Bidor! No Girls. Just Food!
The Town Of Bidor
Welcome to the little town of Bidor, where girls are scarce. Looking for a bride in this little place is not adviseable. On the other hand, Bidor’s duck noodles soup (鴨腿麵) is pretty much the most authentic dish you could ever get in Malaysia, let alone the best.
Upon hearing the news of this highly-satisfying bowl of noodles soup, we took the Bidor exit, while enroute to Ipoh. Along the main road of this rather deserted town, motorcycles and lorries ruled the streets. Clusters of people only began to appear as we approached the only coffee shop visible in this entire town.
“Pun Chun Chicken Biscuits and Restaurant” proudly displayed their business sign on their two-shoplot restaurant. Car parking was a little bit difficult to find initially, but a few rounds of search-and-drive and a little luck you will find a parking spot a few feet away from the crowded shop.
Pun Chun Chicken Biscits and Restaurant.
Yes, bicycles are still very much used in Bidor.
Pun Chun, as expected, was very packed on a Saturday morning. The breakfast crowd was at its peak in the unearthly hour of 8am. You would wonder, “who on earth would wake up that early for their breakfast?”. Well, be surprised. The crowd were mainly from nearby cities like Ipoh (30 minutes drive). And perhaps a few from KL.
Besides their infamous chicken biscuits (雞仔餅) which were sold nationwide, their duck noodles soup was the encore for the morning. Won Ton Mee (雲吞麵) and Yam Pastry (芋角) were also available; but they weren’t Pun Chun’s signature dishes.
Our long awaited duck noodles soup finally arrived after a 20-minute wait. It was still fast considering the huge crowd thronging the restaurant, where first-come-first-serve attitudes were never heard of.
The Deliciously Tasting Duck Noodles Soup
The type of noodles used were the same ones used for your usual everyday Won Ton Mee. Pun Chun was very generous with their duck meat. The soup was made with a variety of Chinese herbs. At Pun Chun, the soup was steamed along with the duck meat and herbs; not conventionally boiled as one would usually do. This helped further develop the available herbs to create a very complex but well-flavored soup; and as expected, the tasteless overtenderness of its duck meat was due to the very long steaming hours. A slice of ginger was also present to not only enhance its flavorings but for Chinese medicinal purposes. The Chinese believe that certain foods (e.g. duck meat) release excessive “air”, which could upset the human body balance of the ying and yang. Ginger is traditionally used to reduce the “air” (推風) in daily food intake.
Overall I have to agree that this is the best duck noodles soup I have tasted in Malaysia. I made sure my bowl was completely dry before I left my seat to pay the bill. If you by any chance keep a dog at home, save the bones. They will love you for it.
Here’s the important bit:
Pun Chun Chicken Biscuits and Restaurant
38-40 Jalan Besar
Bidor
35500 Perak
Phone: +605 434 1554
wow.. food advertising campaign? haha.. i noe how to go to ipoh but not bidor :P
Comment by alicia — November 25, 2005 @ 11:25 am
Alicia: On the way back to Ipoh while you’re on the North-South Expressway, take the Bidor exit. You’ll pass the toll plaza. After the toll, you’ll come to a junction. Take right. And when you’re at the traffic lights, take another right. You’re now on the main road. You’ll notice the only restaurant on the other side of the road. That’s the one.
Comment by Darryl — November 25, 2005 @ 11:20 pm
yeah.. my aunty is originaly from Bidor.. I ve been there few time ages ago.. very small place. I love the chicken biscuit.. yum yum
Comment by cynthia — November 27, 2005 @ 2:46 am
hi.. i’m from Bidor, just some tips.. for all pork lovers head over to the wet market just accross Pun Chun & get a real taste of genuine fresh & tasty roast pork… but be warned, it’s likely to be sold out by 9am.. in fact the 2 best stalls close at 8am..
(p.s. the duck noodle has been in a decline lately, but still beats the crap out of other places i’ve tried.. just that it’s not as good as last time..)
Comment by kianhe — November 28, 2005 @ 8:20 pm
Kian He: Thank you for your kind suggestions.
Comment by Darryl — November 28, 2005 @ 10:18 pm
The duck noodle looks delicious, with generous servings of duck meats :)
What’s the price?
Feel like having a bowl now…
Comment by Chen — December 2, 2005 @ 11:19 pm
Dr Chen: If I’m not wrong, it’s about RM5.50. The price has increased since the last time we went there a year ago. It tastes really nice! :)
Comment by Darryl — December 3, 2005 @ 1:44 am
Friend, is it possible for you to send me all the photos you taken in the restaurant? Original size and uneditted. You see, my photos taken were rejected by The Star editor, so if its possible, can I use yours. Credits will be given though.
Comment by Jason — December 12, 2005 @ 2:33 pm