So what is happening over at Imbi Market after its relocation to ICC Pudu?
And yes, this is the ICC Pudu, looking ugly and unfinished.
And everyone’s favourite Ah Weng Koh is only scheduled to open on 25th of May.
As of today, 15th May (Sunday) the indoor, foodcourt-alike “food market” is as good as a badly designed and terribly ventilated version of any foodcourt in Klang Valley.
It is bare, it is ugly and it is a damn uncomfortable dining space.
Granted, the fans were at full speed, but hot air circulated within the space with no outlet.
The stalls are only 50% (or less) occupied and it is already stuffy as hell.
I have no idea what is going to happen when the stalls are fully taken up and the foodcourt is packed.
Someone has better get a medic team ready.
No proper signages were up for the stalls. They were barely identifiable from each other, unless you are a regular and able to recognise your favourite vendor on sight, you would have to walk a few rounds to locate them.
I struggled to find my favourite chicken with ginger paste noodles, Hokkien Char, Ann’s nasi lemak, steamed egg, and curry mee and failed.
The popular Ah Fook Chee yong tau fu is there of course and the queue was building up by 8.00am.
Recognise these?
At least the aunty that cooks the awesome ginger and wine soup noodles is still around, busy as ever over her big wok, with her identifiable mould of eggs at her side.
Her fish head noodles isn’t too shabby either.
There is a halal section now, while the others were free for all.
So here’s how you order your food and drinks at Imbi Market, ICC Pudu:
Tables are numbered so once you have found a table to your liking, take note of the table number so you can inform your chosen hawker fella where to send your order.
Depending on section you are at, you would have to order from the “drinks vendor” of the section.
Many of them offer ‘Hainan coffee’ so you can still get your Hainan coffee fix, though it is not Ah Weng Koh’s version.
Likewise the same stalls offer toast bread.
None of them looked particularly promising, so after feeling lost for a bit, I didn’t order any.
My breakfast was short of a disaster.
I never liked the char kuey teow (RM5.50) even back then when it was at the old market. My breakfast partner didn’t mind and thus I ordered a plate for him.
The Jawa Mee (RM6.00) was the best of the lot here. Thick, tangy and slightly spicy gravy with a full egg and other standard Mee Jawa ingredients.
The same stall offers Asam Laksa and Penang Prawn Mee as well.
This is the char kuey teow stall.
I bought these kuih for RM1.20 each from the Tong Kee stall.
The skin is super thick and the fillings meager.
Thankfully the popular Nyonya kuih stall is still here.
I couldn’t resist the colorful display of kuih and bought myself some to take home.
BELOW:
These are about RM2.00 – RM6.00 per pack, depending on your choice of kuih.
Oh, lest I forget to mention this point, there are proper and clean toilets in the market and parking is at the top floor.
I noticed there were quite a number of power sockets near the dining tables too, though I doubt anyone would find it comfortable enough to sit here for long to “work”.
Just in case you’re wondering, NO, there is NO wifi.
We couldn’t find the entrance, and ended up parking at the open air carpark besides it for RM5.00/entry.
There were no signage around and we found out later that the entrance to the parking is via Jln Seladang where the Pudu RHB bank is. From there is a series of turns.
As you could probably deduce by now, this isn’t a very properly managed building.
As much as you are tempted to illegal park, please do reconsider as the road is narrow and it will cause a lot of inconvenience for others if your car takes up more space on the sidewalk.
BELOW: Open air parking beside the ICC Pudu for RM5.00 nett/entry.
The fresh market is downstairs and not many stalls are open either.
Address:
ICC is located along Jalan Kijang right next to Pudu Plaza Hotel.
Not on Waze as yet.
