The Malaysian Food Review

Once in a while, when you just feel like you have eaten a whole lot of meat, you’d like to have something light.  So, i found this wonderful Restraurant in Ipoh serving Lui Char, a dominantly vegeterian dish.  Restaurant Chor Kee is also rather famous for it’s Bak Kut Teh, but that is for another day when i feel more carnivorous.  The restaurant itself is tucked away in Ipoh Garden East.  One of the most popular residential areas in Ipoh town itself.

It is a traditional Hakka Dish.  Served normally in two seperate bowls, one with the rice + ingredients and the other with the sauce/soup.

The rice here comes with a whole lot of ingredients.  From what i could remember, it included, peanuts, onions, cabbage, four-angled beans, long beans, two other greens and fried dried prawns (the only non-vegeterian ingredient). The sauce/soup is more often the make or break part of the dish.  The soup is made of boiled tea, vegetables i don’t know their names and a bit of mint.   

You eat Lui Char by mixing the it all into something close to a mush.  It’s a dish you either like or hate and nothing in between.  This particular stall is managed by a guy with spiky hair and his father.  I haven’t found a place in around KL serving this dish that is quite as good as this one.

Other than Lui Char they also serve other Hakka delicacies like Yong Tau Foo and Cakes.  The Yong Tau Foo filling is slightly different from the norm.  It has pork mixed with the normal fish paste in its filling, which is claimed to be the most authentic way.  Of course when in Ipoh, you always have to try the white coffee too. 

How’s the Food?  Lui Char (8/10); Yong Tau Foo (6.5/10); White Coffee (6.5/10)

How much is it? Lui Char RM3.00; Yong Tau Foo RM 0.40 per piece; White Coffee RM 1.10

Will I return?  Definitely, well worth it.

[Ratings]

This restaurant has been around for ages. This place is so famous that I haven’t met anyone who has not been there. Just in case there are some of you out there you have not been here, and have no idea where it is, it is near the Saint Francis Xavier Church along Jalan Gasing, and also very near the Federal Highway.

Okay, now let us get down to business. First thing to note - there are quite a few schools here, so you might want to avoid this place whatever time it is school starts or ends. There are also many churches in this area so going for Sunday brunch/lunch could be a bit of a hassle.

Next, once you park your car (parking is available all along the road in front of the shop), you have to dodge overly friendly waiters from the neighbouring banana leaf restaurant (which shall be reviewed in due course). Also, don’t be fooled by the corner shop beside Restoran Ipoh Chicken Rice, which also sells chicken rice. They are just capitalizing on suckers and people who are too impatient to wait.

The shop itself is rather big, occupying 2 shop lots, and getting a table shouldn’t be too difficult unless you go right in the middle of lunch time. As you are facing the shop, the lot on your left is air-conditioned whereas the lot on your right is not. When you get into the shop you will notice that the floor is very oily. I hope this does not upset you as the oily chairs and tables are even less pleasant.

I ordered chicken for 2 people (either their portions are too small, or the food is too good? I think it is the latter) with no pork balls or bean sprouts. The food didn’t take too long to arrive and didn’t look too good either. But I have learnt to not let that bother me. Perhaps the fact that is tastes so damn good helps.

I ordered steamed chicken. It comes in soy sauce which is lighter than normal soy sauce. It is delicious. I could have rice mixed with the soya sauce for the rest of my life. Okay maybe just for a few days.

The rice is, well, oily as you may expect. But it is also good. Every time I come here my half bowl diet goes down the drain.

The rice has an interesting yellow colour

The star of the show is the chicken. I cannot really pinpoint what is good about it. I think it is more of an all-rounder with no bad points. The soy sauce is a big factor but it is also the tenderness of the chicken and the ginger taste. Heavenly.

Another important factor to consider when eating chicken rice is the chilli, and the chilli here doesn’t disappoint. It tastes even better when mixed with ginger, which is available upon request.

You will also get some soup with your meal. It is not ordinary crap chicken rice soup. I think it is the Pork Ball Soup, minus the Pork Balls. And it is good, though I get the feeling it isn’t very healthy? But then again, nothing in Restoran Ipoh Chicken Rice is healthy.

Overall, a very enjoyable meal. I never leave this place not feeling satisfied, except for the one time I got an oil stain on my shirt. The average price here is around RM6 per person, which is high for chicken rice, but still worth it.

I will give this place a 8.5/10.

Restoran Ipoh Chicken Rice is open 7 days a week from 10:30 AM to 10:45 PM.

[Ratings]

I was alerted to this place by a friend of mine who told me that it is much better than my regular place, Restoran Sem Kim. Being a disloyal piece of crap, I naturally tried it out.

Upon arriving at the shop at around 1am, I noticed that the shop was very crowded. That is always a good sign. So being stupid, I got all excited about it. I ordered my regular pork ribs with no mushrooms and no vegetables, and waited? and waited? and waited? and waited for my food to arrive. At my usual place, my food is ready the minute they see my car.

Just as I was getting agitated, and stopped making polite conversation with those around me, the food arrived. And of course the first thing you must do when a steaming hot claypot of Bak Kut Teh arrives is to sample the soup. Please beware as this could cause severe tongue burns, and in turn will result in you not being able to taste the delicious Bak Kut Teh.

The soup was, well, how do I put this, by normal standards, it was pretty decent. Just normal BKT soup, with a strong herbal taste. Nothing special, unlike my Restoran Sem Kim. HOWEVER, due to all the hype about this place, I would have to say that the soup was slightly disappointing. People are dumb.

The quality of the pork was a bit better than the one at my regular place, but still not very tender. There pieces of pork weren?t very meaty, which led me to believe that they must only use very well-toned, sexy pigs. I did not order any side dishes although I did see some yau char kuay on the floor and it didn?t look too good.

But just for the record, please note that I finished every piece of meat and every drop of soup because wasting Bak Kut Teh is a sin.

The meal with a Shit Cha came up to around RM9 per person, which is average.

As for the rating, I will try to be objective, but it is hard because I wasted a perfectly good opportuinity to have my favourite BKT to try this one, and I was disappointed, but I think a 6.5/10 is fair.