Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken

Does the chicken in your chicken rice carry a passport? Apparently, those served at Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken do. They are certified Malaysian Kampung Chicken. And the bean sprouts which accompany are fat, crunchy and gorgeous. The horfun which one can order as part of the meal is white, oh so smooth.

Introducing the Ipoh food phenemona. According to legend, the water surrounding the town of Ipoh in Malaysia has special properties, and food made from this water is especially delicious. Like the bean sprouts grown in the water. Or the hor fun made from the water. They are truly and indeed different from those from elsewhere.

Nowhere else, do I find the horfun or kway teow which is so smooth, totally soft and luxurious. Ipoh Lou Yau features these wonderful noodles. The only other place in Singapore I have eaten such wonderful horfun was at a restaurant called Hong Kee, but alas it is no more. Those served at the Ipoh White Coffee is close, but no cigars. The Lou Yau one is indeed the real McCoy.

The chicken is true bred, real kampung chicken. Free range chicken, reared for a bit longer than commercial battery chicken, are imported from Malaysia. The chicken are first boiled in broth with herbs and spices. Then just before serving, it is boiled in a gentle heat which keeps the meat tender, then submerged in an ice bath, to stop further cooking after the desired doneness is achieved and also to seal the juices and give the skin a glossy sheen. The skin colour is also a tell tale sign...an intense yellow, compared the the paler complexion of the battery chicken.

Taste wise, it is a bit more intense as well, more flavour, a bit more gamey. Not my favourite, as I prefer a milder chicken, but I can see the attraction. In some Malaysian shops offering similar fare, like the famous Ipoh Chicken at Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya, the shop also offers commercial chicken as well as roast and soy sauce varieties.

The bean sprouts were as advertised. The standout is the thick plump strands, albeit shorter than regular ones. The sprouts are blanched and bathed in a savoury sauce. The bean sprouts are sweet, and very crunchy. Nice.

But I cannot fail to mention one of their side dishes...which to me was the star of the day. The braised platter.

Braised egg, tofu and pork. The tofu and egg were great, but not very special. But the braised pork belly was superb. I found the meat tender, full of flavour, the fat bursting on the palate giving a wonderful mouthfeel. One of the better braised pork I have eaten.

For dessert, I had what they call Hometown Osmanthus Tea...nice ingredients...served cold, very refreshing.

Nice little stall...the setting is like a food court, but unlike regular food courts where there is shared seating, this is more like a bistro, with each stall having their own seating.

This is an invited review, thanks to Ying Ying at Ninemer for the invitation, and to Select Group for hosting. I leave you with a picture of the Chef, who was also happily shooting away at his food with his own DSLR as we started the photo session.

Ipoh Lou Yau Bean Sprouts Chicken
B1-52 Chinatown Point.
Many other locations in IMM, Centrepoint, Chervon House, VivoCity, White Sands, and Junction 8 (Mar 2013), Bugis Village (Q2 2013)

Ghim Moh Food Center, Singapore

After church, we headed off to have lunch. We intended to consume fish noodles at the famous XO Fish Noodle place in Holland Village. When we arrived it was under renovation. I may blog about it another time. So, for now I present ye, oh faithful reader with a rather mediocre meal. We went to Ghim Moh Food Center, latitude: 1° 18' 39", longitude: 103° 47' 17".


Wanton Mee


They were quite generous with the ingredients but the wanton and the char siew quality was very ordinary.



The noodles were firm to the bite and were covered with a black sauce reminiscent of the gorgeous wanton mee found in Kular Lumpur, but this was just a poor cousin of it. The noodle tasted very strongly of kee the ingredient that gives it its characteristic yellow colour. It was accompanied by a bowl of shui kau dumpling soup.



The dumplings were large but unspectacular in taste. The skin was too thick and the filing was bland. The stock could have been tastier and would have improved with some pepper.

Ipoh Hor-fun


This hor-fun was nothing like the variety found in Ipoh. I didn't like the noodles as I felt that it was very plain. It was not as smooth and soft as the genuine noodles you would get in Ipoh and in some specialist stores in Singapore. The sauce was very uninteresting also.

Char Kway Teow


We thought this was a good find because of the loooong queue. We were impressed by the old man frying so we imagined that the food would be great. It took a total of four shifts (dad, then me, then mom, then me again standing in line) to buy one plate of $3 CKT. It came full of lard and cockles, which usually is a promising sign.


Huge pieces of lard were spread out randomly in the midst of the noodles. Looks yummy!


The cockles were equally large and once again spread out in a random order in between the noodles.

Despite the great looks, the taste was a letdown. The chilli was not hot, therefore defeating its purpose, the noodles were not salty enough. My father preferred the Outram Park Char Kway Teow now at Hong Lim Complex and my mother the one located in Amoy Street Food Center. I agree with both of them. I may blog about these another day. This plate simply wasn't worth the heart-stopping cholesterol and ultra long wait.

Roast Meats


At last, a dish worth writing about in this food center. We ordered the triple meats, comprising of roast duck, pork and char siew.

I liked the char siew the most.


My father shared my view, and declared the sweet, crispy char siew a winner.


There was a nice juicy layer of fat (blue arrow) sandwiched in between the meat that was encrusted by a sweet, crispy, roasted and charred outer layer(red arrow). The mouth feel was incredible. As you bite in, the fat would burst in your mouth and the crunchiness of the outer layer added to the pleasure. This is char siew as it should be. Sinful but tasty.

Roast Pork


Though a little bit on the salty side, the skin was super crunchy and the meat was leaner than the char siew yet it was still tender and juicy.

My mother enjoyed the duck the most. It was roasted a little on the dry side, but the skin had the same beguiling black sauce as the char siew. Dad and I thought the Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint at Paya Lebar was superior.

Wanton Mee stall


Char Kway Teow stall


Roast Meat stall