Ipoh Satay

Lok Yon Bin’s satay is not to be missed when in Ipoh Old Town. WHILE Kajang may boast about having the best satay in the Klang Valley, Ipoh folks are proud of their sizzling Chinese satay in Ipoh Old Town. The stall operated by Lok Yon Bin occupies the narrow lane separating two coffee shops, the Thean Chun coffee shop and Khong Heng coffee shop, along Jalan Bandar Timah (formerly Leech Street). Besides chicken satay, Lok also serves pork and pig intestines. Apart from being freshly-grilled over a charcoal fire, Lok satay is accompanied by a tasty homemade peanut sauce. He attributes the success of his business to his former boss, Uncle Chung, who established the stall 40 years ago. Chung handed down the business to him, owing to old age, and he has been continuing Chung’s legacy of serving the same delicious satay. Thanks to the ideal location of Lok’s stall, Lok has the advantage of being able to get orders from customers of both the coffee shops where one can go for all kinds hawker food like the famous Ipoh kueh teow, chee cheong fun, popiah, lam mee, chicken rice, sotong kankong and rojak. Lok said his satay sauce was the crowd puller because he takes time to prepare the sauce with specially selected groundnuts as one of its ingredients. He said the secret of each good stick of satay lies with its careful selection of only premium meat that required careful smoking over charcoal that’s been specifially selected for its size. “We have to control the temperature and the correct amount of heat to bring out the taste,” he said. On working days, Lok operates his stall from 9am. On public holidays he starts an hour earlier but his satay always gets snapped up by noon. “I have many regular customers who keep returning and introducing their friends from outstation and my business is thriving now,” Lok said. Each stick of chicken satay costs 60 sen and it is a must-try if you step into either Thean Chun or Khong Heng coffee shop. Source : The Star Metro