Ipoh always brings back fond memories of my childhood, so you cannot blame me for feeling a wee bit nostalgic as I went through Ipoh City on Friday. It has been nearly two years since I last visited my grandpa in Ipoh, and clearly, Ipoh has not changed at all.
Food was of course the name of the game over here in Perak. The famous duck drumstick soup noodles shop in Bidor was my first destination, and the noodles were as scrumptious as I last tasted it some years back. The shop still has the same old traditional family feel, still refusing to bow to the pressures of air conditioning and high tech menus, and I only just found out that my parents’ wedding was held here decades ago! Talk about feeling a connection to the place!
On Saturday morning, my grandpa, my dad, and I went for our usual morning walk and headed towards the neighborhood coffee shops for breakfast. We had our usual chee cheong fun, which is usually good, but either the owner has smoked one too many cigarettes and allowed the stench of the nicotine to interfere with his taste, or the once-fantastic dish has deteriorated; I certainly hope it is the former.
Familiarity is in the air here in Ipoh, and it seems that time stops here in this town as shops there were here when I was a toddler were still standing tall. A paint job might suffice here and there, but the places were no doubt still the same. Time does not stand still for the people though as everywhere you go, pensioners and retired folk are around and about talking politics and drinking tea. With hair dye so prominent in society, it was really interesting to realize that I was one of only a select few of breakfast-goers who did not sport white hair as the latest fashion.
After breakfast, my dad and I raced to the biggest mall in town – Kinta City, but alas, the place reminded me of hell, shopping-less hell. The glitzy and glamorous shopping malls in KL must have pampered me because Kinta City pales in comparison, it is like a like Proton, ugly on the outside and empty on the inside.
For lunch, we went to Gyoza Noodle Bar in town. It is a really cozy and quaint restaurant which serves dishes ranging from Hong Kong-style noodles to the deliciously innovative shrimp toast. Some might think of the place as a novelty, but with so many fascinating foods to choose from, every visit will bring about a new culinary experience. Dinner time was not that straightforward as rain poured through the streets of Ipoh, so my dad and I had to drive over to Gourmet Square to take away. The food was somewhat disappointing as the fried oyster was too hard, the fried Hokkien noodles were too watery while the clay-pot chicken rice left a lot to be desired.
I did take some photos with my camera phone, but I am too lazy to actually upload them, so just imagine. Here’s to Ipoh, unchanged since 1989!
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In other Malaysian news, kudos to our Prime Minister for checking out the public transportation system, wait till you embark on the bus routes around KL Pak Lah, you will be even more appalled!
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I just finished the whole Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer, and it was awesome. I completed the four books in nearly a week because it was that good.
The series about the romance between a vampire and a human has been receiving a lot of hype in the Malaysian press, and I am happy to confirm that it deserves the buzz.
Now, Edward and Bella are going to the movies near you!
The guy may seem familiar to your Harry Potter geeks out there, he is Robert Pattinson AKA Cedric Diggory while the girl is Kirsten Stewart.
I have no qualms about most of the thespians who will be in Twilight: The Movie, but Emmett Cullen has to be bigger, Rosalie Cullen is supposed to be Goddess-like gorgeous, and well, I just don’t like the actress playing Esme Cullen.
I am really excited about Ashley Greene, who will be playing my favourite character in the book – Edward’s cute and bubbly sister Alice Cullen (second from the right above).
I seriously cannot wait!
I really hope it shows up in Malaysian cinemas cause it is really my most anticipated film of Fall 2008!