We are Rice Pots, after all ...

Rainy day here in Ipoh ... After a whole day OUT of office, I'm somewhat glad the journey to Sitiawan/Lumut was worthwhile. A short post tonight, as I'm in no mood for babbling. Or maybe some rants here & there.

Today's post on Malaysians' staple food, RICE. Overpriced commodity, causing an uproar recently with prices increasing in folds,whereby our meagre salary had been stagnant, and struggling to cope with the villain-ous inflation, badly hitting the low-middle income bracket of the community. Sigh ....

~~ SRI ASOKA CORNER BANANA LEAF RICE @ STADIUM IPOH ~~

UPDATED : Here's a link to The Star's Sunday Metro's take on my post. (31/8/08)

Stall No 19 - Sri Asoka Corner

Banana leaf curry rice is no doubt, a most popular Malaysian favourite, more so in Klang Valley than any other states. But Ipoh has a few gems here and there, one fine example being Sri Asoka Corner at Stadium Ipoh's food centre.

Famed for their banana leaf rice, which is essentially white rice with mixed vegetables served on banana leaf, with your choice of curries. The leaves are supposed to be aesthetically pleasing, and believed to impart a fragrant aroma to the rice. Not scientifically-proven though. But who cares? =)

The variety of curries available, the mixed vegetables served with the rice, and the fish cake with potatoes

Choose your curry/meat at the counter, choices ranging from chicken, mutton to fish and squids, the variety's tempting, and had me salivating before I was seated. But once again, I tend to be slightly biased towards anything spicy, so there.

Then a banana leaf (or two, as my first one was torn, risking a mess of curries and rice) will be laid in front of you on the table, and white rice will be scooped onto your leaf. Make sureyou stop them, as they tend to go overboard with the rice. (Gee, somehow the sting of inflation evaded them?) This will be followed by generous servings of vegetables such as shredded cabbage, white radish, and potatoes to complement the rice. Unlimited ladles of curry is available to douse your rice with, promising a thoroughly wet experience.

Devil Chicken Curry

Mutton Curry

Of course, though the vegetables with curries make a complete meal, do not forget the meat. Oh yeah ... We are carnivores after all. I mean, OMNIvores. The mutton curry was delicious, but the fatty parts may be intimidating. Cholesterol-rich food = A few years of life sacrificed?

The dry devil chicken curry was not spicy at all, with bits and parts of chicken cooked with dried chillies and various condiments. Not too dry, though the appearance was misleading.

A meal for two, cost RM14, excluding drinks. The rice and vegetables are supposedly unlimited, but trust me, one serving's all necessary to fill that hollow vacuum in your stomach. =P

Location : Sri Asoka Corner @ Stall No 19, Medan Selera Stadium Ipoh (if that's what the place is called). It's the rows of stalls next to the main stadium in Ipoh, situated at the Ipoh Garden-Fair Park roundabout. Opens for lunch everyday, until about 4pm.

~~ K10 CLAYPOT CHICKEN RICE @ BERCHAM, IPOH ~~

Remember that the shop's name is invisible at night, therefore recognize this stall's number, K10

Still longing for MORE rice? Good, here's more. Bercham's famous for a lot of hawker fare, such as Claypot Crab Glass Noodles. And of course, the perennial favourite among the Chinese community, Claypot Chicken Rice.

BIG serving of claypot chicken rice @ RM10

Previous dismal outing at K10 Claypot Chicken Rice restaurant in Medan Ipoh Baru, behind Jusco somehow made me lost faith in ever finding another noteworthy effort in Ipoh. I'm not a fan of claypot chicken rice myself, not as fanatic as my brother for sure.

So I inched my way gingerly towards this restaurant in Bercham, purpotedly serving quite yummy version of the aforementioned dish for some years now.

Arriving for an early dinner on a rainy night, the place was surprisingly empty, with only a few tables occupied. But throwing caution to the wind, I sat myself down, and ordered a portion for two, and a plate of simple "Choy Sum Fa" or mustard greens(?).

Topped with marinated chicken bits, waxed sausages, and salted fish, and garnished with spring onions

The rice arrived piping hot, but the claypot was surprisingly 'clean', as in free of charred bottoms and all. Any fan of claypot chicken rice would have appreciated slightly burnt inner walls of the pot, swearing on its smoky flavour imparted on the rice, and the authentic flavour of the rice cracks stuck to the bottom of the pot.

But we were glad the rice was pretty scrumptious, with generous servings of chicken wings and thighs, each grain separated well and not lumpy, drizzled with their concoction of soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and chinese cooking wine. Addition of salted fish and waxed sausages further enhance the texture and flavour to the dish, promising endless scavenging for ingredients. Though slightly disappointed as I miss the 'kerak nasi' all the way ... =(

Simple greens in soy sauce and onion oil

Surprisingly cheap, as the BIG pot cost RM10, and the vegetables was a mere RM3 per plate.

Location : Situated on the main road of Bercham, going from Tesco Extra towards Bercham police station. On the left side of the road, branching to Lorong Bercham 4, you'll find this restaurant operating at night, and packed on most evenings. Yup, when we were tucking in, we realised the place was already fully-packed. Wow ... with the rain and all, who would've thought the citizens of Ipoh would STILL eat out?

But maybe, we are indeed, RICE POTS ("Fan Pou" - in Chinese, referring to a person who can't live without his/her servings of rice daily) after all ....