IPOH, Aug 3 — Whether you’re in your sixties or or just left high school and pondering over that pertinent question of how (or when) to leave good old, “boring” Ipoh, you must have crossed paths with Tong Sui Kai at some point in your life.

“Tong Sui” literally translates to sugar water, while “kai” means street in Cantonese. Hence, the moniker “Desserts Street” was granted to this stretch of hawker stalls occupying the street (more like a small lane) off Brewster Road in the heart of Ipoh town.

Although in reality, there are more savoury street food options available from the 50-odd stalls compared to stalls that actually focus on beverages and desserts.

I remember back in the 90s there were no modern kopitiams that opened until the wee hours of the morning, and even the mamak scene was slow to flourish in Ipoh. And no, in case you’re curious, 24-hour fast food establishments were almost unheard of as well.

The best spot to gather for a late night supper after last-minute revision with fellow schoolmates or an outing with colleagues was at Tong Sui Kai; rich with an array of cheap and sumptuous hawker fare.

Most of the stalls stay open until way past midnight and offer more varieties than the conventional coffee shops like Fook Sing in Ipoh Garden East (which used to be another popular hangout for “sobering up” after a night of drinking), and a more central location compared to Glutton Square (Medan Aneka Selera or also known as “Tung Koo Thing” in Ipoh Garden).

For first timers, the plethora of choices can be slightly intimidating with some duplicates that are obviously trying to confuse the uninitiated ones with more attractive graphics and brighter signboards. If you come unprepared or uninformed, then it’s best to follow the crowd.

First of all, you need to make a decision on what you feel like eating. This will affect your selection of seat, and since the tables are somewhat tagged to the beverages stalls, you might be trapped into ordering drinks from a competing stall that was never in your list anyway.

I highly recommend the beef noodles from Cheong Kee, stall number 47, that opens daily except on Sundays. The stall is located at the front end of the stretch, nearest to the main road and you can see the petrol station across the road from here.

This stall has been in existence for about half a century now; previously operating along Theatre Street before the relocation sometime in the 80s.

Since then, Cheong Kee has been doing brisk business every evening; proudly serving up their trademark beef noodles in a clear, savoury broth that is markedly different from other beef noodle stalls that serve up murkier broths and more robust flavours. 

The combination of lean beef slices and beef brisket, with optional inclusion of tripe, beef balls and other parts of the cow tailored to your request, makes for an incredibly fulfilling experience that’s traditional, tasty and relatively cheap.

Ais Kacang suits the local weather best, offering a refreshing relief to the heat (left). Springy egg noodles served dry with lean char siew and a bowl of pork wantan (right)

If you order the beef balls separately (usually you have to), the soup that comes along with that has a generally more beefy aroma; only lightly enhanced with a dash of pepper and garnished with a handful of chopped scallions.

The ultimate kick comes in the form of their own concoction of chili oil paste; spicy with a fiery aftertaste but goes really well with the tender cuts of beef and the beef balls.

If you are seated at this end of the street, then you can order a bowl of refreshing Ais Kacang (ABC) or Lin Chee Kang (a dessert served warm or chilled that comes with dried longan, snow fungus, lotus seeds and usually a hard-boiled quail egg).

Should you crave for anything other than beef noodles, then you can try the wantan noodles or curry mee from the Mee Kari Pangkor stall nearby. The wantan noodles are not too bad, with really thin strands of egg noodles coated in dark soy sauce and served with slices of lean char siew, and a bowl of pork dumplings in a peppery, flavourful soup.

Now let’s move to somewhere in the middle of the row, where you can find several stalls selling savoury snacks. There’s the old uncle (I sure hope he’s still there) with his signature “ngap keok pau” or duck’s feet parcel; a street snack that defies the law of what you should and should not eat. Think duck’s liver and intestine wrapped  with the web of a duck’s feet; then served with a sticky, sweet sauce that could almost pass off as teriyaki sauce.

Can you say delicious?

A few stalls away you can find a fried chicken specialist — Winner’s (not the average, predictable fast food outlets please) which proudly offers menacing portion of crispy chicken skin coated in a perfectly spiced batter; and served with a sweet chili sauce.

More mainstream option includes the safer rojak, that Malaysian fruit salad with prawn crackers served with a tar-black, sticky sauce made up of caramelized sugar, shrimp paste and a bit of heat from the chopped cili padi, then generously sprinkled with crushed peanuts.

Cheong Kee’s beef noodles has that extra kick from their own concoction of chili oil (left). Lin Chee Kang is an example of a classic Chinese dessert that can be served warm or chilled, with ingredients like snow fungus, lotus seeds and even a quail egg (right)

If you are somewhere in the middle of the row, then the most famous stall number 21 should be within your sights. Yes, this stall encompasses the true essence of Tong Sui Kai, dishing out bowl after bowl of sweet desserts with the most prominent being the colourful mountain of fruits, jelly and ice-cream on shaved ice named “Jap Gor Ping” or Mixed Fruits Ice.

No doubt there are other stalls that may off better alternatives with less attitude, more ingredients and relatively more value for money, but given the legendary status of this stall, the strategic location right smack in the middle of the row, and more desserts options than the others can offer (including hot desserts like red bean soup, sesame soup, etc), I usually come here for my chilled desserts fix.

This chapter covers only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. There are dozens more worthy hawker food stalls scattered within the row that I would leave to your judgment and adventurous, foodie spirit to discover.

Tong Sui Kai will always occupy that special place in my heart; reminding me of the good times spent with school mates, family and friends.

 James Tan loves good food and blogs at Motormouth From Ipoh (www.j2kfm.com)