Ipoh to promote ‘telur goyang’

Egg-cellent dish: The humble ‘telur goyang’ is said to have its roots in Ipoh.

IPOH: You have enjoyed the taugeh (bean sprout) chicken. And you have tasted the white coffee.

Now, the Ipoh City Council is planning to promote another Ipoh mali dish as a “must try” food – the humble telur goyang or soft-boiled eggs on toast.

It is popular fare for Malaysians, especially during breakfast, and according to Ipoh mayor Datuk Zamri Man yesterday, it originated from the Dato Sagor food court behind the imposing Ipoh Town Hall here.

“Back then, no one had ever heard of telur goyang in the country. It was only known in Ipoh,” he said. The term goyang comes from the way the egg jiggles on the plate.

“We want to make it popular like the white coffee,” he said after handing over the keys for the refurbished food court to 26 operators.

Zamri said they would promote the dish alongside other popular fare in the city in conjunction with Visit Perak Year 2017.

“We have a big LED screen near the Ipoh railway station square. We will promote our well-known food on it,” he said.

Zamri said some seven million tourists were expected to visit Perak this year with about four million people stopping by in Ipoh.

“Whether they are coming from other states or countries, I would like to remind all food operators to be courteous and to offer good service to everyone,” he said.

Backing the claim was food operator Yong See Yuen, 47, who said that telur goyang was popularised at the food court itself in the 1980s.

“Most shops were just selling butter and kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs in a cup then,” he recalled.

However, a fussy customer came along and insisted on having the soft-boiled eggs cracked on top of buttered toast, said Yong, who is a third-generation food operator.

“To us, it was quite troublesome but soon, other customers took note and began ordering it. This method has stuck until now,” he said, adding that the dish was known as tan chi in Cantonese.

-thestar online.