SITIAWAN, PERAK - THE BAKERIES, CAFES & MEE KAMPUA

One of the two entrances to YIHO Bakehouse. Walking through this entrance leads one to the pond of koi fishes inside the cafe.

My mum was pottering about the bakehouse to marvel at YIHO's selection of cakes, desserts and buns

YIHO Bakehouse located at No 1, Taman Bunga Raya, Kg. Koh, 32000 Sitiawan, Perak served many different types of patisserie, desserts, cakes and western-style dishes. I stopped by for afternoon tea that Saturday and the place was packed! Their blueberry cream cheese bagel tasted heavenly but their Americano Coffee was just ok despite the price tag of RM10+ for a small cup. Perhaps I am used to Arabica beans which I think they did not use to make that cup of coffee. YIHO did charge extra for service fees since it was the first day of Aidilfitri public holiday hence the higher price tag for the coffee & bagel. Nevertheless, I couldn't stop marveling at their wide varieties of baked products and desserts, one of which I featured in a picture for this post. You can visit YIHO's Facebook page HERE.  

Colourful Koi fishes swimming inside a small pond within the cafe, with their vivid hues of red, gold, orange, black 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Bagel which I had with a cup of Americano at YIHO. One of the best bagels I've had is surprisingly here at this bakery cafe in Sitiawan.

Different brands of imported flours from Taiwan, Japan and a brand known as Prima Flour Brand  weighing up to 25kg being displayed on top of a high shelf 

Mr French Loaf on duty at the YIHO bakery cashier. His nametag is written as such and I've seen other nametags of employees written as "Petite Gateau", "Mocha Latte" etc. 

One the desserts spotted at YIHO which looked too pretty to eat

Noah Roastery Cafe, named after a biblical character whom God appointed to save mankind from the great floods. This Cafe had both Asian and Western dishes on their menu so I brought my mum and helper there for dinner. The cool interiors of this cafe provided us much needed relief from the blazing heat outside. One just needs to scan the QR code to start ordering. It was interesting to see this cafe publishing their menu through a website URL at https://noah-cafe.web.app/. The food at this particular cafe in Sitiawan was very good judging by the plate of nasi lemak which I ordered for my helper, in which no single grain of rice was left, and the empty bowl of mushroom soup in which my mum swiped the last drop of soup with her toasted baguette. Evan Almighty (a clip from that movie can be viewed below), the Americanized version of Noah would have been pleased to know that this cafe served good food. The green area plus the french-style windows which let natural sun-light into the facade of the cafe, added to the almost biblical experience for my family spending quality time together here. Their Instagram page can be viewed HERE  

Noah's Roastery Cafe desserts were beautifully glazed, with this particular one above shaped like green apples. The Cara Damia looked really yummy.

Another one of the fruit-shaped theme desserts of Noah's Roastery was this mango that looked like Harum Manis variety. The heart-shaped dessert looked too pretty to eat.

Strawberries, grapes and blueberries on top of these tarts at Noah's Roastery made my eyes sing with joy

A green space in the middle of the cafe at Noah Roastery in contrast to the koi pond at their competitor's

I agree with the writer of the article [Sitiawan, Malaysia] Kampua noodles and other breakfast options from 𝗦𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗸 𝗦𝗲𝗸 that the only community who can do better than the Hainanese in making coffees at the kopitiams, are the Foochow. You can read more about that article HERE. On my way back to KL, I passed by Ulu Dedap on the West Coast Expressway. Ulu Dedap is popularly known among the birdwatching community for their Marsh Harriers. Another birding hotspot is the Chui Chak Paddyfields. According to Google Maps, the paddyfields are around 35 minutes drive from the Teluk Intan Leaning Clock Tower. My inner birdwatcher will just have to contend with viewing birds from behind my laptop currently. The Perak hotspots featuring the species leaders can be viewed HERE in which the iconic birds of Chui Chak Paddyfields (ranked 17th) can be viewed HERE. I do reminisce on the good old days of birdwatching when my friends and I chased for a good sighting of the bank swallows in Malim Nawar which is one of the iconic birds that can be found at that 6th ranked hotspot in Perak. One can view the iconic birds of Malim Nawar's mining pools HERE.

