Because I'm Not Going To Be This Relaxed For A Long Long Time.

I am not done with my Ipoh series yet! Just taking a break from being a virtual tour guide and from all the free advertising I've been doing. =P

And yes yes... 3 entries in a day. Bravo me. I have quite a lot to blog about but I won't be online from Wednesday onwards till I get back to KL for reasons I shall not disclose. And I'm sure by the time I get my hands on the internet again I will be too lazy to blog so here I am while the blogging drive is still within me. Plus I think I write better when I'm at home in Ipoh anyway.

I feel so accomplished. So many things done in the last 3 weeks! Didn't feel like I was a medical student at all. But heck all this hype will die down when Sem 5 commences so I should do everything I want to do until it does. Because... it's Sem 5. Last sem in IMU. End of Phase 1. And then we're off for clinicals. Can't screw up. CAN'T SCREW UP. (God please let me pass please please please please please.)

More movies watched since 2 weeks ago!

- Batman. I can go on and on about how great it was but... I'll spare you. =)

- Red Cliff Part 1. Quite good, but forgettable. Have to watch Part 2. Chinese war movies are good most of the time.

- Journey To The Center of The Earth in 3D. If you've watched the 2D version of this I'd like to know how you sat through the movie without pulling all your hair out please.

- Hellboy II. That's 9 bucks I'll never see again. Terrible story, bad acting, cheesy lines from the beginning till the end and I mean TO THE LAST WORD. The only consolation was the creatures. I mean it's sad because I actually liked Hellboy I! If you can't do a better sequel, DON'T DO IT. Oh but but but... did you know the actor who played Prince Nuada actually looks like this in person?


Goodness gracious me.
If I had known this before hand I would have refrained myself from being exceptionally annoyed by his character the entire time.

- Hard Candy. Disturbing. Rather dull. They could've inserted some flashbacks about how the characters came about, then it wouldn't have been so dry. I liked the artistic effects that came along with it and I agree that Ellen Page played the role very well but I think I've had enough of her for now. 3 counts of Juno (yes I've watched Juno 3 times) and 1 count of Hard Candy. That's a whole lot of Ellen Page. Boring boring.

- Frida. An academy award-winning foreign movie and a true story about a Mexican painter named Frida Kahlo (portrayed by Salma Hayek) who lived a colourful life as she stayed positive while enduring many of life's challenges. Very very nice. Could do without the many... MANY... many sex scenes though. =l

6 movies in a week. Not bad. And I've been hooked onto That 70's Show seasons 2 & 3. Hehe. Laugh non-stop. Anybody with seasons 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 pleeeeeeeease be kind and pinjam thank you in advance!

Other notable events:

- Went to the AIDS exhibition at DUMC. It was brilliant. I appreciated all the effort and hard work put into the set-up. A superb way to educate people on how serious AIDS is. You'd think medical students are well-versed with the disease. Well we are, medically, but to put ourselves into the victims' shoes... totally changed our perspective towards it. More about our experience at the exhibition on Joon Heng's blog.

- Finished Selectives on Patient Safety. Exam was easy-peesy. If only all our other med school exams were like that. Hahaha. See I told you Dr Ranjit is the best.

- Endocrine-Repro-Renal summative results out. Seriously I think IMU has made it such that I be stuck with that grade for the rest of my time here. Anyway I'm not complaining. Hehe. I'm just thankful.

- Girly teatime + eyebrow threading time + sushi time with dear Eli in Bangsar. Hadn't seen her since April. It was good. OH and I received my super belated birthday present from her! Always nice to get a gift =P. It's a customized key-chain with our faces on it. Very special. I like!



We should do this more often!

Oh and randomly, current favourite album is Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (man why can't they just pick a shorter title), of which my favourite song is VIOLET HILL! And Cemeteries of London! And 42! And Death & All His Friends! No but Violet Hill is the. best. BEST! Go get the original album. Totally worth the buy. Initially I didn't quite like what I heard but the songs just grew on me and I am now hooked onto them.

