Below post is my trip to Lumut and Sitiawan. This post is not a usual travel post. Instead this is a post that will give you a guide to most of the dishes that are available in Lumut and Sitiawan.

The first post is the mouth-watering Hock Chew creation biscuit in Sitiawan, which is known as “Gong Pian”. To go to this shop, you need to drive to the main road of Jalan Sitiawan from Jalan Lumut.  Once you see Wisma Ganda which houses Courts Mammoth, turn left to the alley which is Jalan Tok Perdana. Just a few metres after turning you will see the shop with the name “Cheong Cia Gong Pian”.

There was a Chinese legendary story saying about a boy who was too pampered by his mom. He was too lazy to do anything and all he needed to do was to sleep on the bed and wait for the food to be fed directly to his mouth by his mom. Until one day, when his mom needed to go back to her own mother’s house, she made him a giant Gong Pian that looks like a donut and placed it on his neck so that he could eat them when she was away. However when her mother came back his son had died off of hunger. He only managed to eat the gong pian within his reach but he was too lazy to reach for the rest of it.

Back to the main topic, this stall is a very old and classic family business stall. It has been on business here for decades which has been passed down from generations.

The specialties of this shop is it has various types of Hock Chew biscuit. Below is the price list:

• Hock Chew Gong Pian (Big) – RM1.00
• Hock Chew Gong Pian (Small) – RM0.70
• Hock Chew Fo Pa (Big) – RM3.40
• Hock Chew Fo Pa (Small) – RM1.70

There are 2 types of Hock Chew Gong Pian, one is sweet base and another one is salty base. The sweet base gong pian is made into a donut shape with lots of sesame seeds sprinkled on top of it.

The taste of the sweet base gong pian is like a crunchy donut skin with bread-like texture.

In contrast, the salty base gong pian is hard and crispy on the outside, while inside is stuffed with salty fried onions.

In fact, the salty taste of the gong pian comes from the salted onion fried in lard which makes it undoubtedly so delicious.

Hock Chew Fo Pa (Torch) biscuit, is one of the Hock Chew clan specialties. The biscuits are made of twisted sticks which are then baked until crunchy. It also brings some slight sweetness taste in it. The best part is the biscuits have no preservatives. Surprisingly, after a few weeks the biscuits still remain crunchy and delicious if kept in a air-tight bottle.

These savoury biscuits are one of the oldest favourites brought by the Hock Chew settlers from China. This shop successfully tweaked the original “Gong Pian” recipe to create what you will find sold at their shop today.

Overall, the taste of the Hock Chew Gong Pian is so special and delicious. In fact I prefer the salty base of Gong Pian biscuit compared to the sweet base one. Unfortunately, this traditional making of Gong Pian has gradually lost its presence in Sitiawan. It has become impossible to have one of such store in Penang.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation

Operation hours: 9:30am-5:00pm (Close on Sunday)
Contact: 019-558 9228
Address:12, Jalan Tok Perdana, 32000 Perak.

Foh San Restaurant has moved out from their original place to somewhere just few streets away. The new place looks even grand and class. It is a double-storey building which can cater double the crowd compared to the old place.

This place is always packed with people no matter weekdays or weekends. There are hardly any available seats. If you want to dine here, you will need to stand next to the table to “unofficially” book it.

The same goes to the 2nd floor. There will never be an empty table if you didn’t wait. If you are fortunate enough, you will get a table within 5 minutes. Else it is normal to wait for 15 to 20 minutes for a table.

After waited for 10 minutes, at last the table is mine for now. Instantly, the waiters will change a new set of table cloth and a complete set of cutleries.

The Chinese tea as usual which always accompanies the dim sum.

My first order, Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun. Delicious and yummy, the “fun” was soft and thin was stuffed with fresh prawns while hot. Serving together with high quality soya sauce, I just love this dish for a kick-start. I am not sure why there were 2 pieces of vegetable on the side of this dish. I still remember there are no such garnish at their old place.

