Moon De Moon Restaurant in Ipoh has received many, many raves about their delicious kai si hor fun over the years – apparently, it’s the go-to spot for a bowl of silky-smooth noodles in prawn and chicken broth, among the locals.
I only paid this place a visit a couple of weeks back, when my in-laws insisted I wouldn’t regret the experience. And by “experience”, they meant long waiting time. Get there before 8.30am if you want a table immediately, for this coffeeshop packs up faster than the rate the aunty dishes up each bowl of kai si hor fun.
Ipoh’s best kai si hor fun, according to the locals
The kai si hor fun is probably the most sought after item at Moon De Moon, followed closely by the Ipoh-style curry mee. Almost every table in this coffeeshop had a bowl of each noodles – both from the same stall. Expect to wait between 30-45 minutes for your noodles, especially if you go during peak hours.
Chee cheong fun to buffer the long waiting time
The curry version is better
Apart from the lovely rice noodles texture, I didn’t care much for this
While waiting, we ordered a few items to buffer the long waiting time. The chee cheong fun is just average in my opinion; both the version with sweet sauce and curry. I reckon the curry is more exciting with a bit of spiciness, but apart from the lovely rice noodles consistency, this dish was hardly memorable.
Wat tan hor
The fried noodles stall next to the chee cheong fun stall dishes up pretty good wat tan hor (RM6) – laden with wok hei and topped with proper egg gravy. I reckon the fried kuay teow is good too, because quite a number of customers ordered that.
Wantan mee with stewed pork leg
My father in-law (who’s a big fan of wantan mee) tried the wantan noodles with stewed pork leg from the stall out front. Alas, the noodles were disappointingly bland. The only thing tasty about this dish was the stewed pork leg, which was soft, tender and nicely flavoured from the cooking process. Best to skip this.
Chai kueh from the stall out front — serves its purpose of being a buffer for the kai si hor fun.
Thick and sweet hor fun broth with an orange-golden sheen on top
After a good 40-minutes wait, our kai si hor fun and dry curry noodles arrived. I’m not sure if it’s an Ipoh thing, but the locals seem to like their prawn and chicken stock sweet and thick. The hor fun broth at Moon De Moon is exactly that – a beautiful stock, rich and sweet from the prawns (head and all) and chicken.
Possibly the thickest kai si hor fun broth I’ve tried!
I would have liked a better balance between the chicken and prawns but Moon de Moon’s version (RM6.50 – large) is more prawn-dominant. Almost like prawn essence. If that’s what you’re looking for in a bowl of kai si hor fun, then this is the bowl for you.
Dry curry mee
The dry curry mee (RM6.50 – large) packs quite a wallop. My combination of mee and vermicelli is blanketed by this spicy, sweet and thick curry gravy. A squeeze of lime gives it the tang it needs, before the noodles are ready to consume.
Quite good
I rather enjoyed this plate of curry noodles. Perhaps slightly more than I did the kai si hor fun. But that’s because I’m biased towards curry mee in general and I love a good kick in my curry. If you have the stomach space, order both. Even if you don’t, just order both to make the wait worthwhile.
Other Kai Si Hor Fun options:
Restoran Jen Jen
Thean Chun
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Ambiance: 5.5/10
Price: 6/10
Food: 7/10 (non-halal)
Verdict: Not my personal favourite, but the kai si hor fun is one of the best I’ve tried in Ipoh.
Moon De Moon Restaurant
148, Hala Wah Keong,
Taman Mirindi,
31400 Ipoh.
Tel: 012-516 0485
Business hours: 7am till 1pm
(Closed Monday & Tuesday)