Big Red Strawberry Farm @ Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
You must be wondering why I’m writing about a strawberry farm right? Reason is, I’m writing for people who are crazy over strawberries (like my mum). We went to Cameron Highlands on the last day from Ipoh for a quick day trip and the cab driver drove us to this Big Red Strawberry Farm cos the entrance unlike many other farms there, is free. They only charge you when you wanna pick strawberries. Really nice place to chill out; cool weather, strawberries galore, flora and fauna.
Signage at the entrance on the way up
View after parking
Before entering the place... with my mum of course.
The Cafe! No, didn't try the salad... cos there are other better stuff to try!
Check out the menu board... even have chocolate fondue for the strawberries!
Scone with strawberry jam, butter and cream. Comes in a set with a pot of strawberry tea.
Waffle with strawberry syrup and ice cream!
Fresh cut strawberries served with whipped cream. They add a little of sugar syrup below which you can ask them not to add. But the berries in CH is not very sweet type so better to have some syrup. 
See the strawberries inside.
Strawberry milkshake
There's a shop there selling many strawberry products...
Or you can pick your own strawberries
View of the hypoallergenic veg farm from the cafe
Parsley anyone?
Some veg...
Don't you just love the greens?
Water is running continuously
Rating: 4.5/5. Great place for chillin’ out with friends or family. Kids will love this place.
Taste: If you love strawberries, you will end up ordering everything. But it’s a nice change from regular eating places.
Portion: Average
Price: Didn’t note but pretty affordable.
RTE: I might if I’m back in CH again.
Location: Ask the cab driver!
Pasar Malam (Night Market) @ Ipoh, Malaysia
What better way to end my Ipoh food spree with a write up on the night market or Pasar Malam of Ipoh. There are 2 different night markets… one is a lot bigger scale and caters more to the general public and it is at different location daily. The other one will be near Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken, permanently there and cater more for our muslim friends. So obviously I went to the former lah, and if I’m not wrong, they are always at Tesco area on Wednesday nights. Just ask around from the locals, they know which day is at where. 
Entrance...
Lok Lok... cook in the hot water, spread some sauce, and whack... After that they count how many sticks you ate...
Only one bean curd stall and it's very good... Their bean curd all comes with ginger inside.
smooth and nice
RM$2 deep fried chempedak
Many stalls selling tako balls and taiwanese crispy chicken cutlet
Keropok stall with free tasting!! The fish one has loads of fish bits inside. They close quite early cos sell very fast so maybe you wanna be there before 8.30pm.
Paper wrapped chicken! This one is nice.
Siew mai is also very nice. Skip fishball. Big pau is ok.
Taiwnese Crispy Chicken Cutlet... many stalls... taste ok only.
Apom RM$1 for 3 pieces... last time was 4 pieces...
One guy cook, another old man roll with his bare hands... and collect money from the same hands... but still whack lah... don't care!
Asam Laksa has a few stalls... not too bad though.
Fried Carrot Cake look for this guy... he uses a lot of egg and bean sprouts. RM$2.50 only.
Deep fried crabs... never try but looks good...
Mini burgers in bite size like oreos. RM$2.50 I think. Interesting and nice.
Yes they sell these fresh water lobsters for your fish tank and fighting fish and also some other fish too
Yeah hamsters as well...
Rating: 4/5, Cannot eat in comfort but has a big variety of foods.
Taste: Not bad… don’t expect restaurant quality but it’s good fun.
Portion: Average.
Price: Stated in pics.
RTE: Maybe.
Location: Ask the locals.
糖水街 @ Ipoh, Malaysia
糖水街 means Dessert Street in Chinese and this street has a super long history behind it. When you reach there, there are so many stalls and most of them are duplicates; many similar stalls selling Za Guo Bing (Fruits on Ice), Rojak, noodles, etc. Stalls to avoid are the first few stalls for seafood… you will get chopped ‘cos it’s very expensive. The road is only one way so it’s not hard to know which are the first few stalls. Go towards 3/4 of the road, you will find my favourite rojak, dessert and wan ton noodle stalls.
Picture of the Wan Ton Noodle and Dessert Stalls together...
Looks plain but damn tasty... comes with some wan tons for RM$2.70 only... I can have like 5 plates of these... but of course only had one... ;P
Wan Tons have a very nice authentic taste... I can only find this taste in a particular stall in Johor Bahru which I have yet to review on.
Char Siew you have to add another RM$1... Seriously, the char siew not nice. So eat plain noodles is good enough.
