WARNING !!! Non-Halal at Its Best? - Char Siew, Siew Yoke and Pig's Innards Porridge @ Bercham, Ipoh

Work was crawling at a tortoise's speed lately. Everyone, from all backgrounds and races, are still reeling from the festivities, and the "Raya mood" still very much alive and kickin' ....

Wong Fee Kee @ Bercham Main Road/Lorong Bercham 5 corner

Off we went for lunch in Bercham, all four of the original Makan Gang, joined by another two lunatics, ahem, officers (",) working at an asylum in Tg. Rambutan.

Porridge aka Congee aka Bubur aka Kanji.

KYT was the one raving about this porridge stall at this restaurant in Bercham. Directions to come at the end of the post. Pretty easy to locate, but parking your vehicles may be a chore. Most drivers park theirs haphazardly by the roadside. And guess what? The authority just couldn't care less.

Zhu Zhap Chuk (Mixed Pig's Innards Porridge) @ RM3.00

The man sells a variety of porridge, from the average pork meat and innards, to fish and eels, and even shark's meat. Yup, anything and everything goes. Sometimes having some plain and smooth, good ol' porridge's perfect for detoxification purposes, and "clearing the bowels", or so they say. But with so much temptations around us, plain porridge ain't cutting it, no?

Coagulated blood, intestines, liver, and what-nots from the swine, cooked in the smooth and tasteful porridge base

Finding good porridge nowadays is tough. Finding a good pig's innards porridge is even tougher. And this one did not disappoint. The deep-fried parts stole the limelight, providing some crunch and texture in contrast to the smooth and piping hot porridge, while the jelly-like coagulated pig's blood was fortunately lacking in unpleasant aroma. The pig's liver cuts were generous, though may evoke paranoia and havoc in a health freak's diet.

Crispy, sinful Siew Yoke (Crispy Roasted Pork) RM5 and ....

.... sweet, caramelized Char Siew (BBQ marinated pork) RM5

If you consider porridge to be somewhat lacking as a meal on its own, do not fret. "Help" is on the way. Or rather, a few stalls away. The aunty selling roast pork and BBQ pork was doing brisk business, and I've full faith in her products, as my family's been loyal customers since aeons ago. Mostly during festivities.

The crispy roasted pork was delicious, the meat not too salty and the accompanying chilli sauce not too overpowering. Some serve theirs with too much garlicky taste, drowning the meat's flavour. Surprisingly, the Char Siew won me over with its sweet, sticky, and slightly charred, caramelized ends, drizzled liberately with the luscious sweet and savoury sauce. No chilli sauce needed for the scrumptious cuts of meat. (Btw, she doesn't sell chicken, or rice for that matter). Perfect accompaniments for your noodles, or porridge.

Still craving for more?

Deep-fried Popiah (Spring Rolls) RM1.50

Egg Skin Popiah RM2.60

Right beside the Siew Yoke aunty, was this stall selling Popiah. Tried their deep-fried popiah before, and was pleasantly surprised she's selling egg-skin popiah as well. Something Jason might wanna take notice. :)

Whoops. Our plan to eat a "Healthy & Simple" meal was thwarted by my glutton instincts. But I'm sure the others wont mind, right? RIGHT? =P

Location : WONG FEE KEE @ Jln Bercham/Lorong Bercham 5. Exiting from PLUS highway Ipoh Selatan toll, you'll reach a traffic lights, then turn RIGHT. The sign should say Bercham. Then at the next traffic lights at a slope, turn right again, and you'll see Tesco Extra on your left. Go straight for a while, passing by rows and rows of shops on your left and right, and 3 consecutive traffic lights. Then the road will get narrower, and you'll be able to see Lorong Bercham 1, 2, 3 and so on. Wong Fee Kee is on your left, at Lorong bercham 5's junction. Daytime only.

Trivia : What's in THOSE buckets?