Foodie's Digest: Ipoh Getaway (Part 1) - Thean Chun, Sin Eng Heong, Burps & Giggles Cafe

The very first attempt of me for planning a totally random 1 day food trip to Ipoh!

I've been to Ipoh for quite a few times but never really travel all around for all these awesome food! After meeting up with a friend of mine, a local - Ms. Elaine, we proceed to our very 1st destination - Thean Chun Restaurant:

The Entrance

Located at Jalan Bijih Timah, restaurant Thean Chun is famous for their varieties of local food and their Caramel Custard:

Caramel Custard (RM 2.50)

By the time we arrived, it was already 11am. According to many(our friends and other bloggers) the caramel custard are usually sold out by 10am, but maybe because it was a weekday or we were just plain lucky, there were still quite a few left for us!

The ladies were hyped up for this, so we actually ordered a portion each - the custard is famous for a reason, we loved the amazingly wobbly and tender texture. On top of that, the caramel and the dark sugar syrup further enhanced the flavor. This dessert is very similar to the Italian Crème Brûlée, it's even got a similar texture and a lovely egg aroma with a hint of caramel. Personally, I got a subtle aroma of coffee from this delicate dessert as well!

Amazing Pork Satay and some inner parts (RM 0.70 each)

Served with Satay(peanut) sauce and some cucumbers on the side. A lovely combination!

If my memory is not playing tricks on me, that was the 1st time I've had a Pork Satay. Well I had similar ones in places such as Thailand but I don't really consider them to be Satay... Anyways, the Pork Satay is really awesome! It was very different from the usual satay such as chicken, beef and lamb. The color is inviting; the texture is ridiculously tender; the meat is juicy and savory! Not to mention that the Satay(peanut) sauce was pretty good too!

And here's the best and worst part; the boss actually served us a huge load of Satay without asking how many we wanted, only to come back a few minutes later, offering to replace them with freshly grilled ones seeing they've cooled down quite a bit - here's the thing, we appreciate the act, but we can't help but wonder what's he gonna do with the ones that were cooled down? Luckily the smell of fresh Satay distracted us before we could dwell further on the subject.

Marination in progress - some are already grilled but being there for some reason, not gonna comment much about it.

The Boss - the main reason we took a photo of him is due to his awesome eyebrows (look at those things)!

We also ordered a portion of the Squid with Water Spinach (Kangkung):

Boiled Squid with Water Spinach/Kang Kong, “鱿鱼蕹菜” (RM 12)

Most Malaysians would be familiar with this dish; boiled squid bedded on boiled water spinach, then topped with sweet sauce, chilli sauce, crushed peanuts and white sesame (sometimes). However, this dish over here seems a little different as we couldn't spot any peanut bits nor sesame, but another layer of yellow-brownish sauce below the chilli and sweet sauce.

We couldn't really identify what it is but I suspect it's peanut sauce, tho it doesn't really taste like one. It provided a richer texture compared to the usual ones and even more flavorsome. I think the dish is probably overcooked and too watery as the Kangkung was too soft and slightly lacking in texture. Overall, it is slightly unique but most of us including myself, prefer the regular ones; it was too sweet to our liking.

After the breakfast, we moved on to our 2nd destination - Sin Eng Heong:

Located in Jalan Clare, Sin Eng Heong is famous for their freshly baked pastries, specifically the Kaya Puffs!

Kaya Puffs (RM 0.80 each)

Almost all of us bought some of these awesome puffs! They are amazingly crispy with a beautiful aroma of butter. The Kaya inside is satisfyingly sweet and flavorsome; it's definitely famous for a reason!

Apart from the Kaya Puffs, they have many other interesting pastries too! Make sure to pay them a visit if you're planning for an Ipoh trip!

Then we move on to our 3rd destination, the Burps & Giggles Cafe:

Burps & Giggles Cafe; suggested by Ms. Christy

It's a shame Ms. Christy couldn't join us, but we decided to "honor" her suggestion and try out this new yet famous cafe, located in Jalan Sultan Yussuf. It took us quite a while to find this place as the GPS is not very accurate plus there are quite a few one-way streets in Ipoh. However, with Ms. Elaine's guidance (though she haven't been there but she managed to direct us as her sister went there before and told her about it), we found it (bravo Ms. Elaine and her sister)!

