Yoke Fook Moon (Dim Sum) @ Ipoh

We began our "balik kampong" ritual (returning to hometowns for the festive period) and left KL around 7.20 am and this year the journey took a little longer....close to 3 hours to get to Ipoh (we arrived shortly after 10 am).  Upon reaching our destination, we offloaded the foodstuff I brought (from KL) at my spouse's late grandfather's home and left for breakfast thereafter.

We went hunting for a place to have breakfast.  We got to Thean Chun but it was closed.

So was Ipoh Kong Heng next door.  Looking for a place to eat on Chinese New Year Eve (and the next 2 days) in Ipoh is like "looking for a needle in a haystack" as most of the good ones would be closed.

We found Sin Lean Lee open but, when we ventured into the coffee shop, we noticed that all the stalls were closed or on the verge of closing for the day.  The only stall I saw still doing business was the supposedly (famous) Char Kway Teow stall but I overheard the stall workers telling the customers that there would be at least a 45 mins to an hour wait.  On hearing that, we decided not to stick around.

We then ventured to the dim sum places and found Ming Court closed but Foh San and Yoke Fook Moon open.  Eating dim sum in Ipoh during Chinese New Year is sheer madness!  Madness to get a seat, madness to get the attention of the servers and madness to get the food!!!  I once noticed customers having to queue up to get their own dim sum in Foh San...and there was no way I was going to do that....be a paying customer and get treated like beggars in a soup kitchen!

We stepped into Restoran Yoke Fook Moon @ Ipoh and got a table easily (and that's because it was close to noon already).  This was my second time eating here (I was first brought here by an ex-colleague of mine about 3 years ago).

Once seated, we saw the server passing by with a large of tray of this and quickly ordered the Fried "Har Guin" (Prawn Roll) @ RM6.40.  It was filled with prawns and something else...fish paste, I think.  My family members enjoyed this and ordered 2 more plates.  It was good but not as good as some of the ones I've eaten in KL.  The filling was really plump and generous but the wrapping was not as crispy as I would have liked.

The Steamed "Har Gow" (Prawn Dumpling) @ RM6.80 was pretty decent as it was abundantly filled with fresh prawns though the skin could be thinner.

This is the Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice @ RM5.80 that is slightly different from the usual ones that are wrapped like a square.  This was wrapped in a roll form.  It wasn't as nice as the glutinous rice was not soft enough and the filling was scarce.

Next, we ordered the Pan-Fried "Lor Bak Kou" (Carrot or Radish Cake) @ RM5.  This was extremely softer in texture than all the versions I've eaten thus far and rather flavourful as well.  I liked this a lot if only it was served hot (right after it's been pan-fried), it would have been even better.  But for those who don't like their radish cake extremely soft, then this version is not for you.

I also requested for my favourite Stuffed Brinjal @ RM5 (for 2 pcs) that came with a robust thick sauce.  This got our stamp of approval.

We also ordered the Steamed "Chee Cheong Fun" (Rice Rolls) @ RM4.30.  This is one with "char siew" (barbecued pork) filling.  The chee cheong fun was smooth but the sauce and sambal were not quite up to mark.

A usual accompaniment for dim sum is the chilli sauce and "teem cheong" (sweet sauce).  The teem cheong in Ipoh is, of course, quite different from the ones in KL.  Here it's slightly reddish in colour with a more sweetish undertone.  But what I noticed is that this sauce is pretty elusive as it's not freely available on the table.  [#Note: So, when I specifically asked for it, the server asked me how many plates I needed and then brought the teem cheong bottle to the table, took out 3 plastic sauce plates and filled it up...and then he took the sauce bottle away!]  I don't know why it's such a 'guarded' commodity (in a dim sum place)....kekeke!! :D

I packed 5 tubs of Mango Pudding @ RM3 to go (when I noticed a poster on the wall advertising it).  The tubs were really mini in size and it was certainly not cheap @ RM3 each.

The mango pudding did turn out to be quite good...very concentrated with mango flavour even though the pudding consistency was a tad gummier than expected.

My Personal Opinion

Overall, the dim sum was decent...after all, it's a household name and usually on the list of food bloggers' 10 best dim sum places in Ipoh (although many KLites will probably argue that they can find a lot better ones in KL).  The various fluffy "paus" (steamed buns) here are proclaimed (by a well-known authority on Ipoh food) to be the best in Ipoh but I didn't try any, so I can't vouch if that is so (perhaps on my next trip).

The standout (for me) was (undoubtedly) the pan-fried radish cake.  What made it a standout was the incredible softness of the radish plus the combination of spring onions (and chives?)...and the abundance of it on the radish cake.

If you happen to be in Ipoh, this dim sum place is worthy of a visit!

Restoran Yook Fook Moon
67 - 69 Jalan Leong Sin Nam
30300 Ipoh
Perak
Tel: 05-241 6589