Wong Kok Char Chan Teng: Revisit

Talked about Hong Kong style food, Wong Kok Char Chan Teng is not the most outstanding cafe. With limited choice of restaurants in Ipoh, Wong Kok is the only place that serves typical Hongkee style food. We went to De Garden for lunch and found customers overflow in queues . In spite of being packed to the brim, we somehow managed to get a table for three in less than five minutes.

Shrimp paste toast @ RM5.90

Yang Zhou style fried rice @ RM9.20

Baked rice with pork chop and shrimp paste @ RM13.80

Boiled almond dessert with raw egg @ RM4.50

Mango and honey dew dessert @ RM8.50

Red bean and sago drink @ RM5.80

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng

G-R-17 & 18A & 5, De Garden,
No 3, Persiaran Medan Ipoh, Medan Ipoh,
31400 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel : 05 - 545 1592

Tea for three @ Pappa Rich

Arriving in Ipoh at a quarter past three. The three famished souls had hardly had anything since their morning breakfast in Taiping. None of us had the strength to suggest any good food for lunch (tea is more suitable). The decision was the driver's (me of course). Speeding along the south-bound expressway at 120kmph, my car came to a screeching halt when the huge signboard of Pappa Rich came into sight. The three of us just knew one another too well. We got off the car without a word and rushed for our life-saving fuel. Knowing that it was way past lunch time and we still hadn't eaten anything so none of us bothered to look at the page featuring all the buns and bread which obviously sounded more suitable for this hour.

Hot Mexican Bun @ RM2.80

A mixture of butter and sugar filling

Pappa Rich ABC Special @ RM6.90

Kuey toew soup with chicken drumstick @ RM9.90

Not the silky smooth type ... too bad

Curry noodles with Fu Chuk (beancurd) @ RM9.90

Noodles coated with thick and creamy curry gravy

Pappa Rich Kopitiam

De Garden @ Ipoh

G-R-11 - G-R-13A, No 3

Persiaran Medan Ipoh, Medan Ipoh,

31400 Ipoh

Tel: 05-5452266

Boston @ De Garden

Boston Concept Restaurant is not the newest addition to De Garden but it is always at the bottom of my list due to its not-so-good reputation and diners' bad remarks. Since I have almost covered all the eateries in De Garden, that ain't such a bad idea to complete my food tour in De Garden. All's well that ends well...

Boston Restaurant @ De Garden

Walls engraved with Chinese characters

Four flavoured Toast @ RM4.90

Fried rice with chicken wings @ RM9.95

Fried rice with grilled chicken @ RM9.95

Fried rice with sweet and sour chicken @ RM9.95

Hong Kong style milk tea @ RM2.90

Soya milk with palm sugar, red bean & cendol

Hong Kong style coffee @ RM2.90

Boston 又一城

DGR 6, DGR 7, DGR 8, DGR 9,

De Garden Zone D,

No 1, Persiaran Medan Ipoh,

31400 Ipoh.

Tel: 05-5478733

Illy Espresso @ Strawberry Moment

I wouldn't consider myself being a real coffee connoisseur who knows every bean type and variety but I can assure you that I love coffee more than anything else, enjoy sniffing the aroma incorporated in the coffee vapour, rushing the concentrated fluid along my throat and getting the ecstatic feeling over the release of adrenaline running along my dilated veins... Sometimes, I wonder, what would I do without my cup of coffee? Oh no... stop tormenting me with the silly thought.

I can be rather picky in choosing the type of coffee beans. I have no faith in most of the coffee outlets in Malaysia thus I prefer grinding and brewing my own cuppa. However, I had an eye-opening tour in Italy when I sampled cups of coffee one after another in different regions of Italy. Segafredo, Lavazza, Illy... and what have you?

Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe @ De Garden

Strawberry Moment is one of the very few (if not the only) cafes selling Illy coffee.

Single shot Illy espresso @ RM 7.90

A true failure! The presence of a faint layer of crema with an unnatural acidity was a result of brewing stale coffee beans.