"Good food, like good things takes love and time"

This beautiful quote totally made my day! Burps & Giggles is a cafe with a concept based on the one and only Marilyn Monroe. Though I don't really see the relation between the ambiance and the sex symbol, maybe I'm lacking in my Marilyn Monroe knowledge, I don't know.

The cafe is divided into 4 areas, providing different ambiance; 3 on the ground floors and 1 on the top:

The Bar

Hi Ms. Thoong!

The 'Guest Room', with an artistic, beautiful background.

This is probably the most relaxing, comfy and homey area comparing to the rest. Having a coffee and snacks with friends sounds like a great idea, if only the sun were a little bit more gentle that day.

A rustic coffee house design.

This area had a classic, rustic coffee house design with a dessert cooler in sight. Probably suitable for business partners or friends to enjoy a cup of coffee and some desserts.

The top floor:

The top floor is quite cramped, I doubt it's a comfortable place to dine in, probably for some drinks?

Back to the ground floor:

A slightly romantic, relaxing and rustic ambiance.

The lovely ladies; companions of the day :)

Here's Marilyn Monroe for ya!

We were arranged to this area and we are thankful. This area is pretty well designed; slightly romantic, comfy and with a fitting lighting setup for photos - the ladies had a lot of fun taking photos even before ordering the food!

And here they are:

Choco-mellow (RM 15)

Iced Mocha & Iced Latte, they looks almost the same so I only took a picture of it (RM 12)

Fresh Watermelon Apple (RM 12)

Hot Latte (RM 10)

I did not expect coffee art from a Malaysian brunch! Brava! Yes, these coffees are pretty much overpriced and it was just of regular quality, but given that brunch places are pretty rare in Ipoh so the hikes are understandable.

As we had quite a lot before this and preparing to go for the next, we merely ordered a portion of bagel for everyone to share and taste:

Reverend Mama (RM 15)

I swear I wasn't expecting any good out of this, especially after Plan B failed me real hard, but it turned out to be pretty awesome! The dish includes the bagel, smoked salmon, veges, tartare sauce, avocado sauce and topped with a poached egg.

The bagel is pretty chewy, in a good way with a slight crisp on the outside. I love how they freshly baked it with butter and to the right texture! It is really hard to find good poached egg in Malaysia and unfortunately this was no exception; it was slightly overcooked, much like the others I've tried. According to Ms. Thoong it even tasted somewhat 'weird'. The vegetables are fresh and the smoked salmon was pretty good, not too salty. The sauces were very well mixed, especially the avocado, 'cause I thought it complimented the whole dish very well! Overall a great dish and made us expecting more from the other dishes they serves in the cafe! Even the staffs are quite polite too.

Burps & Giggles Overall Ratings:
Food: 8/10
Creativity: 7/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Value: 7/10

- End of Part 1 -

Thean Chun Restaurant
Address: 73, Jalan Bandar Timah, Ipoh Old Town, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Contact: +605-255 3076
Operating Hours: Fri - Weds, 8am - 4.30pm
Closed on Thursday.

Sin Eng Heong
Address: 64 & 66, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Jalan Clare, Ipoh, Perak 30300, Malaysia
Contact: +605-243 9659
Operating Hours: Mon - Sat, 9am - 8pm
Sun, 9am - 6pm

Burps & Giggles Cafe

Address: 93 & 95, Jalan Sultan Yussuf, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Contact: +605-242 6188
Operating Hours: Weds - Mon, 8am - 8pm
Closed on Tuesday.

Credits:
Author: Ang Joonkie
Companions of the day: Thoong Kit Yee, Elaine Kong, Chai Woon Min, Chai Yee Sien, Chia Peang Ching
Editor: Harrison Tan
Photo Editor: Thoong Kit Yee
Suggestion: Christy Lim

Photos (and more photos) of the day: