Ipoh is one of the most charming cities I’ve been to in Malaysia. Instead of redeveloping old colonial era buildings into gleaming but boring skyscrapers, the city has cleverly worked around to retain the heritage buildings whilst adding a whimsical flair to them. If you love food, you’ll love Ipoh! Due to its large Chinese population, Ipoh is famous for Hainanese and Cantonese dishes like beansprouts chicken, dim sum, ginger chicken, braised noodles, and a variety of snacks. You’ll never go hungry in this town!

Kong Heng Square: Burps & Giggles and Restaurant Ipoh Kong Heng

In the heart of Ipoh’s Old Town, Kong Heng Square exemplifies how cities should treat their heritage buildings. The modern industrial design respectfully blends with the colonial structure to create a space that masterfully retains its bygone era charm whist being hip and contemporary. In the middle of the square there are little shops and carts selling jewelry, locally designed clothes, Peranakan pottery, and other fun trinkets. Within Kong Heng Square, there’s a boutique hotel called Sekeping Kong Hong, several cafes like Burps & Giggles (see below), restaurant bars, and even an old local coffee shop.

Burps & Giggles

If Zooey Dechanel were to open a café, it would probably look exactly like Burps & Giggles. It is full of quirky elements like mismatched lamps and furniture, unfinished walls with amazing art painted on them, and scattered with random antiques. Granted, it’s more expensive to eat here than at the hawker centers or local coffee shops, but it’s a lovely place to sit and relax with a cup of latte after an afternoon of sightseeing.

Opening Hours: Wed-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 93-95, Jalan Sultan Yusuff, 30000 Ipoh, Perak

Restaurant Ipoh Kong Heng

Walking along a path with walls covered in ivy and cool retro fixtures, I didn’t expect to find a local coffee shop right next to a hipster restaurant, but that is the charm of Kong Heng Square! There are several stalls here selling a variety of local Malaysian fare such as prawn noodles, assam laksa, and the famous Ipoh beansprout chicken.

Opening Hours: Mon-Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 75, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak

Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant

This Cantonese restaurant is a local favorite! They’re even packed and busy on week nights, so you should probably make reservations if you’re going there on a weekend. The two standout dishes are these huge river prawns stir fried in their signature sauce and chicken braised in an incredible ginger sauce. The prawns were so fresh and succulent, and the sauce tasted like a beautiful mix of butter and soy sauce. Sometimes ginger can overwhelm a dish but the heaps of freshly ground ginger complemented beautifully with the delicate chicken. They may not be the prettiest dishes but their bold flavors will knock your socks off!

Opening Hours: Mon-Sunday, 12 to 2:30 p.m., 6 to 9:30 p.m.

Address: 65, 57, Jalan Veerasamy, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Perak

Foh San Restaurant

Foh San is an institution in Ipoh, serving dim sum to locals for more than 40 years. It had moved to a newly renovated two-story building to accommodate more diners and the décor has a cool contemporary feel to it. Things are done a little differently at Foh San. You have servers who will take your order and push the carts full of dim sum to you, but you can also go to the counters with your table card and pick out the dishes you want. I particularly enjoyed the eggplant dish, fried radish cake, and cheong fun (steamed rice sheets). There are plenty of dim sum restaurants clustered close to one another so you can pop into another restaurant if Foh San has a long wait.

Opening Hours: Mon–Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Address: 51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, Perak

Restaurant Lou Wong

Restaurant Lou Wong serves the famous Ipoh tauge ayam (beansprouts chicken) and is prominently located in the heart of town. The steamed chicken reminds me a little of Singapore’s Hainanese chicken flavored with fragrant sesame oil, but I think the star of the dish has to be the beansprouts. They have these fat beansprouts that I’ve never seen anywhere else! They’re juicy, crispy and doesn’t taste at all “grassy” even though they don’t seem very cooked. This restaurant is walking distance to a bunch of dessert cafes and stores selling lots of local biscuits and snacks.

Opening Hours: Mon-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 49, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Taman Jubilee, 30000 Ipoh, Perak

Tong Sui Kai (Dessert Street)

This outdoor eating area is about a 10 minute walk from Restaurant Lou Wong. It’s open only at night and even though it’s called Dessert Street, there are lots of other local savory dishes you can have for dinner or a midnight snack! Stall 42 serves a whimsical dessert of fruits, shaved ice, jelly, and ice cream. The area is a little bit rough around the edges. There are pot holes on the road and you have to watch where you’re walking especially when it’s been raining. But it’s undeniably full of good local food at reasonable prices.

Opening Hours: Mon-Sunday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Address: Jln Sultan Ekram, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak

Hungry yet? Book a trip to Ipoh to indulge in their local delicacies!

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