Kampar, Perak
Kampar is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is situated due south of Simpang Pulai. It was a tin mining town which boomed during the heights of the tin mining industry. There used to be many tin mines on the outskirts of Kampar, but most have closed down following the collapse of the industry. Kampar was established in 1887.
Kampar had its share of bloodbath during the Japanese Occupation in 1941 to 1945. Between December 30 1941 to 2 January 1942, a battle between 3000 British personnel and over 6000 Japanese soldiers erupted. This battle is vividly documented and highlighted by famous Kampar historian, Chye Kooi Loong. (See link below)
Origin of Name
The name Kampar was derived from the Cantonese words kam pou, which means 'precious gold'. This refers to the town's previously large tin reserves.
Geography
Kampar is situated in Kinta Valley, which was well-known for its high tin ore reserves.
Demographics
The majority of the town's population is of Chinese descent. Other races such as Malays and Indians make up the rest of Kampar's population.
Economy
In the 19th and most of 20th century, the town's economy revolved around tin-mining. However, many tin-mining companies were forced to close during the economic recession in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the town's economy recovered slowly by the end of 1980s.
The town from its glamorous days has once plunged, since the advent of the North-South Highway. Travellers stop frequenting the town as they choose the more convenient highway. The nearest exit from highway is in Tapah, which is pretty inconvenient for travellers. The town is not so much abandoned as conveniently forgotten.
At present, the commercial and industrial sectors are main driving forces of Kampar's economy. Its economy is further driven by the construction of the new Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) campus. Besides that, a Tesco Hypermarket is confirmed to be built (opens in Sept 2008) nearby UTAR area.
Education
Kampar is currently a centre of tertiary education with a campus of Tunku Abdul Rahman College and a new campus of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. Kampar is also served by various primary and secondary schools.
Among the more famous government schools around are ACS Kampar, Pei Yuan, Sri Kampar, De La Salle and SMK Sentosa.
Famous residents
- Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood - late wife of current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
- Eric Moo - a Taiwan-based singer, composer and producer, was born here. He has currently shifted his attention towards China.
- Olivia Lum - founder of water treatment company Hyflux in Singapore.
- Chang Mun Kee, aka Mark Chang - founder of JOBSTREET
Famous Food
To many outsiders, they come to know Kampar through many types of food. For example, Fish ball noodles, Chicken Biscuit, Claypot rice, Prawn Mee, Rice Noodles (Cantonese = "Lai Fun"), char kuay teow, wan tan mee, lor mai fan (glutinous rice), ham kok chai, ice kacang, and many more. Two types of food that made their way out of Kampar town itself and is synonymous with Kampar are : Kampar Chicken Biscuit and Kampar Fishball Noodle.
The Kampar Chicken Biscuit is so famous that it has spawn a whole series of 'chicken biscuit' producers. The Patriach of the family was Leong Kow, whose grandfather came from China. He has 7 sons, and 7 daughters.
The original recipe for the biscuit actually came from Leong Kow's family line, and that family line came from Nam Hoi, China. It is said that the recipe came from that little village in China, along with Leong Kow's grandfather. And that line of family comes as a baker's family line.
Not long after Leong Kow died, his eldest son, Leong Pak Lum, decided to return from KL (where he operated a coffeeshop called Oi Kuan in Cecil Street) to Kampar, and started to pick recipe from the family recipe book. While Pak Lum's family worked to produce the biscuits (among which was Chicken Biscuit), his 3rd brother, Leong Moon Lum, was the coffeeshop owner of 123, Jalan Idris - Wing Lok Yuen. (Which means "Forever Happy Restaurant"). It is through this restaurant front, that Leong Moon Lum helped to sell those biscuits for his brother, Leong Pak Lum.
For some reason, both brothers had a disagreement, and each went their own way. Leong Pak Lum had then established a line of Chicken Biscuit called CB chicken biscuit. And Leong Moon Lum, together with his wife, Ong Siew May, started a company called May Moon, and improvised on the family recipe, and started another line of Chicken Biscuit, called May Moon (the name means "Thoroughly complete/fulfilling").
Thus, from one single family recipe, two companies, with two different recipe for Chicken Biscuit was introduced in the market. The famous biscuit draw a few other (mainly from Telok Anson), who tried to replicate the biscuit to get a market share.
As for Kampar Fishball Noodle, its relationship with the town Kampar goes back a long way as well, with another family. More importantly, the locals call the stall "Lor Shee Fun" stall. The phrase "Lor Shee Fun" literally means "Mice Noodles", simply because the stall was famous for its funny looking noodles, that looked like Mice tails. And besides, the soup that comes with the noodles is tasty, not replicated by any others. Plus, the stall has a famous fish ball, called "chau yuen", or "fried fish ball", which I believe, is primarily why the stall is famous.
Other local cuisine of Kampar includes the chee cheong fun, where curry is often the preferred condiment. Chee Cheong Fun is a noodle made from rice flour which is steamed into sheets and chopped up into noodle like slivers. In Kampar it is frequently served with 2 types of tofu - tofu pok (fried tofu) and tofu chuen (brick tofu), along with assorted fish balls or chue pei (pig skin in curry). It is a delicious meal when finished off with the local chili sauce and green pickled chillis. Chee cheong fun is commonly eaten for breakfast or supper where a couple of stores are set up at the local market.
Kampar is also credited for the invention of `chicken in a bread'. `Min pau kai', literally `chicken bread' in Cantonese, is so sought after at one time that tourist buses are known to make a bee line to Kampar just to savour the delicacy.
For the uninitiated, the best place to sample Kampar food will be at the main Pasar in the morning. It's not that hard to find. Coming from Ipoh, take the first right past Maybank (to confirm, look for Jalan Ampang) and go straight till the end, passing 2 cross junctions. From KL, turn left one block after CIMB Bank and go straight. It's the same path as those coming from Ipoh.
External links
- Kampar.net
- Location map of Kampar
- Doniver's Guide to Kampar"
- The Kampar Connection
- The Battles of Kampar by Chye Kooi Loong
- Daytrippin': Old-Fashioned Deliciousness in Kampar
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