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.