Part 2

One of the reasons why we headed out early to Ipoh was because we wanted to try the dim sum at the famous Foh San restaurant. Foh San is well known for its char siew pau and tai pau, and regulars will tell you that if you arrive after 8.30am, there won’t be anymore left.

It’s a shame that road names are changed around the country, presumably to do away with the imperialistic connotations associated with our “colonial fathers” in keeping with the old road names. Several road names have been changed to the names of present sultans and glorified politicians, but in changing the names, are we also deceiving ourselves into believing that the past never existed? Incidentally, there is a radio ad right now campaigning Malaysia’s 50th year of independence in 2007. The ad says that Malaysia turns 50 next year. Malaysia has a long history, not as “Malaysia” but as “Malaya” or “Tanah Melayu” before that, but nevertheless, is it right to say that we’re only 50? Anyhow, the reason why I brought this up was because we couldn’t find Osborne Road in Ipoh, and realised, in the process, that several road names had been changed. :-

We arrived at about 9.30am, so we were fully prepared for the absence of char siew pau, but we were still keen to try the other stuff. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we all exhaled a “wow” in unison at seeing the huge crowd, either seated or waiting to be served. It certainly appeared to be popular, not only with the tourists, but also with the locals.

The restaurant is bright and cheery, mostly due to its open concept which lets the sunshine in. Despite what other people may say, we experienced good service with a smile everytime we asked for something. Most of the waitresses are old “aunties”, and one can’t help but to warm up to them.

The dim sum was certainly delicious. A selection of pictures of the dim sum we consumed is shown below.

We were lucky enough to get ONE char siew pau, which we promptly, and fairly, divided into four parts. 🙂 We pronounced it good, and agreed that our trip to Ipoh wasn’t in vain.

The entire meal was very reasonably priced. At approximately RM40 for four of us, we agreed that we could never get a similarly priced meal of dim sum back in Kuala Lumpur.

The aunty and uncle manning the payment counter, despite having stern looks, were actually very pleasant. It was definitely a good start to our day in Ipoh.

Restoran Foh San

2, Jalan Osborne,

30300 Ipoh, Perak.

Tel: 05-2540308