Taiping: Le'pak Kitchen

#throwback

If you want me to count how many nice cafes are there in Taiping, it will be an easy task! There are so few cafes here and good or beautiful ones are even lesser. Today, I am going to share a decent cafe, located near Taman Kaya in Taiping. They served Malay + Western fusion style and also photogenic desserts. I've seen a few people posting photos of this cafe and hence I went there to try about a month ago. Sorry for the delayed update! XD

Not hard to find. It has a very spacious parking space, but.... it still gets packed. 

Woods and bricks.

I ordered a photogenic dessert, which serves with bueno chocolate bar. However, I had too high expectation on this. It ends up just so-so to me. 

Craving for some mango sticky rice and so we ordered one to share! This dish looks so flooded as compared to our normal mango sticky rice. And it comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!! Yumzz...

Grilled chicken chop served with salad and potato wedges. (around RM9)

This is quite a decent plate of grilled chicken. =)

Chicken Chop served with mushroom sauce (RM5)

This is cheap! But it has too much flour. I prefer grilled chicken as compared to this. Of course, the price also doubled. 

Nasi Komando (if i don't remember the name wrongly). It is combination of nasi paprik and nasi pattaya. Ordered this because mom and aunt never try nasi paprik before and I personally like pattaya. Haha... So yea. This plate kills 2 birds with 1 stone =D

Perak: Manjung Trip - Where I Stay, What to See & What to Eat

Manjung, is a district in the southwestern part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. Bandar Seri Manjung is the district's principal urban center while there are smaller towns around it which includes Sitiawan, Lumut, Pantai Remis etc. As I have to attend a 3-days workshop in Hospital Seri Manjung, I have the chance to visit Manjung district, which is also famous with Pangkor Island. 

WHERE I STAY:

I booked Hotel Sfera to stay as it seems to be more decent from photos in Agoda.com. It isn't cheap though, it costs be around RM336 for 2 nights stay. This hotel is actually a shoplot hotel where you will see a lot of shops around. However, the interior of this gym is very nice and it has a link bridge to connect to opposite shoplots.

The lobby

I've got myself a twin room. Requested for a queen bed but I checked in late on the first day, hence I got these single beds for myself. A little disappointed. 

They have very beautiful swimming pool but it closed at 7pm. I don't have the chance to enjoy it. Great place to chill!

WHAT TO SEE:

1. Teluk Batik - a beach located in Lumut town. It is about 10 minutes drive from Bandar Seri Manjung. I would say that it is a great place to chill, especially over the weekend, when you need a short escape from stress. I went there for sunset but the beach was rather quiet on weekday. After walking around, I've decided to leave the beach before the sun sets due to safety issue as I was alone.

It was really relaxing to be here. Enjoying the sound of waves and sea breeze.

Selfie at the beach. I have people staring at me as I am the only awkward girl walking along the beach and keep taking photos. XD

There's a huge square with unique traditional designs.

Last selfie before leaving Teluk Batik

2) Tua Pek Gong Temple, Sitiawan (品仙祠大伯公和观音堂)
This is like a must-visit place if you were to visit Manjung/Sitiawan. It is located at Kampung Pasir Panjang, facing the sea. Using waze, you can get to this temple easily. However, the turnings that you need to go through when approaching the temple is a little funny. Trust your GPS, then you will reach the temple!

Huge tua pek gong statue! Wow!

Perak: Tong Sui Street @ Ipoh

#throwback post#

Tong Sui Street (糖水街) is a street famous with desserts as the name shown. It is located at Ipoh town, few minutes walk from Ipoh Parade. I have seen a lot of dessert photos from this street but never try it after so many years. Finally, I get to visit this street to hunt for colourful desserts. =D

A lot of stalls are closed on the night I visited. Kinda disappointed.

Hence, I walked along the street with sis to look for a convincing stall to try. We were attracted to a noodle stall with another dessert stall beside it. Then we decided to try it out. 

Sis ordered a bowl of hot red bean soup. It is kinda nice and it is quite a big portion.

Then I ordered a bowl of shaved ice with mixed fruit. Looking so colourful and healthy. =D

It tastes good too. Not too sweet and full of fruits.

Ordered a plate of fried yee mee but it is too oily. 

I wouldn't recommend the noodle stall but the desserts are good. Saw other customers were having iced mango sago and other desserts from other stalls. Look pretty good too! Will come back and try it. XD Tong Sui Street is really a good place for dessert in Ipoh town. If you are here for a food trip, don't forget to visit this street! =D

Perak: Pasir Pinji Big Tree Foot (Dai Shu Geok) Yong Tau Foo & Funny Mountain Soya Bean

Have you ever visit Ipoh, a town famous with good coffee and good food? If you never, or if you been there a few times, have you ever try the famous Yong Tau Foo stall at Pasir Pinji? It is also known as Big Tree Foot (Dai Shu Geok) Yong Tau Foo stall. Not long ago, they moved their stall to the next door and hence you need to make sure you didn't go to the wrong stall.

