Ipoh's Thean Chun - "House of Mirrors"

On the banks of the Kinta River and at the heart of the Perak's Kinta Valley lies the quaint town of Ipoh. A tin-mining town that grew out of the Malay village of Paloh, it was made the capital of Perak in 1937 and declared a city by the Sultan of Perak in 1988. However, the Ipoh of the 21st century is a popular tourist destination - it's local cuisine, natural attractions and conserved British colonial-era architecture drawing hordes of travelers from near and far.

As the daughter of a passionate Penangite, I grew up making regular road-trips up north from KL with my family, on special occasions like the Lunar New Year or during the school holidays. Ipoh was always a mandatory pitstop on our way to Penang and my tummy would rumble right on cue the moment the iconic limestone hills start rolling into view (à la Pavlov's dogs hearing the dinner bell at feeding time).

Till this day, my family's go-to lunch place every time we visit Ipoh is the legendary Thean Chun coffee shop. Not quite sure why it's been dubbed the House of Mirrors - my best guess is because a panel of mirrors stretches across one side the kopitiam's wall from front to back. Home to a whole host of mouthwatering hawker fare like beef noodle soup, chee cheong fun, rojak, satay, popiah served by families who have been in business for countless decades, many consider its crown jewel to be their Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun / 鸡丝河粉. Directly translated from Cantonese / Mandarin, it is thin flat rice noodles with shredded chicken.

Every patron since the 1940s has been greeted by the sight of Uncle Neow to the left of Thean Chun's doorstep, the bill of his white cap resting jauntily over his left temple, skillfully butchering his whole poached chicken and meticulously assembling each piping hot bowl of Hor Fun. Rice noodles blanched until tender & translucent form the bed upon which slivers of chicken and halved prawns lay, scattered with chives and bathed in a flavourful chicken & prawn broth. For such an unassuming / uninspiring name, Kai Si Hor Fun is one of the heartiest, most comforting kopitiam dishes and Uncle Neow is a master of its stock.

I most recently visited during the Lunar New Year and was very pleased to see Uncle Neow diligently chopping and plating as usual, though I noted with a slight sadness his increasingly stooped posture. Feeling compelled to connect with him beyond the usual hellos and thank-yous, I told him I was glad to see him still going strong and had missed eating his Hor Fun over the past few years while travel was restricted. We made some small talk while he served up his steaming bowls of noodles, where he proudly shared that even now in his late 80s, he still wakes up at 5 or 6am to deshell his prawns and prep all his ingredients by hand every morning.

When asked about why he named his stall "Tricycle Chicken & Prawn Kuey Teow", the corners of Uncle Neow's eyes crinkled with what I presumed was a smile behind his mask. He said that when he first started working at about 15 years old, he used to lug all his ingredients and utensils to Thean Chun on his tricycle. But he has long since retired his tricycle and now relies on a regular motorcar to get around. I later read here that, although the original Kai Si Hor Fun might've been a Hakka dish brought by immigrant miners from Guangdong, China, Uncle Neow harks from from Nan'an in Fujian and thus added a Hokkien twist to the plain chicken noodle soup by including prawns in the recipe.

Before other customers could begin giving me the stink-eye for holding up their orders, I thanked Uncle Neow for chatting with me and returned to my "dap toi" seat almost directly behind his counter - the perfect vantage point to admire the master's dedication to his craft.

As I reminisced over my meal, I recalled the beautifully orange sheen of prawn oil released from the prawn heads & shells and deep seafood-y aroma of the Kai Si Hor Fun of my childhood which had gradually reduced over the last decade. Although the dish remained undeniably fragrant and tasty (with more than a hint of nostalgia), I was once again struck by the thought that the physical demands of his trade were catching up to Uncle Neow as he aged and wondered if his son who currently focused on managing orders would be continuing the trade.

Now, in case you (like me & my family) appreciate copious accompaniments to your main bowl of noods, I highly recommend ordering sides of Uncle Neow's Nga Choy Kai / 芽菜鸡 / beansprouts and chicken - another quintessential Ipoh dish. Ipoh's thicc, stubby beansprouts are world-renowned for their crunchy bite and relative juicyness, apparently attributable to the mineral-rich water from the limestone hills. Tossed in a savoury blend of first extract soy sauce + sesame oil + shallot oil with some scallions thrown in for pop of green, they are a wonderful textural complement to the succulent poached chicken that's doused in the same sauce mix.

On top of that, my father's personal favourite addition to his meal is the beef tendon ball soup from Uncle Neow's neighbouring stall. Dad's choice of beef tendon & beef balls, fried beancurd skin (fu chuk), fu chuk fish cake roll, and fried yam bean (bangkuang) roll (another food item unique to Ipoh) are served in a clear, light, mildly peppery broth that takes on the meaty umami of the various toppings steeped in it. One may also opt to add noodles for a complete meal.

The aunty running the beef noodle stall is a second-generation master stock - she took over the reins from her father who is now in his late 80s and started the stall around the same time as Uncle Neow at Thean Chun. Her son was there as her sous chef, and when I cheekily asked if he would eventually take over as the third generation his mother somewhat wistfully said that he works a different more professional job on the weekdays and was only helping her out during the weekends. She acknowledged how tough life as a hawker is and although the hawker life chose her, her son is free to choose if he'd like to continue the family business.

No meal at Thean Chun is ever complete without their crème caramel in all its wobbly glory. Chilled creamy egg custard the texture of silken tofu set in a syrupy bittersweet dark caramel that was probably 3 seconds away from being burnt on the stove. Only a fixed number of these custards are made daily - sitting in their stainless-steel molds, stacked neatly in the glass-front fridge at the back of the shop. So, make sure to arrive before well before peak lunch hours to secure the goods. I will never forget my utter dismay that one time I was in the middle of my lunch when a lady swooped in and swept up the last 10 caramel custards. The disrespect!

A staple of Ipoh's food scene, Thean Chun and its master stocks will always hold a special sentimental spot in my heart. Up next on my list to share are a handful of Penang staple stocks my family and I visit without fail every time we are in town - watch this space!

YumCheers,

Nat