Latest news with #Klang Valley
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
On your next trip to Ipoh, head to the 56-year-old Cheong Kee Wan Tan Mee in Buntong for ‘wantan mee' and outstanding ‘wantan' made fresh from scratch
IPOH, July 27 — Think Ipoh, think food, think kai si hor fun, think chee cheong fun, think tau foo fah. On most weekends, it's common to see folks from the Klang Valley flocking to the city for a taste of its rich food scene. On long weekends, the crowd often swells into something closer to a horde. After all, even if plenty of restaurants in the Klang Valley (some opened by the original Ipoh businesses themselves!) claim to serve Ipoh fare, nothing quite beats the real thing. Preparing orders for a regular. — Picture by Ethan Lau But venture a little further out of downtown, beyond the biscuit shops and bean sprout chicken, and things start to look a little different. Buntong, a residential suburb known for Kampung Kacang Puteh, is just a ten-minute drive from the city centre and barely two minutes from the KTM station. More than half of Buntong's population is Indian, but it is also home to Cheong Kee Wan Tan Mee, a time-honoured wantan mee spot that has been around for over 50 years. Now I know what you're thinking. Wantan mee? Isn't that what Menglembu is famous for, not Buntong? And you'd be right. Cheong Kee's 'wantan' is the clear highlight. They're made in the old-school fashion, thin, smooth and translucent. — Picture by Ethan Lau The neighbouring township is only a five-minute drive away, so why come here? The answer lies in Cheong Kee's small, delicate wantans. Cheong Kee has been run by the same family for three generations. They still make everything fresh from scratch, daily, just as they did back in the day. It is not at all uncommon to find wantan mee stalls that make their own noodles, but it is harder to find one that still makes its own wantan. These put the old in old-school: small, barely the size of a coin, filled only with pork and wrapped in a supremely thin, nearly translucent skin. They slip into the mouth with barely any resistance. The broth, made from anchovies and pork bones, is dark, clear, and deeply savoury. Though one already gets five pieces with each order of wantan mee, an extra portion of 10 pieces at RM7.50 is well worth the price of admission. This is the taste of wantans as they used to be: smooth, elegant, and dainty. Cheong Kee also makes their own noodles, which are chewy and springy without being too snappy. — Picture by Ethan Lau And what of the noodles? Unlike the slightly curly, alkaline-heavy variety common elsewhere, Cheong Kee's run a little stiff and thick, resembling Hakka mee. Instead of the conventionally bouncy 'QQ' texture, these offer a springy chew without much snappiness. They're tossed in a moderately dark sauce that leans more savoury than sweet, and topped with fat, crunchy bean sprouts. A single portion is RM6.80, and for an additional 80 sen, you can add 'meat strands', shreds of pork cooked down in a glossy mixture of oyster sauce, light soy and dark soy. It's a rustic, hearty plate that looks plain at first glance, but decades of know-how separate it from the rest. It's the sort of know-how and technique that's developed from experience, not gleaned from a book, and a reminder that some things are better left the way they've always been. In places like Buntong, it's a quiet snapshot of another time, not just preserved but still very much alive. There is no big sign; just look for the house on the quiet street with the stall in front. — Picture by Ethan Lau Cheong Kee Wan Tan Mee 542, Jalan Sekolah, Buntong, Ipoh. Open Monday to Saturday, 4.30pm-10.30pm Tel: 012-595 3938 This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal. *Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems. *Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and self-deprecating attempts at humour.
Malay Mail
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
For a faithful taste of Ipoh ‘kai si hor fun', poached chicken and bean sprouts, head to Restoran Ipoh Delicious in Setapak
KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Few dishes are as inextricably linked to a place as kai si hor fun is to Ipoh. Still, its sweet broth of chicken and prawns has long settled into many a Klang Valley belly, slurped up with silky-smooth hor fun. In KL, there is no shortage of places purportedly selling 'Ipoh' kai si hor fun, but when an acclaimed chef (and a native of Perak, no less) tells you about his go-to spot in Setapak, you go and check it out. For the best taste of the broth, order your 'kai si hor fun' in the 'dry' style. — Picture by Ethan Lau Located on the ground floor of Wisma Mutiara Genting, along Jalan Genting Kelang in Setapak, is Restoran Ipoh Delicious. Beyond kai si hor fun, the restaurant also offers simple fish and pork ball noodles, poached chicken, and bean sprouts. On Sundays only, a dry curry chicken noodle is available. What makes a good bowl of kai si hor fun? It comes down to balance. A harmony between the base chicken and sweeter crustacean notes in the broth, often a shimmering, clear pool-tinged orange. Then there are the tender, supple strips of flattened, shredded chicken, the smooth, slippery rice noodles, and the long, thin sticks of green onions. Here, their version (RM8.50) is mostly satisfying, but I couldn't help feeling that the broth was... muted. It had all the right stuff, like a song with a driving instrumental and lush vocals layered on top, but you're hearing a muffled version from the next room. To really taste the broth at its optimum level, you should order the kai si hor fun 'dry'. All the same ingredients are mixed with a light soy sauce mixture, but the difference is that the broth on the side is no longer diluted by the rice noodles. Now the broth is allowed to shine, singing crisp, clear notes of sweet, sweet prawn oil and chicken stock at the top of its lungs. Poached chicken is another highlight here. — Picture by Ethan Lau As a test of reliability, the fresh prawn wantan (RM4 for two pieces) featured plump, firm specimens inside translucent wrappers, served in the same broth, bold and undiluted, without the noodles. It would be silly to visit a restaurant named Ipoh Delicious and not order the bean sprouts (RM7), especially since the variety here is thick, short and crunchy, just as Ipoh taugeh should be. Pair them with an order of moist, tender poached chicken (RM16), slick and savoury from an excellent seasoned soy sauce mixture and peppered with crispy garlic, for a truly delicious Ipoh experience. It's not the most life-changing bowl in town, but Ipoh Delicious offers a faithful take on the essentials. For those chasing a taste of Ipoh without leaving KL, you could do a lot worse, and there is not much room for better. Look for this faded yellow sign. — Picture by Ethan Lau Restoran Ipoh Delicious怡美食怡保雞絲河粉 270-G, Wisma Mutiara Genting, Jalan Genting Kelang, Taman Ayer Panas, Kuala Lumpur. Open Thursday to Tuesday, 7am-2pm Tel: 012-292 9208 *This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal. *Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems. *Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.
