This was a much awaited trip. 

The 5 hour journey however turned into a 7 hour stretch. I swear I could grow a beard in the car. or have roots growing from my buttocks. We bumped into a lot of mini accidents along the way, none were that disruptive to the traffic but invited audiences in the driver seat to have a peek all the same. It was raining cats and dogs in Ipoh hence we were glad when we finally arrived at the doorsteps of DeParkview Hotel.

The hotel boasts of a 2 star facility. I wouldn’t mind giving it a 3 star based on the warm welcome at the front desk itself. Both ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’ seems to know the best place to get food including whereabouts of the local Pasar Malam and best place to get limau bali. 

I loved the new-ish room and bathroom facility with hot showers! It has a kettle – yeay! Two complimentary bottles of mineral water with coffee sachets on arrival (only). Free shower gels, toothbrush and fresh towels. Apart from that, ironing board, extra pillows and hairdryers are available upon request.

Perhaps we’ve missed the memo but the rooms are not made up on a daily basis despite putting a sign outside the room. Thus, we had 3 days worth of rubbish sitting in the dustbin in the room throughout the stay. We did look for a common bin outside the room, along the alley .. just in case. But there were none. So we left the bin outside the room for the rubbish to be disposed of. It worked. So thats why its a 2 star facility – hahaha. Yang penting bersih.

Now comes the important question :

Would I stay in this hotel again? A definite YES!

Our main objective to Ipoh was actually to visit The Lost World of Tambun. Will get to that later. Sambil menyelam sambil minum air.  We did however get to taste some of the popular local eateries here. 2 in particular are;

LAKSA TELUR GORENG BERSARANG

We had a difficult time persuading our little Ultraman to come along. All he wanted to do was watch cartoon in the hotel room. The laksa was a bit spicy for our boy but we adults enjoyed it. Kira adalah rasa ikan. We were a bit lost at first on how to place our orders but we followed the crowd. The place was packed. The turnover rate for each table was pretty fast.

I was a tad disappointed however with the attitude of some of the young uns. There is little ‘urgency’ to eat up their food and they somehow seemed oblivious to their surroundings. Its as though they feel the need to claim their birthright to sit at the table for hours talking nonsense because ‘hey I paid for my laksa and drinks – I can sit here for as long as I like’ come on lah – this laksa is so nice you should share it with other people. Let this makcik have a seat and enjoy the meal as well.

This is a noodle based dish served in a fish-y soup concoction. Normal laksa would have hard boiled eggs as its choice of condiments. This particular cafe chose to serve its eggs in a nest-like appearance hence its name. It was delicious all the same.

My next mention is ..

NASI VANGGEY

Apparently this Nasi Vanggey was also referred to as Nasi Ganja because it’s said to be very addictive. Also seems like Nasi Kandar to me. A rice dish with many side dishes to choose from. I ate safe by having what is biasa. Mr Husband chose my dishes of sotong kari and ayam madu. I am not a fan of rice dishes (omputih sangat)  but I suppose this one is OK. I wouldn’t mind having it again. Boleh kenyang satu hari. 

Perhaps I can next try the Halal Dumplings. Or any other special Ipoh food apart from the coffee. Any recommendations?