Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah @ Yong Suan, Ipoh
Always appear in the list of Ipoh Must Eat Food, I finally made my maiden visit to this infamous Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah which is operating in Rumah Tumpangan Dan Kedai Kopi Yong Suan. Also known as Nasi Ganja Ipoh, literally translated as Cannabis Rice Ipoh to describe this northern Malaysian dish is so delicious that it could be as addictive as cannabis. But fret not, there’s no cannabis or any illegal substance used in the cooking.
This is the queue during my visit yesterday which is considered acceptable as sometimes the queue can be stretched to 2-3 shops. Yes, I just came back from my weekends getaway to Ipoh yesterday. Long queue is perpetually formed here for takeaway customers, for dining in, one just need to find a seat in the restaurant and the staff will come and get your order.
There were a lot of dine in crowd too but you’re in small group like 2 or 3 person, you can just ask for table sharing like what we did.
Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah (RM5.80)
This is the standard serving of their signature Nasi Kandar with Ayam Merah, half a salted egg, coconut chutney, an okra, cucumber slices and the rice doused with curry gravy. Priced charged is definitely cheap for the portion given!
The curry mixture was sufficiently drenched my plate of rice in fiery red hue. I must admit that I’m not fan of Nasi Kandar or rice doused with gravy like this, but I’m totally okay with curry dishes. Taste wise, the flavour of the curry mixture was unlike any curry that I have eaten and I am not accustomed to the spice mix. It was mild in spices note and moderate in spiciness. The salted egg added more dimension to the overall flavour of the rice when eating together.
The Ayam Merah which I initially thought was Ayam Masak Merah is actually fried chicken in red colour. My piece of chicken was failed on both texture and flavour. It was dry, tough and tasted quite bland.
♥Verdict: I really imparted high expectation on this due to all the raving and positive reviews in the internet but it did not impress us as much as we thought it would.
Nasi Kandar Ayam Merah
Rumah Tumpangan Dan Kedai Kopi Yong Suan
2, Jalan Yang Kalsom, 30250 Ipoh, Perak.
Tel: +605-254 4314
Operating hours: 9.30am to 6.00pm, daily.
So crowded! But your experience with the fried chicken was not encouraging. Maybe it’s the “ganja” that make people come back hah..hah..
PH, but the “ganja” (if there is LOL) couldn’t make me addict to the Nasi Kandar though, hehe 😛
Nasi kandar in a Chinese coffee shop…..that’s a first! 😉 Maybe coz you got chicken breast, that’s why it’s extra dry? I can see that the salted egg is pretty low quality too (especially the one on the other plate). I guess we can’t expect too much from something so cheap.
Kris, the Nasi Kandar definitely has its “magical” until it is called “Nasi Ganja”. I remember you go back Ipoh every CNY, maybe you can try it out next year if they’re open during that time 🙂
i love nasi kandar too, but it feels like we need to go to penang for the most satisfying experience, since even kl’s ones are not quite delicious enough, especially nowadays 🙂
Sean, I’m not a fan of Nasi Kandar so I’m not sure where to find good one at KL, maybe you can recommend me a few?
No Cannabis! That’s disappointing to some isn’t it? hahah.
KY, I hope you are not the one who disappointing, LOL