Huang Ting Restaurant @ First Garden, Ipoh

Back from the East Coast, but a let's take a break from all the travel posts. If you're not sick of them yet, I am. =P .......... OK, maybe in the next few days or weeks. But as of now, I'm still reeling from the perilous, bumpy 6 hours journey from Kelantan to Ipoh.

Worn, torn and battered menus could only mean one thing; GOOD patronage!

Let's do a marathon (given the just concluded KL Marathon whereby even food bloggers aka floggers joined in the fray, and came out more lightweighted than ever !!!) on Chinese food from Ipoh. Everything from hawker fare, to the restaurants all over Ipoh city, and all the bits and pieces I've missed out and left rotting in the backlog.

Braised Pork Trotter (RM10/small)

First Garden is an area I seldom ventured out for food, as I'm staying rather a distance away. Okay okay .... slightly exaggerating, but in Ipoh, anywhere more than half an hour of travelling for dinner is considered taxing, although KLites may beg to differ.

Huang Ting in First Garden is a household name, doing brisk business amongst the community in and around the garden, from Menglembu area, and even those from further away. OK, maybe some people just lurve to scout for food, no matter the distance.

Stir-fried Frog's Legs with Ginger & Spring Onions (RM12) & Kailan with Roasted Pork (RM6)

Arriving for dinner on a rainy night, we were lucky to be seated promptly, as according to KCA, the restaurant can get really packed at times.

We shared 5 dishes, mostly recommended items as the endless list of dishes on the menu had me scratching my head, indecisive in what to order.

Homemade Beancurd (RM8)

The braised pork trotter with soy sauce was served piping hot in a claypot, but did not fare too well in terms of flavour. Tasted rather bland, though the meat was tender and portion's aplenty.

Faring better was the stir-fried frog legs with ginger and spring onions, a classic combination that managed to complement the delicate meat of the amphibian, and successfully eliminating any unpleasant odour (some may find the meat 'fishy') the meat possesses. But given the scarce supplies of frogs, the small serving was really limiting, with each of us tasting mere slivers of those smooth and firm meat.

Assam Fish Slices (RM10)

The kailan stir-fried with roasted pork (siew yoke) was the chosen fibre to balance the meal, and the homemade beancurd was highly recommended. Not hard to see why, as the soft beancurd was deep-fried until crispy on the outer layer, and topped with a savoury combination of minced meat, and dried shrimps.

The assam fish slices came in a fiery red hue, only to reveal its mild nature after the first spoonful. With abundance of long beans, brinjals and onions, the grouper fish slices came in a dainty portion again, with 6-8 firm slices. But of course, at RM10 per serving, who's complaining?

Yup, the crowd literally 'poured' onto the sidewalk .....

Location : Huang Ting Restaurant @ 14, Lorong Taman 13, Taman Pertama, 30100 Ipoh, Perak. Tel No : 012-417 8997. Here's a MAP. A bit tricky if you're not familiar with Silibin area, but shouldn't be a problem if you know where's the previous bus station, Medan Kidd.