Ipoh Eats 2023

Checked out from The Tudor early the next morning, and headed to Chang Jiang for breakfast. An old  single-storey bungalow serves as a cafe, and coffee retail space. Business was really brisk. I don't recall the food being very memorable, but I can say for sure that the instant coffee is more expensive at the HQ than in KL! Ridiculous. Mum and I attended the 10:30AM Sunday mass at St. Michael's Church. Anyone approaching the church would first be greeted by the Catholic cemetery flanking Church Road on both sides. The main church has two towers, and has a bronze statue of St. Michael Archangel at the entrance. Churches usually have a Marian grotto, but at this Ipoh church, the statue of Mother Mary is located in an oriental pavilion. 

The moment we left the compounds of the church, our Ipoh food hunt officially started. KH gave me strict instructions to get his favourite kaya puffs from Sin Eng Heong. BIL dropped me by the road and I hopped into the store. A man with a full head of grey hair and someone that could very well be his elderly mother was busy removing freshly-baked kaya puffs from the baking trays. Perfect timing! Apparently I was very lucky that I didn't leave empty-handed. In the car, we immediately popped a few into our mouths. The kaya puffs are smaller variety, with flaky, layered pastry. Personally I prefer more filling. 

At our next stop, BIL bought a generous amount of char siew from Uncle Long. Once I popped a piece of that grilled caramelized pork into my mouth, I finally understood why BIL was like, "just take my money!". Outside of the city at Pasar Pinji, there were more not-so-hidden gems. Shun Jie Fried Rice Cake is one such example. The snack stall operates right out of the porch of a large bungalow. The size of the property is a testament to their brisk business of selling fried nian gao. The batter was really crispy with a melted center. And out of nowhere, BIL produced some mochi and ais krim potong, which was a godsend in the heat.  

A mere one minute drive away is an old school bakery not to be missed-- Ban Guan Foong. It operates out of an old shoplot with folding wooden doors. The signboard isn't even visible if they don't open the doors for business. The operating hours aren't long, and many of the locals queue up long before the buns are ready. Among the options available, I personally prefer the kaya bun over the coconut and plain variety. Excellent heat control results in a bun that has a slight crunch on the outside, yet soft on the inside. And the kaya is the real deal. 

Little Monster wasn't impressed with most of our food options, so before he got cranky, we dropped him at KFC to get a Samyang Buldak Doubleddown burger. Next was to get some soya drink and taufufah from Funny Mountain Soya Bean. The place attracts clientele from all races due to the super smooth texture of their taufufah. But for RM3, you only get a small amount. Our stomachs were already at bursting point, so with one last pack of fried radish cake, we hit the road back to KL!