Prawn Dumpling (虾餃), one of the signature dishes here. I still remember the first time that I tried this prawn dumpling was 5 years ago. I couldn’t stop taking this dish after I started. I was so addicted to this dish until I kept asking my friends to accompany me down from Penang to Ipoh just for the sake of having prawn dumpling at Foh San. The main reason of this dumpling to be so attractive is due to the prawns used are so fresh and the outer skin is so soft and smooth. The combination of this dumpling with the chili sauce provided is just like a dish from heaven. However, the quality has dropped slightly if compared to the old place.

Leek Fragrant Prawn Dumpling (韭香虾餃). This is another alternative to the original prawn dumpling. It has a mixture of leek to make the outer skin and it was stuffed with fresh prawns. This is the healthier version of prawn dumpling.

Pork Dumpling (烧卖) is also one of the signature dishes here. I feel that this dish is not as great as the prawn dumpling. However, it is a popular dim sum due its tenderness of the minced meat and also the freshness of the ingredients used.

Another version of Pork Dumpling (烧卖)

Lotus Root Fish Cake (莲藕鱼饼), another combination of delicious and healthy creation with crunchy lotus root along with tasty fish cake.

Fish Cake Stuffed with Carrot Veggie (鱼皮萝卜饼), another combination of healthy and tasty range of food.

Gyoza (餃子), very similar to Pan Fried Bun (锅贴馒头) except that the outer skin is made from dumpling skin. It goes well with the ginger and vinegar.

The usual Char Siew Pao that I used to order and it is still up to standard.

Sweet Corn Pao, this is also up to my expectation.

The springy steamed fish ball. For kids, I believe they will really enjoy this dish and the ball is so bouncy that it can even replace the ping pong ball. This is one of my favorites when I was kid.

The springy deep fried fish ball, another version of fish ball for the fish ball lovers.

Glutinous Chicken Rice (糯米鸡), this is one dish that I am not going to disclose. It was delicious and the ingredients were fresh and hot. It is for me to recall the taste and for you to find out. If you have tried this one please do give me feedback.

Overall, most of the dishes served here are fresh and delicious. The new place has a better ambience but the taste of food is not as good as the previous one. The pricing here is reasonably cheap. If you ask me will I go back to Foh San Ipoh for just the sake of having dim sum, I would definitely answer YES.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room

Operation hours: 6:30am – 2:00pm (Close on Tuesday)
Contact: 05-2540308
Address:51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh Perak.

Anyway, the place that I am going to introduce today is the place where all the White Coffee originated from. This is the place where “Old Town” started their business. The shop that I am visiting is located at the corner end of Ipoh Old Town. Just after the bridge from new town follow the first left turn until the end.

The name of the shop is called Nam Heong Coffee shop. I remember they renovated the shop 6 months ago but now it still looks like “those old days”.

The boss of the economic rice was posing while I had a snap of him.

I arrived 2:30pm. There were not much options left compared to lunch hours. I ordered chicken-slice rice noodle (hor fun) “鸡丝河粉” which is one of the famous delicacies in Ipoh. I still remember whenever I ordered this in “Old Town Coffee Shop” the taste was not that fresh and also not as delicious. However, this one gives me the feeling of originality. The soup has been boiled with prawn shells which made it sweeter  and full with seafood flavour. The price per bowl is RM3.50, if compared to the portion it’s slightly more expensive than Penang’s.

Another store owner was posing for the photo. This stall is selling Penang’s Hokkien Mee! However, usually I will not order Penang food if I’m in outstation.

Another familiar food – Chee Cheong Fun. Still it is not as good as those we have in Penang. The shrimp paste is not as delicious and the chee cheong fun (noodle) is using “hor fun” which is not that original.

Finally for the finale, Ipoh’s original freshly brewed white coffee. It tasted great with foam on top. However I still find that the coffee shop opposite this has a better taste. I have tried that one during my last trip back in 6 months’ time. Maybe I should blog on that shop on my next trip.

Overall most of the food here meet my taste bud except for some minor ones. Of course, this shall not dampen one’s hope to visit the real Ipoh Old Town.
Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall