Ipoh bean sprouts, Concubine Lane and Funny Mountain Soy Milk

Short, fat and stumpy. The bean sprouts in Ipoh are said to be the best in the world.

There is no such thing as a humble bean sprout in Ipoh. Forget about wilted, soggy and translucent imitators. The pride of Ipoh are another experience entirely. Squat in appearance, the sprouts are firm, pure white and decidedly crunchy.

They are addictive to eat on their own, and I'm not usually a big fan of bean sprouts to begin with. The purity of the water here is said to be the secret.

Thean Chun Coffee Shop

Chopping chicken and preparing sar hor fun at Thean Chun Coffee Shop

On our first morning in Ipoh, we head to Thean Chun Coffee Shop for breakfast, one of the oldest and most famous kopitiams, or coffee shops, in Ipoh Old Town. The decor includes throwbacks to the country's British colonial history, heavy wooden tables topped with slabs of marble, the walls around us lined with mirrors.

Locals know this spot as "The House of Mirrors". It's a small but bustling eatery, a cacophony of locals and tourists noisily slurping up bowls of noodles and chattering over heaped plates of satay sticks.

Delivering satay sticks to the grill outside

Satay (or sate) sticks are a popular specialty here. In the laneway outside is the satay grill, a compact contraption that uses a narrow stretch of charcoal to cook skewers of chicken fillet, liver and gizzards, imparting a distinctive smoky flavour.

The satay grill

Satay chicken fillet, liver and gizzards

A huge plate of satay sticks are delivered to our table. The servings are only bite sized, but it means each can be dipped generously into the waiting bowl of satay sauce, a thick concoction of peanut, chilli and oil that coats the meat with an appetising sheen.

Chicken skewer dipped in satay sauce

The chicken liver and gizzards have a squeaky crunch to them, but it's the chicken fillets we all devour with glee. Smoky and deliciously caramelised on the edges, we eat with gusto. As our plate is continually replenished, we pause, confused, until Billy explains that we are only charged for each skewer we eat. The fresh-off-the-grill replenishments are an enticing marketing strategy as we find ourselves eating "just one more" over and over again.

Chee cheong fun

Rice noodles are another specialty of Ipoh. The use of lye water is said to create rice noodles that are superbly smooth and silky. Chee cheong fun are scrolls of steamed rice noodles served simply with soy, a dollop of chilli sauce and a handful of crunchy deep-fried shallot slices and toasted sesame seeds.

Bean curd scrolls

More food arrives. We feast on bowls of soup, filled with bobbing fish balls, tofu squares and scrolls of deep-fried bean curd sheets.

Sar kok liew - Deep-fried stuffed jicama

Deep-fried stuffed jicama, or yam bean, is Billy's favourite dish. The jicama is a crunchy vegetable that is usually eaten raw, tasting like a cross between a potato and a nashi pear. Dusted with potato starch and rolled into bean curds, the deep-fried slices have a satisfying chewiness to them.

Kopi ais iced coffee

Did you know Ipoh is famous for their coffee? An iced coffee is the perfect refreshment on a humid morning. Others order their kopi with milk, served in the distinctive white mugs with floral green pattern.

Kopi

Sar hor fun 沙河粉

It continues.

We each have a bowl of sar hor fun, another specialty of Ipoh. Soft rice noodles, shreds of juicy white-cooked chicken, prawns, bean sprouts and a sweet chicken and prawn broth combine the best of Ipoh in a bowl.

We slurp, chew, crunch and swallow. The satay skewers are still being replenished with alarming rapidity.

This is not just breakfast. This is power eating, Ipoh-style.

Breakfast in Ipoh

After breakfast, we roll ourselves out the door and briefly explore the surrounding streets.

Jalan Bandar Timah

Street food

Directly across the road from Thean Chun lies Panglima Lane.

Second Concubine Lane

Panglima Lane also known as Yi Lai Hong or Second Concubine Lane

Run down and tattered, Panglima Lane is known colloquially as Yi Lai Hong or Second Concubine Lane. From 1900 to 1940, this area is said to have been filled with brothels, gambling houses and opium dens. There were three lanes in particular, known as First, Second and Third Concubine Lane. Debate still exists as to whether mistresses actually lived here, or whether men said they were "visiting their concubine" rather than admit they were heading to an opium den.

