Neko's trip back to ipoh was for a few reasons, my grand Aunt's 80th birthday, visit my grandma and also my late grandpa's headstone finally was completed. These stories will be in another blog but now it is about FOOD.
So, what's good to eat in ipoh besides Ngar Choy Kai? Well, their fishball noodles. You'd probably heard of the Kampar Fishball noodles but you dont need to be in Kampar to eat good fishball noodles. There are a few places in Ipoh town that serves good fishball noodles.
Neko- is picky about fish ball noodles, me hates the fake fishball taste especially those that are extremely springy! I like those that has more fish taste compared to those that are extremely smooth. The shop Neko went to is Tong Ki, in Jalan Bukit Timah ( formerly known as leed's street). When i was young, they were based somewhere else. In fact, this shop is run by two brothers. Who have seperate shops.
Fishball noodles in Ipoh is pretty simple, it comes with fish stuffed in taufoo, the must have chee yoke tan, foo pok, foo pei, chilli stuffed with fish, brinjal stuff with fish and once in a while bitter gourd with fish. This sometimes is the staple choices of fish ball noodles in Ipoh, however there are one or 2 that has more than this.
Those that have too many looses the actual speciality of the dish, from what i gather. Anyway, this shop to me serves one of the best Fishball noodles. Please do go early! Business starts as early as 7am and by 8 it is really packed with Non Ipoh-lang.
This is what i call a real Old Town kopitiam. I mean, high ceilings, old fashion fake plastic marble table. Now, when in Ipoh, you need to try their famous, White Coffee. This place also serves pretty good white coffee. It is a must have. You can ask for kurang manis. In ipoh, people prefer to drink it without milk as the flavour of white coffee is actually enjoyed without the milk. I had a problem when i was young calling this in Cantonese. "Kopi-O-ping".........is what you need to say now.
My white coffee, kurang manis and no milk please.
It's called white coffee because of the way the beans are cooked. Mom says it is cooked in butter..... Not sure .. but later...
The main dish comes next, normally you are served noodles (meehoon mi for me) in a small tiny tiny bowl. Don't be fooled cause it's packed with noodles in that small bowl.
It's clear broth is another thing. You might think this is MSG laden but suprisingly i did not suffer from any effects. And it is tasty. The fishball etc comes in a seperate bowl. Which i did not photograph cause Neko Otousan was getting a bit freaked out. But he consented to photographing stuff in my own bowl. (^_^)V [minor form of victory]
Hehehe, the must have taufoo stuffed with fish. Note the taufoo has this "wood fire" smell which i find adds flavor to the taufoo. Ipoh taufoo is extremely much softer and has this slightly saltier taste to it. Suspect is due to the water here in ipoh. The fish comes stuffed with chopped cuttlefish :) for added crunchiness. Next to the taufoo, is my fav- pork balls!! Okasan passed on the chilli today so she had it replaced with more pork balls! And finally, fishball. All must be dipped in the special chilli sauce provided. I was a satifisfied cat, after brekkie! (^_^)
So check out Tong Kee @ Jalan Bukit Timah in main ipoh town. Along the same road there are many other shops as well but this one is the best.
P/S: In the same shop, there is a lady selling Chan pau!! Check it out, tasty and nice. Didnt get this the last time. Will do the next time.
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