IPOH, Jan 11 — Establishing Ipoh as the hub for curry noodles might take some effort, since Penang’s well known for their version with coagulated pig’s blood.

The recent frenzy over the state’s popular white curry noodles (albeit fueled by the admittedly clever marketing ploy of packaging them as instant noodles) eclipsed any hopeful curry noodles start-ups in the country.

Well, to compare Ipoh’s version to Penang’s is not quite fair since the style is slightly different; the former usually with less coconut milk and incorporating diversely different ingredients such as roast pork, caramelized BBQ pork (char siew), shredded poached chicken, boiled shrimps, cockles and sometimes slivers of gelatinous pig’s skin.

Moreover, Ipoh’s well-known for the dry curry noodles; this is noodles tossed in a mix of soy sauce, a dash of dark soy sauce and thickened curry paste that coats every single strand of yellow mee, bee hoon, kuey teow or lou shu fun. Personally, I like the dry version a lot as the flavours are intense, resulting in a more piquant (and somewhat spicier) dish.

Now, there are quite a number of Ipoh curry noodles outlets that are already famous and frequented not only by the locals, but adventurous/hungry visitors alike.

A plate of crispy pork cutlets and char siew will go well with the bowl of curry noodles (left). Seriously, the crispy fried chicken wings at Chuan Fatt can give the rest (including fast food chains) a run for their money (right).

Names like Xin Quan Fang (better known as Ma Ta Liu Curry Mee or police station curry noodles, a reference to the main police station at the junction of Cowan Street and Hugh Low Street), Yee Fatt (the Hainanese stalwart that has been around for decades!) and Nam Chau (my ultimate pick for dry curry noodles in Old Town) are already famous enough and been covered countless times by various media over the past few years.

And hence, let me draw your attention to a couple places that are no less interesting and definitely worthy of your time.

Chuan Fatt has stood the test of time despite its easy-to-miss location, near the Jalan Pasir Puteh main traffic lights junction where the market and secondary school are. This eatery can fit about 20 people at most, with several tables spilling out onto the walkway on most mornings.

The interior of the shop is really old school; jade green tiled walls, mosaic floors and ageing round wooden tables telling tales of the early days where Pasir Puteh was no more than a wet market and peaceful neighbourhood.

How Chuan Fatt has maintained its clientele and standing is the variety of side dishes on offer to complement the curry noodles.

But first let’s focus on the curry. One glaring difference of Chuan Fatt’s curry compared to the rest in Ipoh is the level of spiciness which has been kicked up a notch; the thicker curry paste is almost like an Indian version of the curry.

The combination of sides are endless at Foo Kwai, and you can choose to have your noodles to be served either in curry soup, dry curry, or plain without any curry

However, you should not miss the fried chicken wings, tangy assam chicken or even the savoury deep fried pork cutlets (almost like tonkatsu but not as refined) and slices of char siew.

Here is one establishment that has put infinitely more focus on the side dishes than the curry noodles, but that’s not to say they are not doing a good job with the latter.

Just be aware of the waiting time during peak breakfast hours (I find that going after 10.30am is a wiser move, although sometimes you risk the possibility of certain items selling out fast), and the not exactly comfortable dining environment. Just a small price to pay for years of legacy, and a killer fried chicken wing to boot.

When you order curry noodles from Foo Kwai, remember to ask for extra char siew! (left). The side dishes at Foo Kwai are aplenty, most notably the stuffed jicama (also known as sar kok liew) that is indigenous to Ipoh (right)

Now we move away from Pasir Puteh to Bercham, where Foo Kwai conveniently serves the breakfast crowd within the surrounding neighbourhood every morning with their rendition of curry noodles.

This place has an even more impressive line-up of side dishes including stuffed fish paste aka yong tau foo.

The plethora of available yong tau foo, or yong liew as we call them in Ipoh (liew refers to ingredients) ranging from soft stuffed beancurd with fish paste, green chillies, crispy fried beancurd sheets and the Ipoh trademark of sar kok liew or stuffed jicama.

Unlike most fish ball noodle stalls that source supplies from mass wholesalers, hence the generic and sometimes artificial taste, Foo Kwai’s selection of stuffed items taste natural, brimming with flavours from the fish paste and most importantly, are very fresh.

But that’s not all. The star of the curry noodles here is the incredible caramelized char siew; thin slices of lean pork marinated well and roasted to a slightly smoky finish.

Yes, the noodles here don’t come with the bells and whistles of cockles and what-not, but the BBQ pork wins hands down.

That being said, the curry at Foo Kwai is somewhat lagging behind in terms of punchy flavours but I guess one cannot have everything.

So, are there any other curry noodle stalls that you would like to recommend?

KEDAI MAKANAN CHUAN FATT 294, Jalan Pasir Puteh, Pasir Puteh, 31650 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

FOO KWAI RESTAURANT 243, Jalan Bercham Taman Sri Kurau, Taman Desa Kencana, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

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