There are many hawker centres and coffee shops around the town and suburbs. One will be spoilt for choices when comes to good local food in this small town. Food prices are still low relative to the prices in other cities in Malaysia. One of the popular centre amongst locals and tourists is the one situated in Larut Matang building (along Jalan Panggung Wayang). The place is always packed with customers especially during breakfast and lunch hours. Most of the owners there have been serving their famous dishes for many years.
The famous must-try delicious local food served by the food stalls from morning till evening daily are the wanton mee, mee rebus and fried koay teow noodles. See photos below. |
For afternoon tea, one should try buying the local 'kueh' from anyone of the three stalls at the hawker centre. The 'kueh' comes in different shapes, colors, design and textures. Some are filled, coated, wrapped, sliced and layered. Most of these 'kuih' are steamed, with some being deep-fried. The common ingredients are rice or tapioca flours, glutinous rice, grated coconut, coconut cream, gula melaka (palm sugar). One of the must-try is the 'pulut panggang' - glutinous rice parcels stuffed with a spiced filling, then wrapped in banana leaves and char grilled. The spiced filling may include pulverized dried prawns and caramelized coconut paste. One should also try the 'kuih talam', which has two layers. The top consists of a white layer made from coconut milk and rice flour, whereas the bottom layer is green and is made from green pea flour flavoured with pandan. |
Another favourite food centre among locals are the food centre at the Taman Tasik Taiping. The place which is more bustling in the evening serve good Hokkien prawn mee (a must-try!) and fried koay teow.
Hokkien prawn noodle is a dish of egg noodles (yellow) in a fragrant stock, which is made from both fresh shrimp and dried prawns, as well as pork or chicken. It is garnished with prawns, fish cake and 'kangkung' vegetables (water spinach). The dish is served with sambal. |