From Kampar With Love
In the early days before the North-South Highway existed, every time we travelled from Penang to Petaling Jaya to visit my maternal grandmother, we'd make a pit stop at Kampar.Kampar holds special memories for my parents as it was one of the places where they spent they dating days eating ABC at the corner kopitiam. And so, it only came naturally for them to stop at one of their favourite towns to fuel up both the car and our little tummies.
I used to throw up pretty often in the days before airconditioning was introduced in our cars, and my stomach would be ready for replenishing by the time we arrived at the sleepy old town. Thus, until the day this town got virtually obliterated by the superhighway, I shared my parents' love affair with Kampar.
Despite having sampled quite a bit of Kampar's unique cuisine, I discovered the chicken curry bun much later in life when I visited my friend from Kampar, Pretty Pui, during Chinese New Year.
Despite having sampled quite a bit of Kampar's unique cuisine, I discovered the chicken curry bun much later in life when I visited my friend from Kampar, Pretty Pui, during Chinese New Year.
Chicken curry is wrapped up in a greaseproof paper and then baked in a bun. To eat this bun, one has to cut through the bun and and unwrap the precious package. The curry is creamy and extremely tasty, and by this stage, this chicken would have absorbed the flavours of the spices. What bliss to dip the pieces of bread into the curry and savour the tasty morsels!
Yau Kee Restaurant
No. 55, Jalan Idris,
31900 Kampar, Perak.
Tel: 05-465 1738
120E & 120F, Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun,
30250 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel: 05-241 6504
Thanks, Pretty Pui, for the wonderful treat!!
39 comments:
Here for the first time...Lovely blog
i think in Singapore, they name this "Golden Pillow" (not the durian, ok?) :p
It would be a great idea if , since u r such a voracious consumer of all things flavorful and super prime mover in that direction , to consider leading a crew of deep able mouth ( down not out type !) pundits across the rugged original NS tracks then wallop all these kind of local wonders then enjoy as only u know how , then record for all the overpampered but pitiful city kids for they know not much of what is still left standing.
A sort of nostalgic honest ( almost non left )contribution in view of 50 yrs of independence u know ( a la Ripleys believe it or not )! seriously it is only a casual joke for the day
poonam:
Thanks for dropping by! I hope you'll soon get acquainted with our local cuisine and fall in love with it like we have.
tigerfish:
It does look like a pillow, doesn't it? :-)
team bsg:
You guys are the ones who should consider leading us into the darkest jungles, the deepest seas and the highest mountains in search of good Malaysian food. I am but a follower. I humbly await your command.
Had this once, very tasty stuff indeed.
Looks fabulous... but am I weird if I wanna drizzle some kicap pekat over the chicken curry? Always feel it taste just that little bit more special this way... :d
LOL, gosh! i cannot believe it...LOL.
incidentally, i dont quite like the chicken curry bun myself haing tried juzt once. but kampar is a place where great gastronomic treasures are to be found. from snacks to gourmet dishes.
ahhhh, that corner abc shop huh??? so much good memories...LOL. (but, do u know that amongst the kamparians, this particular shop is not really a fav anymore?? sometimes new marketing strategies does not work)
jason:
just once? if I were in Ipoh/Kampar/anywhere within a 30km radius, I'd have this every week. :-P
kenny mah:
hmmm. looks like I can't take you out to a fine dining place la. Imagine while we're enjoying a good steak at Prime, you ask the waiter for kicap pekat because "it tastes just that little bit more special this way". I'd probably faint.
k.t.x:
Haiyah, you Kampar-ians dunno how to enjoy your own good food la. :-P The chicken curry bun is the best in Kampar and some say Setiawan too.
I guess I have to break the bad news about the ABC to my parents, huh? :-P Nah...some things are best left alone.
I do miss visiting the coffee shops dotted at these old towns. Don't remember much about the food apart from chicken biscuits. Love this idea of comforting self-contained all-in-one meal!
we kampar-ians know what is best and also the best food critics in town or the world....juz that we dont hv a food blog....lol....kakaka.
paprika:
chicken biscuits were a must everytime we drove through Kampar. Hmmm. Maybe shud make a day trip to Kampar just for old time's sake.
k.t.x:
well, what's stopping you? :-P Since you have such a flair for writing, you should make the most of it, dear.
wait until he tries my family secret sauce for steaks (worchester sauce with Maggi seasoning)
Feel like digging in when I scrolled dwn to that luscious bun pix....
wah!! i try this before last month!
soooo delicious lah.. now u make me wanna makan again. but so far away... sobs
henry:
hehe. Yep, that'll top the charts together with kicap manis.
xiu long bao:
I know. I get hungry just looking at it too. :-)
ginger:
now, now. Too much of a good thing isn't so good for you la.
ewww kicap pekat on chicken curry!!!! Must have sweet tooth ah?
