IPOH – Ipoh is a foodie haven, but instead of zooming in on the usual fare that tourists go for, save your stomach space for food spots frequented by locals.
On a trip in 2018, I was enthralled by the salt-baked chicken at the much-lauded Aun Kheng Lim Salted Chicken.
The salted chicken, available for takeaway only, now costs RM33 (S$9.60) each. But the kampung chicken is too large and overly salted, and bereft of the aroma of Chinese herbs which I remember.
Thankfully, there are other food finds that made my trip in August one to savour.
Within Ipoh, do try the housemade soya milk and soya beancurd at the low-key Wan Chee Beancurd. And do not miss out on the pasar malam experience, where a must-eat snack is the exquisitely delicate apam balik.
It is also worth spending time to venture beyond Ipoh. The live big head river prawns in Tanjung Tualang are definitely worth the 55-minute car ride.
And in the sleepy town of Taiping, relish an espresso soft serve at a historical coffee mill and buy pastries you cannot find in Ipoh.
Here are 12 spots to hit on your foodie trail.
Ipoh
Kafe Little Nam Yeong
Where: 8 Jalan Chew Sin Onn, Taman Hoover, 31650 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 6am to 1.45pm daily. Closed irregularly, three days a month
Start your foodie journey in Ipoh at this coffee shop in Jalan Chew Sin Onn. The few stalls inside offer a tight but tasty selection of local fare.
Most tourists go for the kai see hor fun (prawn chicken kway teow soup) from the stall at the front of the coffee shop, Lim Kee (tel: +601-7579-6786).
Skip it in favour of other dishes such as beansprout, jellyfish and octopus (RM10 for small, RM15 for large). The dish comes with two wedges of large lime.
Here, you can also order Cantonese poached chicken (RM28 for half a chicken).
The skin of the chicken is supple and smooth, while the meat is succulent. The plate comes with chicken gizzards too.
Stall owner Lai Kok Khuen, 60, personally chops the chicken.
If you are willing to splurge, go for the fresh river prawns (RM25 to RM28 for a small prawn, RM35 for a large one). The prawns are blanched and served with a spicy, tangy housemade dip that is made of chilli, soya sauce and tamarind.
The meat of the prawn is firm and the head drips with juices.
I strongly recommend the offerings of the middle stall, Penang Prawn Noodle, which sells Penang prawn noodle and lor mee (both priced at RM7 for small, RM7.50 for large).
The broth of the prawn noodle has an orangey sheen from the use of prawn heads, and is packed with flavour. The lor mee comes doused in a luscious viscous dark glossy gravy that tastes of meat.
This stall is more popular with local diners than tourists and the noodles sell out around 1pm.
Next to the prawn noodle stall, in the far right corner, is Ah Tee Chao Fen (tel: +6012-454-1731), which sells Penang fried kway teow (RM7.50 for small, RM8.50 for large).
Go for the large plate which comes with more ingredients, including prawns, fish cake, cockles, egg and Chinese sausage.
Locals order “Cham”, a mix of kway teow and yellow noodles. The kway teow has a springy texture. The yellow noodles, unlike Singapore’s version, used at this stall are firmer and thinner, and with a chewier texture.
For cockle lovers, a top-up of additional cockles is priced at a whopping RM5.
Stall owner and head cook Teo Ah Tee, 52, is from Penang and moved to Ipoh with her family when she was nine. She learnt how to fry kway teow from her father at the age of 16.
The stall does not have regular days off, but it will be closed from Oct 15 to 20.
Ah Jie Rojak
Where: 1213 Jalan King, Taman Hoover, 31650 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 8.30am to 5.30pm daily
Housed in the same foodcourt as Restaurant Choong Kee Pokok Besar, Ah Jie Rojak is an underrated gem at this place known by locals as Big Tree Foot foodcourt.
The foodcourt attracts a steady stream of customers for its “zha liu fun” – a wide selection of large-sized yong tau foo deep-fried on the spot – and assam laksa featuring bee tai mak.
