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Motormouth From Ipoh

Saturday, January 24, 2009

A Pre-CNY Post : (Not The) Teluk Intan's Famous Chee Cheong Fun & Lana Tea House

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR !!!! Ushering in the Year of The Ox, let's hope all things auspicious come our way, and may there be an endless slew of fantastic restaurants opening soon in good ol' Ipoh ......

Or I can be delusional. But still, one can be hopeful, ya? ......


The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Not!!!
Still embracing the holidays in all its glory, I'm suffering from writer's block. Thus, might as well write bout something recent, to minimize diminishing of my already declining grey matters.

Suddenly ... we felt so out of place.... =P
The other day our excursion (1st REAL travelling for 2009!) took us to Teluk Intan, and Hutan Melintang. Never heard of them? The former may ring a bell with most, as Teluk Intan is one of Perak's larger town, aside from Ipoh, Taiping, Seri Manjung and Sitiawan. And foodies will relate the town with its famous Chee Cheong Fun (stuffed with dried shrimps, and liberately drizzled/doused with oil), Hiong Peng (courtesy of Sin Joo Heong, with a branch in Ipoh even), Ah Chai rojak (famous for its sweet sauce, yet nothing spectacular), Gulam Rasul and Mastan Ghani (both being Malay-Mamak outlets), etc etc .....
Chee Cheong Fun - NOT the famous Teluk Intan one from the factory, but different from Ipoh's nevertheless
Bear in mind Hutan Melintang is NOT a forest, nor it's beyond civilization. It's a small town, right after Teluk Intan, on the way to Sabak Bernam, Sekinchan, and Kuala Selangor. Any idea? But foodwise, I faltered, hence the breakfast and lunch in Teluk Intan instead.
Initially planned for breakfast at Teck Kee Foodstuff (on Jalan Raja) that supposedly serves the REAL deal, CCF from the famous factory, which btw, opens ONLY from evening onwards. But due to the CNY season, Teck Kee chose to display ornaments and festivities galore, than seating area for food. No CCF. =(
But all's not lost, as opposite the road at a corner houses a classic coffee shop named Keng Heng, with patronage from mostly the elder ones. OK, so maybe it's a working day, and who else got time for a cuppa other than the retired ones, and (loyal) civil servants like us. =)
The broth's so clear, you'd be thinking this bowl of noodles would be perfect for one feeling under the weather
The shop houses 3 stalls; One selling Wantan Noodles, another selling erm, Noodles in Soup with Condiments (refer pic above) and a third one dealing with ... what else? CCF!
I was initially stumped as the auntie was packing up and preparing to close. FINISHED?!!! Shucks .... But auntie was kind enough to let me have a packet of CCF, that she's packed for someone, I guess. Hahaha ...
It's different from the usual CCF. And yet, different from even the Teluk Intan's famous one. Instead of rolling the rice noodles up to be served, the noodles are served just like how Ipohans have them; merely chopped up, and with green chillies, fried shallots, and lots (I mean, LOTS!) of dried shrimps. That's it. No sauce at all, aside from soy sauce. A bit dry to be taken, hence I requested for chilli sauce. Not bad, but the noodles is not as smooth as I like them though.
TallGal's bowl of noodles in soup, with Char Siew, Siew Yoke and Chicken looked .... a little too healthy. But I didn't hear her complaining, so should be good as a tummy-filler, before lunch.
Location : Keng Heng Coffee Shop @ 42, Jalan Raja, 36000 Teluk Intan.
And talkin bout lunch ......

Lana Tea House @ Taman Indah Jaya
Rather secluded, behind a row of shops off Jalan Sultan Abdullah, is this quaint tea house-cum-cafe-cum-restaurant. It's pitch black inside. OK, maybe not as dark, but the dim lighting was a huge contrast to the sunny weather. You can't even determine whether this place is open or closed, judging from the non-existent of signs on the outside. Just push your luck, and push the doors open. ;)

Spaghetti with Chicken Meat (RM6.50)


Seafood Fried Rice (RM6)

Sambal Squid Rice (RM5)

Prices are dirt cheap. For less than RM10 per pax, one can get a satisfying meal plus drinks. The choices varied from the usual fried rice and noodles, to spaghetti and salads, as well as chops and desserts. All reasonably-priced, and the quality ain't too shabby either.
The fried rice was surprisingly good, each grain fried with sufficient 'wok hei', maintaining the fluffiness of the grains. With ingredients such as squids, prawns, etc, the portion's not stingy either. The sambal squid was spicy, unexpectedly. The squids were good, fresh, bouncy and served generously. The spaghetti was .... well, like the norm. Don't expect the sky when you're paying rockbottom prices.
*Pardon the pics as the interior was way too dark for my phonecam.
Location : Lana Tea House @ No 1, Jalan Teratai J4/8, Taman Indah Jaya, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak. Tel No : 605- 621 8996.
Motormouth wishes those who celebrate, and those who 'tumpang' holidays, a very, very Happy Chinese New Year !!!
Eat more, Snap more, Blog more !!!

