River Garden

A popular draw, thanks to its affordable, reasonably tasty food.

(The empty tables in these photos are deceptive, since we arrived early and snapped our shots before the crowds came)

Double-boiled chicken soup in coconut. Can't go wrong with chicken soup. Tasted nutritious enough, with the fruit supplying an extra dose of sweetness.

Roasted pork. Succulent and fatty, but would be better with crisp skin.

Venus clams. Straight from an aquarium. Meaty clams, with a substantial bite.

Snakehead/haruan/"sang yu" soup with kudzu vine & Chinese yam. Supposed to aid wound-healing. Had an appealingly sweet, non-fishy flavour.

Drunken prawns. Fresh crustaceans, soaked in a salty soup that we lapped up.

Pork blood porridge. A bit bland; the blood was soft and smooth but tasteless.

Eggplant Szechuan-style. Not bad, though it lacked a spicy kick.

Haruan with yam. Absolute comfort food, with a lovely home-cooked feel.

Ipoh salted kampung chicken. Tender flesh, but not really remarkable.

Braised duck with "fu yee" (fermented chili bean) sauce. A recipe of robust flavours, but the duck was too bony to truly enjoy.

River Garden,

468-B2, Batu 3, Jalan Ipoh.