Foodie's Digest: Ipoh Getaway (Part 2) - Zakka Loft, Ipoh Stadium, Indulgence, Lou Wong Chicken Rice

And here is Part Dos of our little trip to Ipoh.

After the Burps & Giggles Cafe, we moved on to Zakka Loft, our 4th destination (once again recommended by our very own Ms. Elaine):

White Fungus Soup

Regular quality, sucky presentation. If only they've used a plain white bowl instead of a plastic container. I know it's convenient but c'mon...

Mee Hoon Cake

Pretty unique, however it tasted just like regular Mee Hoon with a twist of crispiness. Spring onions and fried onions are regular condiments of Mee Hoon, but the sesame is something unusual. It's served along with chilli sauce. Creative as it is, most of us find it a little too salty.

Marinated Guava

Marinated Guava? I believe it's seasoned with minimal salt but really it just tasted like regular guava, very fresh though.

Zakka Loft is more like a cafe for ladies to hang out. It has a cute atmosphere, where the place is being filled with purses, bags, accessories, etc. On that day most of their items were not available; all the desserts & a few drinks we ordered were out so we only ordered these. I didn't take any photos of the surroundings and neglected to take pictures of the prices because it was really quite disappointing.

After chatting a little while with these few dishes, we moved on to our 5th destination, the outer layer of Ipoh Stadium which is famous for varieties of local food & seafood (according to a friend):

Prawn Noodles (RM 4)

The prawn noodles were pretty amazing according to Ms. Elaine, as she is quite particular with these particular dish. Not only was the soup flavorsome, the noodles were chewy and the prawns were fresh and was of generous amount. Not to mention that the price is ridiculously cheap for such portion and quality!

Chee Cheong Fun (RM 2.50)

Quite expensive for a plain Chee Cheong Fun. It's the same as regular ones but Ms. Esien & Ms. PC said that it is quite tender and the sauce is satisfyingly sweet; they enjoyed it despite the small portion.

Pan Mee (RM 3.50)

And we are disappointed. Most of the stores were still closed since we visited during the Chinese New Year holidays. The Pan Mee above is of regular quality you can get by the way.

We then moved on to our 6th destination, the Indulgence Restaurant & Living. It is being famous for their homemade desserts, isolated location and a semi-fine dining ambiance; focused on Italian cuisine with a twist of Asian. Unfortunately I didn't really take any photo of the place due to an event held on that day:

I couldn't really recall the name of this homemade dessert, but it was pretty disappointing. It's a souffle if I'm not mistaken but the texture is way too soft, to the extent where it actually feels disgusting. I thought it was only me but the girls told me they didn't like it either. The only thing we enjoyed was actually the sorbet served on the side.

Pizza: Minna

Looks tempting, but tastes forgettable.

This is actually me and Ms. Elaine's second visit. Previously the food disappointed us, but the desserts were astonishing. This time, both failed us. They really should've melted the cheese, not doing so separates the cheesiness from the pizza and makes the whole dish taste weird. Also, the crust was so thin that it couldn't really hold the weights of the toppings well enough. Not to mention the chicken tasted a little tricky too. In short, don't expect too much from Indulgence's Pizza (and soup). Maybe I'll try it once more for their pastas and other desserts, 'maybe'.

I have to admit that they do have great ambiance, but their prices are a little too high for such mediocre (and I'm using that term loosely) quality; these 2 items cost us a whooping RM 93. Also, the services were quite bad on that particular day probably due to the event and they're short on staff, but they should at least station a server around our dining area.

Indulgence Overall Ratings:
Food: 6/10
Creativity: 8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Value: 6/10

And here comes our 7th and the last destination of the day, Lou Wong Beansprouts Chicken Restaurant:

Meat Balls & Fish Balls (underneath)

I was pretty satisfied with both of them, but most of the ladies said that the Meat Balls are way too soft and "not chewy enough".

Famous Ipoh Beansprouts!

You WILL fall in love with beansprouts if you've ever tasted these amazing, fat and sweet beansprouts produced in Ipoh! *drools*

Chicken Kidney Part

It's probably overcooked that it's losing the texture, way too soft.

Famous Ipoh White Chicken!

The chickens were incredible! It's authentically fresh, remarkably tender, satisfyingly savory and presentable! I almost call for another trip to Ipoh again, two days after the trip when I was checking out the pictures!

The Spotlight of the day - Ipoh Chicken Rice

The rice... the RICE!!! No doubt the grains were carefully selected and it's so well handled and cooked that it doesn't get too soft or sticky. The chicken stock gave it a silky, lovely, seducing layer of oil on each and every grain! When serving with the chickens, it's perhaps one of the utmost enjoyment in Ipoh! I loved the rice so much that I almost ask for seconds but deliberately held back after having so much on that day.

Ipoh Hor Fun

Unfortunately, the Hor Fun didn't live up to it's reputation. Yes the noodles were tender, but the soup tastes a little lacking according to the ladies. I'm not sure of how it tasted as I was having so much fun with the rice, but I remembered the one I had with Ms. Elaine in Onn Kee, was superb! Hopefully we'll get to have another trip next time for Onn Kee.

The BEST MEAL of the day! (RM 63 in total)

As stated above, this is the best meal of the day! Initially we intended to go to the Onn Kee, which is right beside Lou Wong and said to serve similar dishes but better in quality. Nevertheless, Lou Wong is quite amazing! It fulfilled the goal of us towards Ipoh's most famous dishes and marked an end of our 1 day food trip! :)

- End of Part 2 -

Zakka Loft
Address: No. 2, Jalan Medan Ipoh 1C, Medan Ipoh Bestari, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Contact: +60124803591, +60134888503
Opening Hours: Tues - Sun, 11am - 9pm
Closed on Monday.

Indulgence Restaurant
Address: 14, Jalan Raja Dihilir, 30350 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Contact: +605-225 7051
Opening Hours: Weds - Sun, 9am - 11pm
Closed on Monday & Tuesday.

Lou Wong Chicken Rice
Address: 49, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Contact: +605-254 4199
Opening Hours: All day

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

Photos of the day: