Tuesday, February 12, 2013

A Town Called Ampang




2013-02-11 A town called Ampang
By Lintang Bob Yong

Ampang is (or was?) famous for its Hakka Yong Tau Foo (客家釀豆腐). During my early working life, I used to travel from Kuala Lumpur City to Ampang Town; an approximately 10 kilometers drive, just to have Yong Tau Foo for lunch. 



Today being the 2nd day of Chinese New Year which is a public holiday in Malaysia, my wife and I decided to revisit this town that we had not set foot for more than 15 years.
 

 

We were aware that most Chinese eateries would be closed for business because of the Chinese New Year celebrations. We just wanted to take advantage of the lesser traffic on the roads and could take a slow drive so that we would have more time to look around. Many years ago, Ampang was a small town situated at the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur. As I drove along, I found out that the area surrounding Ampang Town has changed beyond recognition and we could see tremendous economic developments all along the roads. As we reached the town, we were surprised to see that the row of shop houses standing on both sides of the narrow road still looked the same as they were. Obviously, shops that are run by the Chinese were closed. The Yong Tau Foo shop we were looking for was closed too.
 



 It was well passed lunch time. We were looking for something to eat. The Old Town White Coffee Restaurant was open and we stopped by for lunch. The set-lunch ‘8 Treasure Bowl’ specially prepared for the Spring Festive Season caught my curiosity and I ordered it for my meal. Surprisingly I found it deliciously good. I am looking forward to have another go at it soon.


 


It was truly a short trip down memory lane.