The yong tau foo is visually promising, but greasy when it arrives, and the assam laksa is a let-down with its thin insipid sourish gravy.
The real reason to head to this spot overrun with tourists and locals is the rojak stall near the entrance.
The rojak (RM7 for small, RM8 for medium, RM9 for large) is a skilful mix of bangkwang (jicama), pineapple and slivers of mouth-puckering green mango coated in a sticky prawn paste dressing with an avalanche of ground peanuts.
What makes the dish outstanding is the use of a thin crispy prawn cracker that does not turn soft easily, even when covered in sauce.
Kin Loong Valley Chang Jiang White Coffee
Where: Eko Perlancongan, 1 Jalan Perniagaan Sengat, Pusat Perniagaan Sengat, 31350 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 8am to 6pm daily
Situated near tourist attraction Tasik Cermin Ipoh, known as Mirror Lake, this picturesque cafe is set against a stunning backdrop of Ipoh’s limestone hills.
The design of the cafe, with its wooden structure and furniture, reminds one of an ancient inn from a martial arts movie.
This cafe is, without a doubt, a top draw for tourists, but it is worth visiting for its scenic view and coffee.
The best seats in the house are at the back, in an outdoor area facing the limestone hills.
The signature drink is white coffee, which refers to coffee made with margarine-roasted beans.
I opt for the unadulterated White Coffee “O” Kosong (RM4.20). The coffee is served in a metal cup, with a plastic jug of ice on the side.
It is deliciously concentrated and smooth, without any trace of bitterness.
The best times to visit are off-peak hours from 4pm on weekdays. You may not be able to get inside on weekends, when there are hordes of eager visitors willing to queue indefinitely for a table.
Ming Court Hong Kong Tim Sum
Where: 32, 34 and 36 Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 6am to 2pm, Fridays to Wednesdays; closed on Thursdays
Tel: +605-255-7134/+601-8222-8386
Head to this old-school joint for a dim sum breakfast. The place fills up quickly after 7.30am and, by 8am, you should be prepared to queue for a table.
But once you are seated, there is hardly a need to put in any orders. The staff walk around with trays heaving with dim sum. Prices range from RM2.80 to RM6.80 for each plate of dim sum.
A highlight is the yam dumpling, which has a crispy exterior and a moist, powdery interior.
The char siew bao is worth the calories, with its fluffy handmade skin and savoury meaty filling.
Standard items include the har kow (prawn dumplings), siew mai and Cantonese porridge.
For a meal of 11 items and a pot of tea for two persons, the bill came up to RM53.85, inclusive of the 6 per cent service tax.
Wan Chee Beancurd
Where: 58 Jalan Yang Kalsom, 30250 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 10.30am to 4.30pm daily. Closed irregularly
Tel: +6018-788-4298
For freshly made soya milk and soya beancurd, Wan Chee Beancurd is a must-visit pit stop.
The Soy Milk costs RM2.20 a cup, while the Hot Beancurd is RM2 a bowl.
For the beancurd, you have a choice of three types of sugar: ginger sugar syrup, gula melaka and white sugar syrup.
My top pick is the gula melaka one, which bears the perfume of pandan leaves.
Locals prefer the warming taste of the ginger sugar syrup, which uses Thai bentong ginger.
Owner Wan Chee Weng, 47, makes the soya milk from scratch daily, steaming premium non-genetically modified Canadian soya beans. He started his business 11 years ago and moved to his current location in August 2019.
The process is arduous as he manually removes the skins of the beans before cooking them.
It takes over two hours to produce the soya beancurd and more than three hours to produce the soya milk.
The resulting soya milk is thick and fragrant. The beancurd is smooth and firm, with a bouncy texture.
For now, the shop caters more to locals as it is not well-known to tourists.
Gochin Tambun Pomelo Agro Farm
Where: Lot 158258A, Jalan Ampang, Tambun, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 9am to 6pm, daily
Tel: +605-549-7309/+6013-765-4189
As Tambun is famous for its pomelos, a visit to Ipoh is not complete without stopping by this family-owned 7.3ha pomelo farm. Second-generation owner Tan Swee Kong, 57, and his staff are adept at picking out the choicest pomelos.