Check out the Fruits On Ice (杂果冰)... Loads of fruits and a scoop of ice cream on top... Ice cream depends on what they get on that day... sometimes, strawberry, sometimes vanilla, etc. RM$4.50. Very worth it.
Rojak stall about 2 stalls away on the left side.
Rojak with prawn crackers... awesome! RM$3 or 4 only.
Cuttlefish... roasted over charcoal till crispy and served with the prawn paste dips... omg... I need to get back to Ipoh soon!!! RM$6-8
Rating: 5/5. You can have a very satisfying meal finishing up with lovely desserts. Nice!
Taste: Awesome. Love these authentic local food. I heard the beef noodle stall towards the end of the row is also damn good. But no more stomach space already lah!
Portion: Average.
Price: Stated on the pics.
RTE: Hell yeah!!!
Location: 糖水街… dunno what road… just tell cab driver. If you’re staying at Excelsior or Syuen Hotel, walking distance about 10 mins. Night time more stalls are open. So go after 7pm.
大树脚 @ Ipoh, Malaysia
This place is sort of like a make shift hawker centre and got its name from the big trees around the area. Very messy place with movable tables and chairs all over the place. That’s why its popular with locals mainly and at one glance, you might wanna give this place a miss. But I tried… and I love it. That’s why I’m writing about this place. The original place that started is on the right side if you’re facing the food place… cos there’s another competitor came up with the exact same food offerings on the left side.
See for yourself... messy right? But a lot of good food.
Some of the highly recommend drinks and food
Iced Red Bean... awesome drink for RM$2.50
Iced Fruit Drink RM$3.50. This one has a lot of different kinds of fruits... damn good
Poh Piah... Soso only and they spread a layer of chilli suace on the outer skin... weird..
The chicken here is actually quite good...
The Fried Stuff (Zar Ye) here is the best seller... go choose what you want and then choose the type of noodles you want.
Curry hor fun... very nice.
Rating: 5/5. Many choices.
Taste: Very nice and tasty. Can try the Char Kway Teow also to the left side of the food place. Keeps frying non-stop… must be quite good.
Portion: Above average.
Price: Generally very affordable.
RTE: Yes!!!
Location: Just tell cab driver 大树脚 (Dai Xu Keok) in Cantonese.
Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong @ Ipoh, Malaysia
Yes this is a coffee shop but not just the ordinary coffeeshop. This is the birth place of the famous Ipoh White Coffee located at the Old Town of Ipoh. The white coffee was started by this coffeeshop much earlier than the famous Old Town White Coffee many of you know. The latter is definitely more business minded as compared to Sin Yoon Loong, going into cafe franchising, instant coffee packs, and distribution to almost the whole of Asia. This coffeeshop however, insist on using manual frying of the coffee beans instead of automation and after tasting the coffee, I understand why they did not go into business expansions. The taste of the coffee I had that day, erased all other impressions of white coffee I had ever tasted. Such taste cannot be replicated in the form of 3-in-1 instant coffee packs. No way.
Signage
Directly opposite of its competitor
Coffeeshop business is always good...
The famous white coffee... The taste and aroma are very strong. The best thing is, even when I ordered the iced version, the taste doesn't differ from the hot one.
Yong Tau Foo noodle shop within the coffeeshop... you can actually order from the coffeeshop next door as well for food... not for drink though.
Quite good
What I chose for ingredients
Cheong Fun in 2 versions... the tube type and the flat sheets type.
Flat sheets type
Tube type with turnip and veg fillings inside... both types very nice... due to the water they use again... and the sauce is awesome too! RM$2.50
7.30am the roast pork stall opens... freshly roasted pork... can't resist!
Still warm when served. RM$3
Nice and sweet. RM$3.
Rating: 5/5. For both the food stalls inside as well as the coffee.
Taste: Do I need to say more?
Portion: Average
Price: Coffee is around RM$1.30 if I can remember clearly.
RTE: YES!!! Best for breakfasts!!!
Location: Old town… just behind their Little India. Again, every cab driver knows where this is.
Sin Eng Heong @ Ipoh, Malaysia
Just remember I have a lot of Ipoh foodstuff haven’t write yet… then I moved on to Macau ones already… sigh… getting very forgetful and I guess age is really catching up. and I sort of regretted reviewing the pictures I have taken in Ipoh again… Now I miss them so much… Think I really need to get some friends who will be as crazy as me, take a bus up over one weekend when I’m back in SG, and head to Ipoh to whack one whole weekend!
