Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

YummY! - Ipoh Hor Fun @ Kong Heng, Ipoh

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YummY! Jotaro's Food Review

IPOH KAI SI HOR FUN @ RESTORAN IPOH KONG HENG

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia - 24th November, 2012

Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun, what more can I say of it; it is already renown as one of the signature dishes from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
So I can only humbly go and savor it at one of two restaurants that I like in Ipoh - this one is at Kong Heng Restaurant in Old Town.

So for the uninitiated: What is Ipoh Hor Fun?
It is Chinese flat rice noodles soup, with prawns & strips of chicken and garnished with ku chai (Chinese Chives). The soup is made from the chicken and prawn stock. A small plate of chili padi is provided for the extra zing!

And how does it taste?
Good, good... The soup has that chicken flavor with a tinge of prawn aroma; just slightly spicy with that little chili oil on top. The hor fun noodles were soft and smooth.
But I must tweak the Ipohreans here. I think Penang Hokkein Prawn Mee taste much, much better - let them proof me wrong!

Price is RM4-00 for a small bowl, and RM5-00 for a big one.

There is another Ipoh Hor Fun stall at the Thean Chun Coffee Shop next door, I normally eat here - but the place was packed for that day.

Thean Chun's hor fun is reputed to be the better of the two.
But I still think Penang Hokkein Mee beats both of them anytime *Tweak! Tweak!"

KONG HENG RESTAURANT

Jalan Bandar Timah,

Ipoh, Perak,

Malaysia.

GPS : 4.595830, 101.077678

+4° 35' 44.99", +101° 4' 39.64"

Kong Heng Restaurant Location Map (Google Map Link)

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

YummY! - Cuttlefish Kangkong @ Kong Heng, Ipoh

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YummY! Jotaro's Food Review
CUTTLEFISH KANGKONG @ RESTORAN IPOH KONG HENG

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia - 24th November, 2012

Cuttlefish Kangkong or locally called Joo Hoo Eng Chai in Hokkein (and Yau Yee Hong Choy in Cantonese) is not a dish that's known worldwide, but all the same it is a delicious dish. It is not normally eaten by itself often as an appetizer dish.

Cuttlefish Kangkong is a dish of boiled cuttlefish and kangkong (water spinach). Excess water in the boiled kangkong is removed by squeezing them between two plates, the cuttle fish & sauce is then added. The type of sauce differs from place to place, most have a mixture of sweet sauce (tau cheong) with diluted fish paste with grounded ground nuts.

This one in Ipoh, from a stall at Kong Heng Restaurant, is different, it uses a cooked sauce that is quite like satay sauce but only slightly spicy.

So how does it tastes?
The cuttlefish was bouncy bitey and the kangkong just nicely boiled so that it is soft yet crunchy.
And Oooooo! It's the sauce that makes it special - spicy, sweet and with a hint of burnt prawns (they must have added some grounded roasted dried prawns). It coated the cuttlefish and kangkong so well that it brought out a good flavor.
By themselves, the cuttlefish and kangkong will taste bland. Put everything together and we have a great dish!

Preparation -
The boiled kangkong is squeezed between two plates to drain off excess water and the cut into short strips of about 2 inches long.

Pieces of cut cuttlefish is then added on top.

The sauce is added.
And Viola! A beautiful presentation of a delicious dish.

Price per plate ranges from RM6-00 to RM12-00.

KONG HENG RESTAURANT

Jalan Bandar Timah,

Ipoh, Perak,

Malaysia.

GPS : 4.595830, 101.077678

+4° 35' 44.99", +101° 4' 39.64"

Kong Heng Restaurant Location Map (Google Map Link)

YummY! - Sizzling Pork Satay @ Kong Heng, Ipoh

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / FootSteps / YummY! / Chinese Food / Sizzling Pork Satay @ Kong Heng
YummY! Jotaro's Food Review
SIZZLING PORK SATAY @ RESTORAN IPOH KONG HENG

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia - 24th November, 2012

Eating the Pork Satay (or some call it sate) at Kong Heng in Ipoh has been a family traditon for us.

As far back as the late 60's I can recall my grandfather taking us there during his monthly business trips down south from Penang. It was a must stop foodie joint for him. Back then the stall was operated by the grandfather of the present operator.

Present operator of the satay stall

After my grand-dad passed, it was my dad's turn to go south, and this satay was a must for him also - back then it was the father operating the stall.

So, it was my grandfather to his grandfather, my father to his father; and now three generations down me and him. That's traditon.

The father still comes to the stall, but more to chat with the regulars.

But what makes us come back generation after generation, year after year.

Firstly the satay themselves are good - the meat tender, and the roasting just nice with that little bit of burnt parts.

It spicy but not as spicy as the the Malay versions.

They do not stinge, each stick comes with three chunky pork pieces with a small, itsy-bitsy piece of pork fat in between.

I think that fat piece helps to make this satay good too - as while the satay is barbecued, the fat melts and lends a helping hand to the to the cooking process to ensure that no over-burning at the meat tips occur.

Back in my grandfather's days, that piece of fat was not so itsy-bitsy, it has shrunk to meet today's healthy eating trends.

Better still, they do serve tripe satay - liver and intestines satays.

It's pretty hard to find pork satays these days especially those that do serve tripe too.

They operate from the side alley between Kong Heng & Thean Chun (the one renown for the Ipoh Hor Fun) coffee shops - and from only a very spartan stall with just a make-do tarpaulin roof.

And they have been doing this for generations!

From a single grille, the satays are barbecued fast enough to serve these two shops.

Impressive!

And here's their secret.

The skewered pork are marinated first in generous amounts of sauce.

Same marinating goes for the tripe.

Then they are barbecued lightly one round first...

The lightly barbecued satays are stored in a platter. Only when an order comes are they barbecued the final time prior to serving.

Same goes for the tripe satay.

Price of the satay is RM0-70 per stick, very reasonably priced for a large skewer.

When you order you don't have to mention how many sticks you want, just tell them whether you want to include the tripe satay or not.
They will bring the satay and keep on topping it up if your plate gets empty.
No worries, you only pay for what you eat!

SO DON'T GIVE THIS PLACE A MISS IF YOU ARE UP IN IPOH.

KONG HENG RESTAURANT

Jalan Bandar Timah,

Ipoh, Perak,

Malaysia.

GPS : 4.595830, 101.077678

+4° 35' 44.99", +101° 4' 39.64"

Kong Heng Restaurant Location Map (Google Map Link)

Pages

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

YummY! - Ipoh Hor Fun @ Kong Heng, Ipoh

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

YummY! - Cuttlefish Kangkong @ Kong Heng, Ipoh

YummY! - Sizzling Pork Satay @ Kong Heng, Ipoh