Isn't Kampar the place where they have duck leg noodles? I make duck leg noodles now...cos I can only afford to buy two duck legs from the english supermarket!!!
haha the exciting faces when we cut into that pillow or bun..to see a pool of curry..wat an experience..good is about the only word i can say..
heard so so much about but have never tried..looks delicious!
No fair, you and Msiagirl ganging up on me on the kicap pekat. Don't knock it till you try it. Just a light drizzle would do... heavenly on curry.
As for that crack about the steak at Prime, I'm so getting you for that! Bad girl!
I recalled I've eaten one fresh in Kampar itself, it was really nice!
wow! look at that crust! I want the top part! ...warp with the curry chicken... wahahah niceee. I think I have eaten here once.. but that was really a long time ago.
Yea, had this once only. I can't finish it all by myself :(
They use to sell this in one of the kopitiams in Sunway..but it's no longer there for some reason. I always thought they were doing well.
Anyhow, thank you for reminding me of this dish again...:D I'll be sure to lookout for it when I get back. :)
Loved your Kampar story! and that chicken curry bun looks really nice!
arrrhhh..they jatuh standard dy..sad isnt it? curry is not as aromatic as before, bread is not as soft and fluffy too
First time seeing something like that.
Lyrical, you've given me a nice idea to try with my next loaf of bread -- I'd make a crazy little 'chicken pau' next to the sane loaf.
I won't tell the HotWeisswurst about it but ask him to open up the bun to see what's inside, heh heh.
Kenny, it might comfort you to know that I once or twice drizzled soya sauce with sugar on slices of turnip here (tastes a bit like sengkuang or mangpang).
That looks so good - the ones we get in KL seem so oily but the bread here looks so nice and fluffy.
I never try this before although i saw a roast duck stall selling it in Taman Megah.
2007 MIGF website up and running.
The funniest thing I found there was the label for Tamarind Springs' location and cuisine.
What utter rubbish are those webmasters putting up :P
PS: not all the menus are up and I am lamenting the disappearance of Hanabi
hiya! in poonam's words, "here for the first time". nice pics u have! who would've known that sugared lollies can look so enticing? ;p
msiagirl:
hehe. Kenny's a strange 'un. :-P
Duck noodles - you mean the Bidor one? I don't think Kampar is famous for duck noodles leh.
Nipples:
Yeah, it's like opening a christmas present, isn't it? :-)
sc:
Bald Eagle and I love it!
Kenny:
Aiyah, it's only becoz we lurve you that we say stuff about u, mah. And no....never.....keep that kicap pekat away from my food, you evil man.....!!
wmw:
Nothing like the fresh thing, I say. :-P
teckiee:
Such a nice feeling to soak the bread into the curry, yah. Yum yum!
jason:
ideally, I'd say that the small bun can feed about 3 people. (But shhhhh....Bald Eagle and I finished up that bun by ourselves. hehe.)
the expedited writer:
I've seen a couple of places selling the bun here in KL, but I don't think any of them have come close to the Kampar version.
wokandspoon:
I'm glad you like my story. Got loads more. :-)
kampungboycitygal:
Sadly, I have not tried the bun in the olden days, so this is all I got. Still good, mah. :-)
kay:
yeah, not many places serve this. It's really nice, though. :-)
argus lou:
Your hot weisswurst may enjoy finding a set of porsche keys in his hot buns. LOL.
And hey, drizzling soy sauce with sugar on sengkuang is more acceptable than kicap pekat in curry, k. :-P (uhoh..Kenny won't wanna speak to me again!)
boolicious:
nothing like the real thing, babe!
precious sista:
Really??? why would a roast duck stall be selling this?
Henry:
Whooppee!! will check it out! Too bad about Hanabi. Never mind...we should explore new restaurants, mah.
Jun:
Welcome welcome!! :-) Glad u like the pic. :-)
Lyrical, you want me to put keys in his hot buns?! Isn't that painful, Porsche or BMW notwithstanding?!
;-P
I dunno, side income i guess. She kept promoting the bun but I was not too keen. Scare not nice...hehe.
argus:
I'm willing to endure almost anything in my buns if it's gonna be a free porsche or a BMW. ;-)
precious sista:
hehe..ya lor, especially since it may not be their principal activity. :-P
YAY for Argus, fellow kicap-drizzler!
BOO to LL, for crimes against the Kicap!
Oh, this line of discussion is getting really silly. Ah, the childishness in me...
yummy. :)
You should also explore the foody in the market area. Really good!
Kenny:
You didn't say "Off to the guillotine". I shall continue my crusade against kicap pekat in chinese curries. LOL.
the cooking ninja:
oh, it certainly is!!
hengster:
thanks. wanna go on a trip to Kampar to makan? :-)
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