The pink-fleshed ones are sweet-sour, while the pale-fleshed pomelos are sweet.
You will be asked when you intend to consume the pomelo and the staff will pick one of suitable ripeness for you.
The pomelos are graded Double A, A, B, C and D, with the Double A grade being the most premium and D being the least.
The fruit is priced according to grade and weight. Generally, prices start at RM8 for an 800g D grade pomelo.
I recommend the premium Double A grade sweet variety which can cost RM35 or more for a 2kg fruit.
So far, the pomelos I have bought at the farm always turn out incredibly sweet and juicy.
Visitors are also welcome to take a 10-minute walk around the farm, where you can see pomelos growing on the branches.
Xiang Cui Xiao Bao
Where: Bercham Night Market, Hala Bercham Timur 11, Taman Pakatan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 6 to 10pm, Wednesdays
Where: First Garden Night Market (Pasar Malam Taman Pertama), Taman Pertama, 30100 Ipoh, Perak
Open: 5.30 to 10.30pm, Fridays
I first came across this stall which sells crispy apam balik, a thin crispy pancake, in 2018 and am delighted to find it still operating at the Bercham Night Market, which opens on Wednesdays.
I also spot it at the First Garden Night Market in Taman Pertama, which operates on Fridays.
The pancakes cost RM1.40 a piece. The choices of fillings are peanut, grated coconut, kaya, sweet corn and banana.
The crepe-like snack is best eaten piping hot on the spot, but it remains somewhat crisp for up to two hours.
Tanjung Tualang
Restoran Makanan Laut Thong Lok
Where: 9 Jalan Pasar, 31800 Tanjung Tualang, Perak
Open: 11am to 9pm, daily. Closed on alternate Wednesdays
Tel: +6016-534-8228/+6019-503-7388/+605-3607-921
Tanjung Tualang is famed for its seafood and it is worth the 55-minute journey by car, just for the pleasure of eating its big head river prawns.
Restoran Makanan Laut Thong Lok serves big head river prawns which are wild-caught from a local river and much-prized for the tomalley in their oversized heads.
The live large-sized river prawns cost RM135 a kg (about four to five prawns) and are dispatched to order.
These river prawns are the lifeline of the restaurant and it does not operate on days when there is no supply of the crustacean.
While the restaurant offers several styles of cooking the live river prawns, the best way to savour them is to have them steamed with egg white and drizzled in light soya sauce heavily perfumed with Shaoxing wine.
At this restaurant, you can also find an unusual wild vegetable – fern shoots called ba gu cai. Cooked in sambal belacan, they are crisp with a slightly slimy texture. This is a must-try vegetable dish as it is not easily available.
Fern shoots are especially abundant during the rainy season, but may not be available when there is a dry spell.
The housemade tofu with shrimp (RM10 for a small plate of 10 pieces) is worth ordering too. Deep-fried golden blocks of wobbly egg tofu are garnished with tasty crispy shrimp and doused in light soya sauce.
Although wild-caught soon hock is another delicacy to eat in Tua Tualang, I am disappointed with the one served at Thong Lok as the fish meat turns out tough and not at all fine-fleshed as it should be.
The restaurant is popular among domestic tourists, and locals from Ipoh recommend it for its more reasonable prices. It is best to make reservations before heading there.
Sitiawan
Hock Chew So Mee Shua
Where: 117 Kampung Cina, 32000 Sitiawan, Perak
Open: 7.30am to 5.15pm daily
Tel: +6012-564-9061/+6016-590-2326/+605-691-8871
Sitiawan is home to many Hockchews and mee sua (wheat vermicelli) is one of the local products worth hand-carrying home.
Hock Chew So Mee Shua is a noodle factory which makes mee sua. At its retail shop on its premises, it offers more than 15 types of dried noodles.
