Dispatch.31.Layout TB

DISPATCHES p. 54 —journal Good times in Goa p. 62 —road trip driving through east sussex p. 66 —island scene a Galápagos journey —about town ipoh perks up in and around its old town area, home - grown entrepreneurs are putting a new spin on the Malaysian city’s laidback charm By Adele Chong e e l M a d a y b s h p character reference Ipoh-born a r restaurateur Dexter Song at Burbs & Giggles, G o his cheeky café in Kong Heng Square. t o h p 48 — DESTINASIAN.com — auGust/septeMber 2014 DISPATCHES about town —ipoh name of the slippe ry,brot h-subme rged noodle Ipoh’s golden period ended, and it slipped qui - dish lying untouched before my lunch com - etly into the mold of a sleepy hamlet as if it all panion and me—Aunty has muscled her way never happened. into our midst and deftly transformed the jum - Ask any Malaysian about Ipoh, and they’ll ble of orange melamine plates on our table into likely recite a miscellany of homegrown an Instagram-worthy still life. bounty: gorgeous women, pomelos, white “Na, you see?” she nods with smug satis - coffee, bean sprouts as fat as a baby’s finger, faction. We do. After that, there’s little else to and food—particularly food. For anyone who off the wall The alfresco bar at Burbs & Giggles features wall art by local talents, left. Below: do other than thank her sheepishly and take comes to Ipoh to eat—and that’s most—it’s Sar hor fun (rice noodles with shredded chicken and the damn picture. gastro-tourism, it seems, has considered sacrilege not to begin in the old prawn) at Kedai Kopi Kong Heng. eaving among the time - officially gained a foothold in Ipoh—even Town area, where handsome colonial build - worn marble tables at the hawkers are schooling diners in artful food- ings from the earl y 1900s intermingle with Kedai Kopi Kong heng, styling these days. Finally, we surrender to the commercial shophouses. located south of steaming soup bowls in soupy hor fun, a homey concoction of multi - the central padang (playing field) and a short hand, our waitress shoots layered flavors and a faint sweetness that walk from Ipoh’s domed and turreted railway me a look of mild disdain. lingers on my tongue. It perfectly exemplifies station, this is where many of the city’s culi - WShe appears to be in her Ipoh and its easygoing allure. nary cornerstones continue to thrive. Kedai mid-50s and one of those sweet-and-sour The state capital of Perak wasn’t always Kopi Kong heng, manned by four feverishly matronly types—a real aunty, as we call them so laid-back. Set in the tin-rich Kinta Valley overworked hawkers, is one such place. A in Malaysia. She inches closer to my table some 200 kilometers north of Kuala lumpur, century-old haunt dating back to the days of through the coffee shop’s lunchtime chaos the town flourished in colonial times as the hub the tin barons, it stays packed from breakfast and glares at the bulky camera that I’ve been of a booming tin-mining industry, earning through closing time. once frequented by holding, on the verge of committing the itself the moniker “City of Millionaires.” But migrant workers and Chinese opera per - greatest mealtime faux pa s of all time: photo - with the collapse of tin prices in the early 1980s, formers who ambled in between shows at the graphing my food. now-demolished theater next door, the high- “you’re doing it wrong,” Aunty finally ceilinged dining area, fitted with rotating says. She addresses me in Mandarin, accurately fans and fruit-shaped paper lanterns, has guessing that she’s dealing with an outsider seen its share of ferocious appetites and key who doesn’t know a word of the Cantonese moments from Ipoh’s storied past. spoken by the majority of Ipoh’s residents. “It A self-declared “Ipoh boy,” Kuala lumpur– doesn’t look right at all.” based landscape architect and hotelier ng Sek Faster than you can say “hor fu n”—the San all but grew up at Kong heng in th e1960s. “under-designed” addition to ng’s Sekeping chain of inimitable hotels and retreats. Intent on keeping the building as close to its existing state as possible, ng has deliber - ately left surfaces and crumbling wooden shutters unrestored; there are even yellowed rental receipts affixed to one wall as a reminder of bygone tenants. Modern touches are con - ducive to structure rather than style, giving “I have nothing but fond memories of the the spotlight to historical layers and the sur - dating back to the days of the tin place,” he recalls. “When I was a young boy, my rounding nature besieging the building. It’s barons and Fitted with rotating family