I've been spending an obscene amount of time at the ofis of late. And I know I'll go crazy if it drags on. So, I decided it's time for a little time off and go wander around... somewhere... anywhere. I haven't been to Ipoh before so I thought I should have a looksy at what this town has to offer. Searching for roadmaps on the net turned out futile; so I decided to just hantam and see if I can find the place by luck.

I drove off with n.g. on Sunday morning and Jusco Ipoh was to be our first stop. Unfortunately, I made a mistake by heading into Ipoh Utara. After driving aimlessly, I stopped by a mamak stall to ask for directions. The bangla there looked at me like a deer who just ran into a pair of headlights; and gave me the typical mamak headshake... I dun exactly know if I had to return the same gesture. Thankfully, I stumbled into a really helpful Malay dude at a sundry shop nearby, who gave me much better directions than the earlier bangla.

15 minutes later, we found Ipoh Selatan and spotted Jusco. Woot! The place was packed like a can of sardines, but it was understandable since it was a weekend. After doing some light shopping, headed down to the groceries section. I was pleasantly suprised to see that Jusco has a really comprehensive sushi section.

The staff were diligently churning out box after box of fresh sushi, which were displayed neatly for the customers to choose from. The minimalist display area was a good concept and made the colorful rows of sushi really stand out.

Plenty of choices at hand; tamago, smoked salmon, unagi, fish roe, bean curd, handrolls, baby octopus, etc. The selection here could easily put more reputable sushi outlets to shame.

A little later during the evening, we decided to go sample the famed Ipoh Bean Sprouts Chicken rice which everyone was raving about. Turns out there were only two must go outlets in this town. Story goes that the original shop was opened by a sifu, who had a protege working under him. Unfortunately, this protege of his turned renegade and decided to open his own establishment. And the bugger had the cheek to open the shop just opposite his sifu's shop.

The sifu's shop is called Ong Kee (pls correct if I'm wrong... my information on Ipoh is sketchy at best). Suprisingly, the place doesn't seem to be doing brisk business.

We looked across the road and saw the Lou Wong shop. It was packed to the brim. Common sense will tell you which shop to patron. And so Lou Wong it is.

First thing we ordered were some meatball soup. It came in a clear sweet broth. The pork balls were really springy and packed much bite when you chow down on one.

Next, was the famed Ipoh Bean Sprouts. You'll immediately notice that the taugeh seem much 'fatter' and stubbier than the standard variety. The locals say it's the underground water which makes all the difference. No crappy tap water for these sprouts. They were wonderfully crisp and crunchy, and the sesame seed oil + light soy sauce gave it a nice sharp tang.

Ah... the dish which everyone were going gaga over. The pek cham kai. It came in huge chunks, the skin was slightly smoother than the normal garden variety and there were minimal fat. I guess that made all the difference.

Another highly recommended dish was the Ipoh Koey Teow. This was an awesome dish. It's kinda ironic that the simplicity of this soup based rice noodle create such complex textures. The clear sweet broth and the smooth silky noodle strips made a really satisfying dish. The koey teow was finer than the penang variety and much tastier. Goes really well with the bean sprouts.

All in all, it was well worth the long drive down Ipoh. Fantastic food, pretty good bargains and a much lighter head on the way home. Decided to pick up a box of 'Hip Eam Kai' on the way home too. This is Ipoh Salted Chicken and is quite similar to the Herbal Wrapped Chicken you usually get during wedding dinners; albeit a little drier.

I don't mind paying Ipoh another visit in near future ^_^