It takes three days to make mee sua, which is folded into bundles by hand and has to be dried in the sun.
A 500g packet of seven bundles of Hockchew mee sua costs RM5.80. The mee sua takes two minutes to cook in boiling water.
The factory also makes rice wine and sells the by-product of red wine lees at RM8 for a plastic container of about 500g each. The rice wine is also available for sale.
Restoran Makanan Laut Villa
Where: 384 Kampung Cina, 32000 Sitiawan, Perak
Open: 11am to 10pm, Thursdays to Tuesdays, closed on Wednesdays
Tel: +6019-574-5918/+6012-469-8118
At this sleepy open-air restaurant in Sitiawan, the must-order dish is Oyster Egg (RM28).
Unlike oyster egg in Singapore, the egg batter is airy and crisp. The local oysters used are tiny, but each mouthful is packed with plenty of the sweet briny little shellfish.
The restaurant also offers mantis prawns (RM26), which are shelled, battered, deep-fried and cooked in Marmite sauce. The dish has tang from the tomato ketchup too.
The restaurant also sells ming xia (RM30), a variety of fleshy prawns. Though frozen, the prawns are of an excellent quality and their sweetness comes through even though they are simply steamed with ginger and spring onion.
The fish maw soup (RM55), which can serve three to four persons, is of the sweet and sour variety.
While the texture of the generously cut fish maw is spongy and toothsome, I find the sweet tangy taste of ketchup in the soup not to my liking.
Taiping
Antong Coffee Mill
Where: 8A Jalan Syed Burhan, Assam Kumbang, 34000 Taiping, Perak DR, Malaysia
Open: 8.30am to 5.30pm daily
Tel: +605-807-5189/+605-807-3526/+6014-900-0055
With a history dating back to 1933, Antong Coffee Mill still roasts its coffee beans the traditional way – with sugar and margarine – over wood-fired stoves.
The resulting coffee has a toasty smokiness. It is ultra-smooth and mellow in taste, with hardly a trace of astringency. The coffee is perfect for drinking unadulterated.
Residents of Ipoh may prefer their white coffee, but Antong’s style of coffee, which tastes stronger and more full-bodied, leaves me wanting more.
I regret buying only one 300g packet of Antong’s Wood Roasted Whole Coffee Beans (RM45).
The retail showroom does not brew coffee for sale, but visitors can choose from a range of packaged coffee products.
A highlight is its Espresso Ice Cream, a coffee soft serve that costs RM5 a cone. The ice cream, strong with coffee in both aroma and flavour, makes for a delicious afternoon treat.
Eng Huat Biscuit
Where: 78A Jalan Raja Sulong, Kampung Boyan, 34000, Taiping, Perak
Open: 8.30am to 6pm daily
Tel: +6011-5859-5881/+605-807-6148
Taiping is a sleepy town, but it is home to Eng Huat Biscuit, a biscuit manufacturer which makes pastries that are different from the typical heong piah with maltose filling easily available in Ipoh.
Two unique products that are available only at the factory’s retail shop are the mung bean paste heong piah and the egg heong piah.
The mung bean paste heong piah, known as dou sha xiang bing in Mandarin, costs RM7.90 for a packet of eight pieces.
The pastry has the crusty flaky exterior of a heong piah, but the interior is packed with powdery and savoury housemade mung bean paste. The mung bean paste heong piah can last for two weeks if kept in an air-tight container.
The factory was set up some 30 years ago and its original pastry recipe used lard.
But 20 years ago, it switched to using shallot oil instead, in order to make halal-friendly products and expand its customer base.
My favourite pastry from Eng Huat is its egg heong piah (RM10 for five pieces).
The delicate flat disc-like pastry has a sweet and slightly chewy filling of egg, maltose and shallot oil.
The pastry is fine, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Made without preservatives, it is best consumed fresh, but it can keep for two to three days.
It takes two days to prepare these pastries, which are not produced daily.
Call and make your orders at least two days in advance before heading down to Taiping. There is no minimum order.
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