Dragon One @ Ipoh

There are these Shanghainese restaurants sprouting all around KL over the last 2 years and everyone know how Shanghai Dumpling taste like. The same is happening in Ipoh and my mum brought me over to try out this Ipoh very own Shanghainese restaurant named Dragon One. Yea, the name is a little of copy cat to i-Dragon but that's just the English name. Their chinese name is more meaningful, and it's definitely creative.



Since the opening of this restaurant, it has been drawing crowds and my parents are part of the group that love their food very much. Let's see how they fare agaisnt the giant player in KL.


Dragon One opened its restaurant right in the middle of the famous De Garden in Ipoh, and that's the hottest place in Ipoh as when I'm writing. If you are looking for Korean food, Pappa Rich, Tutti Fruitti, Japanese food, and etc, it's all here. It's one of the famous hangout place for Ipoh people day and night.

Back to the restaurant, the entrance is facing the main parking area of De Garden and as you can see, it's targetted to local folks. Very heavy chinese styled and decorated, however, it's not that important as we are more concern about the food quality.


Once you step in,  the place is fully air-conditioned with fans in helping the ventilation. Kitchen is hidden and the floor is spacious. All dining tables are dark brown in colour except the soft seating at the side of the walls. Comfortably decorated although it feels a little cheaper than the giant player in KL. Also there are plenty of waitress around attending to your needs.


Small gesture of toothpick and tissue box for every table, just the way I like it. A little more investment, you will actually save on the waitress that you need to hire, more efficient!


This place is famous with its dim sum so first to come is the Black Sesame Dumpling with Peanut Powder priced at RM4.80. It's not a mistake, RM4.80! The black sesame is very nice and the peanut powder adds up nicely but the skin is a little too thick to my liking. If you ask me how to improve it further, make it softer and thinner skin, it should be just perfect! For that price, anytime I will take another plate!


Second to come is my family favourite, the Stuffed Rice Flour Roll with Chinese Croissant and Squid Paste priced at RM6.80. Yea, RM6.80 only for the whole plate! The serving is so plate that I think you will be feel with just this plate for yourself! Lots of exclamation, but that's the price we are having in Ipoh. Love every bit of it. Let's get into the food, the crispy hot chinese croissant is nicely wrapping the squid paste. The rice flour roll is only adding a little syling into the food and dipping the piece into the sauce provided, it's heavenly like. It's so nice that I will come back to this place just for it. You will never find similar plate anywhere else, I only know this restaurant selling it. Must try!


Next to come is my mum's favourite, the Stir Fried Vermicelli with Minced Pork priced at RM8.80. Now this is a little surprise plate as it got capsicum and the vermicelli is more like spaghetti noodles. Put all those together with a chinese stir fried style, it ended up very nicely. The vermicelli with minced pork is very tasty and delicious. My mum finished the plate, nearly.


For more stir-fried plate, here come my favourite of Stir Fried Bean Sheet with Preserved Vegetables priced at RM6.80. The pricing is really killing me, RM6.80, I love Ipoh. For those that hate noodles, this is the plate they are looking for. The transparent thin bean sheet is super nice. The preserved vegetables gives a very nice taste to the overall plate and importantly, it's not oily. I love every bit of healthy food but the the main attraction is still the bean sheet. It's so nice ...


More dim sum to come and we got the Steamed Prawn Dumpling with Spinach priced at RM4.80. Cheap price again, and the dumpling is very big. Prawn is fresh and again same problem, the skin is too thick to my liking. Nothing special, you can skip this and order the rest.


Everywhere got this dish, so Dragon One also. The Steamed Shanghainese Meat Dumpling with Superior Soup priced at RM6.00. So far, if you ask my opinion, nothing beats the i-Dragon for this dish. However, I think only this restaurant in Ipoh serves it now, so for Ipoh people, here is your nearest restaurant if suddenly you have a craving for the Shanghainese Dumpling! Not getting my vote but nice to have it in the menu. At least my mum no need to drive all the way to KL to eat it.


