Ipoh the forgetten city

Ipoh developed into one of Malaysia's main cities due to the booming tin mining industry around the turn of the 19th century. During the British colonial era, Ipoh was Malaysia's second city for administration purposes. There are several notable buildings from the British Colonial era such as the railway station and the town hall. The population of Ipoh is about 70% of Chinese origin

These days Ipoh is perhaps best known for its excellent restaurants, hawkers, and famous local dishes

Savoury

Nasi ganja(vanggey)

• Bean Spouts Chicken(Cantonese nga choy kai - 芽菜雞), - This consists of chicken meat, assorted chicken innards and beanspouts boiled in water and served with soy sauce and sesame oils.

• Hainanese Chicken rice (Cantonese Hoi lam kai fan - 海南雞饭)

• Chee choung fun (Cantonese - 豬腸粉) - This is a breakfast dish which consists of large flat pieces of flat rice noodles rolled up and served with sweet or spicy sauce. Unlike the chee cheong fun in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh has it with minced pork sauce and mushrooms, topped with preserved green chilli, a sprinkle of deep-fried shallots and sesame seeds.

• Dim Sum, is also widely enjoyed in Ipoh. Several famous Ipoh dim sum restaurants are located at Jalan Leong Sin Nam.

• Ipoh "Hor Fun" (from Cantonese hor fun- 河粉) - These are flat rice noodles prepared in the hard water. There are two varieties. Sar hor fun - 沙河粉 is served in a clear chicken and prawn soup with chicken shreds, prawns and spring onions. Chau hor fun is fried with a little dark gravy, as opposed to Penang Char keow teow which has no gravy but is fried with egg, prawns and cockles. It is also different from Cantonese-style wat tan ho which is completely immersed in clear, egg-starch gravy.

• Fried cuttlefish vegetables (Cantonese yau yee oong choy - 魷魚蕹菜) - This is a dish of cuttlefish with kangkung and sweet and spicy sauce on top.

• Nasi Ganja(Ipoh Nasi Kandar)-Kedai Kopi Yong Suan, a chinese named coffee shop. Who say you won't find Indian food at a chinese restaurant, indeed this is where the famous Nasi Kandar of Ipoh was located. Some would call it Nasi Ganja or Marijuana Rice!

• Ipoh Laksa (Malay: Laksa Ipoh) - Laksa in Ipoh tastes sour and spicy, . The noodle soup contains prawn paste.

• Salt-steamed Chicken (Yim gouk kai) - This dish is prepared by using paper to wrap one whole chicken together with salt and certain Chinese herbs and double-steamed for several hours. With this cooking technique, the meat will not lose its tenderness and the essence of chicken can be preserved as well. The combination of salt and herbs gives the meat a unique flavor.

• Claypot Chicken Rice (Chinese - 瓦煲鸡饭) - This kind of chicken rice differ from the Hainan Chicken rice , this is served in a claypot and mostly cooked with charcoal. Most of the time salted fish is added in the rice but sometimes is not according to one's preference. The most famous ones come from Bercham , the popularity spread throughout Malaysia including famous tourist destination Genting highlands.

• Sate (also written as satay) is meat served on a skewer, served with peanut sauce. The Ipoh satay is similar to satay served elsewhere in Malaysia .

• Tempoyak is a popular Malay delicacy. It is durian extract which is preserved and kept in an urn. Commonly eaten with chillis and other dishes; it is well known due to the popularity of its key ingredient, durian, among the locals.

Desserts and pastries

Ipoh is famous for its pomelos

An unpeeled pomelo

• Fragrant biscuits (Cantonese heong peng - 香餅) - These are flaky biscuits with a sweet filling, and are often bought as souvenirs by tourists to Ipoh. Among locals, 'heong peng' is famous in the suburb of Gunung Rapat, which is purportedly the pioneer in their production. For the best and most original taste, dipping the biscuit in water is not recommended.

• Fruits - Ipoh is famous for its fruits, such as seedless guava,pomelos and durians. Pomelos are sold in front of Sam Poh Tong (三寶洞), along Gopeng Road (the old Route 1 that links the towns in Perak and neighbouring states). These stalls cater mainly for tourists driving into Ipoh. Alternatively, one can go right into the Tambun-Ampang area where most of the pomelo plantations are located to have more choices (and more competitive prices).

• Ipoh White Coffee- This is made from coffee beans specially roasted with palm oil margarine.Ipoh White coffee is abundant in the Old Town of Ipoh. But, many places in Ipoh also serve white coffee well. Such as Bercham and Menglembu. Many locals strongly believe that the aroma, taste and texture of the traditional "white" coffee blend is superior to commercially-packed sachets or those found outside Ipoh.

• Kampar Chicken Biscuits (Cantonese kai zhai peng - 雞仔餅) - They are also a popular souvenir for tourists to Ipoh. These are famous in Kampar, a neighboring town of Ipoh.

chicken biscuits (kai zhai peng)

• Kaya Puff - These are pastries consisting of flaky pastry (akin to currypuffs) with coconut jam (kaya) filling.

The famous Chapathi Sardine and Briyani Rice with Honey Chicken in Gunung Rapat,