Thread on a local’s recommendation, and chances are, you’ll not go wrong!

Case in point, the dinner meal we had at Ipoh’s Mun Choong Restoran was so memorable, we couldn’t stop talking about it weeks after the meal! Despite barely any social media exposure, Mun Choong is something of an institution in sleepy Ipoh town. The restaurant was nowhere sleepy when we strolled in on a Sunday evening. Instead, it was bustling and boisterous with local diners. The old restaurant is nowhere sophisticated or fancy. But, amidst the informality, a certain warmth and comfort reveals. And in the thick of what seems like a terribly chaotic environment, efficiency actually ensues! And the food, OMG, the food lets you absolve any sort of sloppiness and lackadaisical you may feel!

We started with some gigantic mother of River prawns the size of my hand! Fried in a sweet soy sauce, the prawns were all Brains and Brawn. Literally!! The shell breaks open to meat that was fresh, firm, sweet and crunchy; while the head oozes scrumptious brain goop that’s both juicy and creamy! Man! Everyone sucked on those heads with such conviction! It’s hilarious, but necessary!

After we cleaned out the prawns, white rice was dumped and mixed into what’s left on the plate. If you’ve never dined with a Cantonese, this is how we roll! We absolutely love to dunk sauces in our rice! That sweet oily soy sauce used to flavor the prawns has now turned into a dish of its own. Infused with prawny flavors in return, plus a whole lotta scallions lending that unmistakably chivey aroma, the sauce now coated every single grain of jasmine rice that begged to be devoured!

Just when we thought the next humble dish of stuffed tofu paled next to those mighty king prawns; one mouthful was all it took to change our minds! The tofu was silky soft and had a delicious minced meat stuffing just enough to flavor the whole parcel. The savory brown sauce added moist and the crispy shallots added a nice tasty crunch! We needed more rice to go with this comforting dish!!

A whiff of gingery fragrance filled the air as the next dish set upon our table. The unassuming, unattractive steamed chicken in ginger paste would have little chance at winning any beauty pageant! But damn, Chicken never tasted so good!!! The unthinkable amount of fresh ginger used to flavor the chopped up kampong chicken turned out intriguingly delicious! The chicken meat was flavorful, smoooooth and tender. The gingerly sauce was, again, begging to consummate with some rice! And though a large amount of ginger was used, it was not one bit overpowering. Instead, it had a warm soothing zingy savory take to it that keeps you wanting more!

When I heard they had a spare suckling pig in the kitchen waiting to be adopted, I signed up in a heartbeat, and it turned out to be the best decision ever! The little piglet was PERFECTLY roasted. The golden skin with sandy open pores, had the best crunch anyone should ask for. It was seasoned on point. Cooked on point. And possessed an ideal ratio of crunch and tenderness in every piece. And if you witnessed how antisocial we all got when the pig arrived, you’d understand how frigging good it was!

The mandatory veggie dish was a concoction of crunchy Chinese Lettuce and preserved mustard leaves quick fried in high heat with basic garlic for flavor. If we hadn’t stuffed our faces with the piglet, this delicious veggie would be polished clean too!

The final dish, a bowl each of clear seaweed soup which came with nibbles of fresh baby shrimps and squid. A clean and warm finish to wrap up the meal; that was, until the waitress came and offered us some honey Gui Lin Gao…, a medicinal dessert jelly made from turtle shell.

Despite being dessert, it is unbelievably bitter and is always eaten with honey to make it palatable. It’s known to have a host of benefits. So if you’d like flawless complexion, improved circulation, increased muscle growth, or kidney restoration, you may wanna hunt yourself down a bowl of this wondrous elixir!

I’m not sure if I’d want to visit sleepy Ipoh town again. But if I could dine at Mun Choong every single day…. Hmmmm… I guess I could be persuaded…!

MUN CHOONG SEAFOOD RESTORAN @ Jalan Pasir Puteh, Taman Camay, 31650 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. Phone +60 5-321 2815

Disclaimer ~ This is not a sponsored post!