A relaxing home-feel western meal ala De Cuisine

With the recent boom in the F&B industy in Ipoh and indulging in the multitude of overambitious menus and dishes that one can imagine, it was a relaxing affair to re-visit an old school western meal outlet that sticks to the basics and unaffected by the thunderstorms brewing in the Ipoh F&B sector these days.

This old school western meal outlet is none other than De Cuisine Restaurant located on Jalan Leong Sin Nam (aka the Dim Sum street) in Ipoh.



This outlet has been here for some time and my family usually visit it when we want to enjoy a simple western meal in a nice relaxing & clean environment. Furthermore the pricing is pretty reasonable for a lunch or dinner set.



Don't expect fanciful western dishes as De Cuisine only serve very basic no-nonsense type of western meals and also a small selection of oriental dishes. However the ambience is nice, simple and relaxing and accompanied by some oldies as background music. If you are looking for a quick and stressful lunch, then look away as this outlet is only for those who are looking for a break from the stress of work and life. (Okay, I know this may sound like you need to wait a bit for your food but heck do you want them to dunk all the appetiser, main course, dessert & drinks on you table faster than you can chew?...  :) ....  )





The set menu is nicely priced offering a soup + main course + dessert + drink at only RM12.90


The components of the set menu are shown here. Pretty much what you see is what you get :)

Mushroom soup served with hot potato bread



A choice of either Chicken Chop with Black Pepper Sauce.



or Pork Chop with Mushroom Sauce



and the Piece de Resistance of the day: the dessert - Chocolate Cake ala Mode



A cuppa of hot coffee to wash down the meal.




For those who is thinking of trying out De Cuisine, they are open for Lunch during normal weekdays and are open for Lunch & Dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am not sure if i remember it correctly or not, but I believe they are closed on Monday.

Share with us your experiences here.





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Fire Walking Ceremony @ Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2010@ Tow Boh Keong, Ipoh

Managed to catch a glimpse of the Fire Walking Ceremony by devotees carrying the Emperor Gods Sedans across the bed of smoking charcoal at Tow Boh Keong Temple in Ipoh . The short clips has been uploaded to youtube to share with everyone here.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3



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Cantonese Opera @ Nine Emperor Gods Festival @ Ipoh's Tow Boh Keong

One of the unique cultural arts found in Ipoh which is the Cantonese Opera played at the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. Drop in to Tow Boh Keong in Ipoh catch the last show today. Here is a short snapshots of this year's Opera.

Shapshot taken on 15 Oct 2010



Shapshot taken on 13 Oct 2010





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Ipoh Gastronomy: Japanese Food @ Mokuren

One of the hip gastronomy in Ipoh now is the current Japanese Food Culture which has practically hit feverish level. Its really amazing how many japanese restaurant opened in Ipoh lately (not that I am complaining).

Our local Ipoh flogger - Motormouth's recently did a review of the newly opened Japanese Food outlet, Mokuren. So after being enticed by his post, decided to give it a try considering its interesting origin from Prague. The shop owner must be very confident to even consider penetrating the already saturated Japanese cuisine market in Ipoh and more so when there are so many existing japanese food outlet nearby.
Anyway, visited it for dinner and was initially confused by its menu which lack photographic illustration. As we are accustomed to pictorial menu, the menu at Mokuren posed a somewhat heavy reading. Luckily, the lady waitress was able to guide us along and recommend us some of the house specialties.

Since the set menu as mentioned in Motormouth's blog was only available for lunch, we had to resort to ala carte orders. Okay enough of talking, time to saviour the delicious pictures from my trip. :)
Relying on the waitress' recommendation we were pleasantly surprised by its huge kaki no isoyaki (oyster cook in sake wine). Not overcooked and still retained its succulent creamy gonads enhanced by the sake wine. (Just in case you are wondering what is the gonads, its basically the part that give the oysters its aphrodisiac qualities) Btw for health buffs, it is suppose to be loaded with omega-3.




Salmon Set would nicely satisfy the salmon-loving customers with its 3 different rendition of the salmon by way of sashimi　（さしみ）, sushi （すし）and maki　（巻寿司）. One note from the waitress was that their salmon is chilled variety and not the frozen type.



King Crab Roll



Closeup of Crab Roll


Butter Grilled Scallop（ほたて）with Shitake & Enoki Mushrooms was another satisfying dish even though it was a tad bit salty but would be perfect to go with a bowl of rice.



Tempura Moriawase. 天ぷら - the chef was definately very generous with the grated daikon which was commendable. Note the huge pile of grated daikon. Don't you agree that tempura is never nice without a good dose of nicely grated daikon and a dash of grated ginger?



And with the Dessert, concludes the first visit to Mokuren.


Wait a minute, this is not the end yet. Like the cinema movies these days, a sequel of the Mokuren's gastronomic excursion was already in the making. So this sequel came about a week later and more surprise was awaiting.
Gindara Teriyaki (Silver Cod Fish in Teriyaki Sauce) - One can not go wrong with cod fish and this version was nice. Portion-wise was rather small but goes very well with a bowl of gohan (rice).