More surprise that this restaurant also serves tong sui and also snow ice bowl. We ordered the Snow Ice Honeydew Sago priced at RM5.90. The ice is a little big as you can see and still it cannot be compare to the famous KTZ desserts in KL, but a nice addition to the menu for a little twist, if you need.

After all those foods, and guess what! The total bill summed up to only RM51.60 including service charges of 10%! The service charge is a little high, but considering the low food pricing, I'm more willing to pay them. That's the price for food in Ipoh, crazily affordable and yummilicious as well. If you are having the same food in KL, I'm sure the bill will ended somewhere above 80 bucks. Rating is good, but with the pricing in Ipoh, it gives a good boast and it's very nice! No need to drive all the way from Penang or KL to try this out, but a nice place for hangout for Ipoh people and those that happen to be in Ipoh for a visit.

My best vote goes to the Stuffed Rice Flour Roll with Chinese Croissant and Squid Paste and it's so nice that the three of us even order another plate! Of course, we couldn't finish it so we take away the remaining and continue the enjoyment at home. A warning, don't take away, it's only nice to eat when serves hot. It's not bad but it's much better when it's fresh.

Dragon One
G-R-15&16 De Garden
3 Persiaran Medan Ipoh
31400 Ipoh, Perak
Tel: 05-5495 393
Fax: 05-5494 405
Opening Time: 12.00pm till 3.00pm, 6.00pm till 11.00pm
Location Coordinate: N4 36.703 E101 07.083

Soon Fatt Restaurant @ Ipoh

More Ipoh food to come and this time I'm going to show you the best fried noodles. This tiny shoplot named Soon Fatt Restaurant is opened before my dad is born and my grandfather love to eat here. Then my dad has been eating here since he is very very young until now he brought his children around. If the shop is still open later, I will also bring my children to eat here, the food is good and importantly, that's part of Ipoh Heritage.



What's very impressive is that the food taste exactly same as 50 years ago when my dad ate it. Till today, it's still very good and nice. I'm trying to make it a habit to eat there everything I go back Ipoh, just a very homey feeling I'm experiencing. Let's go to food.



There is only one thing you need to order here. The fried bihun mee. That's it, that's what my grandfather ordered, and that's what I ordered. It's hard to explain, but you got to try it and tell me. The bihun and mee is different, much thinner and smoother, the sauce is crazily heaven like, and those little ingredients within just complete the plate.


This is how the shop looks like, and again, this is how it looks like 50 years ago. If you are visiting it, take a good look at the cabling, switches, clock, the sign, fridge, mirror and etc. Surprising the fan is still turning.


Other than the fried bihun mee, we love their egg tart and dim sum as well, especially the chicken wrapped with bean curd skin or called "kei chak". Try that as well.

Well, this is one of the oldest and nicest restaurant I know that still existed. It's pure heritage thing and I'm not sure if anywhere else can match this. Special recommendation and it only open for dinner till night.

Soon Fatt Restaurant
32 Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar
30300 Ipoh, Perak
Tel: 05-241 6674
Location Coordinate: N4 35.706 E101 04.962

Wong Koh Kee Restaurant @ Ipoh

Ipoh is filled with lots of good food, and it's going to take me forever to introduce everything to you all. One of the very important restaurant that I need to cover is the Wong Koh Kee restaurant.



This restaurant is located in "Yee Lai Hong" meaning mistress lane. I'm not sure why its name like that, even my dad don't know why. I suppose last time lots of people keep their mistress here =P

Anyway back to the restaurant, the location is in the Ipoh old town and it's located off the main street just right opposite the famous Kong Heng & Thean Chun Restaurant.



So what's good in this restaurant? "Tai Chow".  It's a very very old restaurant that serve very good chinese food. They only open during lunch time, and we got there around 12pm. It's already very packed.

We took a while for wait for our table and ended up sitting at the shop beside the Koh Kee, only thing is we need to order drinks from them. And that give us a good surprise as well. Read on.


Ma Zhi, or known as steamed blended glutinous rice mixed with pounded peanuts, sesame & sugar. There is a small stall beside the restaurant selling this, so we side order to fill the stomach while waiting. It is surprisingly good! Easily match up with what you can find in Penang!

