bookmark_borderIn Ipoh – Tong Sui Kai (糖水街)

Aptly named as Tong Sui Kai (糖水街) due to its popularity of desserts, this row of hawker stalls is also pretty well known amongst the locals and tourists for its hawker food too. It is just a short drive from Hotel French and it occupies the entire road of Jalan Sultan Ekram leading to the main road of Jalan Sultan Idris Shah. Parking can be atrocious especially when you are there around 630PM because there is a school directly opposite of this hawker street. As usual, parents will park their car indiscriminately along the road while waiting for their spoilt brats kids.

Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street)

Despite its vast amount of stalls, there were a handful of them opened for business when I was there for dinner. I am not sure if this is a norm but I guess I don’t really mind since most of them (if not all) are almost identical in terms of food options, except for the first stall which serve ‘dai chou’.

Cheong Kee Beef Noodles (Stall 47) at Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street)

Beef Noodles by Cheong Kee Beef Noodles (Stall 47)

I was brought to an area which was closer to main road and I got to know that there were two famous stalls at same vicinity. First up was beef noodles (RM3.80) by Cheong Kee Beef Noodles (Stall 47) which fared pretty well, in my opinion. The stock was a lil sweetish but robust, packed with beefy goodness while the flat noodles were okay; typical trademark of Ipoh.

Beef Balls by Cheong Kee Beef Noodles at Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street)

The beef balls (RM0.50 per piece) were pretty good too which we ordered separately.

Wai Wai Wantan Mee (Stall 44) at Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street)

Wantan Mee by Wai Wai Wantan Mee (Stall 44)

Whilst the taste was slight bland, the wantan noodles (RM2.80) by Wai Wai Wantan Mee (Stall 44) were blanched nicely; al-dente while retaining its crisp-springy texture. However, what I liked most from this stall was the fried wantan.

Fried Wantan

They were really moreish that I ordered another 10 pieces (RM2.40) to savour them as snack. Heck, they were still crispy when I left them for few hours in an air conditioning room.

Ice Kacang with Ice Cream

We weren’t impressed with the attitude of the drink stall (the one beside beef noodles stall). So, as we walked towards the car, we stopped at another stall for some desserts. The owner heard wrongly when we ordered and so, instead of shaved ice with mix fruits, she gave us ice kacang with ice cream (RM3) which was a-okay although there were quite a lot of fillings beneath the shaved ice.

Fried Foo Chuk

While you were at it, do try out the fried foo chuk (RM3 for 5 pieces) from another stall. I guess it was pretty common since quite a number of stalls were selling these crispy snack on that day.

Address :
Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street),
Jalan Sultan Ekram,
30300 Ipoh,
Perak.

GPS Coordinates : 4.595333, 101.087308

bookmark_borderIn Ipoh – Hotel French

Whilst having a day trip to Ipoh is a good idea, staying in Ipoh for a night (or two) is even a better idea especially for those (like me!) who are there for food binging session. With that in mind, I stayed in Ipoh for a couple times with limited budget allocated for hotel stay.

French Hotel, Ipoh

Fairly new hotel with only 4 four floors, Hotel French is strategically located along Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar, within walking distance (technically speaking) to some of the famous food joints like Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah, Aun Kheng Lim Baked Salt Chicken, Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau and etc.

French Hotel, Ipoh

Some might loath at the idea of staying in hotel that’s operating in shoplots, but the fact that they are clean and well furnished, simplicity and trendy make the stay cosy.

French Hotel Lobby, Ipoh

I liked how inviting the lobby was as it was brightly lit with natural lights during the day and by night, it’s still pretty bright. The check-in process was simple and quick with mandatory RM100 as deposit. Besides that, I was able to request for early check-in, a plus point since I don’t really like the 3PM check-in rule. Free parking is available for in-house guests and hence, it is best to check in before heading to the parking lot nearby.

Basic Necessities by French Hotel

Dressing Table

Cupboards

In the compact room, basic necessities are provided; bottled water, coffee and tea. Other items such as kettle, safe deposit box and hair dryer are also there but the only thing that is missing in the room is a refrigerator which I didn’t really care of. Although there is no LAN network port (for internet junkies), the hotel provides free wifi for its hotel guests, albeit a weak signal.

Bedroom of French Hotel, Ipoh

The bed is adequately large yet comfortable but boy, their pillows are even better!

Bathroom of French Hotel, Ipoh

French Hotel Toiletries

The bathroom is simple yet clean. And like any other hotels (unless those really bad and dodgy ones), toiletries are provided as well. Any extra toiletries (by request) will be charged accordingly.

Shower Room at French Hotel

Due to space constraint, there is no bathtub but I loved the big ass rainfall shower head and the water pressure was constantly strong during my stay.

Jose & Deli Eatery

Tiramisu

There’s a new eatery at the first floor; Jose & Deli Eatery, which is quite nice but slightly overpriced, in my opinion. I had their tiramisu cake for RM15. It tasted good but the portion didn’t justify the price they were charging.

French Hotel, Ipoh

For a price around RM150++ for the smallest room (you could get lower rate if you book early), I don’t have complaints about this hotel. It was comfortable stay and best of all, it was clean and cosy. Though there are abundance of hotels in city centre… and I have not personally tried all of them, I can vouch that Hotel French is probably best bang for your buck. And no… I didn’t get paid to say those words.

Address :
60-62, Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar,
30300 Ipoh,
Perak.

Telephone Number : +605 241 3030

GPS Coordinates : 4.5978994, 101.0834026




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