Over fantasies aside, everyone must be wondering what is Sin Eng Heong right? They are a traditional biscuit shop selling all the local favourites like Heong Pang, Kaya Kok, Beh Teh Sor, Mooncakes, Traditional Wedding Cakes, etc. One of my friends brought me to this 60 year old shop (that’s what the founder told me) and highly recommended the Kaya puffs (Kaya = Coconut + Egg Jam). So I tried… it’s really good. Thought maybe it’s hot that’s why nice… but after I packed back to SG, it’s still very good. Check it out the next time you’re in Ipoh. You’ll end up buying a lot for your family and friends!
You see the shop, you'll know it's been there for a long time...
Was there during the mooncake festival... They sell batch by batch piping hot!
The famous kaya puffs! RM$0.70 each only...
The uncle who started this business since he was 17 years old. We chatted for quite a while.
Address and contact details.
Rating: 5/5. With all the tradition and history behind it, respect.
Taste: If you like traditional cakes and biscuits, this should suit your taste. The Heong Pang (香饼) are packed in packs of 10pcs and each has very thick fillings. Crispy even if you leave it on your dining table for about 10 days after opening. Kaya puffs are damn good.
Portion: Average. Above average for fillings though.
Price: RM$0.70 per piece. On average, it’s not expensive and it’s fresh and good.
RTE: Yes definitely when I’m back in Ipoh again.
Location: See last pic.
Lou Wong Beansprout Chicken (老黄芽菜鸡) @ Ipoh, Malaysia
Ok this is the follow up from the previous blog. Had this with my friends in CGG and hence the portion had to be big. Lou Wong don’t open for lunch and commence business from like 5pm till the wee hours in the morning. So we went there on our last 2nd night there for our dinner. Everyone loved it. Check out the pics:
Located at a very nice corner wih ample parking space.
Smooth and tender chicken
The fat and juicy bean sprouts!
Fish and meat balls... quite different from Onn Kee's...
'Cos the fishball is flat! Very nice and springy!
Dry Ipoh Hor Fun... I tell you, this one is so good I had 2 bowls and would have taken the 3rd bowl if not for limited stomach space! It's a lot more springy than Onn Kee's... maybe different supplier or cooking method.
Rating: 5/5. Service is better than Onn Kee’s.
Taste: The chicken is tastier and hor fun is of better eating sensation than Onn Kee’s. The texture makes a lot of difference. Well I guess 50 years of tradtion speaks for itself!
Portion: Average.
Price: RM$120 for 11 persons and portion x 2 from the pics above.
RTE: Hell yeah!!! I may make Ipoh my annual food retreat and organise groups of friends to go up together and to also pay a visit to the homes we have visited before as well.
Location: Same thing, everyone knows. Just ask!
Onn Kee Beansprout Chicken (安记芽菜鸡) @ Ipoh, Malaysia
In this next 2 blogs, I will be doing a comparison between the 2 long time rivals, Onn Kee and Lou Wong, for their famous Beansprout Chicken in Ipoh. To be honest, both sides have their own fans and equally crowded. Onn Kee has 2 stalls; one beside Lou Wong and the other diagonally opposite Lou Wong. Seems like they are bent on combing Lou Wong and hopefully capture a bigger pie of the market. So here are my findings for Onn Kee.
The older shop beside Lou Wong is opened when I was there.
The famous chicken
Beansprouts are served separately
See the fat beansprouts of Ipoh. The water in Ipoh is said to be of spring water that could have enhanced the growth of these beansprouts.
Ipoh Hor Fun... Unlike what we eat in SG, Ipoh Hor Fun is actually referring to the hor fun that is made in Ipoh. It's extra smooth and 'Q' to every bite. You can't get this anywhere else... maybe it's because of the water again?
Some fish and meat ball soup... Not too bad.
Wash it down with a glass of sour plum drink. Nice...
Rating: 5/5.
Taste: Very nice ‘cos tried it for the first time. Tasty!
Portion: Average
Price: The meal for 2 came up to about RM$35+
RTE: Yeah but I think I prefer Lou Wong’s… see my next blog post.
Location: Just tell the cab driver. Everyone knows. Ipoh town is very small place.
富山茶楼 (Restoran Foshan) @ Ipoh, Malaysia
Finally I’m clearing my back logs and now reached my Ipoh archives! If you have not been to Ipoh, Ipoh is a far north of Western Malaysia and about an hour from Cameron Highlands and 2 hours aways from KL and Penang. It is also known for many mountains surrounding the city and hence, very nice scenery. I was there for my recce trip for Care Givers Group (CGG) charity trip up to Ipoh in Dec and so I’m combining the pics from the 2 trips in Sep and Dec. Will also review and compare 2 of the so called best Bean Sprout Chicken there as well in later posts. So keep a look out for them!