Today the laneway is a crumbling shadow of its former self, strung with clothes lines, dumped furniture and empty bird cages. Peeling paint and crumbling walls whisper stories of its past.

Cakes of belacan shrimp paste

And yet there are small pockets of life in this alley. An empty lot, overgrown with weeds and littered with rusty furniture, has a baby high chair which holds a tray of what look like tiles. On closer inspection we realise they're cakes of belacan shrimp paste, quietly drying in the sun as disinterested and apathetic locals walk on by.

And that's when Minh and I decide this would be the perfect backdrop for a jump kick shot.

Jump kicking in style - don't mess with us in dark alley!
[with thanks to Billy for the well-timed photo!]

Funny Mountain Soya Bean

Forget about drive through hamburgers. Imagine if you could have drive through soy milk and tofu fah.

Imagine no more.

Ladling fresh soy milk into plastic bags for takeaway

Funny Mountain is famous not just for amazing fresh soy milk, but its drive-through service too. In fact, when we turn up, we find that the road out front is so congested with thirsty customers waiting in cars, that we end up parking and walking to the shop front for our fix of soy.

The columns outside Funny Mountain are plastered with copies of newspaper articles, each lauding the joys of the fresh soy milk made onsite.

Pouring grass jelly drink into soy milk

We line up for glasses of Black and White, a popular Malaysian drink of grass jelly mixed with soy milk. Another nickname for this drink is Michael Jackson!

Black and White - grass jelly and soy milk drink

The herbal flavour of the grass jelly is always a great match with sweet soy milk. Unlike commercial soy milk, fresh soy has a richer nuttier flavour with a lingering finish. The strips of grass jelly are cold and slippery, cooling on the tongue and in the stomach.

Fresh tofu fah

A huge wooden vat of fresh tofu fah takes pride of place at the front. Standing one metre deep, a metal spoon is used to gently scoop out servings of this delicate tofu dessert.

Fresh tofu fah RM0.80 (about AU$0.30)

Oh. My.

Silky in texture and served with a sweet syrup, this is tofu fah on another scale of divine bliss. The tofu is as soft as a baby's cheek, collapsing with a sigh on your tongue, and slipping and sliding its way to your memory vault of "perfect food moments in life".

Kacang Soya Lai Kee

Kacang Soya Lai Kee

Can you spell gluttony? It starts with g-r-a-b...

Despite the distinct sound of sloshing in our stomachs, we accidentally find ourselves standing outside Kacang Soya Lai Kee only minutes after Funny Mountain.

For research purposes, of course.

Soy milk with gula melaka

The flavoured soy milks here are what gain our attention. We order ours takeaway, the drinks ladled into plastic bags with draw strings that double as handles.

Soy milk with gula melaka and soy milk with ginger syrup

Gula melaka is the palm sugar syrup that has a toffee-like flavour. It adds quite a rich sweetness, perhaps overpowering the natural nuttiness of the soy milk a little. Gula halia is palm sugar syrup with ginger juice, and as a ginger enthusiast, I quite enjoy its warming qualities.

So much food and liquid, and it's not even midday. I'm beginning to like Ipoh. A lot.

> Read the next Malaysia post (Ipoh street food and suckling pig)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)

FREE LUNCH? Don't forget to enter the competition to win a free $150 lunch for two at Aki's, Woolloomooloo. Entries close this Sunday!

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Thean Chun Coffee Shop
73, Jalan Bandar Timah
Ipoh Old Town, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Funny Mountain Soya Bean & Taufu Fa Traditional
49 Jalan Theatre
Corner of Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar and Jalan Theatre
30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel: +60 (05) 546 9968
Open 7 days 10.30am-7pm

(tofu fah usually sells out by 2pm)

Kacang Soya Lai Kee

Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar

30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Tel: +60 (0)16 531 118

> Read the next Malaysia post (Ipoh street food and suckling pig)

< Read the first Malaysia 2010 post (Kuala Lumpur)