We made a day-trip to the picturesque little town of Taiping, 48 miles south-east of George Town, in the neighboring state of Perak, today in search of good food.
Tai Chien on 79, Market Street (Jalan Pasar) is perhaps the most popular kopitiam (traditional Chinese coffeeshop) in Taiping. Dating back about 8 decades, it’s strategically located in-between the town’s premier boys’ school, King Edward VII School (Est. 1883) and the town’s historic central market.
Amongst the school’s alumni was Yusof Ishak, Singapore’s first President.
Tai Chien can be incredibly busy on weekends, so it’s best to visit it off-peak hours on a weekday - which we did on Monday morning.
- Popiah (Chinese spring rolls) by Teoh Poh Choon.
Taiping-style popiah is served dry, unlike Penang-style popiah which is usually drenched with a thin braising gravy obtained from cooking the jicama filling.
Jicama-tofu-shallot filling, with slatherings of hoi sin sauce and chili sauce.
- Char koay teow. Taiping-style char koay teow is closer to the type found in Bukit Mertajam on Mainland Penang - wetter and heavier - than the famous lighter version from Penang island. Flat rice noodles fried with eggs, blood cockles, fresh shrimps, beansprouts and chives. The taste here is much blander than the ones from Penang.
- Wantan noodles. The popular Cantonese wantan noodles here by Lee An Cheang was pretty tasty, although its “char siu” (Cantonese BBQ pork) was closer to those bland old-fashioned ones found in Penang, Malacca and Singapore, than the smokey-delicious, fatty cuts one usually gets in good places in Kuala Lumpur or Ipoh.
Tossed in a savory blend of dark & light soy sauces, oyster sauce, sesame oil and pork drippings, the toothsome noodles were garnished with “char siu”, poached and shredded chicken meat, blanched “choy sum” greens and crisp, golden-fried wantans. Pickled green chilis provide welcome bursts of astringency to cut through the richness of the noodles.
- *Curry mee. Taiping-style curried noodles is closer to the type found in Ipoh (the state capital of Perak, and a veritable gastronomic city in its own right), with the heavy use of Indian curry powder, giving the soupy gravy a strong flavor and aroma. The curry noodle vendor here is a bubbly, friendly Ng Siew Luan.
Her curried yellow Hokkien wheat noodles are garnished with curried chicken, shrimps, fish-balls and slivers of sliced fish-cake, topped with sprigs of fresh mint leaves.
A very good start to the day, and our quest for good food here.
Address
Tai Chien
79, Jalan Pasar (Market Street), 34000 Taiping, Perak, Malaysia
Tel: +6016-540 0300
Opening hours: 7.30am to 3.30pm daily, except Wednesdays.
