Ipoh was a mining town back in the British colonial days, due to the stretegic location of heavy deposit of tin. Whilst Penang and Malacca was more of a port since they're located at the straits of Malacca, our localized Chinese is also heavily divided by these locations due to the type of occupations. Ipoh itself consist of mainly Chinese peeps from the Canto province (now known as Guangdong) which the food taste more towards savory, sweet, and crunchy fried texture. In general terms, spicy and sourish is NOT a mandatory taste within the community.
怡保在英國殖民時期是一個不折不扣的礦場小鎮，這主要是因為當地擁有豐富的錫礦，地理位置非常戰略性。相比之下，檳城和馬六甲因為坐落在馬六甲海峽沿岸，更偏向於港口發展。我們本地的華人也因為這些地理位置和職業類型的不同，在口味上有了很明顯的分水嶺。怡保主要由來自廣東省的華人組成，所以這裡的食物口味更偏向於鹹鮮、帶甜，以及香脆的油炸口感。基本上，在怡保人的觀念裡，酸和辣絕對不是餐桌上的必備味道。
After years of revelation, the older generation has gone. Traditionally, the people in Ipoh started to move out, even the younger generations (dude, I'm now coming to 50) started to grow old and moved out of the mining town. I have spent more of my life time in Kuala Lumpur than I was in my home town Ipoh, therefore my tastebud already outgrew my original acquired tasting ability. I grew to understand how other ethnicities craft their food and why do they taste that way.
經過歲月的洗禮，老一輩的人已經相繼離去。傳統上，怡保人開始往外流，連年輕的一代（老友，你們拉叔我現在也奔五了）都開始變老，搬離了這個礦場小鎮。我人生中在吉隆坡生活的時間，比在老家怡保還要長，所以自小培養出來的味蕾早就不知不覺中「出軌」進化了。我開始學會去理解其他種族是怎麼製作他們的食物，以及為什麼那種食物會是那樣的風味。
Nyonya is a how our local address the Chinese lady whom married a local Malay, without converting to Muslim. Their food recipe is generally a combination of both Chinese and Malay style. It's a form of hybrid recipe that one will never get to taste in China nor Indonesia. I'm not going to spend too much time in explaining how this country bind a religion to ethnicity, but generally all Malays are Muslims since many years ago. Therefore, the descendant of Nyonya is slowly fading away.
「娘惹」是我們本地人對嫁給本地馬來人、但沒有皈依伊斯蘭教的華人女性的稱呼。她們的食譜基本上是融合了華人和馬來人的風格，這是一種在中國或印尼都絕對吃不到的混血配方。我不想花太多時間去解釋這個國家如何把宗教和種族綁在一起，但大體上，好多年前開始所有的馬來人一出生就是穆斯林。正因如此，純粹的娘惹後代正在慢慢地流失。
O'Day restaurant is one of these rare Nyonya restaurant in Ipoh. I particularly like it here so I don't have to go queue up a the tourist spot for lunch. Another thing is, after spending years out of this mining town, I have already adapted to the "outsider" taste, especially Malacca and Penang was our preferred family holiday destination. I enjoyed sour and spicy food very much... Until I had too much fun at the Tioman Island just a couple of days before this Ipoh visit. I was beginning to have all kinds of symptoms, about to get a train wreck flu. Chee Cheong Fun wasn't really a Nyonya food, but that's probably the only comfort food I can have s my symptoms doesn't get worse. The flat noodles are very soft and not too oily. The papaya red sweet sauce is just nice. The fragrant of the fried onions totally bring this dish to life, not to mention the seasoning from sesame and sesame oil.
