Ah Xian found me
A relaxing lunch awaits me after a long ride through the countryside
And as always, a jolly good time is to be shared and I found very good company in J, S and C. Being K.Lites, they have actually been to some of Ah Xian’s recommendations in K.L and Ipoh, I know I’m in safe hands. The least Ah Xian has done is introduce us to all these good eats otherwise hidden and unknown to the rest of the food universe. Such a shame and injustice that would have been. The fun to me is always in the searching…the pursuing. Whenever I actually find one of these hidden eating places wherever I go (K.L., Tokyo or Paris) it’s tough for me to describe the feeling. It’s rather satisfying without even eating the food. It’s like a hunter nailing the hunted. It’s fantasy turn reality – you read and heard about it, you’ve seen it on tv and you dreamed about it and now you are standing right in front of it! Not many things in life get any better than that feeling.
S was raving about this restaurant the whole time he was driving. He’s been here couple of times and last year on route to a friend’s wedding. Quite a good excuse to find good food off the beaten path while on official business. He got so lost the 1st time he came without his GPS (it’s obvious this town is designed to get outsiders lost)…he has to keep calling his friends for directions and when he finally got here he could not get no food because it was already fully booked for dinner. That’s disgusting! That’s so sick! I totally empathize that. I could have killed myself because I really cannot imagine such a fate after ALL that trouble. Trust me GPS works wonders like divine guidiance from the universe! And every car needs a pre-installed GPS directory for good food. Click a button and it’ll get you there! How nice! I’ve only started using GPS for the 1st time on our Europe trip this past summer, used it more when I was in L.A. last month but GPS is a complete life-saver for this trip. I’m think I’m growing increasingly dependent on this gagdet for my travel now.
Fresh shrimp in heavenly savory sauce
Perak state is traditionally filled with tin mining towns. The concept of this resturant is that its seafood are reared out of its abandoned-tin-mines-turned-seafood farms. So everyone raves about how good the shrimps, prawns are seafood are. So if there’s a place on earth to get your cholestorol level up and doctors mad, this is probably it. Honestly your doc would have given you a break when he realizes how just how good this is going to be.
Drunken steamed shrimps in rice wine sauce
We got there right before 1pm. S don’t even need to tell us which restaurant we are going because there’s a familiar face greeting diners outside the restaurant when we drove past it. What a way to do your marketing. Because of the popularity of this place, I seen at least 4 similiar restaurants in that stretch of road. No mater where you go, even in a town like this, the competitive spirit is well and much alive. There aren’t much activities on the streets when we got there. A few fruits and candies street hawkers probably left over from the morning “pasar” crowd, still putting out local produce for sale. 2 or 3 tables at Sin Mei Fong (the restaurant), nice, peaceful, laid-back, relaxing place to enjoy good food. What more can you ask.
Thanks to Xian. There goes my relaxing lunch.
While I was away apparently, God knows from where, came 2 bus loads of foodies and totally took over the restaurant. From a quiet little town, this place is almost instantly transformed into a magnet for people in search of seafood, bringing with it people of all ages and race, tucked into this place known as Sin Mei Fong in Tualang! Come one this is Tanjong Tualang not PJ or anywhere remotely close to metropolitan K.L. So now I have company. More than I could ever asked for. And now I know why the copy-cats.
The food was simply fabulous. I was totally in love with the food. The shrimps in its savory sauce were fantastic. It was just a great meal. How can it not be? I have aunties, tai tais, ah ma and ah peks who seemed more excited as each dish was taken out from the kitchen. I can tell they have come a long way. It’s always good to see people excited over good food. It brings a certain comfort to the soul to eat (of course) and see others enjoying it too. I approached the middle-age lady boss manning the cashier counter to ask where they are from in Cantonese (the preferred language here) and she said they are on a food tour from K.L. well it was apparent they are a group of hungry but very happy people on a food trip. All thanks to Ah Xian.
Fried squid in salty duck egg sauce
Meals like this certainly bring back a lot of fun memories – you who’ve been there with me you know in many ways, the people the food the atmosphere were no different from our Tokyo food trip. *Wink
On our last night in K.L, when we were at S home, we even managed to catch an episode of Ah Xian’s show in its 5th season. (what a bonus!) Interestingly Ah Xian was recommending a place in Kedah that offers one of its kind – “fried porridge”. Yes fried porridge. Not sure if I’ll like it but there’s always room for something new. Again this little gem has gotten quite famous with bus loads of foodies who would come especially to try this exotic congee even when Ah Xian was filming it. Well, I think we might just have our next trip planned.
I told D about this trip and he’s already asking me when to bring him there (even though he just started his new job!!) hahaha…so get your paper and pencils ready, take down the addresses when you watch Ah Xian on TV because we could be heading up north for more good food soon!
Key this into your GPS to locate this wonderful refuge for seafood and enjoy your drive:
21/23 Market Street, Tanjong Tualang, Perak