They have few types of noodles to order - soup, dry soy sauce and laksa. I never try their laksa so this time I ordered their laksa. Sister kept recommending their laksa to me, saying that it is cheap and nice. Comparable to the one in Penang. So I am gonna try it! And definitely need to order their super nice and famous Yong Tau Foo. Miss it so much!

This stall is always crowded, especially during lunch hours. So pray hard for a seat! XD I went there around 1pm on a Thursday afternoon and there isn't as many people as expected (still very pack though). I went to find a seat while sis and dad went to order food. This is a way to get a seat and your food ordered fast! 

Food is served! Here's the laksa. I choose bihun (rice vermicelli) and normal yellow noodles as combination instead of normal laksa noodle. I love this combo as bihun can absorb the delicious laksa soup and make the bowl of laksa tastes even better. RM3 for such a big bowl of nice laksa. Totally worth the try! I am already hungry even just thinking about it only. 

And Ta-Daa! Yong Tau Foo is served! They have fried and soup one. But I personally prefer their fried stuff as they are nicer and crispy.

Oh! Don't forget to order some drink while you are here too!

Red bean smoothie is my favourite. They have green bean smoothie too, which is harder to find in other place. Pretty refreshing and goes well with laksa and Yong Tau Foo. These make up a good combination. *Slurpss*

After having a full and satisfying lunch, we walked to a biscuits shop nearby to get peanuts bar and kaya puff. Have to queue for the peanut bar (花生糖) but definitely worth it as it is not very sweet. It comes with some salty taste as well. Too bad I'm having bad toothache now. If not I would be munching the peanut bar while typing out this post. Hehe...

In Pasir Pinji area, there are nice dessert shop and also a famous swiss roll bakery (JJ Swiss Roll) which is not far from the Big Tree Foot Yong Tau Foo place. You could drop and try if interested or if you still feel hungry. I usually stuff myself with a lot of Yong Tau Foo and can't afford to drink a sip of water. 

Perak: West Joy Cafe @ Taiping

During Chinese New Year, I have strong cravings for Thai Food. XD I used to have Thai Food at least once every 1-2 weeks when I was back in Alor Setar. Staying in Taiping for now, I have no idea where to get delicious authentic Thai Food. I was telling my sister about my cravings and she suggested me to try out a Thai Cafe, which open for around a year plus -- West Joy Cafe. She strongly recommend their green curry and I am interested to try.

So, one day, I went to try out the cafe with my sister. It was a cafe with simple design, located Opposite Prima Cafe (the hawker stalls, not the classy prima cafe). Flipping through the menu, their pasta attracted me - GREEN CURRY PASTA! How to resist the urge to try! Will they match? Will they match? So, I ordered a green curry pasta and a plate of pad thai (to try their authencity.. XD)

Here's their Pad Thai!

I would say, it is not up to my expectation. Though the amount of peanuts is generous, the overall taste is still disappointing.

Green Curry Pasta.

This is a boom! It is served with chicken and also some vege. Surprisingly, green curry matches spaghetti really well. It is kinda spicy but I like it! 

Overall look of our food of the night.

The outside of the cafe. Simple. and Green curry is nice.
Will come back to try their tomyam one day. =D

Perak: Old Town White Coffee

Haven't had Old Town White Coffee for such a long time! Went to try it in a random afternoon as sis and I were out of idea of what to eat. Surprisingly, we found that their menu has changed a lot. They added a lot of choices as compared to last time. They have steamed rice, wan tan mee, etc etc..... Old Town White Coffee may be very common but you might not order what I've tried. Right? =D 

We ordered a Hailam Fish Fillet Rice and also Kaya Butter Toast (double). For drinks, we both ordered Cham (Hot). Don't know why, I am addicted to Cham recently. The mixture of both goodness -- milk tea and coffee. How to resist.  

Hailam Fish Fillet Rice. Served with steamed vegetables and butter rice. The sauce is quite nice. 

Butter Kaya Toast. Never fails to grab my attention. It is really nice. Warm crispy toast with cold butter and kaya. Best combination ever!

Trying to win the contest! Hipster photo for food in Old Town White Coffee. Look nice too huh... XD

Perak: STG Tea House Cafe Taiping

If you are from Taiping, have you heard of Ecopark by Spritzer? In Ecopark, there is a STG (Sabah Tea Garden) tea house cafe, which is a franchise of the one in Ipoh. I have never tried STG in Ipoh/Taiping until this year's Chinese New Year. 

The mini golf place in Ecopark. STG is just beside this. 

