Ye Olde Times............

I have been having a pretty much CRAP pass 2 weeks recently. Wait. It was a crap year to begin with anyway.... Didn't feel like posting much because i basically wanted to be away from the PC.... Anything that can possibly go wrong at work, went wrong. Is it me or what but since when work became such a bleargh? Could be the fengshui -no good in KL Sentral *lol*

Anyway, i was glad to go back to Ipoh last week to see my grandma. It's a good thing because she is starting to NOT remember me.... While walking behind dad to enter the house, she asked "Who's that".... i was like -_-" ...... No, she doesn't have alzheimer's but she's not young either.... Plus Ipoh is a pretty much of a SLOW town. You can just eat and sleep there.

While we ate the usual stuff in Ipoh, i thought i will do so photo taking of the biscuit shop i usually frequent in my trips back. After all- who wants to see er... hor fun all the time?
I spend most of my early childhood years in Ipoh, back then when my dad was doing his sabbatical in Kansas, he decided to let my grandma take care of me while they were in US. Er, my grandma thought it was a better idea to be with her ... darn i was hoping to run around in the vast fields of kansas ..... Not taking too lightly to be left behind, i actually put up tantrums especially when it came to meal times. Did you know, every meal i wanted char siew pao?? hehehehe. My late grandpa used to buy 12 every day, put it in the fridge and steam it for me when meal time came. My grandma was appalled by the fact i survived the 1st week in Ipoh mainly on char siew pau, milk and rubbish in me.. kakakaka.... Leave me behind again and see lah....

However, i was occasionally tempted by other stuff besides CSP.... Aunty used to buy biscuits from the market and this shop to tempt me to eat OTHER stuff... Now, 20 years from that time, i realize there are very few of this kind of shops in KL. What with Tim Tams, Arnotts and all, before them, we used to eat this!

Even in pasar malams where biscuit shops were common, now there are very few left. The one rare pasar malam i went to last year in Pandah Indah (do not ask me how to get there- i cannot remember, turn in Taman Kencana and go go go), i did manage to attempt to look for these shops- ( while trying not to throw up - due to the heat ) but ... no- now most pasar malam go for different stuffs already.

So, this lady's shop made a good place to take some nice photos and give her some ... free publicity. :) . I don't really know her name but we have been coming here for about 8 years now. She mans the stall with her hubby and little girl - who is now in Form 2 ( lord, it has been that long ). Now... anyone remember these biscuits on the back row? Damn, i forgot the cantonese name. I think the one far right is Shu Fun peng. I like this powdery biscuit. If it is crispy enough, when you eat it, you will be spouting powder out. The brown one on the left is the coffee version. The big round one is Almond biscuits.

Now, besides the biscuits, she sells the sweet and sour stuff. Pickled this and that... My family used to call this ham sup stuff.. hehehehe - well it is salty at the same time sticky.

Ah, my all time fav. This is a peanut biscuit, chopped, mixed with caramelized sugar. Er not so good for the molars but it was my favorite anyway. You can still find this in KL, but real good ones are found outside of KL. And nuts is good for you! Instant energy.

Fish biscuits anyone?

Getting a sugar rush........

She has about 4 shops just loaded with biscuits, nuts and all. Her speciality is the sliced banana chips that is not fried, no added sugar just naturally dried.
I don't know what this called but- it's got ground peanuts, sugar and crunchy!

There are actually a lot more other stuff here in her shop, so it is worth a visit if you want to get snacks for your trip back to KL. It's not expensive by KL standards. You will find her shop located in the Old Super Kinta building. A point to note. This place is extremely unapproachable to the nostrils ( for a KL-ite like me ) Below the shop houses the wet market and every 3pm they clean the place. Lordy, i thought i died when i smelt the stuff they were washing. Over the years, i manage to combat it with Vicks inhaler... ... However, it's better to come in the early morning, it is quite warm in the afternoon. ...

Her shop is called Choi Kei. Address posted later.... my family did away with the plastic bags immediately upon return. Does not pay to be too efficient sometimes.

P/S: on the same row is a shop that sells famous white coffee. Here, they actually GRIND the white coffee for you depending on how much u want. The interesting bit is, the lady who used to own this shop, killed her hubby some 30 years back!! Why? Because he was supposedly cheating on her... It was a big thing last time because murders and all were like rare.

And my brother and I used to visit that shop and keep staring at her for some macabre reason...( we kids can be pretty mean when younger :( ) She is still around now, her shop is run by her kids - but ... doesnt stop people from staring at it.... :P

22nd November 2007: The address of this lovely biscuit shop in Ipoh

Kilang Biskut Choy Kee ( eh? Kilang? )
C69, Central Market, Ipoh
Tel: 016-4228555