Anyways, this one - New Holly Wood - is located at the corner of Jalan Cecil Rae and ... uh ... Jalan Lee Kwee Foh (man, I didn't even know of such a name for the street). Still dunno where ah? Well, ask around for the Canning Garden wet market: it's at the corner of the only row of shophouses beside the market. No ping-pong to find ;-) The photo below shows the service road in front, with Jalan Cecil Rae being where you see the red brick wall at the background.
Now, this kopitiam has something special up its sleeves ... and it's rare enough in Ipoh to be deemed unique: New Holly Wood is a non-pork-serving, Chinese hawker food kopitiam. I stop short of calling it a halal outlet cos I've been educated by my Muslim friends that the word "halal" can only be officially used to describe eateries that are certified by the authorities as so. Since New Holly Wood doesn't have a halal cert nor emblem/sticker displayed anywhere prominently in the shop, let's just say it's good to go for our Muslim friends; you'll see plenty of Muslims and their families having their grub here at all times. There's another pork-free kopitiam right behind it ... but that's another review ;)
So what's served in New Holly Wood kopitiam? Quite a fair bit of all-time Ipoh Chinese hawker favorites, I must say. There's char koay teow, chee cheong fun, curry/soup mee, yong tau foo, hor hee fun, beef noodle soup, wan tan mee, prawn mee, lam mee, nasi lemak; even a nasi kandar / roti canai stall. I must warn you, though: not all stalls open simultaneously. Some are there for breakfast only; some open throughout the day - in which "day" in New Holly Wood means up to 6pm, daily.
My recommendations, based on the glutton that I am :oops: - would be the morning-version of char koay teow (perfect!):
... then the beef noodle soup, yong tau foo, and noon-onwards, wickedly tasty-n-unique nasi lemak served up by a Thai-Indian parentage girl called Litha ::cool: Ok fine - she's a friend, but you try for yourself lah. Sure you say it's different also wan ... Oh, and there's the Hong Kong style chee cheong fun, which I'm not really partial to but my Muslim friends just love it:
What to avoid: the noon-onwards char koay teow. Served on a sliver of banana leaf; smells good when frying also. Until you taste this RM3 dish (in the following photo) ... aiyo :(
Soggy, half-cooked egg mixed with brown koay teow and mee ... I like my char koay teow fried at top heat, dry, and eggs smelling just heavenly. This is not the case here. But hey - if soggy char koay teow is your thing (and I do have friends who like it such) - this would be perfect for you.
All other dishes around are decent altho I'll stop at calling it good. Boleh lah. I'm no beef noodle fan, but many say it's good. The morning-only lam mee is prepared interestingly with minced chicken ... I'd say try it. Prices of food and drinks in this kopitiam is slightly more expensive than regular (about 10 sen plus) but I think it's worth it especially when you like your visiting Muslim friends and family to try some Ipoh hawker-style food.
I'll update this post when I get some more pics of the food available in New Holly Wood, but hey - don't let that keep you from going ahead and try the place out. Just be aware that it can be a real sardine-can packed kopitiam during mornings and weekends :D
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