Mee Daud Mat Jasak @ Ipoh

Wah, I didn't know Ipoh was famous for mee kicap. One of the most popular malay noodle shop in Ipoh is apparently Restoran Mee Daud Mat Jasak (or just Mat Jasak), their specialty being mee kicap and curry mee.

K: My friend told me to try mee kicap Mat Jasak as that's what it's famous for. I have to wonder, is the business really started by Mat Jasak or is it just people shortening the name to Mat Jasak and omitting the Daud? Well, since the business is started in 1972, it could well be Mat Jasak's recipe.

So does it live up to the hype?

Erm. 

The curry mee (RM3.50)  is surprisingly mellow, more lemak (coconut cream) than spicy. As it was Malay, I was expecting something with more kick. If you prefer something less spicy, this is for you. As for me, I'd give it a miss cos I find it tawar.

K: Since we just had curry mee at Canning Corner, I couldn't help but compare both. The curry mee here is also thin but it lacks flavour. Thumbs down from me.

The curry mee comes with fishball and "prawns". Have you seen those prawns balls now shaped like the real thing? Yuck. I personally never liked prawn balls, this new shape doesn't improve the taste either.

Thankfully, the mee kicap (RM3.50) was much better. It comes with yong tau foo

K: Mee kicap was definitely better than the curry mee. In comparison to mee kicap at Canning Corner, I think the mee kicap here is better. The kicap is not too sweet or too salty, just nice. The soup with the yong tau foo has more flavour, while the soup at Canning Corner was drowning in white pepper.

I forgot to taste the soup at Canning Corner but I will say I prefer CC's yong tau foo over Mat Jasak. I think their fishballs/ cake and bean curd skin tastes better. Mat Jasak's mee kicap, btw, uses yellow noodles.

K: Also had a nice conversation with the operator. Apparently the 3 siblings take shifts to operate the shop. One prepares the food in the morning, the other one on the afternoon and the last one at night. So, the taste and flavour might differ depending on which sibling is preparing the food.

Verdict - stick to the mee kicap, skip the mee curry unless you like it tawar.

Mee Daud Mat Jasak
Jalan Datuk Onn Jaafar
Taman Jubilee,
30300 Ipoh, Perak

Price - $
Opening hours - 8am - 10pm daily but if food finish early, tutup awal.

Restoran Canning Corner @ Taman Canning, Ipoh

 K: The elusive hunt for halal roast duck continues! We were actually looking for halal roast duck which were supposedly sold at Restoran Hong Kong but the restaurant is there no more. 

Eh, go check the address again? Right address... Let's go around the block, nope, no Restoran Hong Kong anywhere. Ah well, might as well just eat here then.

It turns out that Restoran Hong Kong's previous owner sold it, and the new owner has renamed it Restoran Canning Corner. It's still the same concept though, a kopitiam housing several operators serving halal-ish Chinese hawker food fare. Alas, no halal roast duck. Aisey.

Nevermind lah, janji got makan. No roast duck? No problem. There's always curry mee and mee kicap with yong tau foo. :)

The curry mee was deceptively thin looking, maybe even watered down. Wah, so wrong! The soup was very robust, just kurang lemak (less cream), which is healthier anyway.

K: I agree. The curry was not thick but it certainly was not lacking in flavour. Thicker is not always better! I also like the generous sprinkling of mint leaves in the curry. 

The noodles had the usual fishballs and tau foo pok. The kerang (cockles) was lightly cooked, therefore deliciously succulent. 

I'm not usually a fan of yellow noodles as they tend to have a strong chemical taste (too much perservatives?) but these tasted great and had a nice springy texture.

The mee kicap was like wantan mee but no wantans. It's a popular breakfast/ lunch meal in Ipoh served with crunchy fried shallots, sesame seeds and a side of yong tau foo soup. It also came with a generous amount of fresh mint leaves and of course, taugeh.

Sedap but overshadowed by the curry mee.

K: I agree. Curry mee is better than the mee kicap. The mee kicap supposedly costs RM1.50 while the curry mee is supposed to cost RM1.80 but since I added cockles in the curry mee as well as extra yong tau foo for the mee kicap which costs RM0.70 per piece, the total bill for both came up to RM9.10. Still quite reasonable.

Char kueh/ chakoi (70 sen per piece) was a big hit for us. Wah, best! It was not oily, with a crispy exterior but surprisingly soft, not chewy. The dough is more sweet than salty (but not too sweet) and delicious unadorned or dipped in your kopi/ cham/ curry mee, etc.  

K: Cheap chakoi is quite chewy, probably due to the cheap flour or maybe there's some secret recipe which keeps the chakoi soft even though it's no longer warm? Not this one. Naisss....

Chee cheong fun with curry (RM3)

Slippery smooth rice noodle roll served in black sauce with fried shallots and sesame seeds, no yong tau foo. This dish is normally not halal cos the sauce usually has pork. You can order it with or without curry, if you don't like spicy food. The curry boleh tahan pedas jugak!

Verdict - So coming back for the chakoi! Extra bonus points: The stalls have halal certs for their food products. That should allay some worries.

Restoran Canning Corner
Corner of Lorong Cecil Rae and Jalan Jaycee Park
Next to a big field, on the opposite end of Restoran New Holly Wood
Ipoh

Price - $
Certified Halal meat sources
(Apologies, we forgot to take the telephone number and opening hours. But we came for brunch, and unlikely open for dinner)