PETALING JAYA, Dec 20 — With so many Ipoh transplants in the Klang Valley, there's always great excitement when one of them spots a place linked to their hometown.
The latest is Restoran Jom Rock Ipoh Yong Tau Fu in Sea Park. On the eatery's signboard, there's the Chinese words, 大家楽, or "tai kah lok" which is the signature of Let's Rock Restaurant in Ipoh.
The banner under the signboard also reads, "Jom Rock Ipoh Yong Tao Fu coming soon. Yes, this is Ipoh Yong Tao Fu!"
From what I understand, the eatery is operated by Soo Yu Bin, one of the three sons of the family that started Let's Rock in Ipoh. The other two siblings operate outlets around Ipoh.
In Ipoh, while Big Tree Foot (Dai Shu Keok) seems to be the crowd favourite, for some locals, they prefer Let's Rock.
For this particular outlet, the food is pork free.
You will find a menu of yong tau foo, which is known as 'yong liew' in Ipoh. Here you browse through the menu and place your order for a choice of soup or deep fried items, rather than select them at a counter.
There are 20 varieties to select from, where you get six with soup and the rest are deep fried goodies.
Since I've not been to the Ipoh outlets, I ended up ordering the items by instinct. I also had the help of my friend who has been eating at Let's Rock for many years.
In fact, when I mentioned this outlet, her family also decided to check the place out.
The Handmade Fishball (RM1.40 per piece) was superb. It's made daily by Soo, using tofu fish, without any preservatives. You get a softer bite without that dreaded ping pong bounce I detest. I could have happily eaten a big bowl of those fish balls but alas, I had more food to go through.
What stood out the most for me was their Ipoh Mountain Water Taufu. The texture of the white beancurd was amazing as it is ultra creamy with a melt in the mouth texture. I sampled the White Taufu and Fried Taufu, with fish paste that made me very happy. It's RM2 per piece.
Out of all the varieties I sampled, the Signature Ipoh Mountain Water Big Taufu, served deep fried, was superb. At RM3.50 per piece, it's a hefty bite but that combination of deep fried crunch on the outside, followed by that dreamy bean curd and fish paste was fantastic. I especially loved the edges, as it has a light, fluffy crunch.
Usually my must-eat is the Signature Sengkuang or sar kok liew (RM2 per piece). This version is similar to a hash brown with its golden hue and minced yam bean inside.
My personal preference is the type with a crunchier bite, but I was told by my friend, whose mother has been eating this for many years, that this outlet's version is quite a decent rendition of the Ipoh one. In fact, if I had to place it side by side with the ones served in the Klang Valley, I would say no one else does this type of sar kok liew better.
Other items I sampled included the Ladies Finger, Eggplant and Bitter Gourd. These were tasty bites and well prepared as the eggplant had creamy flesh while the bitter gourd was soft. The Fu Chok was also decent but not as crispy as I like. All these items were RM2 per piece.
The only thing I wasn't so enthusiastic about was the Prawn Roll (RM3) with its fish paste and one small prawn inside that didn't add much taste to the whole ensemble.
A highlight for many is the tangy, spicy chilli sauce served with the yong tau foo. As I have not tried it before, I checked with my friend who said the sauce here isn't as good as the Greentown Let's Rock branch they frequent.
They also serve brown sauce, which is probably a nod towards the locals' preferences, as the Ipoh outlets only give chilli sauce.
With my carbohydrates, I opted for chee cheong fun versus noodles. Later I found out, they're more famous for their noodles and in their Ipoh outlets, they don't serve chee cheong fun. Apparently an exception was made for this outlet, at a request from local diners.
There are six choices for noodles, ranging from kuey teow, beehoon, mee, laksa noodles, loh shue fun and Hakka noodles. Pick the sauce, whether it's soy sauce, soup or soy sauce curry or curry. This is served with minced chicken.
You also have Asam Laksa. I was told by my friend that her favourite is the dark soy sauce with kuey teow as it's got a sweet taste. Her family tried the curry noodles, which they felt were a little soggy. Another thing is they don't serve Ipoh bean sprouts with the distinct crunch.
For chee cheong fun, there's the plain soy sauce and oil, the iconic Ipoh red sweet sauce, curry sauce or mushroom sauce with minced chicken. There's also a mixed sauce which combines the red sweet sauce, curry and chili sauce together.
It's best you get them to warm up the chee cheong fun as it'll taste better especially with the simplest of toppings like soy sauce and fragrant shallot oil.
I tried the Ipoh Red Sweet Sauce Chee Cheong Fun (RM5.50) with pickled green chillies and dried chillies. The sauce is not too sweet and goes well with the rice rolls but I would have preferred a silkier texture.
This outlet also offers toast, eggs and various drinks besides coffee. Bear in mind, their forte is more their yong tau foo, rather than their drinks, as the coffee was rather mediocre. Cutlery is kept in a steriliser machine so help yourself to it on the counter, together with the bowls and sauces.
You also have sweet temptations such as Ipoh caramel egg custard, soy milk and tau fu fah. I tried their Ipoh Taufu Fah with Ipoh Soy Milk (RM4), which is a childhood favourite of mine, where instead of syrup we would add soy milk to the dessert to give it a richer taste.
The tau fu fah was smooth and not too sweet, which made it a good choice after that heavy meal. They do have tough competition though as just behind the restaurant, you have Dáo which serves a much richer tasting tau fu fah.
For those who miss the taste of their hometown, you may find some items not up to the same standards as Ipoh, hence this place will qualify as a quick fix for cravings.
As I have not tasted the food from the Ipoh outlet, I would say some items like the Ipoh mountain water bean curd and their homemade fish balls stood out for me, since these are much better renditions than what I would find in any other local yong tau foo place.
To find the restaurant, it is along the same row as KFC and right opposite the 99 Speedmart.
Restoran Jom Rock Ipoh Yong Tau Fu, 14, Jalan 21/19, Sea Park, Petaling Jaya. Open daily: 8am to 5pm (soft launch hours, operation times may differ later on). Tel: 011-54269245. Facebook: @JomRock.Seapark
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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