A Crabby Weekend

I was on a mission last weekend.  Was actually a tad lazy to post this but I am in the midst of clearing up my to-do list before Chinese New Year.  Anyway, I promised Krista I’d do a short review on this since she was the one who sent me on this mission in the first place.

Went to Ipoh for three reasons:

1. To deliver The Kooky Jar cookies
2. To see my dearly-missed friends
3. To find and taste the famous Bercham claypot crabs

Mission 1 & 2 were easy.  Mission 3, though, I had to cajole three other friends to navigate, drive and accompany me to this widely talked-about place.  All four of us in a Myvi, partially lost and partially hungry.

The restaurant’s name is called “Rasa Lain”, and it’s located quite deep within the housing areas of Bercham.  But my guess is that even if you don’t know the place, just get yourself to Bercham first, wind down your window and ask anyone from that area – they ought to know.

It’s a typical Chinese kopitiam-style restaurant with red tablecloths and green plastic chairs.  My friends, being more proficient in Cantonese took the liberty to order and these are what we had:

Clockwise from top left: Claypot Crabs with (a lot of) Glass Noodles, Fried Brinjal, Steamed Lala with Ginger & Chili, (Huge) Fish Balls

The claypot crab was quite good.  I’m a huge seafood fan, so I don’t find this very fascinating but at least they were juicy and fresh.  The soup base is a tad peppery, and I always find it annoying when I accidentally chew on pepper balls.  The portion was HUGE.  We ordered the size for 3, and even though there were four of us, we couldn’t finish it.  I’m sure others with different taste buds would find this dish pretty amazing, it’s worth giving it a try if you haven’t already.

As for the fried brinjal… I’m not a fan of purple food so I’m not going to comment much on this.  But the other three were trying to convince me that it was really really good.  I still ate some.  I still don’t like purple food.  Hehe.

I am a fanatic when it comes to steamed lala with ginger and chili.  Was I glad when I saw this served that night.  The way it’s served is pretty unique on its own, as each lala comes with only one side of its shell.  Taste-wise?  If this was my first time having this dish, I would’ve claimed it champion.  But then, I’ve had this dish at Boston’s (Klang), Ilyana’s (Penang) and at my very own home and I must say that it didn’t live up to my expectations.  Perhaps it’s due to the fact that they didn’t add wine into this one, or if they did, I could hardly taste it.

And the fish balls?  Huge.  Like any fish ball.

I’m not a picky person when it comes to food.  I still down anything edible as long as it doesn’t kill me.  And it’s always the company that matters anyway.  I am absolutely grateful for those three who were willing to layan and bring me there.

Overall, I’d say that this place is worth a try.  I’m sure brinjal-lovers will love that particular dish, and the lala and crabs deserve some praises too for being well-prepared and fresh.  The entire meal cost about Rm85, about Rm21 per person.  Cheap or expensive, that depends on your spending power.  For me, I’m glad I gave this a shot, but I don’t think I’d specifically go all the way there again to satisfy my craving for seafood.

Oh, by the way, don’t rely too much on Google maps to take you there.   Or, don’t rely too much on Google maps to take you anywhere in small towns like Georgetown and Ipoh.

There.  Mission accomplished.