Ipoh 'Nga Choi Kai'

What better way to discover Ipoh than beginning your discovery with delicious and mouth-watering local foods hidden in the shops along the streets. Embark on a gastronomic odyssey and pamper your taste buds with array of delicacies which Ipoh is well-known for.

Lesson 1:
Ipoh = Heaven of Foods (SikMatTinTong).


Come to Ipoh, and one will surely be baffled with terms like 'nga choi' (bean sprout), 'hor fun' (flat noddle), and 'kai' (chicken). What do you get when you mix these ingredients together? :0


Lesson 2:
Chicken + Bean Sprout + Flat Noodle = Ipoh specialty.

'Nga Choi Kai' (芽菜雞) (Bean Sprout Chicken) is Ipoh's favourite and much sought-after dish. This perfect combination consists of 3 main dishes namely:

Ipoh Bean Sprouts

Ipoh bean sprouts are fat, stout, crunchy and tastier than those cultivated outside the city. (FYI, it's really FAT... maybe not in the picture). Perfectly cook, removing the taste of green but retaining its crunchy goodness, customers never seem to have enough of it.

Chicken

Chicken in Ipoh is well-known for its succulent and juicy meat. Cooked in a very special way according to the secret recipe handed down from one generation to another, it is cooked just well enough to retain its juicy smoothness.

Flat Noodle

This is Ipoh's very own version of 'Hor Fun' which is totally different in terms of taste from its counterpart produced in Sha He town, Guangzhou. This flat noodle is usually eaten with soup.

Native claim that Ipoh's water, which is relatively high alkali content due to Ipoh's location, makes the 'hor fun' especially tasty, and the same reason why Ipoh's bean sprout is good.


Lesson 3:
Forget about dieting while you are in Ipoh. Indulge!!

There are several good 'Ipoh Nga Choi Kai' around the city with the most popular restaurant being 'Lou Wong Restaurant'. However, don't always follow the crowd as Lou Wong is always the crowded. Follow your stomach and taste buds (and our advice too, hehe).



# Cowan Street Restaurant (KowanKai).
One of the most popular restaurants serving the best 'Ipoh Nga Choi Kai'. Many in fact recommended this restaurant if you want to taste the best 'Nga Choi Kai' in the city. Due to lack of publicity, 'Cowan Street Restaurant' is not as famous as both 'Lou Wong' and 'Onn Kee' and the price is slightly expensive.

Name: Restoran Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau.
Location: No. 44, Jalan Raja Ekram (Cowan Street), 30000 Ipoh (near Greentown).
Operating Hour: Night only.



# Onn Kee Restaurant.
This 'Onn Kee Restaurant' offers equally good 'Ipoh Nga Choi Kai' if not better, and it is situated next to 'Lou Wong Restaurant'. As you enter the restaurant, you will definitely not going to miss out pictures of Hong Kong celebrities on the wall.

Name: Restoran Onn Kee (Tauge Ayam).
Location: No. 49, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, 30000 Ipoh (Ipoh New Town), street next to Jalan Sultan Iskandar (Hugh Low Street).
Operating Hour: 10pm - 2am.

Credit to Kris from Ipoh.Forum

# Lou Wong Restaurant.
One of the most patronised restaurant in Ipoh, 'Lou Wong' has been popular among the KLites and non-Ipohan visitors. However, ask any Ipohan where to get the best 'Nga Choi Kai' and chances are they will tell you to reserve 'Lou Wong' as the last choice.

By the way, did we tell you that Lou Wong is the only 'Nga Choi Kai' restaurant that includes 5% gov tax in the price?

Name: Restoran Lou Wong Tauge Ayam Kuetiau.
Location: No. 49, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, 30000 Ipoh (Next to Onn Kee).
Operating Hour: Night only.

Lesson 4:
Don't always believe what people say, go taste for yourself! =)


p/s: Happy Birthday to Edmund Quah!