Kampua Mee which I had for dinner at the Food Court near the old Pasar Awam in Sitiawan

One of the many food courts that opened that Saturday night in Sitiawan.

The above is a Studio Ghibli-style of the food court generated via Chatgpt. The satay lady is shown as seated in the Studio Ghibli-style pic above whereas in the actual photo, she is not. 

FROM SEKINCHAN, SELANGOR TO SITIAWAN, PERAK

米香堂 (Mi Xiang Tang) - Puffed rice being fried by this formidable woman at the Rice Factory Mill area. The process of making this puffed rice biscuits being displayed inside the rice mill factory for all to admire!

The hot puffed rice being pressed and cut into smaller pieces after being scooped seconds ago from the frying giant wok. Definitely need customized tool for this part of the process.   

An overnight trip to Sitiawan, Perak from Kuala Lumpur via Kuala Selangor/Sekinchan with my mum and helper. We stopped by Sekinchan, Selangor to visit the Paddy Gallery which was crowded with people thanks to the Aidilfitri holiday weekend which extended into Monday. I was fascinated by the making of 米香堂 (Mi Xiang Tang) at the Rice Mill Factory area and had shopped for 1kg of packaged rice bags at PLS Group's shop. Villa Chee D’bendang seafood restaurant was nearby so we had lunch there before I continued my drive via West Coast highway towards Sitiawan. I’d recommend the clams with garlic & ginger sauce dish at D’bendang. The fried egg with crabmeat was mediocre as was the stir-fried sweet potato leaves dish. The Sekinchan Rice Mill factory is featured in a website which you can view HERE and the PLS Group Rice Mill Sekinchan’s website can be viewed HERE. 

Jade green paddyfields of Sekinchan at Villa Chee with a colourful house topped with balloons that looks like the one from "UP" (2009) the Pixar animated movie. 

A swing designed in the style of a Baya Weaver's nest at Villa Chee.

Kampung Koh chilli sauce in a bottle has always been spotted on every table of a dimsum restaurant, so it was timely that I visited the village where this sauce originates from when I reached Sitiawan.

King Kampong Koh is a registered trademark which expires in 2033. The trademark holder is Kampong Koh Sdn Bhd, registered it under Class 30 (Chilli Sauce) with the translation of the three Chinese characters appearing in the mark ‘Gan Wen Ke’ which has no meaning. I don’t see the label King Kampong Koh chilli being used anymore on these chilli bottles due to the possible issue that could arise over the name which it seems based on the trademark report for this company's application, they are facing a disclaimer proceeding under section 10(2)b of the Trademarks Act 1976 which under the new Act could be due to a condition or limitation imposed by the Trademark Registrar under section 30 (Voluntary disclaimer, condition or limitation) of the Trademarks Act 2019. The Trademark Registrar may refuse any trademark application if such application contains or consists of any matters not allowed under the absolute and relative grounds for refusal of registration under sections 23 and 24 of the 2019 Act. The name of the village being included as part of the trademark could be problematic in the eyes of the Trademark Registrar. Meeting the distinctive criteria of the 2019 Act is not easy. From the looks of the company's website which can be viewed HERE, I gather that the company focused on the name "King" as the primary brand name for their product. Mural paintings of the Foochow working class adorn the walls of shoplots, a very unique display of Misua "noodles" (as pictured below) including a giant bowl of misua noodles with red rice wine vinegar and chicken drumstick with chopsticks suspended mid-air (as pictured below) were such a sight to behold along the cultural lane at Lorong Budaya Setia Kawan, Taman Desa Aman in Kampung Koh. It is heartening to see the traditional cultural heritage of the Foochow community being preserved alongside this lane. The painstaking process of making Foochow red wine is covered in an article by Mildred Voon published on 5th February 2021. Very interesting to read about the Foochow settlements in Sitiawan, Perak and Sibu, Sarawak and how they brought their farming expertise along with them when they immigrated to Malaysia, to escape war & poverty in China during the early 1900s. Her article can be read HERE. The Sitiawan Settlement Museum Facebook page can be viewed HERE - I would have dearly loved to visit this museum which is located within the grounds of a school and a Methodist Church. Alas, I could only marvel at the building outside (as pictured below) since the museum closed by 5pm. The Two Good Elephants cafe was the only establishment which remained open during that public holiday. The cafes and bakery of Sitiawan are featured in my next post. 