would go there to eat on the weekends, not luxurious, and ng is the first to say so. Still, fans and fruit-shaped paper and I’d meet friends there after school.” the appeal of an experiential overnight stay lanterns, century-old coffee shop Kedai Kopi Kong has seen its share When ng left Ipoh to pursue his career, he seems to be catching—the prewar building on of ferocious appetites and key knew he would later return to revisit these the same block is being renovated into an ambi - moments from Ipoh’s storied past memories in one form or another. So in 2008, tious extension. when the three-story building housing the ng’s daring foray into old Town hasn’t eatery serendipitously came on the market, gone unnoticed. A few small, independent ng snapped it up. Its derelict upper floors, hotel operators have followed suit, converting state visit From left: Tables at the long-standing which once provided sleeping quarters for rundown Straits-style shophouses into guest - and ever-polular Kedai Kopi Kong Heng spill out into a side alley; the coffee shop’s entrance; prepping opera performers, have since been trans - houses. Among the newcomers is happy a room at Ng Sek San’s Sekeping Kong Heng hotel. formed into the Sekeping Kong heng, a raw, eight Retreat, a three-story heritage building 50 — DESTINASIAN.com — auGust/septeMber 2014 auGust/septeMber 2014 — DESTINASIAN.com — 51 DISPATCHES about town —ipoh that has been recast into a cheery, inexpensive inn with art-covered walls and handcrafted Song is one of a growing number of wooden fixtures. young locals opting to stay in Ipoh There are new restaurants, too, such as the rather than move to the big city. The attraction? A blank slate. The casual bistro Burps & giggles, which patrons possibilities are endless here, can access through Sekeping Kong heng’s says Song, who has opportunities backyard. A nearby outlet of Plan B, a splashy enough in his own backyard coffee chain from Kl, completes the new tri - fecta known as Kong heng Square. Travers - ing the area, the feeling is distinctly akin to wandering through a narrow Beijing huton g— a reference ng bore in mind when he envi - sioned the layout. housed in a row of three renovated shop - houses, Burbs & giggles’ knickknacks and vin - tage furniture come as a stark contrast to the mundane decor of old Town’s venerable kopitiams . Twentysomethings chow on burg - ers accessorized with so many fillings that they have to be held together with steak knives; the bar imports its beers. That it feels like an upbeat café in Melbourne’s trendy St. Kilda area is not incidental. “I lived there for old town icons A breakfast of white coffee with kaya toast and soft-boiled eggs at Sin Yoon Loong, a few years when I went to university, so I was left: Above: White coffee also appears in this street definitely influenced by what was going on mural across from Ipoh’s central playing field. locally,” says owner dexter Song. At 27, Song is one of a growing number of young locals opting to base themselves in Ipoh rather than move to the big city. The attrac - tion? A blank slate. The possibilities are end - less here, says Song, who only has to look in his own backyard for new opportunities. “I’m excited by the revival of old Town,” he says. customers. “But for me, it’s the same—busy as fast or how uncomfortable the plastic seats, “It’s becoming a major tourist hub and will always.” the satisfaction in that first potent sip of only expand over time.” Wong is blasé about his coffee shop’s cult white coffee and the custardy texture of per - For some old Town veterans, it’s a matter status, and it’s easy to see why: the packed fectly soft-boiled eggs is unequalled. It’s this of maintaining the momentum rather than tables are swarmed by would-be diners wait - contrast of rough-hewn surroundings and scaling new heights. Around the corner from ing for a seat, and the staff, mostly friends and exquisite food that makes Sin yoon loong so Kong heng Square at Sin yoon loong, 51- family who are inured to Sin yoon loong’s toothsome, speaking to a clientele that has long year-old Wong Poh Chew begins his workdays madding crowds, yell to each other over the shunned appearances in favor of authenticity. at 6 a.m., brewing Ipoh’s most famous white deafening rush as they snatch orders of roti It’s not that this frenzied kopitiam—and the coffee just as it’s been done since his grand - bakar from an ancient electric grill and dole out rest of old Town—meets its extraordinari - father founded the kopitiam in 1937.

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