Taiping is a small town located in Perak, Malaysia that is about an hour drive from Penang. It’s not typically on the radar of international tourists because of its laid back nature, but if you love food, it’s worth heading to Taiping for a few days of culinary adventure.

Taiping has retained its old world charm with pre-war shophouses, food markets, and small businesses that have been in the same families for generations. It also has beautiful nature reserves and a zoo for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. There’s no airport in Taiping so you’ll have to fly into Penang or Ipoh, and either take a taxi or rent a car for the one-hour journey. It has a train station that connects to other cities in Malaysia like Kuala Lumpur (a three-hour journey) and it’s an easy, stress-free and affordable way to get there. Do note that because it’s such a small town, Grab and Uber don’t operate in the area. However, there are taxis you can book from the town center if you are headed to somewhere further than walking distance.

For those who are unfamiliar with Malaysian food, check out my other article about places to eat in Penang.

Old School Eats in Taiping:

Apom

Apom is a coconutty crispy crepe-like pancake that evolved from appam, a street snack from south India. Batter is poured into mini woks to ensure the sides remain thin and crispy, and the center has a soft thicker base. It’s best eaten right after you buy them because they can get rather soggy when they have cooled down. There are several apom sellers at the market in Plaza Perbandaran but they tend to sell out by the afternoon. Go early in the morning to enjoy this snack!

Plaza Perbandaran

Address: Jalan Chung Thye Phin, 34000 Taiping, Perak

Koey Teow Soup

Malaysians love a savory breakfast and koey teow soup is one of the most popular dishes out there. Restaurant Kakak is an institution in Taiping and locals have been going there for its famous shredded chicken noodles for generations. It’s the Malaysian comfort food of chicken noodle soup, except that they use flat rice noodles instead of pasta. The broth is very light and flavorful, and it’s a lovely way to start the day!

Restaurant Kakak

Address: 111 Jalan Pasar, 64700 Taiping, Perak

Business Hours: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. (closed Mondays)

Hawker Center Variety of Dishes

Larut Matang Hawker Center has a huge selection of stalls serving Chinese, Malay and Indian dishes. Local favorites are char koey teow (fried flat rice noodles), assam laksa (thick rice noodles in a spicy tamarind fish broth), fishball koey teow soup (flat rice noodles in a light pork or chicken broth), and the various nyonya kuehs (desserts made of glutinous rice flour and coconut milk, and wrapped in banana leaves). Look for long lines of people to know which stall has the yummiest food or ask locals for their opinions. They know their food!

Larut Matang Hawker Center

Address: Jalan Panggung Wayang, 34000 Taiping, Perak

Operating Hours: 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Daily)

Cendol

To beat the heat in Malaysia, enjoy a bowl of cendol, green worm-like jelly made out of rice flour on top of crushed ice, coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. Ansari’s Famous Cendol has been in business since 1940! Locals and visitors all flock to Ansari’s for this dessert alone. It’s kind of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but the service is quick and the dessert is consistency good.

Restaurant Ansari Famous Cendol

Address: 92, Jalan Barrack, 34000, Taiping, Perak.

Business hours: 10:30 am – 6:00 pm (Daily)

Seafood Dinner

New Bee Guan Seafood Restaurant is in the heart of the town center, right by the Taiping mall and the brand new Novotel Hotel. It serves a mix of Cantonese style dishes and local fare like steamed fish, assam chicken, and fried vegetables. But its signature dish, curry prawn in bread, is worth a trip to Taiping! Huge prawns are cooked in a gorgeous thick curry broth and ladled into a bread bowl. Instead of baked, I believe the bread bowl is deep fried! How else can they get the bread to be this crispy on the outside and still billowy soft inside? The restaurant even managed to prevent the curry from being soaked into the bread by building the bread around a foil structure. You end up tearing the outside part of the bread and dipping it into the sauce without dismantling the entire bowl or dealing with a mushy sloppy bread bowl. If it’s deep fried, it’s not the healthiest food, but trust me, the taste is worth a 10 mile run the next morning!

New Bee Guan Seafood Restaurant

Address: 20, Jalan Maharajalela, 34000 Taiping, Perak

Business Hours: 4:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. (Daily)

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