Makan Nyonya, Ipoh

Yours truly managed to clear one backlog post again! Having tried this almost few months ago, blogging seems to be a good past-time when you are confined within the remote area in Lumut whereby civilization is almost a 20 minutes drive away. Tonight, I shall share with you a remote breakfast spot in Bercham

Occupying just one shoplot with most of the manpower from family members, Jason wish to share the beauty of Nyonya cuisines which he has inherited and improved from her mother's recipe. While some people feedback that the place is quite noisy when it is crowded, I remember trying this place on one public holiday and it was really tranquil. At least you have some peace in admiring all the decorations they have to offer here.

Yup, Jason has shown much effort in ensuring your dining experience is in line with the Nyonya theme and some photo angle is indeed instagram worthy if your are a foodie yourself. 

Not your average coffeshop setting, right? Generation nowadays would have very less chance to be exposed to the rich Baba-Nyonya heritage - their furniture, kitchenware, handicrafts... and not to mention, their cooking! Their food!

This is the spring roll and lobak gou if I remembered correctly. Served with a dollop of sambal cili for good measure. Its something savoury to nibble on while waiting for your main dishes to arrive. Just like any other coffeeshops, the beverages here are very reasonably priced with almost all coffee/tea drinks below RM2

The Kai Si Hor Fun (Chicken Kuay Teow) ticks the list when it comes to serving appearance. Nevertheless, the taste of the broth is a bit too light to my liking. I do not wish to go further in detail on my personal preference as I do not wish to be bombarded by the owner. Okay, it was actually like this. I read one of his post towards a response from a customer. The customer being also a food hawker, advised the owner to use some MSG into the cooking as the taste was bland. The owner stood firm and sarcastically suggested to provide a bowl of water with MSG mixed inside it to the customer. Well, kudos for him making a stand to serve food which is naturally flavoured. But bear in mind that, not all of us are accustomed to food which has a light taste.

The Nasi Lemak Nyonya (RM4.50) appears to be very captivating in terms of the myriad contrasting colour spectrum. The blue coloured rice is naturally coloured from the pigments of butterfly-pea flower, the same natural dye for Nyonya kuihs like pulut taitai. Surrounding the scoop of blueish grains are greenish cucumber slices, brownish fried peanuts, white and yellow from the hard boil egg and reddish and dark orange from the curry chicken and sambals. The nyonya curry chicken is above average, just that I have a minor suggestion of increasing the portion. I only have one piece of chicken, one potato and one piece of bone without meat. It is fine to raise the price further in the quantum of 50cents to RM1 due to a step-up environment from the usual chinese coffeeshops but ensuring the portion should be sufficient to go along with the rice. Midway on eating the rice, I ran out of sambal and curry chicken.

This is the Lam Mee (RM5) which looks really attractive from the toppings. Based on visual, it seems like most of the mandatory ingredients to be present in a bowl of Lam Mee is there, including chives and fried onions. The same comment as the Kai So Hor Fun in terms of the flavour/taste of the broth.

Being named Makan Nyonya, the menu would not be complete without some sweet Nyonya delicacies right? While the texture is just right, again I feel the kuihs is not sweet enough. Mom said that there is possibility some of the kuihs were outsourced. There is quite a vast difference between the overall quality and taste of different kuihs served here. Again this is a personal opinion, if the owner really care, he should accept feedbacks with an open heart. After all, it is down to customer preference which drives the revenue of your business.

Nevertheless food here is very reasonably priced at a cosy environment. Parking is ample here though as most of the shops are not opened for business yet. Perhaps the photo below could give you picture on what to look for when you are passing by the row of shops behind/beside Tesco Bercham.

Makan Nyonya is opened for breakfast all the way until late lunch. But apparently most of the items are sold out by late breakfast period, as posted in their Facebook page. Do follow their Facebook page as the owner really take delight in updating all on his new creation along his culinary journey. I have read some of his inspiring journey from a stall all the way to operating his own shop. Though some of the food may not be up to my personal preference of liking "heavy taste" food , I sincerely wish him a prosperous business ahead! They also have Prawn Mee, Nyonya Laksa, Assam Laksa which could be a better bet if I make a return trip one day