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| Thean Chun is a must stopover coffee shop in Ipoh, with Sekeping Kong Heng on its right. |
I made
my first and only visit to Ipoh in August last year. It was a trip long overdue
-- at least for 20 years. Thanks to the persistence of a friend who grew up there,
and is now a Singapore citizen, I had a wonderful culinary escapade of 3 days 2
nights in this city of two-hour drive from the capital of Malaysia.
It’s
impossible to write about Ipoh food in one article. I’m told that Ipoh has one
of the highest percentages of Cantonese living in a city anywhere in the world;
and, due to its geographical location, there is little dilution to this Cantonese
culture and cuisine. The hawkers that I met on this trip truly are the
guardians of this unique cuisine -- as most of them produce, cook, and sell
much of the food from scratch using traditional methods.
For
those on a whirlwind stopover, I know of one coffee shop where one could sample
the true spirit of Ipoh in a matter of minutes, minus the queuing time. Thean
Chun is a 10-sq-m-ish coffeeshop that has been around for as long as my friend could
remember. One of its must-eats is Chicken Kuey Teow Soup (or Ipoh Hor Fun as Singaporeans
call it). This dish has been one of my
favourites since I first ate it in Holland Village, Singapore, nearly 40 years
ago. But the true McCoy is far different from its Singapore cousin. The hor fun
was so much smoother; I’m told this is due to the lime content of the water in
Ipoh. Unfortunately Ipoh water doesn’t keep well over long distances. The hor
fun was served in a thin but robust chicken/prawn stock. The accompanying prawns
and chicken didn’t matter: just the hor fun and stock was enough to send me to
heaven!
Chee
cheong fun, a variation of rice noodle, is another childhood favourite of mine.
Again, Thean Chun’s chee cheong fun had texture that was smoother than a face applied
with SKII. When one encounters a great plate of chee cheong fun, it’s best to
keep the sauce simple in order to savour the texture of the rice noodle.
Therefore I declined when the offer was made to add curry sauce to it. The old
man who runs the store also operates a factory that distributes his produce
throughout Ipoh.
Next to
his stall was a makeshift satay grill tray. The satay was great, but I had
eaten better elsewhere. What caught my eye, though, were the sticks of innards
-- and those were really delicious.
Just
when you thought you were spoilt for choice, you were even allowed to order
food from the right-next-door-coffeeshop, Kong Heng’s. A must from this
neighbouring shop was the popiah. Portions were generous and the stuffing of
various ingredients and sweet sauce was extremely tasty.
The endnote,
and another must-try, is the custard. Creamy rich, eggy, and smooth, each
nibble of this tiny dessert ended with a sweet caramelized after-taste.
Thean
Chun (Hall of Mirrors)
73
Jalan Bandar Timah
30000
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Opening
hours: 9.30 am till late lunch
Closed
on Thursdays
P.S.
Thanks Lee Lee, Johnny, Bee Bee and her family for being such wonderful hosts
throughout our stay.