My heartfelt condolences to the world's most precious coffee bean --- Illy

Strawberry Moment

Lot GR - 19, 20, Ground Floor

De Garden, Ipoh.

Tel: 05-5465595

Shanghai One @ De Garden

As the most reputable food haven in the country, Ipoh continues its effort to expand its food industry by bringing in more genre of food from all over the world. With the opening of the French, Italian, Japanese and Korean restaurants, Ipoh has successfully claimed its status as a real food metropolitan of the northern region. To date, we even have Shanghainese food in town.

Shanghainese Dumplings @ RM6.00

The xiao long bao tasted just average.

Stuffed Rice Flour Roll with Duck Meat in Crab Sauce @ RM7.50

Peanut and Spicy Sauce La Mian @ RM9.80

The La Mian was quite starchy and soft, unlike the springy type we used to get in other more established restaurants in KL.

Prawn Dumpling La Mian @ RM9.80

One would prefer Ipoh Wonton Noodles to this.

Stir-fried Bean Sheet with Shrimps @ RM9.80

The stir-fried translucent koay teow sheet was the only food item I could swear by.

Custard and Egg Yolk Bun @ RM4.50

I'd never tasted anything worse than this. Be careful when you tear open the bun because it would burst showering you and your guests with greenish custard (or water?)

Red Bean Ice-Blended @ RM6.90

Go to the hawker stall for something better yet cheaper.

Chilled Mango Sago with Jelly @ RM5.80

The generous amount of pomelo sacs pulp added into the dessert was good enough to scare me off.

Dragon One

G-R-15 & 16

De Garden

Persiaran Medan Ipoh

31400 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel: 05-5495393

Bird's Nest Egg Tart @ Tong Yan Gai

Being well known for her big appetite on egg tart, Ming Na is fond of all types of egg tarts ranging from the puff pastry type to the less common Hong Kong style cookie pastry's. During the Chinese New Year season, her 'eggy' cravings grew even stronger but she hadn't a clue where she could find egg tarts on the second day of CNY. Kampung Simee Choy Kee? Bercham Choy Kee? Sorry, they are closed until the sixth day of CNY. Her desperation led her to the bakery in Jaya Jusco but those pathetic-looking tarts could hardly arouse her appetite. She nearly gave up until her dad dragged her to De Garden for lunch, where she finally found her destiny at a newly opened dessert shop - Tong Yan Gai.

Mushroom Chicken Rice @ RM7.90

Spareribs and Chicken Feet Rice @ RM8.90

Bird's Nest Egg Tart @ RM4.00

What a miserable amount of bird's nest...

Black Sesame and Peanut Paste @ RM3.90

Sea Coconut Combo @ RM8.90

Tong Yan Gai

Gr-2, De Garden

No.3 Persiaran Medan Ipoh

Medan Ipoh

31400 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel: 605-5487300

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng @ De Garden

I went to De Garden for lunch. Feeling like getting something hot and fresh, I walked into Pappa Rich and ordered 2 Mexican buns. The first waitress who attended to me told me that I need to wait for an hour. I therefore requested for the menu and tried to look for something else that required less preparation time. 2 minutes later, I saw the pastry cook brush some glacing on top of some bun-like stuff and push them into the oven. I was pretty sure that those were Mexican buns. I requested one of the waitresses to find out for me and indeed, those were Mexican buns. But she told me that I need to wait for 30 minutes. Again, I placed the same order for 2 Mexican buns. 3 minutes later, she came back to me and told me that I might have to wait even longer because the customers who came later than me had pre-booked all the buns! Does it make sense to you? Immediately I stood up and settled my bill without saying a word. the cup of coffee which I ordered was left untouched. That's how I ended up in Wong Kok Char Chan Teng.

Red Bean Soya Milk @ RM6.50

Honolulu Coffee @ RM2.90 and Ham Sandwich @ RM4.50

Pork Ribs Rice @ RM8.90

Stir-fried Spaghetti with pork chop @ RM8.90

Stir-fried Ramen @ RM8.90