Like what the locals say, if you haven’t tried Foshan, Bean Sprout Chicken or Ipoh Hor Fun in Ipoh, you have not been to Ipoh! This is a very very popular dim sum place among locals and also tourists. Even Hong Kongers who have been there say the dim sum is really good! So die die I must go try and check out the pics below!:
View from my hotel at dawn... no touch ups... orignal iphone 4 capture.
Found the place... just behind Hotel Excelsior
New place hence deco is quite nice. The old place was too small for their always full house situations.
Went there at 9.30am and ground floor was full... so go up 2nd floor.
Sat near the window cos it's cool during the mornings.
2nd floor also quite packed
The push carts arrived very shortly... so time to order what I can consume in the morning
Siew Mai... One of the basics in dim sum and this one is really nice. The shrimps inside is fresh and the pork is tangy.
Lor Mai Kai. Glutinous rice with chicken... one of their best items and it's also a must try here. Really good taste with loads of ingredients.
Char Siew Pau is also one of the basics in dum sum and a must try here as well... Loads of filling and taste damn good!
Discovered this one which is crispy chicken ball with salted egg. Forgot what it's called in Cantonese but it's very nice...
Fishballs... big and all fish.
I call this Yong Tau Foo but they have other names for it. Fried stuff they call it in Cantonese.
Check out the amount of fish filling
Total bill in Sep trip... About SGD$10.
Tried this in Dec. Fried Carrot Cake is also not bad. Penang style but with Ipoh's fat and juicy bean sprouts!
Also Dec entry. Century Egg Porridge. Nice and smooth.
Address and contact details
Rating: 5/5. Food is excellent, service is not bad. If you don’t speak cantonese, try mandarin. If not, you’re on your own. ;P
Taste: Put it this way; If I’m back in Ipoh, I must come here for my breakfast!
Portion: Above average.
Price: See pics.
RTE: Duhhh… Needless to ask.
Location: See last pic. If lost, all cab drivers know where Foshan is. If not, get out the cab and flag another cos most likely that driver is not local.
FAMOUS NGAU KEE BEEF NOODLES (KL)
Was in KL for a night and was recommended this place by a friend in KL. Heard this is a regular joint for supper for most party goers in KL… well at least for the locals.
So my friend drove us to the back part of Jalan Alor, which is the famous street for good street food. The little stall is located along the small road just behind Hotel Nova vicinity. Problem is trying to find a parking but we were lucky.
The stall
The owner cooking the noodles
Price list!
The not so appealing noodles... The black stuff on top is the beef... not bad with a little herbal taste. The egg noodles are pretty springy. - RM$6 for the biggest bowl
A bowl of soup that comes with the noodles... I ordered the mixed one with beef parts. Soup is very clear and nice.
We ordered an extra bowl of beef balls. Wholesome and full of flavour. - RM$6 for 10pcs
Great chilli sauce for dipping the beef balls and parts.
Homemade ice cold herbal drink... very nice and refreshing! - RM$1.30
Rating: 4/5
Taste: Acquired. Some people may not like the cowdung-looking lump on top of the noodles and some may not like the herbal taste of that lump of thing. But it was alright for me and this is totally not found in Singapore.
Portion: Above average.
Price: Relatively cheap. Good supper item. Next time I might choose to stay near Jalan Alor to feature all the food there!
RTE: Yes but there are lots to try there still…
Location: Beginning of Tingkat Tong Shin, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Just behind Corona Inn Hotel)
Shun Shun Heng Bak Kut Teh (JB)
I was in Johor Bahru Malaysia few weeks back to make some suit and shirts. I know there are a lot of good food just opposite of Holiday Plaza where rows and rows of shop houses are.
Hence I was looking around for some nice bak kut teh and only found one dedicated store selling that. So I parked along the roadside… without parking coupons… mind you the carpark person comes like every hour… So try to park near the food place everytime. check out my pics and comments below:
The place
Where the claypots of bak kut teh are being cooked... good thing is they are still using charcoal to cook which adds a smoky flavour to the taste.
Salted Veg as side dish and You Tiao for dipping into the soup. Salted veg is a little sweet type...
