If you happen to be in Ipoh and are craving something simple and sweet, make a pit stop at Hong Kee Mah Chee in Pasir Pinji.
Hong Kee has been operating for at least over 40 years, from a wooden stall to the more common stainless-steel hawker setup with a giant picnic umbrella. Today, the business consists of a visually appealing standalone teal-coloured brick bungalow.
The building is a stark contrast to the houses on Jalan Queen, so you can’t miss it.
This place only offers two items on its menu – mua chee (RM3), a traditional snack from glutinous rice flour, crushed peanuts and sugar; and a peanut-paste dessert (RM4).
These are served in disposable containers – possibly to avoid having to do any cleanup, or perhaps an effect of the pandemic so people don’t have to share crockery – which makes them easy for takeaway.
If, however, you’d like to hang around, there are a couple of benches nearby where you can sit and enjoy your goodies, under a tree next to the brick house. It’s a pretty unique experience.
While this place is fun for a visit, the food didn’t fare as well on the day this writer dropped by. The mua chee was a tad too dense, despite having a good balance of sugar and peanuts, and possibly could have benefited from a bit of fried shallots, like how it is served in Penang.
The peanut-paste dessert was just OK, too – slightly starchier than one would have liked.
While this might sound disappointing, it could have been a one-off occurrence, so do give this place a try and decide for yourself. At the very least, with its eye-catching setup, Hong Kee Mah Chee is highly Instagrammable and makes a cute photo backdrop.
Hong Kee Mah Chee
550A, Jalan Queen,
Taman Pasir Pinji, 31650 Ipoh, Perak
Business hours: 1pm-6pm, closed on Thursdays
Read the original article here. Trying to influence your cravings since 2005, Kar Yeong was Guest Judge on Versus 1001 Rasa Baba’s 2018, R.AGE Food Fight Judge 2015 and NTV7 Foodie Blogger 2014. To read more about Kar Yeong’s food journeys, visit his blog at KYspeaks.com.