Alex’s Blog

HAHAHA!!!

I know this is long overdue, so my apologies first. Now back to the story…

So we headed back to Ipoh or lunch, or more precisely, a place called Lumba Kuda in Perak. Lunch was pretty normal, so I’ll skip that portion. Right after that, we headed back to our hotel for a quick refresh and then straight to Ipoh Parade. Oklah…wifey wants to do some shopping…

Then after that at about 7pm, dinner was something I was looking forward to for a long time…famous Ipoh Ngah Choy Kai (steamed chicken with beansprouts). Yum yum…that area actually had 3 (or was it 4) shops serving the same thing at the crossroads just opposite each other, so U can imagine the fierce competition. We didn’t need to choose which shop to go to, cos we were recommended to this one…

That place was jam packed when we arrived at about 7:30pm or so and again, we had to wait a good 10-15 minutes before we could get a table.

We ordered our food and the service was prompt, in less than 10 minutes…these arrived at our table…

The ngah choy (beansprouts),

the steamed chicken, and

the koay teow (there was also fragrant rice, the one U get when U order chicken rice :P).

The beansprouts were extra “juicy” and “crunchy” compared to the usual ones we get in Penang and the chicken was very tender. And my my my…the koay teow, was very good. When U eat it, it is silky smooth…and it tastes a little bit different from the regular koay teow we get in Penang. My wifey says it’s a little bit sourish, but I like it. Definitely the best meal of the day. After that, we headed to the nearby biscuit shop to get some famous Ipoh biscuits and went back to the hotel to call it a day.

The next morning, being not satisfied with the Dim Sum we were recommended to the day before, headed to our regular Dim Sum place…

Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum…being a Sunday, the place was extra pack when we arrived at about 8:30. Luckily my wifey’s uncle and aunty had arrived earlier and managed to get a table. We ordered the stuff we wanted, and pig out…

Check out the amount of Dim Sum we had on the table. Mind U this is only round 1. Hahahaha…Definitely better than the stuff at Foh San. BTW, if U notice the bowl of black stuff at the bottom right of the picture, that is “blended sesame seed paste”. This stuff is similar to “peanut paste”, but is made from black sesame seed instead. I was hoping to get the peanut paste but sadly they didn’t make any that day. Oh well…at least the black sesame paste is quite similar. In the end, we agreed that almost everything in Ming Court is better than Foh San, except for the eggtart and another of Foh San’s specialty which I don’t know what it’s called. LOL

After breakfast, we decided for some “free and easy” drivearound in Ipoh, and since we had never been to Tambun’s Lost World, why not just take a drive there?

So after about 20 minutes or so…

The place was really really packed, because of the school holidays that just started, and there was also some other function by Berita Harian. We didn’t plan on going in for the rides or anything, so we just stayed at the entrance, look see look see a bit and I snapped some pictures.

Reminds U of Sunway Pyramid doesn’t it?

After that we headed back to the hotel, packed our stuff and checked out. But before we left Ipoh to head back to Penang, there was one thing left that we must not miss…

Ipoh Old Town White Coffee…eh…nolah…this one is commercialized. So we went opposite for some REAL Ipoh White Coffee

This place is where U can get to taste some real white coffee. It looks like regular iced coffee that U can order in any coffeeshop, but the taste…Oolala…very “kao” and creamy. We also ordered some Penang Char Koay Teow and Indian Mee to share among ourselves…but, sorry boys and girls…if U want those types of food, Penang is the correct place.

After finishing our food and drinks, we bid farewell to my wifey’s uncle and aunty, and had a slow and relaxing drive back to home sweet home…:)

THE END.

***Click here for Part 1 of the Getaway to Ipoh.

Last weekend, we made a quick getaway to Ipoh for a short 2D1N vacation cum Wifey’s birthday treat. This is actually the first time baby had an outstation trip, and a funny thing is that his bag of clothes was even bigger than the bag my Wifey and I shared. We also had a backpack full of his “essential” items…milk, hot water, diapers… Needless to say, I don’t have enough hands to carry my dLSR bag, so I ended up bringing my compact (or more precisely, my Canon 860 IS) for the trip.

We started the journey around 5:30am from Penang, taking a slow and relaxing drive. We reached Ipoh around 7:30am, met up with my Wifey’s uncle and aunty, and headed straight to our first “objective”, the famous Foh San restaurant for Dim Sum…

Both my Wifey and my colleagues recommended this place to us when we told them that we were going to Ipoh for a holiday. According to them, this restaurant serves the best Dim Sum and believe it or not, it even has its own website! We arrived at about 8am or so….and U wouldn’t believe the crowd…

We had to wait a good 15 minutes before we were able to get ourselves a table. Finally, we were able to taste “Ipoh’s best Dim Sum”. (Sorry no pics, baby was cranky! :P) So how was it? All of us agreed that it was just OK, our regular Dim Sum place in Ipoh definitely IS better (more on that later). So it was actually quite a let down as this place was recommended by quite a few people. By the way, the restaurant is also selling Mooncakes now as the Lantern Festival / 8th Lunar Month is just round the corner.

With our stomachs full, we were now ready for our next destination. But wait! We don’t have a next destination! It was only about 10am or so, we couldn’t check into our hotel yet, and we had nowhere to go. Then, we remembered about this Hot Springs place in Perak, Sungai Klah Hot Springs to be exact, but we had no idea how to get there or how far away it was from Ipoh. So I decided to whip out my N95, launched Garmin and did a search. Hmm…Sungai Klah Hot Springs, 77km to destination. It was a go then.

We reached the place at about 11am, thanks to the GPS. This was the first time I took a gamble on the N95 GPS and Garmin software, because we had never relied solely on the GPS for any of our previous trips. The entrance to the resort was quite bland, there wasn’t even any signage on the walls or anything like that. Just a gate and a barrier with a policeman. Weired. But it was definitely the right place as it was quite packed, being a weekend and school holidays just started. Entry tickets are RM10 for adults and RM8 for children. Baby (and stroller) is free.

Just right after the entrance, the first attraction was the Hot Springs Pool.

The water was pretty hot at first, but after awhile, we got used to it. Pushed the baby stroller in (oklah, long time didn’t wash the stroller wheels :D), snap snap a few pics, and we were off…

The next pool was about 5 minutes walk away…

This one was more packed compared to the 1st pool. Must be because of the giant Octopus that the kids were attracted to. LOL…

There was also a mini man-made waterfall…BTW, unlike the earlier Hot Springs Pool, this pool uses ordinary water…

Next up…no prizes for guessing what this dude is doing…

No, seriously, the egg boiling place is just next to where to guy is seated, in a separate artificial pond.

The water temperature in this hot spring can reach a scorching 90C I was told. Best not to let the kids put the eggs in or play around the area.

Last on the way out, is the Therapy Park (whatever that is…)

We spent about an hour or so only in the Hot Springs resort. It would have been more worth it if we had at least half a day or so to get wet. BTW, the resort also has some villas for rent if U want to spend the night there, and there is even a campsite for the more adventurous people. We left at about 12:30pm, and headed straight back to Ipoh for lunch…

*TO BE CONTINUED*