「O'Day 餐廳」就是怡保少有的娘惹餐廳之一。我特別喜歡來這裡，這樣就不用去那些遊客打卡點排長龍吃午餐。另一點是，離開這個老家礦鎮這麼多年，我早就適應了“外地人”的口味，尤其是馬六甲和檳城，一不留神就變成我們全家放假旅行的首選地。我本身非常喜歡吃酸辣的食物……直到來怡保的前幾天，可能是我在刁曼島（Tioman Island）玩得太瘋了，身體開始出現各種感冒症狀，感覺整個人像被貨卡撞一般（不我沒被貨卡撞過）散架。雖然豬腸粉不算正宗的娘惹餐，但那盤粉大概是唯一能安慰到我、又不會讓感冒症狀加劇的清淡選擇了。那裡的粿條非常滑嫩、不會太油；紅甜醬的味道拿捏得剛剛好；炸蔥的香味簡直賦予了這碟粉靈魂，更不用說芝麻和麻油帶出來的香氣了。
We've got a bowl of shaved ice, we call it Cendol. Usually the northern peninsular of Malaysia uses palm sugar, whereas the southern peninsular of Malaysia uses coconut sugar. Since coconut and palm are from the same family tree, their base taste aren't much different, but the smell, the extraction pressure, the boiling point, makes a significant different. Usually, you can see the difference by the color of the sugar. Palm sugar is light brown, whereas coconut sugar are very dark, sometimes pitch black due to heavy caramelization.
我們還點了一碗煎蕊（Cendol）。通常馬來半島北部比較喜歡用棕糖（Palm sugar），而南部則偏向用椰糖（Coconut sugar）。雖然椰子和油棕都是同一個家族的樹木，底味差不遠，但它們的香氣、壓榨萃取的力度，還有沸點，都會造成很顯著的差別。通常你一看到糖的顏色就能分辨出來：棕糖色澤較淡，偏淺褐色；而椰糖因為高度焦糖化，顏色非常深，有時甚至黑到像瀝青一樣。
Due to the fact that we're there quite late in the afternoon. Mind you that many of this local restaurant either operate half day, or if they do full day, usually they will have shift break by 3pm and reopen later by 5pm or 6pm to serve dinner. O'Days official operating hours is until 4pm, therefore by the time we try to order, many of those food are already sold out. Home minister isn't too impressed by two out of 3 of her preferred menu was out, I can sense the rage is glowing in her. They better serve something really good for her, or I'm risking the rest of the weekend on Ipoh my home town with a raging war machine.
由於我們到的時候已經是下午遲了一點。你要知道，很多本地餐廳一是要麼做半天，要麼做全天的通常下午 3 點就會關門休息，等到 5、6 點才重新開門做晚市。O'Day 的官方營業時間只到下午 4 點，所以當我們打算點餐時，很多食物早就賣光了。我家內位「內政部長」（母老虎）看到她心水 Menu 裡 3 樣有 2 樣都沒了，臉色開始有點不對勁，我已經感覺到她體內的怒火正在蓄勢待發。這家店最好是能上一些真正好吃的東西安撫她，否則我接下來在老家怡保的週末，就要冒著面對一部隨時會走火的移動高射砲，有可能會被亂槍掃死也說不定。
Fortunately, the Asam Laksa they served is indeed one of the best I've tasted in my life. There's thick slices of sardines in the bowl, and the brothe are properly cooked with million scoville of hotness and a dash of tingling sour from pineapples. That actually saved me from possible troublesme days that I might be anticipating 🤣 home minister approved.
幸好，他們端上來的亞參叻沙（Asam Laksa）簡直是我這輩子吃過最好吃的其中之一。碗裡有厚切的沙丁魚片，湯底熬得非常有火候，辣度直逼百萬史高維爾，還帶著一絲絲來自黃梨的清酸。這碗嘢簡直救了我一命，幫我化解了接下來幾天可能會面對的家庭危機，真的是謝天謝地🤣 內政部長點頭批淮，過關！
O'Days
So, if you're in the ipoh town craving for some different taste than the usual canto style cooking, O' Days is where you wanted to be.
所以，如果你人在怡保鎮，想要找一些跟平時廣東小炒不一樣的口味，O'Days 絕對是你可以朝聖打卡的地方。
Google maps 古哥弟徒: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xPj5Lxisj5zR3N5t6
Address 遞紙: 21, Lorong Cecil Rae, Taman Canning, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
