Interesting Foods in Perak

Sightseeing without sampling the local cuisine would feel incomplete. Along the way, we made it a point to hunt down some of the most talked-about eateries, eager to satisfy both our curiosity and our taste buds.

Lou Wong Bean Sprouts Chicken (Nga Choi Gai), Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Ipoh.

***************************************************

Chan Siew Heng Nga Pau Fan, Kampar.

***************************************************

Bukit Mertajam Yam Rice.

****************************************************

Wan Tan Mee at Pun Chun Restaurant, Bidor.

***************************************************

Pasembor (Indian Rojak), Restoren Ansari Famous Cendol, Taiping.

****************************************************

Kap Pian (Peanut Pancake) at a back lane stall, Menglembu.

****************************************************

Ng Yam Huat Food Court, Bukit Mertajam.

****************************************************
Chicken Rice, Restaurant Wang Kee, Kampung Koh, Setiawan.

Taufu Fah in Perak

Besides cendol, we did stop at taufu fah stores whenever we found one. This Woong Kee Beancurd along Jalan Ali Pitchay in Ipoh is reputed to be 4th generation maker of taufu fah. It's texture was smooth and silky and it was served with gula Malacca syrup. Even better than the one sold in our Taman Tun Fuad Park.

***************************************************

This roadside seller in Pusing offers a variety of syrups: normal, gula Malacca and ginger syrup. We opted for ginger syrup and it's not bad but the texture was a bit coarse.

Engineering & Architecture in Perak

Prai Bridge, Bukit Mertajam

Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge, Lumut

**************************************************

Mengkuang Dam, Bukit Mertajam

**************************************************

Grand Kampar Hotel

**************************************************

Sentosa Villa, Taiping

***************************************************

New Church Complex of St. Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam

http://www.malaysiasite.nl/sintanneseng.htm

Museums & Historical Sites, Perak

Tin mining was once Perak’s lifeline, the very industry that propelled the state into economic prominence and shaped much of its present identity. Today, while the mines have long fallen silent, efforts to preserve this important part of history continue through the dedication of individuals like Tan Sri Hew See Tong - a man deeply passionate about keeping Perak’s tin-mining heritage alive.

We had the privilege of meeting him quite by chance during a visit to the partially completed Kinta Tin Mining (Gravel Pump) Museum in Kampar. Despite his distinguished title, Tan Sri humbly introduced himself as “just an old man from Kampar.” His modesty, however, belied his great vision. He makes it a point to visit the construction site regularly, keeping a close eye on its progress.

Warm, approachable, and remarkably chatty, he shared openly about his hopes and determination to establish this museum - not merely as a building, but as a lasting legacy to ensure future generations understand and appreciate the cultural heritage of tin mining. Our conversation even slipped naturally into Hakka, his mother tongue and ours too, which made the exchange all the more personal and meaningful.

Read Here
****************************************************

Perak Museum at Taiping, Jalan Lumba Kuda - It is said that this is the oldest Museum in Malaysia !

Ngah Ibrahim Fort & Museum, Matang, Taiping

This used to be the residence of Ngah Ibrahim, the local leader of Larut and son of Long Jaafar, the man who discovered tin in Bukit Gantang, setting off the tin industry in Malaya.

***************************************************
Kellie's Castle, Jalan Gopeng, Gunung Rapat, Ipoh

Read Here

****************************************************
Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

****************************************************
Old shops in Ipoh

Hugging a Gaharu Tree in Gopeng

On the way from Kampar to Batu Gajah, we were attracted to the "Great Wall of Gopeng" in our GPS. Whether it's the entrepreneur's marketing strategy or his unintentional entry in the GPS, we were indeed amazed to find something totally unexpected inside the Great Wall of Gopeng- A huge plantation with hundreds and hundreds of Gaharu trees - Gaharu Tea Valley.

While waiting for the trees to mature in the next 10-20 years, the entrepreneur has this idea of allowing visitors to see and hug a 20-year old Gaharu tree at RM10 per person. Hugging a Gaharu promises well being of one's life. Somehow, this turns out to be a good business strategy !

Cendol, Perak

We intentionally looked out for cendol wherever we went. Of all, we found the cendol at the Restoren Ansari Famous Cendol at Jalan Chung Thye Phin in Taiping (Coordinates: N 04d51'10.9", E100d44'19.5") to be the best among all we had tasted.

Next in our list is the Li Cendol which is set up in a mobile pick-up truck in Bukit Mertajam. The Malay lady store keeper who could speak Chinese was just too happy to be our photographer after knowing we came all the way from Sabah.

James Cendol in Setiawan which we very much wanted to try was unfortunately not opened due to the long CNY break.

Though in a much more pleasant setting, the cendol we tried in Teluk Intan in The Store Supermarket somehow could not match the "standard" of those roadside cendol outlets we tasted!

We also tried the cendol at "BM Best Cendol" in Bukit Mertajam along Jalan Danby. Unfortunately, no photo was taken. The cendol was nothing fantastic. We did not have good experience at this place due to confusion over the price as printed on their bill board as against the verbal price quoted after eating.

Lumut

Lumut turned out to be more than Lumut Naval Base that this place has been known to me. Visiting Lumut during non-peaked season enabled us to have the whole hotel literally to ourselves.

We were the only customer to enjoy the steam boat in the hotel restaurant. The good thing was that as senior citizens, I needed to pay only half price at RM14.00.

Breakfast by the poolside.

******************************************************

KK which has abundant Bakau mangroves within its 20 Km radius should learn from Lumut to put in place infrastructure to promote this for eco-tourism and education purpose.

******************************************************

Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge - an interesting structure to behold.

Australian Tennis Open 2012

Against all odds and contrary to the choices of my family members, my predictions of men's singles semi and final and women's singles final were all correct.

Rafael Nadal preferred over Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic preferred over Andy Murray.
Novak Djokovic preferred over Rafael Nadal.

Victoria Azarenka preferred over Maria Sharapova.

Can't imagine the amount I would have won if given a chance to bet ! :)