Darren Invades Kampar!

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
This is one of the facts of life that can't be defied.
First of all, congratulations to my brother who wore a mortar board and stepped onto the stage in front of hundreds of others dressed in identical caps last weekend.
Such honorable moment must be spectated.
My family and i traveled all way down from Penang to the capital of our country and in between, we drop by at Kampar to settle some graduation suit issues and of course, to have our lunch!
With my brother's previous 2 years living experience in Kampar, we managed to try out the finest local food there.
And, Sin Yong Kee was my brother's recommendation.
I have no idea how to travel there, all i know is that it is located in the new town.



Some of the food there may look alike with Penang ones but the tastes are different.
Surprisingly, some of them are even better than those we could find here.
This was what i have never seen in Penang.
If you are a vegetarian, this may be right up your alley.
I saw a mountain of minced vegetables, bean curds, peanuts and fritters which completely blanket the white rice beneath them.
The taste was pretty special and out of my expectation, it was yummy.
I could feel the sweetness of the curds and vegetables which occur simultaneously.
The hard and buttery peanuts created a special texture.
You will never know your next bite will be soft or hard or even chewy.
A bowl of green soup was served along.
It was like the diluted and not spicy version of green curry.
All of us except my brother felt that its taste was strange and yucky.
We were supposed to mix the green liquid with the whole thing.
According to my brother, it is known as 擂茶 (RM4.00) by the locals.
It is believed that it may cure flu, aid in releasing body heat.



Next, it was the Dry Curry Mee with Lean Pork which was priced at RM4.00.
The mee there was totally nonidentical to those in Penang.
It is more like rice noodle, thicker and has a larger diameter.
From the aspect of taste, it is smoother and i felt that those used in Penang contain more preservatives.
Speaking of this curry mee, the curry was not spicy but it was saturated.
The combination of the mee and the heavy curry taste was awesome.
Besides, a generous amount of lean pork was served.


If i am not mistaken, this dish is given the name 炒蛤糕 and 糕 simply means Kway Teow in Kampar.
This is the Kampar version of Char Kway Teow.
It only cost RM4 and the quantity was large.
Furthermore, an impressive number of prawns and clams were given.
Moderate scorch burning smell smoked the dark brown coloured Kway Teow and Mee.
The sambal was not a great add on but the Kway Teow was delectable.
Who says Penang is the only place who has tasty Char Kway Teow?
But still, Penang has the best one.



Guess what?
This Claypot Chicken Rice has only a price tag of RM4.
Where the heck you could find such cheap price in Penang?
Unfortunately, it was a little bit salty and the taste was just so-so.



The nasi lemak there was recommended by my brother.
I took some white rice, an egg, a piece of chicken and some sambal ikan bilis.
That totaled up my bill to RM5 which is reasonable.
The main highlight of the dish was the spicy gravy.
The aroma was trapped in the curry and once it fused with your taste buds, you could feel the blasting of the spices.



The Sizzling Hot Plate Noodle (RM3.80) was fine, got nothing special except the mee.
I really like the texture of the fatter mee there.



We were do disappointed of this Rojak (RM4.00).
The dressing was supposed to be very thick and toffee-like in texture.
Sadly, the sauce was so watery and tasted very plain.
In addition, the price was not cheap though.
The fruits were not fresh and the only yummy thing was the fritters.



No specific name was given for this porridge (RM4.00) as it did not only contain fish, but also fish balls, crab sticks etc.
The taste of this thick, starchy thingy was normal good.
There was nothing special to be emphasised on.


Last but not least, it was the Dry Pan Mee (RM4.00) which looks and tastes similar to Penang ones.
I don't know what was the black thing on the top of the mee but i am sure that it was edible.
The gravy was very concentrated and you might get thirsty easily after consuming it.
Overall, the taste was okay.

Posted in: Malaysian Cuisine,Non-Halal,Noodles,Rice,Snack Food,Spicy