to admire the artists who drew the paintings. I mean, how easy is it to draw on a vertical surface, most times higher than the person itself? And to get the proportions correct at the same time. Amazing job, I'd always say of these street artists. Converting a dull lane into a bright, cheerful street for visitors to admire and take a second look at the colonial buildings, is nothing to be sniffed at. It's a noble act, helping in the movement to create awareness of old buildings and the need to preserve the heritage that would be gone if the developers had their way. In Penang, many pre-war shophouses have been sold to Singaporeans to develop into hotels, pubs and other commercial purposes. Well, it's a way of keeping the buildings intact, rather than leaving it to rot, right?

If the developers were allowed free rein, you'd get massive apartments like the one on the right. Juxtaposed against the low level pre-war buildings, it creates a reminder of the old and new, what the future is capable of changing and the landscape that'll never be the same again. The old will be replaced with the new and the evolutionary cycle continues till everything old is replaced, or is there something we can do about it? For one thing, you can take photos and keep it for rememberance so that you can whip the old photo out to the grandchildren and share stories about the past. Moments frozen in time.

After 2 hours, it's time to eat again and our last meal before leaving Ipoh was had at this mamak nasi kandar (nasi ganja), the stall rented from a Chinese shophouse. It creates a uniqueness here, right? This delicious plate of nasi kandar costs RM4.50. You won't be able to find this price in KL, that's for sure! To complete the meal, a final meal - tau foo fa dessert was found at Funny Mountain foodie outlet not too far away. The smoothness of the soy curd could not be found in KL either and you wouldn't regret making the effort to locate this shop. At 1140 hrs, it's time to return to the rest house to prepare for check-out.

Sarang Paloh, located in the middle of the town, in the middle of foodie locations, is a highly recommended place to stay. Being a renovated pre-war shophouse, the ceilings were high and air circulation was good. The floor creaks as you walk across the floor boards. A mix of the old and the new, the rooms had air-conditioning blowing cool air towards the bed, rain showers in the bathroom and LCD television set to while the time away. A welcome tea bag pouch is complimentary and the pu-er emanates good aroma as you bring the cup closer to your nostrils. Ipoh, till the next trip, goodbye and see again in the near future........