Things To Do/See/Eat in Ipoh

Part 3: Little Cafés and Fine-Dining

Contrary to common belief, IPOH HAS ITS FAIR SHARE OF GOOD WESTERN FOOD! Geez. How did you think I turned out to be how I am today. Bodoh.

Here are some of the nicer restaurants in Ipoh. Indulgence is by far the best, of course.

1. Indulgence Restaurant and Living (website)

Indulgence is probably my most frequently visited dining place and my favourite eatery in the whole of Ipoh. My mum and I have been loyal patrons to the restaurant ever since it first opened more 12 years ago. At that time it occupied this quaint little shoplot in Canning Garden (which is my area of residence) but it is now housed at a beautiful heritage bungalow along Jalan Tambun.

What I like about Indulgence. Let's see. EVERYTHING! But what I love most about it is that it shows that Ipoh isn't as bad as it could've been.

Go look at the website and you'll see what I mean. Or better still, go there yourself. STAY there! At their bed and breakfast. Then tell me how it's like. It'll be stupid if I do because 1) my house is 10 minutes away and 2) I have no money. =(

2. Beacon Point (website)



Beacon Point is nothing like Indulgence. It has more of a family feel to the place. With comfort food for the soul, delicious Western and local delights, colourful drinks and heartwarming cakes, this place is for the youngest to the oldest of generations. Set lunches are quite worth it and it's quite a nice place to hold private functions.



3. Brewster's



Brewster's is a relatively new dining place in Ipoh. Located opposite the famous FMS Restaurant in old town, the most exciting thing about it is that it is NON-HALAL! Hahahaha finally a Western restaurant with pork. Yummmeee. Almost everything here has pork in it. Caesar salad with roast pork. Pork burger. Pork chops. Pork knuckles.

Their best dish I reckon? The barbecued pork-ribs - to die for! Especially with their signature ice-cream coffee to go with it.

Set lunch here is good too, slightly more expensive than Beacon Point but worth it.

4. Citrus

Citrus is all the way inside Ipoh Garden East. It's a funky dining place that serves high-end Western cuisine. It used to be good but I haven't been there in ages and there have been comments that the quality has deteriorated. I've yet to go there again. The place is nice, though. It has a unique ambience and the background music is tasteful. Not too shabby. =)

5. Paprika

Another fine-dining place in Ipoh Garden East. Have only been there twice. Not bad, but nothing to shout about.

6. Sincero Riverbank

The latest "in-thing" in town. Wine and dine. Beautiful atmosphere. Has separate areas for clubbing and dining, and a riverside garden which is breathtaking at night.

7. Ristorante Italia Mia

A comfy little Italian restaurant in Sunway Ipoh. I actually like it very much. On the pricey side, but has quality main courses and desserts. Only downside is that the menu is limited, but do check out the day's specials.

8. Sidewalk Ice-Cream Parlour

I like this place because it is a reminiscence of my childhood. The menu offers a variety of ice-cream flavours, snacks, milkshakes, pancakes, brownies and sandwiches. You can customize your own ice-cream by the number of scoops, flavours and how you want it presented. Don't expect Baskin-Robbins or Haagen Dazs but I think the ice-cream they serve is either homemade or of a fairly good brand because it sure doesn't taste like cheap ice-cream =P. The parlour only opens from 7PM to midnight and is usually packed on weekends.

Great place for families. Great hangout among friends. Great place for a late night date. *wink*

Things To Do/See/Eat in Ipoh

Part 2: Hawker Food!

You can't come to Ipoh and not have its famous hawker food. There is a wide range to choose from, most of which you can't get elsewhere.

1. Hor Fun

Ipoh hor fun is the best, no doubt about that. There are so many dishes made with hor fun and all of them are gooo-oood!



Nga Choi Kai (Taugeh Ayam)

I like: Onn Kee and Lou Wong in Ipoh Old Town (though I like Onn Kee better - Lou Wong is too commercialized... these people spoil everything!!), Kam Hor in Ipoh Garden (super slow but worth the wait if you're not in a rush).