With the new cafe opening up beside the Wong Koh Kee, we are forced to order some drinks from them, and to our surprise, they serve some amazing Tong Sui!


White Fungus, Lotus Seed, Red Dates and etc Tong Sui.


Guai Lin Kou with Cendol Tong Sui.


Yam & Pumpkin Sago Tong Sui.

The type of tong sui served is truly incredible, considering a simple corner cafe manage to get such a good quality tong sui out. Nice, another good place for snacking. Now comes the highlight.


Firs to come is the Crispy Roasted Pei Pa Chicken, a true delicacy in the restaurant. Crispy roasted skin and marinated chicken is very delicious. Best eaten when it's hot, you got to try it.


Three Yolks Steamed Egg is also one of their renowed dish. If you have tried the same dish in other places, then you will appreciate the difference almost immediately. Or else it's just a simple egg dish on the plate. The steamed egg is very smooth.


Brown Bean Sauce Steamed Fish, dont really know what fish is this, but it's good. The fish has a little mud taste, but only to us because we are extremely sensitive to it, considering we are from fisherman generation. Others shouldn't be noticing it though. The fish is fresh and lots of "wok hei".


Sweet and Sour Pork, the signature dish of the shop and a must order for my family. Its special being the skin is hot & crispy with hollow but saucy meat within. It must be eaten when it's just served, the skin is still hot and crispy. If you waited a little longer, it get soften and not very nice. The sweet and sour sauce is crazily heaven like. It's claimed serving the best Sweet and Sour Pork in the whole Malaysia, what you think?


Fried Bean Sprouts with Anchovies. As usual, Ipoh serves the best bean sprout around the town, mainly because of the water. This dish is a little salty but the importance is the "wok hei"! It's great dish.


Stir Fried Sai Yeong Choi with Roasted Pork and again, it's "wok hei" is truly amazing. That's the main reason why this place is famous, which mainly that's what Tai Chow is all about.

There is no price indication, meaning I didn't pay for the lunch. Sorry for that but food in Ipoh won't be expensive. Estimated RM15 per person should be enough. Most important element for Tai Chow is "wok hei" and Wong Koh Kee has it best. If you are not sure what to order, everything up there is their signature dish, but there will be no mistake to eat anything in one of the best Tai Chow restaurant in Ipoh. Try it out if you happen to be in Ipoh for lunch. This place is drawing crowds from all over the Malaysia, if you don't know about this place, then you have yet to explore Ipoh =)

Wong Koh Kee Restaurant
No. 3, Panglima Lane
30000 Ipoh, Perak
Tel: 05-241 9474
Opening Time: 10.30am till 3.00pm
Location Coordiante: N4 35.779 E101 04.681

Chemor Villages Restaurant @ Chemor

Another prime food spot in Ipoh, and my duty to present a very good place for Claypot Sang Yu (Claypot Snakehead Fish) or known as Ikan Haruan in Malay.This place is located in Chemor, as the name suggest, Chemor Villages Restaurant. It's almost a 15 minutes drive from Ipoh, considering no traffic congestion condition in Ipoh area =)


The frontage of the new shop for Chemor Villages Restaurant in Chemor, Perak. They used to operate at the side of the road in a hawker type condition, and they have just recently moved to this new place, cleaner, more spacious, and no doubt better environment. Good thing is that they are not charging more expensive that earlier place. Bravo on that.

This place is actually quite far (15 minutes from town) to Ipoh-an eyes, so we don't normally went that far for lunch. My friend loves this place very much, and most of the time I'm eating at this place is with him. No exclusion this time, we were there last two weeks ago.


As we are there, we have our old times favourite, such as this plate of Stir Fried BBQ Roast Pork with Spring Onion. The roast pork is fried and it's crispy then stir fried with dark soy sauce giving a sweet taste.


Claypot Sang Yu or known as Snakehead Fish or Ikan Haruan. This pot is fabulous with its peppery soup. The fish is fresh and heaven like when eat together with the soup. This claypot sang yu is very famous in Chemor, and if you have problem finding the location, I think any local chinese there can point you where is it. Even Ipoh-an should know as well, unless they are not food lovers =)


I just blogged about Steamed Lala in Klang earlier, and this bowl of Lala Soup can easily match up to it. Ipoh is full of good food, so there is no surprise to me. The soup is very deep and rich taste of Lala but it's not good to drink it like soup, it's more like sauce. Eating together with rice is way to go. Do order if you are there. Lala here promised no gritty bit of sands!


Another highlight of the day, but might not be favourite of all. The Stir Fried Pork Intestine, and guess what, this is surprisingly good stuff! If you dare to eat intestine, then by all means, try it out! This is strongly recommended. The instetine is crispy clear and it's best when eaten together with the small bits of deep fried lard served. Not the healthiest dish you can find, but it's very very good.


We left after our lunch on Saturday around 1.00pm and the place is packed. Good thing that they moved to the new shop, can place more tables in it comparing to the old place. More hygienic as well, so thumbs up with the new location, old price and same quality of food!

If you wondering why there is no price indication, that means I didn't pay for it =) My friend did and I didn't ask how much it cost. One thing for sure, it's not expensive, expectable for a restaurant in Ipoh. Budget for RM15 each, you should have more than enough. Give it a try if you are nearby and wondering what to eat for lunch, you will love it. I heard the tofu is good as well.

Chemor Villages Restaurant
Jalan Aman, Chemor.
Tel: +605-201 1033
Location Coordinate: N4 43.097 E101 07.224

Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fa @ Ipoh

I am a Ipoh guy so naturally I received lots of questions on what & where is the good food in Ipoh. I did mapping for my friends from time to time and this particular place deserves an extra highlight. I'm going to show you the best Tau Fu Fa in the town. There is nothing comparable in KL or Malaysia, so far.



The shop open up in the morning and this is the usual sight at the front of the shop. It's a drive, eat and pay system. All cars will be lining up and wait for their turn, while the kids will run around serving the food.



This shop is crazily famous for its soya & tau fu fa, and the name of the shop is Funny Mountain Soya Bean. That's a funny name, but it doesn't matter when the food is that good. No need to mention the name, all ipoh mari will know this tau fu fa shop. My dad told me that this shop has been around when he is still a boy, that's almost 40-50 years ago. Nice.



A sight of the kids serving the lazy driver in the shop. They serve to your car and you eat it in the comfort of your air-condition environment. A definitely no-no to car lovers, but when the family involved, everything also ok. You can opt to take away as well, and it might be faster if you take a walk and order in-shop, if you can find a parking around.



A view shot of the shop. A very small layout but there is never no car lining up everytime I go. They sell till finish, and normally I don't see them anymore after 4pm.



My wife is crazy about their Tau Fu Fa above, ever since I brought her there once. Now everytime we go back Ipoh, this is a must stop for her, never miss so far or she will kill me. What so special, you might ask. I've never been able to find any place in KL or in Malaysia that serves better Tau Fu Fa than them. The Tau Fu Fa is soooooo smoooooth and taste good. Same the soya bean, very very smooth and rich in taste. I can't explain it in words, try it out yourself, and don't think of missing it if you happen to be in Ipoh.

It's located just along the Ah Wong Nga Choy Kei (Ah Wong Beansprout & Chicken), not really hard to find. It's cheap so don't bother asking price. My friends do take away back to KL, you tell me if it's that extreme =)

Funny Mountain Soya Bean & Tau Fu Fa
49, Jalan Theatre
30300 Ipoh, Perak
Location Coordinate: N4 35.684 E101 05.067

Loi Fatt Claypot Yee Mee @ Ipoh

Got lots of long overdue post that's hanging in my draft box, too busy to complete it. Anyway, I went back to hometown last weekend and my dad told me there is this BEST Claypot Yee Mee in town, saying I must try. I love yee mee since I'm in high school and am always in search for the better one wherever I go. So off we go to try it out at Loi Fatt Restaurant in Ipoh for breakfast.


Loi Fatt Restaurant is fully packed when we got there. 90% of the crowd is consuming Claypot Yee Mee, what a sight.


That's the shop that selling the best Claypot Yee Mee. The owner is a little arrogant and ignorance, so just order loudly to make sure she heard you and sit down. If the chopsticks set follow, then you are fine, or else go do it again. Notice all famous food place also like that, is it because they are too busy, or arrogant being the best?