Boiling hot bak kut teh
Rating: 3.5/5
Taste: To be honest, I was expecting super strong herbal taste but this didn’t have… Was there at 3pm, so maybe they added water to the broth? The taste was alright but maybe my expectation was a little higher.
Portion: About 4 small pieces of pork ribs. They will come to your table and ask you what you like to add inside the pot other than pork ribs. But I didn’t add any other things because I wanted to taste the original soup without any of the other stuff like clams, liver, intestines, etc… Maybe I’ll try the full mix next time and the soup may be better? Hmmm…
Price: RM$10.50. Quite ok I guess.
RTE: Maybe…. maybe…
Location: 23-51 Jalan Serigala, Taman Abad, 80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia (copy this address and check out on google maps)
MADAM KWAN’S @ MEGA MALL
If you’re at Mega Mall @ Mid Valley Malaysia, you may have a lot of choices for food. So I decided to give this Madam Kwan’s a try and I was in for some surprise… Click to enlarge pics.
The restaurant is just outside Jusco on level 2 in the centre of the mall... if I can remember clearly...Service Counter
Ambience
Pretty good Penang Char Kway Teow
Super Famous Nasi Lemak - From the left is sambal ikan bilis, cucumber, curry chicken, hard boil egg, and fish floss. I would prefer the ikan bilis to be the crispy ones with peanuts, sambal chilli on the side, sunny side up to replace the hard boil egg. But this is Malaysian style lah, but everything is very tasty.
Looks at the rice... grain by grain... very fragrant of coconut milk.
Achar by the side... not too bad but the ones at Punggol Nasi Lemak (Upp Serangoon) is a lot better.
chunky curry chicken... 2 pieces of super thick gravy curry chicken thigh meat. very nice.
Juicy Chicken Wings! Very nice and juicy when you bite into this mid section.
Rating: 4.5/5. Service not too good. Quite a shame cos they have many branches in KL and food is pretty good.
Taste: Very good. High class Malaysian local cuisine lah… But it’s good.
Portion: Average. Extra rice will cost you… forgot to take a look at the price.
Price: Total abo0ut RM$40+ for 2.
RTE: For the Nasi Lemak and I wanna try the other Nasi dunno whathat uses 3 different kinds of rice.
Location: Mega Mall @ Mid Valley centre wing
RESTORAN FOONG FOONG (YONG TAU FOO)
Ha! My first Malaysian food blog! And I have to dedicate this to the legendary yong tau foo place at Restoran Foong Foong located at Ampang, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Reason is, I had this 10 years ago… and I had it recently. It’s still so good… price has changed of course but it’s still very very very tasty…
Took a cab there from the hotel and am so glad for the new highway which heads directly to Ampang. There are like 3-4 restaurants there claiming to be the original yong tau foo… but I remember this one very well and also, the crowd alone shows! 
The highway to heavenly food...
There it is! Look at the crowd!
the ever busy kitchen
The ordering counter... which was new to me... haha... so before you reach there, ask around how many pieces you guys can eat first for the assorted yong tau foo, fried dumplings and soup dumplings! Saves time and you get to eat faster!
Price list... RM$0.80 per piece... about S$0.35 per piece. Not at all cheap actually but wit till you see how big a piece is below...
Putting this pic now makes me crave for this... why am I doing this to myself?!?!!
Look at the size and the amount of fish in it
Huge piece of tau foo... you can taste the soy bean fragrance with every bite! Whhyyyyyy am I doing this to myself!!!!
Fish ball in an egg shape. Cantonese call this 'Yu Dan' which means Fish Egg. So this is truly Fish Egg!!!
check out the cross section of the fish balls... or eggs... I can still remember the taste... very nice and soft with very fresh fish taste... Omg... whhhyyyyy....
Fried dumplings - Crispy and tasty...
Dumpling Soup - Nice broth!
Rating: 5/5. If I can give a 6, I would!
Taste: I can’t explain this heavenly taste… you have to go there and try it yourself! Singapore’s ‘ampang’ yong tau foo stalls all have to stand aside!
Portion: Above average! Very big pieces!
Price: 50pcs without rice with drinks about RM$44. Good for 2-3 people. Less than SGD$20. I suspect if I go with any buddy of mine, we might conquer 100pcs. (S$1 = RM$2.3)
RTE: Whenever I’m in KL I definitely would!
Location: Just tell the cab driver Ampang Yong Tau Foo Restoran Foong Foong. All cab drivers know it. Becareful some might take you for a ride to increase the fares. Should be about RM$20-$25 to reach there from town.
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