Ipoh, Malaysia
Streets of Ipoh’s Old Town
Our impressions of Ipoh
Lives up to the CNN hype! It was actually a CNN article “18 of Asia’s most underrated places” featuring Ipoh (at #1) that inspired us to include Ipoh in our Malaysia itinerary. After spending a few days here, we’re so thankful we did! It was a treat to walk around and admire the Hokkien and Dutch colonial architecture. The eating culture and food are second to none. There are awesome temples around the city. We didn’t have many expectations going in (thinking of it mostly as a place to stop and eat in between Cameron Highlands and Penang), but Ipoh had so much to offer. We can confirm it certainly belongs on CNN’s list and should be on any traveler’s list of stops in Malaysia too
Old Hokkien tin mining town turned hipster / photographer’s dream: Ipoh was originally a Hokkien immigrant tin mining town that was later colonized by the Dutch along with the rest of Malaysia. This history has left behind a fascinating mix of Hokkien culture and scenery with charming colonial architecture that has aged in slow motion. It’s like the buildings have aged and deteriorated thoughtfully to reveal exactly what makes the time period’s architecture and surroundings so beautiful. Combine these aspects with the fact that the Old Town’s walls have been covered with awesome street art depicting scenes of everyday life and we can’t think of a better place to walk around with a camera. We’re not photographers, but couldn’t stop snapping pictures of the architecture and street art with our iPhones
Amazing eats and eating culture unique to Ipoh: Food, and local street food in particular, is always central to our travels. Not only do we find the food in Asia to be much more interesting and delicious than what we’re used to in the states, but we also feel like it’s the best way to see a city and experience the culture. We knew Ipoh was known for its food and were even more excited to visit following our experience in KL, but it still exceeded all expectations! We had some of the best food from our travels to date here and couldn’t get enough of the traditional coffee shop restaurants (“Kopitiam”) that have been serving locals for generations
What we saw in Ipoh
Walked around Old Town: One of the best things to do in Ipoh is walk around the Old Town area where the Hokkien culture, old colonial architecture and street art are concentrated. Every alley and corner has something to offer – whether it’s fun shops, delicious food, awesome street art, or beautiful architecture. Our favorites included the three streets that all share some affiliation to a mining tycoon’s wives and nefarious opium and gambling activities (today, they’re just charming pedestrian streets) – Concubine Lane, Wife Lane, and Market Lane.
Ho Yan Hor Tea Museum: This unique, free museum pays homage to Dr. Ho Kai Cheong, a Chinese medical practitioner and son of Chinese immigrants in Perak who invented a natural cure-all herbal tea concoction under the brand name “Ho Yan Hor”. The museum is actually the original shophouse and features a well-curated exhibit on the history of the man behind the tea and the ingenuity and growth of the business over time. The exhibit culminates in a free tasting of Ho Yan Hor’s hot and cold teas, which was arguably our favorite part. While the original recipe is not for the faint of heart (it is very bitter and harsh), we actually really enjoyed the night time tea recipe and intend on buying some when we get back to the states. They also left us with a parting gift of a Chinese fortune and free tea bag!
Book Xcess: Book Xcess is an awesome and hip book store situated in an old bank building from the 1980s. They actually left the basement vault as is and use the safety deposit boxes as book shelving which makes for a super fun browsing experience (shout out Vitamin Vault in the Bucktown Walgreens back home in Chicago). The top floor also had one of the best collection of coffee table books we’ve seen
Sam Poh Tong Temple: Our first temple stop and favorite during our time in Ipoh, Sam Poh Tong is a Chinese buddhist temple nestled in a limestone cave outside the city. The cave itself is neat but nothing special. The real highlight and reason to visit Sam Poh Tong is for Tortoise Pond situated in the beautiful courtyard and garden through the cave. We have not come across anything like it on our travels to date. We had the courtyard to ourselves and really enjoyed watching the many tortoises roam around. There is also a beautiful temple building overlooking the courtyard and tortoise pond
Perak Temple: The most popular temple to visit in Ipoh is Perak Temple. Unlike Sam Poh Tong, the cave temple complex at Perak is much larger and more impressive. There are 40ft tall buddha statues and beautiful paintings on the cave walls. In addition to the cave temple, there is also an awesome hike that starts in the cave and goes up ~500 steps in and around the mountain to a great view of the city and surrounding area. We had fun traversing the narrow stairways carved into the mountain
Where we ate and drank
Thean Chun: Some of our favorite meals in Malaysia (and Ipoh and Penang, specifically) were enjoyed in traditional coffee shop restaurants like Thean Chun. These multi-generational eating establishments typically consist of an anchor cafe / restaurant serving coffee or a few simple dishes while also featuring a famous hawker stall or two serving up the signature dish that really draws patrons in. It is a symbiotic relationship of sorts where the hawker stall patrons have a cozy atmosphere to dine in and the cafe / restaurant always has a steady stream of customers (who, in exchange for seating, must order something off the anchor menu). You find a table, order a coffee or snack off the anchor cafe menu, and then work with the hawker stall to order the dish you really came for. Because you order from multiple places while seated, you pay for everything as you get it served to your table which we found very convenient. During busy times, you’ll also encounter a rotating stall or representative offering free samples (during our time at Thean Chun, we got to sample some vegetarian chicken-flavored crackers that were actually quite nice). Thean Chun was our first such cafe / restaurant and hawker stall experience and from here on out we were hooked. We came to Thean Chun for the Chicken & Prawn Kuey Teow served by the hawker stall and it was delicious – tender chicken (for Doug) and noodles steeped in a rich but not overpowering prawn broth that gets its flavor from being soaked in prawn heads over night. We also ordered a plate of plump bean sprouts (Ipoh is known for them) swimming in a soy-based sauce from the hawker stall to accompany our bowls of noodles. In the case of Thean Chun, the cafe itself is known for a few dishes so we happily dined on a sweet, silken and caramely egg custard dish from the anchor menu washed down by two famous iced white Ipoh coffees. YUM!!
