Ipoh Famous Yong Tau Foo Under Big Tree @ Pasir Pinji, Ipoh

Have long been hearing about this famous under the big tree Yong Tau Foo at Ipoh from my parents. My dad hometown is in Ipoh and I would say he is pretty familiar with most of the road and foad stalls around.

The ironic part is that, I don't know why do I always missed out this Yong Tau Foo stall whenever I happened to tag along with my parents back to Ipoh. Not during the previous Qing Ming festival anymore, as I bugged my Dad to bring me there. The Yong Tau Foo stall is located at Pasir Pinji. However, the local regard it as "Under the Big Tree" Yong Tau Foo.

Famous Ipoh Yong Tau Foo at Pasir Pinji

Price list

The stall operates on a self-service basis where you gotta pick you choice of Yong Tau Foo at the counter before they were being served to the table.

Sui Kow, Tau Pok, Fuu Chuk are amongst the fried stuff

Vegetables choice include biter gourd, chili and lady finger

Crowd picking their choice

As soon as you picked your choice, you will need to hand them to the workers who will then proceed your order by passing them to the cook, in a proper queue system.

The workers preparing the Yong Tau Foo

The queue system

The wide span of the area is large, but it seems that almost all the tables were occupied. At our time of visit, we were lucky to be able to get a table since it was during the peak hour of the lunch time.

Crowded

Our Yong Tau Foo was served to the table barely less than 10 minutes after the order. That really surprise me with the amount of large orders the have. Efficient is the word!

Fried Stuff (RM 0.50 per piece)

Fried Bitter Gourd, Turnip and Tau Foo (RM 0.50 per piece)

Dry Noodles

Soup version Yong Tau Foo (RM 0.50 per piece)

There is a particular fried stuff that I liked a lot. It is not an ordinary fried stuff where you can get it at any Yong Tau Foo stall, in fact, none that I recall.

Fried Turnip
The Chinese call them as "Sar Kok Liew". It consisted mainly of turnips. There were no fish paste but the taste was magnificent. Crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. The sweetness of the turnips is such a goodness.

Consisted of diced turnips and only turnips

All for only RM 15.50
It took me a while to digest the price, because it was way too cheap. The Yong Tau Foo was decent, but not my personal best that I have eaten. I would have liked it more should the fish paste is more original, in the context that it contained more fish meat proportion. Anyway, at the price they are selling, seriously, I could not have ask for more on what they are serving.

Besides Yong Tau Foo, there were other stalls selling other food as well. Having been here before, Mum insisted that I should not missed out trying the Popiah.

Pasir Pinji Popiah at Under Big Tree

Neat, tidy and efficient

Pasir Pinji Popiah (RM 3.20 for two rolls)
Mum was right. The popiah were rightly flavoured, generous with ingredients and most importantly not soggy. It was that good that I packed some back too.

Chee Cheong Fun at Under Big Tree (RM 3)
Pretty decent but gravy came with some slices of mushroom.

I thought the food was enough for the 3 of us. But I couldn't resist myself from ordering a bowl of pork intestine porridge.

Pork Intestine Porridge Stall at Under Big Tree

Pork Intestine Porridge (RM 2.50)
Smooth porridge and consisted a fair portion of intestines. Taste wise, can compete with the stall from the New Lane Street, Penang. The price is seriously unbeatable though.

I'm a person with sweet tooth and I can't help it when some sweet puff caught my attention.

Kaya Puff (RM 1.30 per piece)
The skin offered a mild crisp while being fluffy within. The kaya was fragrant too, the way that a good Kaya puff should taste.

Saw the big trees around?

Now you know why the locals regard them as Under Big Tree or even Dai Shu Geok (Big Tree Foot). Anything it is, everyone that come here surely will order some Yong Tau Foo as their meal.

Yong Tau Foo: 7/10
Popiah: 8/10
Chee Cheong Fun: 6.5/10
Pork intestine porridge: 7/10
Kaya puff: 8/10

Atmosphere: 5/10
Price: 9/10
Verdict: Superbly cheap decent Yong Tau Foo. Do not missed out the Fried Turnip and the Popiah stall!

Under Big Tree Ipoh Famous Yong Tau Foo
652, Jalan King
Pasir Pinji
31650, Ipoh
Perak
Malaysia
Business hours: 8.30am - 5.30pm

GPS Coordinates: N4 34.940' E101 5.181'

Restoran Kwee Hoe @ Lawan Kuda, Gopeng, Perak

Back during the Qing Ming festival, I followed my parents back to Ipoh to pay a visit to my grandparents cemetery. I don't do that last time, in fact it has been more than 5 years since I last followed them back. Perhaps this is the right time where I should start to make it an annual practice.

After driving near to 2 hours, we reached the Gopeng toll exit. My parents have been raving to me about a stall which served fresh and delicious Snakehead fish (Sang Yu). The stall is located in a village called Lawan Kuda, pretty strong name huh? Unfortunately, the stall which my parents always frequent was closed during that time and we drive a little deeper into the village and decided to dine in this stall, Restoran Kwee Hoe.

Restoran Kwee Hoe at Lawan Kuda

At our time of visit, it was almost 8pm. The stall is getting crowded, so I thought I would need to wait a little longer before the food is served. However, much to my surprise, the first dish was served after 15 minutes of order and followed suit by the other dishes.

Stuffed Yam Pork Belly (RM 10)
The pork belly and yam were well infused with their well flavoured gravy. The sweetness level of the taste was perfect for my liking and with a slight hint of herbs, it went so well with the plain rice.

Apparently, it seems that it's a norm for Lawan Kuda village to prepare a Snakehead fish in 2 preparation. The first one will be deboning the fish and stir frying the meat with the flavour of your choice.

Stir fried Kung Po Snakehead fish meat (RM 18)
The wok-hei was superb! The meat was silky smooth and soft. There was no hint of any fishy smell and does it make you wonder, are you eating a fish?

The second preparation involved taking the Snakehead fish bone to prepare a bowl of soup.

Snakehead fish Herbal Soup (RM 8)
Snakehead fish together with red dates, Chinese fungus, and tong kwai, makes a bowl of soup full with natural sweetness and flavour. However, it could have been better should the herb of tong kwai portion been reduced.

Blanched Choy Sum with Oyster sauce (RM 6)
Fresh Choy Sum, no complain at all.

Homemade Tau Foo (RM 7)
The tau foo was drizzled with minced pork gravy. Tasted average but the tau foo was unbelievably smooth.

The total bill came to RM 53.50 inclusive of a pot of Chinese tea and 3 bowls of plain rice. I thought the price was very reasonable taking the fact that Snakehead fish is not some kinda ordinary fish. It was a dinner that I pretty much enjoyed. Waiting time was short and the food was great, what else could I have ask for?

Atmosphere: 5/10
Food: 8/10 (non-halal)
Price: 8/10
Verdict: Do drop by for their Snakehead fish preparation if you happen to be at Gopeng region.

Restoran Kwee Hoe
558, Lawan Kuda Main Road
31600, Gopeng
Perak
Tel: 05 - 359 3646
Business hours: 4pm -12am (closed on every fortnight of Wedneday)

Location: Assuming you are traveling on PLUS highway, take the Gopeng toll exit. Then turn right at the junction after the toll. Then turh left the moment you see the signboard leading to Lawan Kuda.Keep heading straight till you see a white constructed signboard of Lawan Kuda. Turn left here and you will reach a stretch of restaurants welcoming you on both side. Travel further down the road and you will find Restoran Kwee Hoe on your left hand side.