Momo Cafe & Steamboat @ Old Town, Ipoh

Yeah .... D-day is crawling nearer. I knew it, deep down embedded in my soul, imbued with hope & anticipation ... for a dining experience highly divided by positive reviews, and vice versa.

Nope, nothing too dramatic. It's just that we have to use up the RM120 vouchers for ANYTHING from Momo's (furnitures and waitresses not included) by the end of 2008. Since CNY in Feb, Mum had been teasing me, suggestively waving the vouchers under my nose, while maintaining her vice grip on them, reassuring me that we WILL go, someday .....

There is in fact, never an occasion too suitable for a steamboat meal, unless on a cold, rainy evening, and the icing on the cake? My parents' 29th wedding anniversary. ;)

Various dipping sauces

The buffet concept is simple, but slightly different. Being the lazybums we Malaysians have 'evolved' into, they do not even have a buffet spread. Just write on pieces of paper provided on every table, indicating which plates of goodies you wish to stuff your face with, and pass them to the nearest waiting staff. It's All-You-Can-Eat, but bear in mind do not waste, as RM10 will be charged for every 100g of food left untouched, or hidden under the bowl, between the table, squashed under the plates, ta-pau in handbags, etc. You get the picture.

The choices are a lot. The 4 of us only managed to try almost half of the menu. The food in the menu, I mean. (We do not chew on glossy laminated papers)

The drinks are served by none other than ... yourselves. Or your maid, if you bring one. These trolleys are aplenty. 8 choices were available tonight; lime, fruit punch, orange, chinese tea, iced lemon tea, plain water, wintermelon & ???.

Plates of seafood galore, and random yongtaufoo stuff

Golden Mushroom and Abalone Mushroom

5 different variety of mushrooms are available, being Golden (Kam Cham Ku), Abalone, Drumstick (whatever that is), Black Mushroom and Button.

Special fried rice, with Fried Chicken Wing - Forgettable ......

Herbal Chicken Soup & Tom Yum Soup

8 types of soup base are available, whereby you can choose 2 at any one time. Choices being :

Though tempted to choose the Spices Soup (Ma Lat) for fiery kick to appease the chilli lustful beast in me, Mum had better ideas of her own. I am nursing a long standing cough anyway. So, back to boring Tom Yum and their recommended Herbal Chicken. The Tom Yum sucked, big time. Tasted completely like the type you get from boiling tom yum stock in cubes form. Herbal chicken fared better, but not by a far margin.

Lamb Cutlets, Fish Fillet, Fried Wantan, Fried Chicken Wings

Only the lamb and the fish were praiseworthy. The lamb was surprisingly good, succulent, not too dry, though lacked seasoning and marinade. The fish fillet is generic, but remained as a passable snack.

Momo Roast Chicken

Their signature chicken dish, which was also served on their opening day (yup, I was there. No, not to 'Chi Yum Chi Sik' but was invited as one of the partners is related to my brother). The chicken was OK, roasted well, and still remained moist under such harsh conditions (first roasted, then left to chill in the air-conditioned area)

Minced Chicken Meat + Egg - Strange dish, but the chicken meat was marinated with pepper and 5 spice herbs (I assume), and tasted pretty good after cooked in the broth.

Fried Spring Rolls - Don't bother.

Cheese Toast - Generic toast, done in sandwich toast-maker. Cheese-less.

Chicken Spaghetti - Surprisingly good, albeit slightly salty. Mum's not fond of pasta, but threw positive comments.

Mango Pudding, Mixed Fruits - Hmmm, judge yourself.

Where's the Lurve?

More misses than hits, is there anymore excuses needed to explain the above phenomenon? Sigh ... Though heard that on weekends, the place is rather packed. Poor Ipoh souls, left with minimal choices for good steamboat in Ipoh. As we were leaving, I turned around and snapped a pic of their front door :

Don't look back in anger ....

Rough translation : Steamboat King. Yeah, right ..... At least RM60 vouchers were spent, with the remaining balance paid in cash. Total for 4, RM82. Btw, the fish maws were not fresh, and had a revolting overnight oil taste. *_*

Location : 17, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, 30000 Ipoh. Right opposite St.Michael's school, facing Padan Ipoh. Same row with Old Town Kopitiam, and Mixed Cuisine.

They serve Western set lunches at affordable price. Same management with Filling Station in Greentown Business Centre. Halal outlet, if I'm not mistaken. Word of advice : Opt for the set lunch instead.