The Food Site

For the longest time, Ipoh is well known for their nga choi kai (steamed chicken with beansprouts…pssstttt…check out my very own recipes for these below….). We’d usually stop by in Ipoh for some nga choi kai before continuing our journey whenever we go travelling by car. We’ve been so many times over the years that we’ve tried the four nga choi kai / steamed chicken with beansprouts restaurants at a crossroad in the city.

We’ve tried the tourist favourite…

Lou Wong Restaurant

We’ve also tried the restaurant next to Lou Wong, Onn Kee Restaurant and a smaller coffee shop opposite Onn Kee (I forgot the name of the coffee shop) which is only open for breakfast and lunch. So, this time around, we go to Ong Kee Restaurant for the first time (not to be confused with Onn Kee Restaurant).

Ong Kee Restaurant - it is diagonally opposite Lou Wong

The open air 'kitchen' at Ong Kee Restaurant

So, obviously, this is what we ate…

Steamed chicken, beansprouts, koay teow and chicken rice

I’ll have to say,the koay teow (flat rice noodles) are extremely soft and smooth. And yes, so is the chicken. The chicken rice may look like a normal plate of rice but trust me, it sure do pack a punch. In the words of my husband:

“It’s the best chicken rice I’ve ever tasted”.

I personally feel the chicken is good but not so great that we’d purposely drive all the way to Ipoh just to eat it. I can cook my own steamed chicken too…(recipe below)

Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$ (yeah, expect to pay about RM18 for this meal for two)

If you don’t have a chance to drop by Ipoh for a meal of steamed chicken and beansprouts, why not DIY? Here’s the recipe:

Simple Steamed Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cleaned and drained

salt

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp garlic oil

Chinese wine (optional)

soya sauce

pepper

spring onion

Instructions

1. Season the chicken with salt, sesame oil, garlic oil and the Chinese wine for at least 2 hours. Make sure you do not put too much salt or else it’d end up too salty.

2.Place the chicken on a heatproof bowl / plate, add about a tablespoon of soya sauce and place it over a boiling pan of water. Cover it.

3. Otherwise, place the chicken in a double boiler.

4. Let it cook covered over medium heat for about 30 minutes or so.

5. Check to see if it is cooked through. If not, let it steam for another 15 minutes and it should be done. Make sure you do not overcook or else it’d be tough!

6. Remove from heat, chop it up and then sprinkle a dash of pepper on top and garnish with spring onions. Ready to serve!

Of course, if you want a different taste, you can also try out this Healthy Steamed Chicken recipe.

Now for the beansprouts…

Beansprouts

It is also very easy to prepare…

Simple Beansprouts Recipe

Ingredients

Beansprouts

1 tbsp garlic oil

pepper

spring onions

fresh chillies

soya sauce

Instructions

1. Blanche the beansprouts in boiling water and quickly remove as these cook very easily.

2. Sprinkle garlic oil on top of it and add about 1 tbsp soya sauce. Mix thoroughly.

3. Add a dash of pepper and then garnish with spring onions and red chillies.

Tips: For better taste, add some of the chicken stock you get from the steamed chicken  instead of soya sauce and you’ll have a fantastic taste!

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It’s been years since we last went to Foh San Restaurant for their fantastic dim sum so when we were in Ipoh for a couple of days, we made darn sure we went there for breakfast.

Foh San Restaurant in Ipoh

We tried to be early since it was a Sunday morning but…

Foh San Restaurant was really packed especially on Sunday mornings

We stood around and tried to search for a place and finally managed to ‘tap toi’ (share a table) with a couple at a corner. And then we had a feast! Let the pictures tell the story…

Lor Mai Kai (Steamed Chicken Glutinous Rice) - the best I've ever had

Pork ribs in sweet and sour sauce - what can I say? Equally good!

Baked bun with curry chicken - the bread is sweet and light and goes wonderfully with the curry...pure genius! Too bad it's not that spicy...

Yong Tau Hu without the soup but still, it is also good

The first few dishes we ate as 'starters' and I must say, they do have loads of big prawns in all of these especially the chee cheong fan.

The last few dishes we had before we burst from over-eating

And we’ve never eaten so much dim sum before in one seating. Do bear in mind that the food shown here are only half of what we ate and there’s only two of us (not counting my toddler since he ate very little compared to his glutton-parents).

Needless to say, that was more of a brunch for both of us! We were so stuffed that we couldn’t eat lunch and only started to get hungry later in the evening.

We spent RM50 on this lavish, sinful, highly unhealthy and fattening breakfast. But it was worth every single ringgit. It is a good thing that Foh San Restaurant’s food aren’t all that oily, unlike some dim sum places we’ve been to before.

Rating: 8/10

Price: $$$

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