KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 – Growing up, Ipoh was the place where I spent most of my time outside of KL. It’s my dad’s hometown, and it’s left me with many fond memories of the best kai si hor fun.
Over the years, I’ve had a few versions here that are pretty good and perhaps hint at the real thing, but are usually just missing a little something that leaves me wanting a little more.
Guang Ji Ho Fun & Chicken Rice on Jalan San Peng is a place that I’ve heard good things about from a friend of mine who hails from Ipoh.
Don’t let the unassuming look of the place fool you; the food here is superb. In addition to kai si hor fun, chicken rice, braised pork and a host of similar dishes are also served here.
When a bowl of kai si hor fun arrives, you’re immediately taken by the bright orange hue of the broth; the almost intoxicating aroma of prawn and chicken fills your nose and makes you want to drink it all in.
Tastewise, it’s bang on and blows most other places out of the water.
The broth is sweet, rich and leaves a lasting impression, coating your mouth without ever feeling greasy.
The hor fun isn’t the smoothest I’ve had, which I usually consider pretty crucial to evaluating a bowl of kai si hor fun, but it’s far from clumpy and stodgy so it passes for me.
Halfway through a bowl and you’ll be planning your next visit here.
Half of a poached chicken makes for a great sharing option here. Like the hor fun, it probably isn’t the smoothest plate of poached chicken I’ve ever had but it’s tender, moist, and appropriately savoury from the soy sauce concoction it’s been dressed in.
A highlight here that took me by surprise was the braised pork. The fatty pork belly is every bit as gelatinous and rich as you can ask for, and you can also get beancurd, boiled egg and chicken feet braised in the same master stock that tastes strongly of dark soy sauce and a host of spices.
The homemade beancurd is incredibly smooth, and the balance of flavours in the braise is expertly done. It’s not often that you find yourself eating this together with kai si hor fun, and it’s even more seldom for it to outshine the poached chicken but such is the case with Guang Ji.
For four bowls of hor fun, half a poached chicken and a portion of braised pork, chicken feet and beancurd, the bill came to RM78 (including a few drinks), which I felt was incredibly reasonable.
I recommend getting here early on a weekend morning or before the lunch rush on a weekday as parking is virtually non-existent (it is a roadside stall, after all).
For the public holidays on May 1 and 4, Guang Ji Ho Fun & Chicken Rice will be open for business.
Guang Ji Ho Fun & Chicken Rice
Open daily, 7:30am-4pm
Tel: 016-222-6293
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