* Indulgence Restaurant And Living, Ipoh

Our choice of destination this time is Ipoh and our choice of hotel, Indulgence Living.
I heard about this place a year or so ago and ever since, this has been a place I really look forward to go to.
Indulgence Living is more an inn as there are only 7 rooms, each with its own unique setting, styled and themed differently. (Moroccan, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Contemporary, Rococo and English Country). It is indeed a boutique hotel being the only one of its kind in Malaysia.

Indulgence started in 1996 as a half-shoplot cafe serving cakes and coffee before moving to this colonial building with a large compound. The main business is the restaurant business as the hotel was a later project.  It is located in Jalan Raja DiHilir, very near Ipoh town centre. 

 It is not easy to spot this place from afar as there is no spectacular signboard. We actually missed this sign on the wall at the front gate and had to make a U-turn.

This is the entrance into the hotel.

We expected to see the hotel lobby and reception counter but we saw something very different instead.

There was a display of mouth-watering delicatessen, right at the hotel entrance.

Cakes, pastries, cookies, pickles, chocolates, etc prepared by the hotel chefs are for sale for walk-ins as well as restaurant diners.

When we said we were going to check-in, a waiter from the restaurant left his work to help us with the luggage. The hotel reception and rooms are on the first floor.

There is no lift, only this flight of stairs.

This is the hotel lounge and reception area. The staffs do multi-tasking here. (Waiter, porter, receptionist etc) 

This is the reception counter. The lounge is small but cosy and there are many interesting decorative items.

The proprietor of this place takes pain to add bold colours to brighten up the area and live plants for a refreshing ambiance.

2 of the rooms are located at this lounge area.

The lounge opens out to a spacious veranda.

This place is quite humid even during the night as there are only 2 small  wall fans.

This is the veranda area at night.

Annexed to the lounge is a hallway where all the other rooms are located.

Murals,  mostly of flowers and plants are seen along this passageway.

We opted for Giulianna, the room with Italian setting. After checking us in the staff rushed downstairs again to help out in the restaurant as there  was a fair crowd for lunch.

This room comes with a king bed. Catching our attention is this unique looking mirror on the wall above the bed.

The room is slightly split-level.

There is a mini-bar and coffee & tea making facilities.

There is also a safety-box.

The working table which also serves as the bed-side table is a little too small though. Wi-fi is complimentary here. 

The closet can be opened both ways, from the bedroom as well as from the washroom. 

It looks like this when both the doors are opened. You can even walk through it.

The washroom is not very spacious but it is very clean.

There is a shower cubicle but no bath-tub.

Some bath amenities, bathrobes and bedroom sandals are provided.

This is the wall decor; photo frames of different shapes and sizes.

It was lunch time when we arrived and there was a fairly large lunch crowd. The restaurant is divided into a few sections catering to crowds of different sizes. We opted to sit at this quieter section.

We saw something cute. A table just for ONE.

Being small eaters we ordered only the main meals and skipped the appetizers and desserts. This bread is pretty special as it is fresh and tasted very home-made.

Here come our designer meals.

This is the grilled and baked Tasmanian Cod, priced at RM59++. This portion may look small but it was just nice for me. The taste is authentic and my personal rating for it is A+.  

 This is Grainfield lambloin priced at RM55++. The lamb is tender and this too tasted excellent. 

To go with the meal we had freshly brewed coffee at RM8++/cup.  This coffee is quite fragrant but not great.

Displayed on one wall of the restaurant are magazine and newspaper cuttings about the restaurant and its owner, Julie Song. This restaurant is quite famous in Ipoh and we actually had a glimpse of the Raja Muda of Perak taking lunch here when we arrived. (Raja Muda = Crown Prince)

There are so many write-ups and great reviews about this place as evident by the display on this wall. 

Julie Song is not only the owner of this property, she is also the chief chef of the restaurant and has somewhat become a celebrity in the culinary arena, winning a number of awards. The specialty of this restaurant is modern European Cuisines.

Still looking great even though she is already a grandmother.

The restaurant also offers an extensive range of wine.

This is another section of the restaurant.

We had our breakfast in this dining room. Breakfast is ala carte . While waiting for it to be served, I walked around taking some of these photos. We were the only hotel guests lodging then and we had all the privacy in the world.

Among all the dining rooms this place where we had our breakfast is the most well decorated.

Our breakfast finally arrived . This set called Yupps priced at RM32++ is supposed to be roast Tasmanian lamb slices and edamane rolls but the description doesn't really depict the actual thing that was served.The lamb slices looked and tasted like ordinary ham .Contrary to the great lunch we had at the restaurant the day before, this set was just edible. It consisted of too many fried stuffs and was a bit too oily. My rating for it is a "C"

This set called Crooked Madame (herbed scramble in croissant squares)

 priced at RM29++  is also too rich and oily. And my rating for it is a "C+"

Breakfast was a letdown after the impressive lunch meals.  I think I would enjoy a bowl of local curry noodles or kway teow soup better. 

It was exceptionally quiet in the hotel in the morning.  There was no other vehicle except ours.

The restaurant also sells some skin care products.

Overall this is a great place run by someone who is really passionate about the things she does. Care to read the words on the wall and you'll most probably agree with me.

I don't know whether I'll be back here again. If I ever do I will choose to stay in a room with another setting. Displayed here are photos of the other 6 rooms taken from the hotel official website. I think the Roccoco is nice.

 Whether we come back or not, we will remember this place fondly.

Coming to Ipoh would not be complete without trying its local food. 

This restaurant offering bean sprout chicken rice and kway teow is recommended in many food blogs.

The meal is undeniably tasty but I had to gulp in 1 litre of water after that. One of the secret ingredients must be monosodium glutamate.

Managed to stop here for lunch before going home. At 12noon everything was almost sold out. What was left was meehoon and chicken shreds. Business must be good.

This is the famous Ipoh curry noodles. Not much ingredients left but tasted pretty good.