Eat, Play, Ipoh : What We Did in a Day in Ipoh

Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

what we did in Ipoh for a day

Our day in Ipoh started bright and early at 6.30 am, eagerly preparing for an adventure. The journey began with a ride on the MRT to KL Sentral, where we caught the KTM ETS train that would take us to the charming city of Ipoh. As the afternoon sun bathed the city, we checked into the rustic Belakang Kong Heng hotel retreat homestay, the setting the stage for our Ipoh exploration. I'll share a separate review about this place if you're curious to know about our experience staying here.


With our hunger pangs calling, we ventured to Happy Ghost 2.0, a cakoi cafe owned by our friend Kelly Yee. The secret recipe is passed down by her grandma and unto her mother Madam Happy at the Hollywood Canning Food Court. Her daughter Kelly, then modernise it by establishing Happy Ghost 2.0 with creative ways to pair cakoi with local Ipoh delights and seasonal creations. Cakoi aka 'you char kuay' or 'u char kway' means long piece of dough, deep fried until golden.

We relished her famous cakoi paired with a refreshing ice Ipohcano, a special concoction of Ipoh white coffee kurang manis (less sugar) and a hint of bitterness. Oh, how I miss her delightful chee cheong fan with spicy yin yang sauce and mushroom! The dessert cakoi with caramel kaya dip was a treat, and we couldn't help but admire the lovely plants adorning her café.

Following Kelly's recommendation, we headed to Ais Cendol Super (Deen CT Corner) just across from her place for some authentic Ipoh pulut ais cendol 🍧. The Cendol JPK, featuring Jagung, Pulut & Kacang (a combination of corn, glutinous rice, and peanuts) refreshed our soul under the Ipoh heat. We saw takeaways orders were more bang for your. buck as they came in plastic bags of bigger ice shaven portion. We enjoyed our icy dessert while seated on the concrete area, and the friendly uncle bid us farewell with a warm wave as we left. They have die-hard customers who stop-by everyday just to have a bowl of cendol after work.



how many can you spot? I spotted 4 haha

To burn off some calories, we strolled back to Concubine Lane, where we explored touristy stalls where one can buy a whole watermelon to drink, souvenirs, snacks to eat. We also enjoyed visiting the Yasmin at KongHeng Newseum hidden under the basement of Book Xcess Ipoh which was equally spell-binding with creative interior and book displaying ideas. Along the way, we were amazed to discover giant 3D food models outside various shops and stalls, including a Giant Coffee Bean at B. Belly Lab Ipoh, giant Cakoi at Happy Ghost Ipoh, giant Croissant at Chloe & Co Ipoh, and giant Kuma Rainbow Cheese Toast.


As evening approached, our friend Faara Fara surprised us with a tour of her delightful selfie studio, Fourteen Studio. We had a blast taking couple photos with a remote control and utilizing the fun props available. Even without professional hairstylists and makeup artists, the unedited shots turned out stunning, resembling Meitu filters with vibrant colors. The experience was so enjoyable, and the price was reasonable. We received soft copies of all our photos and selected four printouts to cherish the memories. Prices starts from RM70. This selfie studio concept is truly a unique gem in Ipoh 📸🤳.

Our friends then took us to Rainbow City Food Court the Ipoh version of Jalan Alor, a bustling food court lined with numerous stalls offering mouthwatering Ipoh street food at reasonable prices. The seating areas are inside and outside the area, and open air car park opposite or inside the area. Each table is numbered so you can just give the table number to the stall. Each stall is also numbered making it easy for you to search for your favourite stall. Here, we tried our first Pumila Jelly ais dessert, a refreshing lemon lime jelly shaved ice dessert that rejuvenated our souls after a day of exploring under the scorching sun. Order from stall no. 27.

Time flies when you're having fun, and it was time to bid farewell to Ipoh. The next day we checked-out from Belakang KongHeng and boarded the 12pm train back to KL, and the quick 10-minute walk from our homestay to the Ipoh train station made our departure smooth and easy. Goodbye, Ipoh! You've given us unforgettable memories, and we had an absolute blast during our short but sweet visit. We'll cherish these moments forever! 💖

Places we stayed/visited:

Belakang Kong Heng (光興後座)
Address:  89 & 91, Jln. Sultan Yussof, 30000 Ipoh, Perak

Happy Ghost 2.0 | 开心鬼 | Cakoi
Address: 24, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Daily 
9am - 4pm except Monday close

Ais Cendol Super (Deen CT Corner)
Address: 21, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Daily except on Friday close.
11.30am - 6.30pm

Concubine Lane
1-29, Lorong Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak

Yasmin at KongHeng Newseum (Book Xcess Ipoh)
91, Jln. Sultan Yussof, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Weekdays 10am - 5pm / weekends 10am - 10pm

Book Xcess Kong Heng, Ipoh
91, Jln. Sultan Yussof, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Daily 10am - 8pm

Fourteen Studio
Address: 21A, Jalan Ampang Baru 6a, Ampang Baru New Village, 31350 Ipoh, Perak
Daily 10am - 6pm except Friday
(close for prayers 12 - 3pm)

* Only as a guide. Please double check the opening hours before visiting with the respective place

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