14 comments:

PureGlutton said...

Dang! I seriously miss T.Intan's CCF! Have not eaten that for years. Koong Hei Fatt Choy to u!

minchow said...

I love your posts about them wayward small towns around the Peninsula; seriously what Cuti cuti Malaysia needs to boost domestic travel numbers! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

gill gill said...

emm....must make a trip to teluk intan CCF next time!

iamthewitch said...

Please visit Kampar some time soon! It's got great food! The CCF in the Kampar market is WAY better than the one you showed in this pic. Trust me! :)

Anonymous said...

I really need to get out of KL to eat more! Want CCF!

Happy CNY!!!

CRIZ LAI said...

Burps~~ Those are some great food I'm yearning for. I missed the ais kacang there now... errr... more towards a concoction of many ingredients.

Happy "Niu" Year to you and all in the family. May this year be a healthy, wealthy and prosperous year for everyone. :)

http://crizfood.com/

HairyBerry said...

i tot the dried shrimp and turnips are inside the ccf one? but looks delicious nonetheless...

hey dude, here's wishing u a fantastic ox year ahead!

Helo said...

Wow..lots of good food there in Teluk Intan. Hope to make a trip one of these days.

Happy happy CNY 2009!!

worldwindows said...

Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family.

J2Kfm said...

PureGlutton : Happy new year! i miss the original one as well.

550ml jar of faith : Gong Xi Fa Cai! dont worry, after the holidays, think the rural posts will increase!

gill gill : yeah! i'll be going often as well.

iamthewitch : hey! i love Kampar market food as well. still yet to try the cheong fun, but the pulut with charsiew and curry is delicious.

Lyrical Lemongrass : happy holidays to u 2!

Criz Lai :Happy new year to u as well. hope the year of Ox will bring u luck n more.

Nic : yeah, this one ... somewhat different from the rest.

laukl : pls do so, if only the roads to Teluk intan is easier to access.

worldwindows : happy new year to u and family too

Anonymous said...

J2Kfm. I like your blog and I will be visiting Betong on 28 Jan 2009 on a day trip with family. You sure had no idea what you missed at Hutan Melintang - it is MEN LOK SEAFOOD. Anyway they are closed for about 1 week during CNY, phew! At HM town traffic light, turn left if coming from Sabak Bernam. Straight if coming from Teluk Intan. At the end of this road is a T-junction facing the river edge. This is a fishing community and seafood processing centre. Men Lok is disguised as a kopitiam on a row of oldies single-storey shops located just before the junction and hitting the river if you continue to drive straight haha. It is a hidden seafood paradise. A seafood shangrila that stirs your tastebuds so don't be fooled by your eyes at the simple kopitiam ambience which is why they are only known to locals and diehard outstation visitors like me. Usually we order in advance by tel 05-6411484 before reaching or else we have to wait at least half an hour. It is packed during lunch and dinner. I eat there once every month during my trip to Teluk Intan. They cook fresh sea produce and their specialities are claypot stir-fried-spicy-sauce fish, big asam prawns, fried prawn mantis, big sliced octopus, crabs dishes, etc. Surprisingly no-pork hence it is Halal. I find the seafood so special that there is no match anyway else, in terms of its different tantalising taste, whether in Bukit Tambun, Penang, Klang or anywhere else that comes to mind. The specialty is the secret sauces, cooks are 2 old brothers and great cooking style. Once these cooks retires, the legacy of Men Lok seafood will dissappear forever, so you better try out soon and be the first to blog about it. It is still a hidden paradise as far as I know. I would not mention about the price but they are worth every sen. Yummy!! Andrew: chuatc@gmail.com

Nate @ House of Annie said...

So do you prefer wet ccf to dry?

The noodles in soup look tasty enough.

Happy Niu Year!

J2Kfm said...

Anonymous : thanks soooo much Andrew! timely, I might add! packed even during lunch? we'll be going for lunch instead of dinner, during working hours.

happy new year!

Nate-n-Annie : I prefer wet AND dry, depends on which state's serving them. Pg's version with shrimp paste also not bad, Ipoh's with diff gravies and condiments also good, and Teluk Intan's dry, rolled with lots of dried shrimps also good. Happy New Year too@

Selba said...

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Niu Year :)