On the food trail

A trip to the Lost World of Tambun is fun. What makes it even better is the array of good food places along the way.

NOTHING brings out the appetite like a fun-filled day at the Lost World of Tambun in Sunway City Ipoh.

Sunday Metro, your faithful makan guide, looks at the big question of where to eat as we go on an adventure trail of food stops leading to and from this theme park.

Hearty breakfast

As the Lost World of Tambun only opens at 11am (on weekends it’s 10am), you will seriously need to consider the breakfast issue.

Hawkers’ paradise: Foodstalls at Jalan Medan Ipoh 5 offer everything, from rojak to seafood and noodles to grilled chicken wings.

For those who are looking at sampling Ipoh’s famous hawker fare, consider a short drive to the New Weng Fatt coffee shop in Tingkat Taman Ipoh, Ipoh Garden South, which is about 10 minutes from the Lost World of Tambun.

Here is where you’ll find Ipoh’s famous curry noodle and Hakka Mee, served by the Cheah brothers who have another shop in Jalan Theatre in Ipoh’s old town.

This stall in New Weng Fatt is run by Chan Kum Ho, 46, the boss’ wife. She reveals that they have been serving their Hakka noodles with toppings of minced pork for three generations now.

You’ll love the wide array of springy fish and meat balls and many diners have also given the crunchy foo pei and fried wan tan the thumbs up.

Eric Wong of Unique Seafood holding up a Spider Crab.

For a good morning boost, ask for a beef tripe and meat soup with beef balls to go with your noodles. A budget of RM5 per person will easily tide you till lunch time.

Not to be missed at the same shop is the Teluk Intan glutinous rice with lashings of curry and thinly cut char siew by Ng Kong Chiew, 46, a Teluk Intan native who moved to Ipoh.

Priced at only RM3, this recipe, according to Ng, is no less than 48 years old having been passed down from his grandfather.

What makes this meal so satisfying is the combinative balance of sweet and savoury flavours from the roasted meat and curry sauce. Note that one is not enough, so it’s best to have this as a side dish together with something else.

And don’t miss out on the white coffee at Weng Fatt. It is delicious, hot or cold.

Another ideal spot, consider it a pit stop, is behind the Giant hypermarket in Jalan SCI 2/2 in Sunway City itself which is less than three minutes’ drive from the theme park.

There you’ll find many mamak shops offering a rich fare of mee goreng, roti canai and nasi lemak.

One personal favourite spot is a place called The Coffee Shop run by Johnny Ng, an amiable and very boyish looking 50-something who used to run Rum Jungle, one of Ipoh’s happening night spots.

Johnny Ng’s eggs on toast at The Coffee Shop

The Coffee Shop may look sparse from the outside but they have great half-boiled eggs on thick toasted white bread.

This simple breakfast priced at only RM2.50 makes for an ideal meal especially when you have very young children in tow, and dining here is an escape from the hustle of the busier mamak shops.

It is also less stressful in terms of catering to junior’s toilet needs as the restrooms are squeaky clean.

The chatty Ng, a Muslim convert, is also good company who strikes up pleasant conversations with all the patrons. There is also free wifi, which gives time for the adults to catch up on their latest Facebook postings.

Relaxing lunch

For lunch (by now we presume that everyone has amply soaked themselves in the adventure river and the wave pool at the theme park), the best recourse is the Waves Restaurant at the Lost World of Tambun itself.

Think fried chicken wings, burgers and spicy fried rice with sambal belacan.

It’s not exactly Ipoh fare as we know, but try cajoling a brood of excited children to leave the park just so that you can go for your bean sprouts and chicken with kway teow.

Tosai Anaconda at Nasmir

It will not work! The park’s marketing manager Mazian Nawawi, 32, recommends the deep fried fish fillet with potato wedges: Dory fish is used instead of fish cake patties, she says.

If choice is the issue, there is always the Kukuntalu hawkers’ section, which offers chicken rice, crepes, iced cendol and keropok lekor.

Nourishing snacks

If a light midday meal is more to your taste, the spicy tuna and chicken waffles at the Lost World of Tambun are a recommended option.

Fluffy with generous fillings, these warm, well-toasted waffles make for a wonderful snack and will give your taste buds a lingering memory.

Chow time: There’s lots of food to choose from and savour at the Lost World Of Tambun

Responsible for this novel idea is Sivaji Raja, 35, the assistant manager of food and beverage in the park.

The waffle inspiration, he modestly reveals, is nothing more than a combination of a light batter and a basic filling of mashed tuna and chicken mixed with spices and chillies.

“On a normal day, visitors can snap up close to 300 of our spicy waffles,” he says.

For teatime, the cherry scone at the Rimba Teahouse within the petting zoo is another edible gem.

Served warm with strawberry jam, butter and cream, it is very filling and one can be shared between two persons.

While the conservative palate may insist on washing this rich buttery confection down with coffee, Sivaji recommends the roasted rice tea, a special blend of honey, brown sugar, screwpine leaves and rice made exclusively for the Lost World of Tambun.

Tasty dinner

When the park closes at 6pm and everyone has towelled down and comfortably settled in dry clothes, you’d want to consider dinner. If you’re feeling plush, there is Unique Seafood in Persiaran Lagoon Sunway, just next door to the Lost Word of Tambun.

Barely a minute’s walk away, this place has a wide range of live seafood including spider crabs, lobsters and Scotland clams.

You decide on what you want, and these will be scooped up from the aquarium and cooked the way you want it.

For a sumptuous seafood treat of spider crab in a superior stock of dried scallop, pumpkin and free range chicken, be prepared to fork out no less than RM500.

Eric Wong, 29, the senior manager, gives full assurance as to the freshness of the seafood in this two-year-old Chinese restaurant, which is pork free.

There are also other meat and vegetable dishes ranging in price from RM6 to RM58 for a set lunch for four persons. Of note are the ostrich with XO sauce and crispy lemon chicken.

For the budget conscious, an option is Nasi Kandar Nasmir along Jalan Medan Ipoh 2 in Bandar Baru Medan (Ipoh Garden East, as locals call it), which is about six minutes’ drive away from the Lost World of Tambun.

Nasmir is famous for its half-metre-long Tosai Anaconda - one order at RM6 can easily feed three! They are also known for their briyani rice with ayam kampung (free-range chicken) and nasi kandar.

If you want a night out in the open, there is a hawkers’ paradise right across Nasmir’s in Jalan Medan Ipoh 5.

The food stalls, which at last count numbered more than 200, span the front and back streets and offer everything from rojak to seafood and noodles to grilled chicken wings.

Old-timer Dahapi Ismail, 70, who sells satay here says he has been doing business at the same spot for the last 20 years.

Dahapi is very much the chatty type and if you’re thinking of touring the rest of Ipoh after a visit to the Lost World of Tambun, he may be able to give you some suggestions on where to go.

To get to the Lost World of Tambun, drive along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah Utara and then Jalan Tambun. Head for Sunway City. The theme park is just right after the Giant Hypermarket.