Things to do in Ipoh
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Old Town Kopitiam
This more upmarket coffee house facing the padang seems to be forever crowded. Simple chicken rice dishes prevail.
reviewed
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FMS Restaurant
Upstairs from the FMS Bar, though under separate management, this is a popular Chinese restaurant in an old colonial building adorned with antique prints, porcelain, and a large portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II. Seafood and beancurd dishes are particularly good, but prices are high. Wave away the 'complimentary' peanuts if you don't want them added to your bill. You'll also be charged for your paper napkin.
reviewed
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Bonda
Self-styled 'retro' restaurant with a vaguely '60s/'70s décor scheme, including orange plastic chairs and Lonely Planet covers on the walls. Chicken and chips-style dishes are served, alongside the usual rice and noodle options, and there are piles of English magazines to flick through.
reviewed
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Medan Selera Dato Tawhil Azar
Better-known as the Children’s Playground, this large food centre has stalls arranged around a small square filled with slides and swings. It’s a popular place for Malay food in the evening, it’s open late and, of course, kids love it.
reviewed
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Monde Brasserie
This upmarket Western-style restaurant, with its white linen and fussy waiters, serves reasonably authentic pasta dishes, steaks, fish dishes and so on. It also has a pricey wine list.
reviewed
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Old Town White Coffee
This upmarket coffee house facing the padang seems to be forever crowded. Simple chicken rice dishes prevail, and unsurprisingly, the coffee is pretty good.
reviewed
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Pusat Makanan Majestic
This crowded Chinese food court has a noisy, boisterous atmosphere, and is a good place for a couple of beers.
reviewed
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Ipoh Parade Shopping Centre
You'll find some smarter restaurants and a food court in the Ipoh Parade Shopping Centre .
reviewed
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Birch Memorial Clock Tower
The Birch Memorial Clock Tower (1909) was erected in memory of James WW Birch, Perak's first British Resident, who was murdered at Pasir Salak. The friezes on the clock tower are meant to illustrate the growth of civilisation, featuring figures such as Moses, Buddha, Shakespeare and Charles Darwin. A figure representing Mohammed has since been erased. Birch was not a popular man locally. The road on which his memorial stands has been renamed in honour of one of his killers.
It's a short walk from the train station on Jln Dato' Sagor.
reviewed
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Kek Lok Tong
To get off the beaten path, you can visit the small and serene Kek Lok Tong. At the cave temple’s entrance, climb up to the Three Sages in the central cavern. At the back is a fat Chinese Buddha of Future Happiness sitting in the company of three other Bodhisattvas. Behind the cave is an ornamental garden with ponds and pagodas. To reach here, from Sam Poh Tong backtrack to the T-junction and turn right. Go on for 15 minutes, then turn right again before the first traffic light and follow the signs for Kek Lok Tong.
reviewed
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Perak Tong
Founded in 1926 by a Buddhist priest, Perak Tong temple complex extends back into an impressive complex of caverns and grottoes with amazing murals on the interior walls, including some interesting juxtapositions of Theravada Buddhas from Southeast Asia and Chinese Buddhas and Buddhist saints. A staircase and a security guard were crushed by a rockfall here in 2009, but the temple has since reopened.
reviewed
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Muzium Darul Ridzuan
North of the padang, the Muzium Darul Ridzuan is housed in a 1926 villa built for a wealthy Chinese tin miner. The less than inspiring displays recount the history of tin mining (downstairs) and forestry (upstairs) in Perak. The occasional temporary exhibitions are more interesting. There are two concrete air-raid shelters in the garden, erected in 1941.
reviewed
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Geological Museum
Rock enthusiasts might enjoy a visit to the Geological Museum, 3km east of town, although you'll need to phone ahead to arrange a visit. Hundreds of mineral samples and fossils are on display, including all the tin ore you could wish for. Take a Tanjung Rambutan bus from the city bus station, get off at the crossing of Jln Sultan Azlan Shah, then walk southeast for 10 minutes.
reviewed
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FMS Bar
This Ipoh institution was closed for renovation during our visit. Hopefully open by the time you read this, the Federated Malay States bar has been going since 1906, and was the favoured haunt of colonial planters and miners. It still attracts a gaggle of colourful local characters and expats.
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Xin Quan Fang
You better come early (seriously, like 7:15am) for the curry noodles and the pork and bean sprouts. Those two dishes, by the way, are pretty much all Xin Quan Fang churns out, but ohmygod are they good, as testified to by the lines that stretch around the block for this family-run favourite.
reviewed
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Funny Mountain Soya Bean
Besides having one of the best business names in Malaysia, Funny Mountain is immensely popular for its one dish: soya bean and bean curd pudding. This is a millennia-old Chinese recipe brought to Ipoh direct from the Middle Kingdom; the curd is both delicious and a piece of Asian history.
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Restoran Onn Kee
Onn Kee is widely recognised as serving the best ayam taugeh (bean-sprout chicken) in Perak, if not Malaysia. The chicken comes boiled, soft and fragrant, the sprouts are particularly fat and crunchy, and the combined texture and flavour is surpassingly joyous.
reviewed
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Sam Poh Tong
A few kilometres south of Ipoh, Sam Poh Tong is the largest cave temple in Malaysia, although it’s less popular than Perak Tong. The main attraction here is the turtle pond, where locals bring turtles to release in the hope of balancing their karma.
reviewed
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Chinese Shophouses
The Old Town features many rows of rickety Chinese shophouses, though those in the New Town area east of the river are generally in better condition. After Georgetown, Ipoh has one of the most extensive areas of later shophouse architecture in Malaysia.
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Town Hall & Court House
Directly opposite the train station, the Town Hall (Dewan Bandaran; 1916) and the Court House (Mahkanah Tinggi; 1928) are suitably impressive white neoclassical buildings of grand proportions. All three were built by the government architect AB Hubbock.
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Kedai Kopi Kong Meng
Ipoh eaters swear by the Hakka (south-eastern Chinese) cuisine in Kong Meng, which has been in business for almost 70 years. Your best bet in this scruffy, friendly little cafe is the beef noodle soup with some of the special home-made chilli sauce.
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Full Sun Fish Head Noodle
Fish head noodle soup for breakfast? Hey, break free from those eggs and do as the locals do. The rich, fishy goodness in the cheek meat says ‘Good morning!’; that glassy fish eye staring back at you from the soup says, ‘Good choice, foodie’.
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Kafe Abarnaashre
This simple halal Indian cafe facing the padang offers superb value. The menu, which includes lots of vegetarian dishes, is displayed on the wall, with roti and dosa starting from as little as RM1.
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Greentown Noodle House
Reasonably priced noodle and rice dishes are the order of the day at this bright little Straits Chinese restaurant, as well as lots of roast duck and pork options. Enticingly, fresh frog porridge is also available.
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Golden Elephant
This classy Thai restaurant is attached to the Hotel Ipoh City. Seafood, including lots of crab and prawn dishes, takes up a large part of the menu, though there are also vegetarian choices.
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