People

Taoism

Majority of people in Ipoh are Chinese. Most of their ancestors were tin-miners that came from China Mainland. The Chinese practice a varieties of traditional cultures and beliefs.

Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Ipoh Chinese customs and worldview. 

This is a 41 year-old temple.Nuwa(one of the god) temple.The restoration of this temple completed in 22th July 2002.So,the building becomes new again.

God Festival (Parade)

They were Taoist priests, believers and students and teachers from Taoist schools.Many temples participate in this event(god festival).Each of the temple has its own representatives for the performance in the taoist festival.

The people there really enjoyed the lion and dragon dances.Besides, they can learn more about Chinese traditional culture.

 The piercing performers during that festival will try to achieve a state of out of mind. They will pierce their bodies with all kinds of stuffs such as sword and bamboo pole.

The above photo shown that the God is on its 'outing'. It will be transported around the town so that its believers will have a chance to worship.

Follow on, the dragon dance will be performed on that day too. Chineses believe that lion and dragon dancing can scare away the evil spirits.

Activities

Gunung Lang
After we visited the Ipoh Town, we visited Mountain Lang. Mountain Lang is a recreational park which is built around the limestone hills and located about 5km from Ipoh town. The park is equipped with 3 man-made lakes which actually are former tin mines. Mountain Lang was founded by Ipoh Town Council with the cooperation from Ministry of Tourism by year 1999.

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 The above photo shown the man-made cascading waterfall of Mountain Lang. It is located atop a limestone hill and it will only operate a few hours daily. Besides, there is one large sign which will be lighted up at night and can be seen from the highway.

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 Follow on, we headed to the watch tower where we enjoyed the magnificent view of the lake and the landscaped garden around it. As you can see from the photo, the recreational park is well-maintained and well-decorated.

Night Market

The biggest night market in Ipoh is the one located at First Garden (Near Jelapang). Every friday night, varieties of stalls will be set up at here.

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 The stalls in night market are decorated with lights. Next, there are a lot of stuffs selling they such as clothes and foods.

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The reasons why people like to visit pasar malam is because of its ambience where one can hear people talking loudly as there are so many people there talking at the same time. Besides, the sound of people bargaining with the 'Tauke's of stalls.

 Sam Poh Tong Temple
Sam Poh Tong temple, 'Cavern of three precious temple' is a Chinese temple built within a limestone cave. It is the largest cave temple in Malaysia. 

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One of the main tourist attractions here is the tortoise pond where some local people will bring tortoise to release into the pond in the hope of balancing their karma.

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The Sam Poh Tong is famous for its beautiful landscaped garden too. It was awarded 'The Best Landscaped Garden' in Malaysia by year 1993.

Cultural Conservation on Buildings

Ipoh Old Town

The Old Town is located to the west of the Kinta River. There is a vibrant commercial district with many historical 'shop-houses' centred around Leech Street. Ipoh Old Town is also full of Historical Buildings too.

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Ipoh Railway Station was designed and built by Arthur Benison Hubback. Anglo-Asian Architecture can be seen on this building. Currently it serves as a railway station and also houses a Hotel, Majestic Hotel.

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Ipoh Town Hall was built in 1916. It was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback too. Its building design was influenced by Victorian Neo-Renaissance architectural style. Today, it is an auditorium.

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Darul Ridzuan Museum was built about a hundred years ago and was once the house of the rich tin miner , Foo Choong Yit. The museum is packed with interesting collection of historical artifacts about the history of tin mining, forestry and the city of Ipoh. The architectural style of the building is colonial style.

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 St.Michael Institution was established in year 1912 by Father JB Coppin. The original building block has been designated by Ipoh City Council as a historical landmark. The building is influenced by Neo-Gothic Style.

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 The Anglo-Chinese School is located along the Lahat Road. It was founded by Rev William Edward Horley on year 1895. The architectural style of the building is influenced by Edwardian-style.

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 Royal Ipoh Club is one of the oldest heritage building in Ipoh with an age of about 117 years old. The building is constructed in 1898 in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Coronation. It is a Mock-Tudor Style building. Today, it is still the centre of exclusivity.

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The F.M.S Bar is the oldest bar in Malaysia which was founded by a Hainanese in the early 20th century. It was once a famous gathering place for European Miners and Planters. Currently, it is under renovation.

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 The HSBC building is constructed in year 1931 and located along Jalan Sultan Yusuff. The building design is influenced by Victoria neo-Renaissance.

Ipoh Food

 Food

Ipoh is well-known for its food. One can find restaurants and hawker centres at about every corner of the city.

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Sun Yuan Foong coffee shop is well known for its famous white coffee and toasted bread.

Toasted Bread

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One of the most irresistible toasted breads, served with a half boiled egg and sausage. Among the many toast sets to choose from, we choose this at first to try.

Ipoh White Coffee

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A cup of warm and thick white coffee was the perfect companion to the toast sets. And it sure felt nostalgic eating food that haven’t changed for the past twenty years in an old coffee shop.

Yong Liu

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Ipoh’s famous “Big Tree’s Foot” (called Tai Shu Keok in Cantonese).Pick your favorite "yong liu"at the counter, hand them over to the staff in charge and choose your noodles.


Salted Chicken

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 Ipoh’s famous salted chicken. You can only take away since they don't have dine in service which is only RM16.The taste of dong quai was quite prevalent. There was some juices coming out from the chicken, herby and salty at the same time and we mopped it up with the chicken meat.

Fish Head Noodles

Fai Kei Restaurant's Fish Head Noodles the noodles came with mee hoon (mihun), tomatoes, chinese preserved vegetables, some fried onions, a good dash of evaporated milk and chinese rice wine.

Mah Chee

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A small stall under a tree and in front of a single-storey house. The Mah Chee was initially in one big piece but later on the auntie used her hand to make it into small round pieces. The Mah Chee were rolled on some sugar and peanut powder. 

Tau Fu Fa

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Ipoh Famous Tau Fu Fa & soy bean beverages shop. Contained in huge wooden containers. The bean curd pudding is smooth and delicious. 

Dim sum

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Foh San excels in their steamed dim sum, the ingredients were lovely and fresh. Prawn siew mai where you can enjoy a big prawns ontop on the siew mai and the prawns is fresh and juicy. 

Nga Choi Kai

Chicken in Ipoh is well-known for its succulent and juicy meat. Cooked in a very special way according to the secret recipe handed down from one generation to another, it is cooked just well enough to retain its juicy smoothness.