Sake Ikura Don is another dish that any salmon lover should not miss out. Generous pieces of salmon sashimi topped with savioury ikura (salmon roe) sitting on top of a bed of tsukemono and cucumber shreds was simply irresistable. The cucumber shreds were a bit too coarse, but it hardly dampened the charm of the salmon and ikura.


Kaki no Isoyaki - yupe its the same dish from the first visit, oysters cooked in sake wine. (nope i did not came back for its aphrodisiac benefits) This time the oyster was even larger than the first visit. A dash more of sake wine would have rounded up a perfect meal.


To those who are now been enticed by these pictures, Bon Appetite!!! :)



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Ipoh mountain view

A dedication to all ipoh scenery lover. :)

Ipoh located in Kinta Valley sits within the embrace of beautiful limestone hill and mountain ranges. Primarily the Titiwangsa Mountain Range on the Eastside and Kledang Mountain Range on the Westside.
And therefore Ipoh possess one of the beautiful mountain views around the city.






Eastside Ipoh:

On the east side, is the Titiwangsa Mountain Ranges with Tambun at the foothills and Ipoh Garden East in the foreground





Westside Ipoh:

On the West side view is the Kledang mountain range and the Ipoh newtown and oldtown in the foreground.




Northside Ipoh:

North side view shows the Bandar Baru Medan in the foreground. The prime ground of food and night entertainment district.





Northeastside Ipoh:

Northeast side is the northern end of the Titiwangsa Mountain Range with Bercham suburb in the foreground

Short note : The earlier mis-identification of the Titiwangsa Mountain Range as Bintang Mountain Range has been duly corrected. The confusion is much regretted.

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Part Deux (2) : Mid Autumn Festival 中秋節 - 22 Sept 2010

Have you bought yourself or kids a lantern after reading the first posting about Mid Autumn Festival 中秋節 in preparation for the upcoming festival?

This part is dedicated to the other "must have" of the festival, which is the MOONCAKES. Yes, in Ipoh it is inevitable that everything must somehow lead to food. Mooncakes nowadays are pretty much commercialised and can be found in every big and small supermarket. Here are some of the commonly available commercialised mooncakes.



And here is a picture perfect classical favourite which is the lotus paste + yolk mooncake.

Now if the above mooncake have not made you craving for some, then check out the following traditional mooncakes which can still be found in some local confectionery stores in Ipoh. Ipoh boast not one but two hidden gems of traditional mooncakes. One being Ching Han Guan and the other Guan Heong Biscuit Shop both located opposite each other on Hugh Low Street.

At Ching Han Guan, they have the "Lar Pia" which is a teochew styled mooncake. 

Another is the teochew style walnut mooncake topped with loads of sunflower seeds which would definately appeal to the health buffs.

 Ching Han Guan (CHG) also has another special mooncake with dried pork (肉干) (perhaps the one and only in Malaysia)  which despite its rather mediocre appearance turned out quite well tastewise. Which explain the lack of photo on it since it was finished even before I manage to capture a pic of it. :D  ...

Btw CHG was recently featured in the Star Newspaper here.

On the other side of the road at Guan Heong, they also offer a good version of the teochew styled mooncake which was not as crumbly as Ching Han Guan's version.

There is also a hokkien styled mooncake topped with lots of sesame seeds.

The mid-autumn festival is only 5 days away, so if you have not stocked up the mooncakes, it's time to do so before the stores run out of stocks.

Come 22 Sept, family and friends will sit under the moon admiring the beauty of the full moon. Pieces of mooncakes are enjoyed with sips of tea while the childrens play with candles and lanterns. This is one of the many traditions that shapes the cultural identity of Ipoh folks.

Share with us your own version of this traditions that help shape your childhood memories. Or if you know of any hidden gems of traditional mooncakes, tell us about it.

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Mid Autumn Festival 中秋節 - 22 Sept 2010

Mid Autumn Festival is just around the corner. A time when the full moon is celebrated with the lighting of lanterns..binging on mooncakes...flushed down with a cup of tea. With the festival coming up in less than a week's time, its time to get yourself prepared for the festivals.

These chinese-style glass paper lanterns are the classic lanterns of yesteryears which form the sweet childhood memories of most people. The Cockman Street's joss-stick shops in Ipoh is THE place to get your favourite animals or cartoon character lanterns. The 8th lunar month would see these shops transformed into lantern wonderland where all kids would love to walk thru with their parents.

The goldfish, dragon, rabbit , butterfly lanterns are amongst the memorable ones. 

Other modern favourites are also available such as mickey, garfield, powerpuff girls, pikachu, tweety bird, shinchan, hello kitty, ninja turtle and many more.

These lantern curtains is now a common sight as you drive down cockman street.

Stay tune for the further Mid-Autumn Festival posts... :)

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Images of Ipoh

Introducing a photo blogger .... Images of Ipoh offering his collection of random snapshots of Ipoh


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Cantonese Opera in Ipoh

Motormouth From Ipoh

Motormouth From Ipoh

Check out this premier food blogger from Ipoh, Motormouth providing fans with the latest food outlet updates and reviews of the Ipoh's famous food. Get the details here if you are planning for a foodie trip to Ipoh.

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