The entrance of STG Tea House Cafe. Design looks very promising... 

The serve quite a variety of food but the choices of each category is kinda limited.

The bar.

We ordered a few types of food to share. So I'll be sharing photo of each dish and comment for them =D

Creme Brulee. Their creme brulee is quite good, just that it has stronger egg smell.

Potato Samosa. It was served super hot and the samosa is nice! Lots of fillings. 

One of the main -- Spagetti Cabonara with Turkey Bacon. This is quite good! Look, they are quite generous with the bacon. XD

I ordered Lemon Sabah Tea and it was really awesome! Best in the town!

Perak: Steamed Sandwich (刈包) @ Taiping

So busy with work! Finally I have time to update this blog!

Have you ever heard of steamed sandwich -- koah pao (刈包)? It is also known as Taiwanese Hamburger. I never try one when I visited Taiwan, but I found a stall in Taiping which sells delicious steamed sandwich. The stall is located in a kopitiam, opposite Prima Restaurant. The stall sells steamed sandwich (刈包), Dumplings (水饺) and Steamed Sweet Potatoes (烤地瓜).

Here is how the steamed sandwich looks like! 

You can choose either chicken or pork, with or without egg. I always ordered one with egg because it costs only RM3 with additional egg. So cheap!!! The sandwich bun is soft, mantou (馒头) texture. It has very nice sauce with peanut. Yumzzz.... One down side is..... The owner will need some time to prepare. Be prepare to wait and it is totally worth the wait! =D

I also ordered the dumplings! It is so crunchy and delicious. And doesn't look too oily. 

Definitely will visit this stall again if I want some special, cheap and nice dinner.

Perak: Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong 新源隆茶室

If you are visiting Ipoh, there is one thing that you shouldn't miss -- White Coffee. Ipoh is very famous with its white coffee and indeed, you can get good coffee in some random shops (real good ones). If you are keen to try the most famous white coffee in town, Sin Yoon Loong is a place you shouldn't miss.

Quiet street early in the morning. Loving the historical feel.

Sin Yoon Loong is located at a corner, along Jalan Bandar Timah, Old Town Ipoh.

It can be easily found with Waze, but locating a parking is difficult, especially during peak hours. 

Because I was there pretty early, I get to find a parking! Woohoo! However, it isn't really near to Sin Yoon Loong, I walked 3 minutes to get there. Who cares? I was too free that morning and I was really craving for a cup of coffee after a 3 hours sleep. XD 

Ta-daa! The famous white coffee is served! It cost me around RM1+. Cheap and nice! 

I could get a seat easily and enjoyed my coffee that morning. Such a blissful morning. =) Good start for the day. 

Some friends will recommend white coffee at Nam Heong (which is just opposite Sin Yoon Loong). I find both equally nice. If you want to have a taste of both, just walk cross the road. Easy! =D

Perak: Kellie's Castle

It has been decades living in Perak and I never explore it. Hence, I decided to explore one of the famous tourist spot on a sunny day --> Kellie's Castle.

Kellie's Castle is located on the way to Batu Gajah town at the Kinta Kellas Rubber Estate, which is about 30 minute drive (14km south) from Ipoh City. It is very easy to find, especially with the help of Waze (my favourite navigator, though sometimes it will make you lost direction XD). 

I heard about this castle long time ago, about the mystery. Kellie's Castle seems to be meant a home away from home for Scottish Planter, William Kellie Smith in the 20th century. Kellie desired his new residence to be reminiscent of his home back in Scotland, the castle is perched on top of a hill in what used to be a rubber estate. Construction of this unique castle began in 1915. However, it came to an abrupt halt with Kellie's sudden death in 1926. The solitary castle, looks almost surreal in these wild plantations of Perak, it projects a strong personality and an aura of mystery. Besides being haunted, the castle is believed to have hidden rooms and secret underground tunnels. (Read more here)

I reached Kellie's Castle around 9.30am and it was really sunny. Blue sky with beautiful forbidden castle. Such a great combination.

I parked my car as directed by the signage and it's free! Friend parked his car at the entrance and he was charged RM2 per entry. It was just a short walk from entrance to my car, so I would suggest to save that RM2 for your entrance ticket. Entrance ticket costs RM5 per person (for MyKad holder)

Group photo of us. This is the main entrance to the castle. 

Ticket counter is just right beside these huge words. 

It is such a waste that this is not completely constructed. Such a beautiful building.

Living hall.

There are also a few narrow spiral stairs that leads you to some secret rooms. And the top of the castle is accessible with stairs too. But be aware if you are bringing kids as all these places are not being fenced. 

View of the entrance from top of the castle. On the left is the walkway from entrance to the castle.
Very beautiful isn't it.

My favourite photo of the trip.