The 5 "Decades Of Inheritance" That You Must Visit In Ipoh

For too long, the capital of Malaysia’s Perak state was considered a faded has-been of a city. However, the spark is finally returning to the time-worn neighborhoods of Ipoh. Ipoh was recognized by popular international travel guide Lonely Planet, as one of the top 10 places in Asia for tourists to visit. One of its main attractiveness - The Centennial Inheritance. Going down to the street of Oldtown, it can be seen there are still a lot of traditional coffee shops and authentic restaurants are well preserved. Some of the restaurants even operated by the third generation. Here are the 6 centuries of inheritance that you must visit in Ipoh:

1. 张来饭店

Hiding in a government flat area, this shop without an English name, has been operated for over the past 50 years. It is a super old school restaurant managed by a bunch of senior citizens. 张来饭店serves authentic Chinese home-cook dishes, for example, Bittergourd Chicken, Steam and Fried Clam, Choy Sum Siu Yuk, Dried Vege Soup and Braise Meat. All of these is their signature.

We have ordered Kangkung Belachan(RM 6 for small), Bitterguard Chicken(RM 7 for small), Steam Clam(RM 9 for small), and Dried Vege Soup( RM 5 for small). The price of the food is reasonable and it is so mouth-watering until we need to "tapau" some dishes from here as our dinner.

It can be told how old is the restaurant from its building...

There is the only chef to cook for all orders in the kitchen, he is also the owner of 张来饭店.

          Kitchen in the 1900s to 1920s, it can be seen clearly, they never renovate it much

    Instead of a teapot, they are using a vintage tin kettle to serve tea

张来饭店is just located inside this government flat. You can walk through this entry and go straight to the end, the restaurant is on your left. There is also parking available inside the government apartment

Address: 85, Jalan Bijeh Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Negeri Perak

Business Hour: 12pm to 3pm daily. (irregular day off)

*This is a Non-Halal eatery

2. 鸿图酒楼 Hoong Tho Restaurant

Hoong Tho, located at the same road of Jalan Bandar Timah, was established back in 1956 and now run by the 3rd-generation of the Yuen family who started it. Hoong Tho is a Chinese restaurant that has been serving delicious canton noodle dishes, fried rice, fish paste, fried wantons and fish ball. Aside from the savories, Hoong Tho is also famous for its own production of pastries and confectioneries such as "chempedak" cake, egg tarts, and traditional biscuits and "pau". We have ordered River Prawn Noodle, Hoong Tho Mee Soup and Gui Hwa Noodle and fishball.

They are giving a generous amount of the prawn and it cost only RM 30 for a medium portion

Hoong Tho noodles are their signature dish, cooked with Yee Mee (springy egg noodles),  vegetables, eggs, shrimps and pork, with the special ingredient of cuttlefish powder. (Rm 8.50 for a small portion)

Hoong Tho is famous for its "cempedak" cake. You will be seeing a lot of customers queuing just for this. There are also tourists buying as a souvenir for their family and friends. One box of "cempedak" cake cost RM 14.

Address: 20, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Business Hour: 10:30am to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm daily except Tuesday

*This is a Non-Halal Eatery

    3. 和琼茶室 Woh Heng Restaurant

 Situated at Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakry for over 5 decades, Woh Heng always packed with people and there is no space for you to get a seat. While Woh Heng is famous for its curry noodles, the curry noodles are often overlooked by patrons who stop by the Ipoh town mainly for the “bean sprout chicken” dishes served at nearby restaurants. The of Ipoh get listed among the "Top 3 Best Coffee Towns In Asia" by Lonely Planet is definitely well-earned as Woh Heng serves one of the best "kopi" (coffee) in town! 

 The aromatic curry with shredded chicken and cockles is served with lime juice on the side and packs a real mean punch.

Besides curry mee and coffee, it is a must to also order their signatures, sticky rice with kaya, "wu-yi cha" and caramel custard egg. 

Address: 47, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakry, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Business Hour: 6.30am to 4pm daily

*This is a Non-Halal eatery

4.  黎记扒饭 Lai Kee Chop Rice

Established in 1983, Lai Kee Chop Rice is a place where many Ipohans have been eating since young. Initially, Lai Kee was located in Super Kinta, where it is used to be a hangout place in the 80s and 90s, however, after Super Kinta was replaced to UTC, Lai Kee was moved to the UTC food court and continue to operate until now. A visit to Lai Kee Chop Rice always brings back the memories to the good old days.

The chicken chops and pork chops are coated in an eggy batter and deep-fried till golden. The chicken and pork chop soak up the gravy and the tomato sauce effortlessly. You can order it with an egg and rice or just plain chicken or pork chop that only cost RM 5. Unfortunately, by the time we reach there, there is only chicken chop left, so we miss the chance to try the pork chop.

Address: 18, Jalan Foo Choo Choon, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak

Business Hour: 11 am to 4 pm daily

*This is a Non-Halal eatery

                   5. 万源丰面包店  Ban Guan Fong Bakery

Whenever I come back to Ipoh, I will definitely come to this 57 -years-history bread shop. The bakery is run by five brothers who insist on using woods to bake bread. Every day, the bread baked in the kiln is full of aroma, the texture is soft, and there are many flavors to choose from, including coconut, kaya, or Hainan bread. These are the favorites among the customers.

I would say that we were so unlucky as there is only "big bread" left by the time we reach there. The other flavor we have yet to try it. To at least get something back home, we have bought 2 "big bread" and trust me, even though it has no flavor, the bread is incredibly nice! And 1 big bread only cost Rm 2! It is a good place to buy souvenir as they really preserve the traditional way of baking bread and that makes the bread taste so great and nice. If have any chances, you can try kaya and coconut bread, it is definitely worth the wait!

The wood they are using in the shop

                                                                 The kiln that is used to bake the bread

2 "big bread" cost RM 4

                                                            
Address: Jalan Sultan, Pasir Pinji, 31650 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Business Hour: 6pm to 10pm (Monday to Friday)
                            2pm to 4pm (Sunday)
                            Close on every Saturday

Click on the Youtube link below to get more ideas on what I am talking about!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x88xrcNTBM&feature=youtu.be