Every times I come home to Ipoh, I will definitely to go makan in Medan Selera Stadium. This eating place is only 5 minutes drive from my house in Ipoh. Every things here are familiar to me as I grew up in this part of the city. I moved to Ipoh from Gopeng when I was 6 years old. My childhood days were in Star Park, an old housing area less than 1 km from the stadium. My teenage years were in Wah Keong Park, which is less than 3 km from the stadium. Ipoh Garden, which is just next to the stadium was the place that I shopped and ate in those days.
Actually, most of the hawkers in Medan Selera Stadium were previously (about 20 years ago) hawkers in the shaded roadside hawker area by the road side of Jalan Lau Pak Kuan next to the Ipoh Garden roundabout before the municipal authority moved them to a newly built Medan Selera Stadium. I passed by this place on my way to school on my bicycle everyday. Quite frequently, I stopped by this place to have a bowl of ABC after school on my way cycling home.
The two things that I miss most from this eating place are wanton noodle and ABC. There are several wanton noodle stores in Medan Selera Stadium, but the best is Min Chee. I have been eating its wanton noodle since my childhood days. The store has been operating for 30 over years.
Unlike people in Hong Kong who eat their wanton noodle in soup, people in Malaysia and Singapore eat their wanton noodle mixed in gravy too. However, ask anybody from Ipoh about wanton noodle in Singapore, he will never fail to tell you how horrified he was when first ate his wanton noodle mixed with tomato ketchup or chili sauce in Singapore. The selling point of wanton noodle is its crunchy, smooth and slippery texture that allow you to slurp it into your mouth. To prepare wanton noodle with this texture, it is crucial to put the noodle through hot and cold water with the right amount of time. You wouldn't want to eat wanton noodle with a texture like mee goreng right.
Wanton in Ipoh comes with tissue paper like thin skin. In fact, the skin is so thin that it will disintegrate after you slurp it into your mouth. Typically, you will be served with at least 5 or 6 pieces in a bowl of soup. Wanton in Singapore comes with thick, yellowish colour skin and typically served with 2 or 3 pieces in a bowl of soup.
Call it ABC (Air Batu Campur) or Ice Kacang as you may. But trust me, Ipoh has the best. The closest is Penang. In Singapore, they add in atap seed and sometimes agar-agar jelly, but the syrup is just plain sweetness and colour. They use green colour syrup too. In Johor, they put Milo powder on top. Nothing beat Ipoh. In Ipoh, ABC comes in only 2 colours, red or brown. Each has its own taste. I just can't describe the richness of Ipoh ABC. You just have to taste it to really see the difference.