My mum strongly suggested the coffee and I give it a try. It's superb! What Old Town White Coffee? What Hai Peng Coffee? This little shop here kick all their asses! The taste is so strong but yet tasting so aromatic as it melt in your mouth. Nice!


Finally the Claypot Yee Mee is here. Ok, one funny thing here. The yee mee is fried and crunchy, totally different from others. That my friend, is their secret ingredients. It instantly soften into the soup that taste good, but not the best yee mee soup I've eaten. Plenty of porks and chicken meats in it and it taste good together. Even the porks and chickens are marinated, imagine that.

My dad told me that the owner are willing to teach people on their secret recipe, with a fees of over RM10,000. Instant expert for those that wanted to open a Claypot Yee Mee store. Bring it to KL, definitely crowded also. After we finish, my mum buy just the yee mee from the shop for me to bring over to KL, will try home cook and let you guys know how it taste =)


Then we ordered another plate of Fried Kuay Teow, recommended by my dad also. His favourite! I can't believe it when I saw the size of the prawn! It's even more unbelievable when I sunk my teeth into it. Crazy crispy and super fresh. There is generous 6 pieces of them! I crazily finished up 3 and pass the remaining to my wife =P Guess how much is this plate? The normal set of Fried Kuay Teow is RM3.00. This plate cost RM6.00, jaw dropping? But hold on a minute, the prawn given is worth much more and that RM3.00 extra is small amount. Trust me, just give it a try.

Ipoh is just full of nice foods, can't believe I found 3 gems in this restaurant alone that's located outskirt of Ipoh town, to be exact, nearby Menglembu. As usual, here go the GPS coordinate and a triple thumbs up for those foods!!

Loi Fatt Claypot Yee Mee @ Ipoh
Location Coordinate: N4 34.741 E101 02.977
Note: the location coordinate provided is approximate area only, I will pinpoint the exact location and update accordingly later.

Tung Lok Hin Restaurant - Bak Kut Teh @ Ipoh

This is one of the long overdue post, but definitely something not to miss for all my readers. Food, and back to Ipoh again. Ipoh is really packed with nice food everywhere.

We are looking for some meaty breakfast, so opted for Bak Kut Teh, but the original shop we frequented , Soon Lee Bak Kut Teh, was closed for the day. We ended up in this restaurant just a street away. It looks good, packed and the aroma of the meat is pulling us in to grab a table.


Tung Lok Hin Restaurant that sell only Bak Kut Teh in the morning. Can you see the people standing around the shop waiting for seats? Don't let the shop bad appearance drive you away.


Time for some food photos. Relatives came down for my 2nd sister wedding, so we ordered quite a lot for 10 persons. Enjoy the photos ...


Original Bak Kut Teh Claypot with Pai Kut & 3 Layer-Meat


Bak Kut Teh Claypot with Additional Golden Needle Mushroom and Tau Pok


Not sure what's this (dad ordered), but something like dried bak kut teh with little kung poh style.


Golden Yam Rice. This is purely camera quality issue ok. The real stuff doesn't looks this good la, but the food quality is a thumb up!


Some vegetables to compliment the meaty meal.


Yau Char Kuey. My favourite but trying to cut down because it's fatty =P


Standard garlic and chili padi to go with the soy sauce. That's my wife's hand, a glimpse on the small little diamond ring I bought her for the wedding. I know it's small, trying very hard ok ...

Overall, this is one of the best Bak Kut Teh I've even eaten. I've been working in Klang for almost 3 years and I consumed almost weekly if not daily with Klang Bak Kut Teh. But this one in Ipoh is heavenly good. A different style, I would say, and it's definitely a double thumbs up for me. Definitely will recommend it to all my friends visiting me in Ipoh, only thing it's very heavy breakfast and meaty. So it's not something I will eat very often, but nonetheless, I will still be back.

I don't know how much it cost because it's under Dad's expense =) hehe, that's why it's nice to be home.

Tung Lok Hin Restaurant @ Ipoh
Location Coordinate: N4 35.072 E101 04.862