I remember when I was younger, we would take several trips out of KL just for a getaway. Our usual place to visit is Ipoh & Penang because these two places are well known for their food. And the one place that I will always remember very fondly is Kong Heng in Oldtown Ipoh. 

Whenever we eat there, the place will be filled to the brim with locals and people from other states. They are there to try the famous and very delicious noodles.My favourite is the Ipoh Sah Hor Fun. This bowl comes with strips of chicken and prawns atop the noodles, plus some garlic chives for added flavours. Usually I never really like eating hor fun but somehow I can finish this entire bowl by myself. The taste is exactly the same as I remembered it to be and I'm happy to know that the quality plus standard never drops.Then there's the pork noodles with lots of intestinal bits. This one is my mom's favourite and she always orders this but I usually only enjoy my own bowl of hor fun. But that day I tried a bit of this and found it to be really good too. The ingredients are plenty and the noodles are perfectly al-dente. Then the soup, it has SO much flavour that one spoonful left me quite surprised. Then the meal is never complete unless we have a plate of tau geh simply steamed then doused with soya sauce. This represents the simple pleasures in life because it's probably the cheapest thing ever and yet, the tastiest. 

Let's just say we never fail to pay a visit to this restaurant whenever we're in Ipoh or happen to be driving by.

It was an aunt's birthday that day and we were all craving for good thai food. Since we were around Kepong area, they decided to bring us to try this thai place which they gave quite good reviews of. I went with high hopes because Thai food is really my favourite. No thai food dinner is complete without ordering Tom Yum Soup and we got a pot of White Seafood tom yum to share. It was as expected and served in a claypot steaming hot. The soup was spicy with a nice touch of sourness. This was pretty good however slightly small portion wise as it only yielded about five bowls of soup at most. But the plus side however, the prawns and squid were very fresh so those added a nice sweetness to the soup. Instead of the usual mango salad that we'd get, my aunt suggested trying this pickled brinjal that comes with salted eggs. The idea of it was very unusual and when the dish arrived, I was quite put off by how anemic the vegetable looked. Although it did not taste bad and had the soury-spicy kick you would usually get from a mango salad, the spongy pickled brinjal was just not to my liking. Then because we were all craving for it, we got the steamed squid with garlic, lime and chilli sauce. This was amazing because it had everything that I like. The sauce is super spicy and sour which compliments the succulently sweet squid that was super fresh. I couldn't stop going back for more and more of the sauce that remained hot throughout because of the heat it sat on top of. But the squid never got super crunchy and overcooked which makes this dish the star of the night. Perfect.

There was plenty more on the menu that looks amazing which we have yet to try. So we will most definitely be back for more some time soon. 

Over the weekend, my good friend and I met up at Jaya One much earlier than we should for our workshop. We wanted to get lunch and also catch up with all the has happened in each other's life. Since she is familiar with the area, she suggested that we eat at Marufuku because it has affordable prices and also sufficient portion.

So that's where we went and a little after lunch time, there were not that many people so we got a table instantly. A staff came to hand us a menu and gave us some time to go through it. They have plenty of choices and mainly are popular for their udon, however I have never been a fan so I went for their rice bowl instead. I got the Gyuniku Don with an Onsen Tamago [Rm11]. It's basically sliced beef with a soft boiled egg over rice and it was pretty good I must say. However the meat was lacking some flavour which I compensated with a little soya sauce and also some chilli in oil that was provided on the table. The egg was perfectly runny and coats the rice nicely. 

For an added Rm1, I got a glass of cold green tea. Plus they also provided a small bowl of soup which I am not sure what kind it was, but it was warm and tasted pretty good so I was happy with it. 

They also offer plenty of add-ons at rather affordable prices too but I did not get any of those. However I think you should try when you're there because it's cheap but also tastes pretty good.

On our way back from a short holiday to Singapore, we stopped at Johor for dinner before making a long drive back home. Plus there is apparently a really good restaurant there which my mom had dine at before and wanted to bring us there. It was one last treat before returning back to our usual routine. The place looked really good, something that most chinese couples would have their wedding dinner at almost. The staff were quite attentive too though they seem to have a little bit of a struggle when it comes to smiling. But I guess that is easily overlooked by the ambience. Being quite popular for their roast duck, it would be qite foolish to dine there and not to order it. The roast is brought to the table whole and carved right there before being wrapped into little savoury crepes/pancakes for you with the nice sauce lathered in it. This was pretty good and I ate more than three without even noticing it. As another added treat and bonus, we got this exurbent dish. The sea cucumber, fish maw, mushroom braised in a super thick sauce that leaves you wanting more. I cannot remember exactly what fish this was. But it tasted really amazing because of the sauce it was cooked with and  just on the outside layer, it's perfectly caramelized. Despite the nice crust outside, the interior was still nicely juicy. Plus one portion is pretty substantial for a single person and eating it with rice, remember to douse the sauce over it because you know it will be amazing.

There is never a chance for me to say no if someone asks me to eat something Thai. Even if I am feeling unwell, I will still drag myself out of bed just to have a good bowl of hot tom yum soup. Since there was an errand or two that had to be done there, we decided to have our dinner at Midvalley and my first option was of course Absolute Thai. First we got the Omelette with Oysters. This was actually pretty good was exactly what I wanted when I ordered, plus it had little bits of raw cabbage at the bottom. Not too sure if I was eat that together with the egg or not but I ignored it mostly. The only draw back of this dish is that there was a little too much oil which I had to wipe off with a tissue paper. And like always, we ordered our favourite steamed fish with lime, ginger and chilli. This will always be my favourite dish to order especially when it comes in the metal dish that remains constantly heated throughout your entire dining experience. The soup is the star because I can have mouthfuls of it, probably about to die from the spice and kick but that won't stop me from going back for more.Then finally the bowl of Seafood Tom Yum soup. As always when it comes to Absolute Thai's, it is incredibly spicy and also sour. Eating this hot was just an assault on your senses, but the good kind and keeps you coming back for more. The seafood always tastes fresh without being overcooked and dry. I could finish this entire bowl myself on a good day.After all the hot and spicy stuff I had, as a nice ending to the meal I got my favourite thai dessert - the red jewels. Basically it's sweetened coconut milk doused shaved ice with slices of nangka & little red jewels of chestnut individually wrapped with jelly. I always loved this because it's sweet but has different kinds of texture, something Absolute Thai does this very well.