Kai Si Hor Fun

I like: Kong Heng and Tin Chun in Ipoh Old Town. Actually there are many other coffee shops in Ipoh which serve really good kai si hor fun as well but I don't have them at the back of my head at the moment.



Chee Cheong Fun

I like: Ipoh Central (next to Ming Court, near Excelsior Hotel). Again there are tonnes of good chee cheong fun stalls all over Ipoh! But this is one that I really like.



Hor Hee

I don't fancy hor hee to be honest, but many people do and apparently one of the better ones is Lok Wee Kui in town. I don't mind the ones at Ipoh Stadium and Gourmet Square in Ipoh Gdn but then again hor hee doesn't appeal to me so you shouldn't trust me on this one. Haha.

2. Hakka Mee

Ipoh isn't exactly renowned for hakka mee but the one at Pusat Makanan Majestic (seriously I never knew what it was called until yesterday when I bothered taking note of the signboard. I would just call it "That Hakka Mee Place Under The Tree" - for obvious reasons) is my FAVOURITE OF ALL and I would die if it were to close down. I brought Pei Shern here and she absolutely loved it! The noodles are chewy and drenched in lovely sauce, topped with a generous portion of wonderfully-marinated minced pork and served with your own choices of liew (which are homemade and not mass-produced). THE BEST.

3. Chicken Rice

I don't like chicken rice, whether in Ipoh or in Mars. But I am compelled to state that Ipoh chicken rice is the best so here it is. The famous one is Pak Kong. I don't know if the one next to it called Rasa Sayang is any good, but to be safe just go to Pak Kong lah.

4. Dim Sum

OK I know that dim sum isn't considered hawker food but I'll just list it here anyway. My favourite dim sum place is Ming Court as opposed to the popular haunt that is Foh San. Both are great but there's just something about Ming Court which I like. I think it's the ham sui kok and the black sesame dessert. =P

Another good dim sum place is right opposite Ming Court, called Yoke Fook Moon.

Basically those are the 3 good dim sum places in Ipoh. Always always crowded, be it on weekdays or weekends (of course weekends would be worse), so do try to get there early as the good stuff like char siew pau is sold out by 9am!

5. White Coffee

For coffee lovers, no trip to Ipoh is complete without having a cup of the famous white coffee. If you think you can simply settle for the ready-made packets or the white coffee served at commercialized Old Town Kopitiam branches which are sprouting like mushrooms all over the country, YOU ARE STUPID. Authentic white coffee can be found in Ipoh old town at Sun Yin Loong, Nam Heong and Chang Jiang (to name a few). These coffee shops are usually crowded at any time of the day but if you do manage to find seats, try having your white coffee with Hainanese kaya butter toasts. Very nice. =)

6. Tau Fu Fah and Soya Bean

The best place for tau fu fah and soya bean has got to be Funny Mountain (lame, I know. I mean how can a mountain be funny, stupid). I've brought Loo Yeen, Pei and Ho Wai there and they all liked the tau fu fah! The texture of the beancurd is smooth and the ginger syrup is just nice, not too sweet. I'm not a big fan of tau fu fah but I love the one here very much. Funny Mountain is a little stall near Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (can easily be seen).

7. Other Goodies!

There are various snacks and many other delicious hawker food found all over Ipoh. These are some of my favourites at Kong Heng and Tin Chun, which I'm sure can be found everywhere else in Ipoh too.

Clockwise from top: Egg tea (dan char); poh piah; old-school caramel custard; pork satay!

I also love: salt-baked chicken at Aun Kheng Lim, ondeh-ondeh sold by this old man on a bicycle at the Canning Garden shophouses; ais kacang at Ipoh Stadium; dai gau min (kuih bulan) at many places but I like the one at Yat Yat Seng in Ipoh Gdn; fah sang wu (peanut butter dessert) at this roadside stall in Pasir Pinji.