Yee Fatt Dry Curry Noodles: Ipoh is famous for its food and home to a number of must-try dishes that are difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere in Malaysia. One such dish is dry curry noodles. After much research, we (mostly Doug since the dish is made with meat) landed on Yee Fatt Dry Curry Noodles – an Ipoh institution and coffee shop restaurant like Thean Chun that has been serving the dish for generations. There was a bit of a language barrier when we sat down to order, but we trusted the waitress with the most popular variation of the dish for Doug and ordered an iced white coffee and Chinese herbal tea to accompany the noodles. They were spectacular and one of the best dishes Doug has had on the trip – an incredibly rich and flavorful curry heaped over thin noodles and tender, bone-in chicken… YUM AGAIN! We also enjoyed a free granola sample from another vendor out front when we were dining there
Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong: After Yee Fatt, we continued our self-guided Ipoh food tour to Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong – the OG spot for Ipoh’s famous white coffee. As with most coffee shop / restaurants in Ipoh, we could feel the history and consistency of the place from our cozy table in the back among families and other regular customers. We ordered two famous white coffees (served hot this time) and a few classic Malaysian coffee shop eats to accompany them – roti bakar (basically eggs on an island) and Kaya butter toast. It was a coffee and small bites experience we would be happy to enjoy any day of the week
Funny Mountain Soya Bean: Funny Mountain Soya Bean is another Ipoh institution off one of the main stretches known for tau fu fah – a sweet, silken tofu pudding dish served in a cup like soft serve. We hopped in the fast-moving line behind a family from Medan and in no time had two cups of the infamous silken tofu. It didn’t take us long to make our way through the simple but delectable tofu that melted in our mouths and was somewhere between a snack and dessert. We also impulse purchased some freshly bottled soy milk that was incredibly delicious as well!
Perniagaan Nasi Kandar Ayam Meran: Eager to squeeze in as many signature Ipoh dishes in our limited time here as possible, we finished our self-guided Ipoh food tour at Perniagaan Nasi Kandar Ayam Meran. As the name suggests, we were here to try Nasi Kandar, a spicy curry served over rice with bone-in chicken, sambal, cucumber, and hard-boiled egg. Many locals and eateries also refer to it as “Nasi Ganga” (translated literally to “Drug Rice”), because of how addicting it is after you first eat it. It was a crowded, but efficient operation and we were able to secure one without the chicken for Jessie – success! It was exactly as advertised and delicious – the spicy curry was the highlight of the dish that lingered and kept us wanting more (I guess that’s the “Ganga” part?)
Ipoh Dim Sum: Surprisingly, Ipoh is also known for its dim sum. We had yet to indulge in a true dim sum experience on our travels so thought it would be a fun way to spend a meal on our first evening. Ipoh Dim Sum is not a multi-generational, traditional restaurant like many of the other spots we dined at in Ipoh. It was a more modern, casual spot where we sat on cushions among Malaysian families and couples. It was fun to try a bunch of things and there were a few dishes we really enjoyed. Namely, the salted egg buns (quickly becoming one of Doug’s favorite dishes after Hutong Lot 10 in KL), red bean buns, and chee chong fun (a Cantonese dish consisting of shrimp wrapped in steamed rice noodles)
M. Salim: While our hotel did include a simple breakfast, we couldn’t help but squeeze in one last local Ipoh meal before leaving. We popped over to M. Salim, an Indian Muslim restaurant across the street from our hotel, and dined on some Roti Canai (a Malaysian breakfast staple we first tried in KL). We ordered two straight up accompanied by lentil curry and enjoyed them so much we ordered an extra. A perfect send-off from one of the best food cities we have experienced on our travels
Where we stayed
Bedrock Hotel Ipoh: We were attracted to Bedrock Hotel for its convenient location (close to, but not in, the Old Town) and hip boutique hotel vibes. It certainly delivered on both – a pleasant 15 minute walk to everything and really comfortable, tastefully done rooms (that included a cold and hot water dispenser!). The best part of staying here, though, was the concierge, Debbie. At check-in, she printed us off a map of the Old Town area and suggested an awesome itinerary for us based on our limited time in Ipoh. She was also always around, recommending restaurants, local laundry spots with the best deal, or just chatting about the day. It was a fantastic spot in Ipoh that we would recommend to any kind of traveler
