Photographer: Jessy Ong& Terrence Lei
Written by: Ellie Toh
Ipoh is the capital state of Perak located on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. It is the third largest city in the country. Ipoh is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur and 130 km south of Penang on the North-South Expressway, this capital state of Perak have plenty to offer tourists and travelers alike. Ipoh is commonly well known domestically and internationally for being the gateway to Cameron Highlands and Royal Belum State Park but if you are a foodie traveler, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with what Ipoh have to offer in terms of satisfying your palate. This state have plenty of well kept gourmet secrets, and here’s highlighting some restaurants that you should patronize should happen to be in Ipoh and wants some good but affordable eats:
1. Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice Greentown
Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice Greentown is a Singaporean- Chinese restaurant. Offering plenty of mouthwatering local dishes at RM10 and below.
The restaurant’s signature is of course their Hainanese Roast Chicken Rice with fat and juicy Ipoh bean sprouts. Additional must try side dishes: Fried Beancurd in Oyster Sauce and Kerabu Mangga.
Ipoh Hainan Chicken Rice Greentown is a place you should drop by if you want some good meals while traveling but can’t afford to splurge. This is also one of the few Halal certified Hainanese chicken rice in Ipoh, so if you are a Muslim or you practises Halal only diet, this restaurant is your safest bet.
For more information, refer to the details below:
Address: B-G-13, Greentown Suria, Jalan Dato Seri Ahmad Said, Greentown, Perak, Ipoh Town, 30450
Contact: 05-241 1211
Halal restaurant
2. Restaurant Yum Yum
Restaurant Yum Yum is a Thai Seafood Restaurant. The restaurant serves authentic Thai food. Some of the food has also been localized to cater to Malaysian palate.
Some of the dishes that we can recommend are; Nyonya Gulai Fish, Assam Sambal Prawns,Vietnamese Garlic Prawns, Fried Brinjals,Beansprouts with Salted Fish, Yum Yum Tofu, Kerabu Mangga with Ikan Bilis and Thai Style Eggs.
This restaurant offers pretty decent price tag. Individual dishes costs about RM10-RM20 while seafood are quoted accordingly to the local market price.
For more information on the restaurant, refer to the details below:
Address: 5, Persiaran Greenhill, Greentown, Perak, Ipoh Town, 30450
Contact: 05-243 5737
Mon-Tue: 11:30-15:00; 17:30-22:00
Wed: Closed
Thu-Sun: 11:30-15:00; 17:30-22:00
Pork free restaurant
3. 1919 Restaurant Ipoh
1919 Restaurant Ipoh offers assorted Malaysian variety of seafood and noodles.
Their signature includes Black Pepper Fried Crab, Chinese Wine Fish Fillet in King Sauce, Chicken Nyonya Fried Rice, Philippines Eggplant and Siam-style Sliced Dory Fish.
This restaurant also have a reasonable pricing to each of their dishes. Highly recommended for small family gathering or some casual dining with friends.
For more information on the restaurant, refer to the details below:
Address: 1, Jalan Medan Ipoh 6, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh, Ipoh Garden, Perak, Ipoh Town, 31400
Contact: 05-547 7196
Pork free restaurant
Traveling to Ipoh is pretty easy. You can travel by car or by bus to Ipoh from any states of Malaysia. But if you are the adventurous lot, travelling by train can be quite interesting too. There are three Express Kuala Lumpur- Ipoh Train services a day in either direction operated by KTM Intercity. Electric Train Services (ETS) also operate on this route. The trip takes between three and four hours on the older Intercity trains and 2 hours 20 – 35 minutes on the high-speed ETS trains. For more information on that, refer HERE. Ride sharing apps services like Uber and Grabcar is also available in Ipoh, so moving around is not a problem over here.