The pastor who became the leader of the immigrants from Fuzhou, China is given due recognition in this display on the history of Kampung Koh  

A fresh batch of Kong Piah being prepared the day before. I placed an order on-the-spot to avoid the Sunday morning queue.

Sitiawan Settlement Museum - closed by 5pm on that Saturday and open by 2pm the following Sunday. I had to settle for an external view of the museum building. 

The Kong Piah from Kampung Koh - I bought the savoury ones

Blast to the past - breakfast at Sing Hing, a single-storey kopitiam next to the Kong Piah bakery. I sat in one of the tables under a tree in which the common iora was singing away 

TRADITIONAL LION DANCE 2026

 

The traditional lion dance performers were from the Segamat Teng Xiang Association lion and dragon dance group, whose website at Facebook can be viewed HERE. The lion statues positioned at the entrance to the Goddess of Mercy temple remind me of the Lions of the Ancient Khmer empire, which is the title of an article by Rodney Charles LHuillier that can be read at the Hello Angkor website HERE (however, logging into Google is required before one can access that article). China Media Group's Malaysian employee was one of the performers who was selected by CMG to represent Malaysia at China's prestigious New Year Gala. Performers from Vietnam and Kazakhstan were the other countries selected by CMG. The Malaysians performed “Wau Bulan” during the broadcast of the New Year Gala which attracts an annual audience of more than 1.4 billion viewers. You can read about it HERE. The Goddess of Mercy temple in Kampung Abdullah was very lively on the first day of CNY with a pair of lions performing their dance in front of Guan Yin before going all around the temple. My sister and I spent some time at the open house area of the temple, with refreshing cups of tea whilst marveling at their simple yet creative decorations (as pictured below). 

Pink blossoms, kumquats at the steps of the temple around the guardian lion statue

Lettuce on a string together with ang pow for the traditional lion dancers to jump up & retrieve

Smoke from the firecrackers was blown inside the temple by the winds from the incoming rains

The bright red traditional lion costume looks brand new and together with the yellow traditional lion, both bowed (and peeled oranges & pomelos) before the Goddess of Mercy when inside the temple

Lays old-school style of ang pow packets looked really cool to me  

Photo sourced from China Media Group London UK - Paddington Bear holding the Chinese character which symbolizes Prosperity 

Horse-themed cookies made by my sister's friend. 

Ramadhan falls on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year in 2026. The Rakyat Post organized an online contest entitled GONG XI RAMADAN 2026 which you can view HERE and it looks like the internet user has to view each video of the brands to answer the questions. Very clever marketing campaign from these big brands, which consist of a service delivery app (which has acquired a supermarket brand), a developer, a bank and a mineral water brand. An image downloaded from the Rakyat Post's Gong Xi Ramadan microsite depicting the bamboo groves, lanterns and old-school bicycle (as pictured below). 

Chap Gor Mei marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. This 15th day is also known as the Chinese Valentine Day. Some of the notable events of this day is the tossing of mandarin oranges (scribbled with telephone numbers from the ladies) into pools of water, in which the gentlemen scoop up and lo behold, they can call up the ladies for a meet-up. Tech apps such as Tindr, Bumble (where the women initiate the call), Coffee Meets Bagel etc. are the modern tools used in the western world which somehow lacks the human touch and fun involved in the mandarin oranges tossing tradition.  A mall in Penang is packed with activities in conjunction with Chap Gor Mei which includes this oranges toss into the quay area, which can be viewed HERE.