Breakfast Spots In Ipoh - travelswithsun

Finding breakfast in Ipoh is confusing. It’s only too easy to be overwhelmed with so many foodie locations.

Don’t stop at just local kopitiam food though. Ipoh has plenty more up its sleeve like western food and dim sum that will make your first decision of the day (breakfast) an unforgettable one.

Take a look at this fine list of options!

Local Breakfast Spots In Ipoh

Undeniably, kopitiams are where you should start if you want to taste some authentic local food and Ipoh white coffee at affordable prices!

1. Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong

Do not let appearances deceive you! This rather simple coffee shop is widely known as the birthplace of Ipoh white coffee!

Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong At Ipoh Old Town
Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong At Ipoh Old Town – Photo by Travelswithsun

Thus, you will often see local patrons as well as tourists crowding the coffee shop from the early morning.

Pair your coffee with roti bakar (toasted bread with butter and kaya spread) or roti goyang (toasted bread with 2 soft-boiled eggs on top). Or chee cheong fun.

There aren’t too many choices for food here, but you can order dishes from the coffeeshop across too if you please!

2. Nam Heong White Coffee Shop

Kedai Makanan Nam Heong has been running for 60 years (that’s 10 years less than Sin Yoon Loong) and they pride themselves as one of the founders of Ipoh white coffee too.

Nam Heong White Coffee Shop At Ipoh Old Town
Nam Heong White Coffee Shop At Ipoh Old Town – Photo by Travelswithsun

Unlike Sin Yoon Loong though, they’ve expanded their business commercially, and you can see their branches in other Malaysian states.

But the original branch on Jalan Bandar Timah in Ipoh is still going strong!

They serve local fare like curry mee, char koay teow, some dim sum, baked char siew pau and egg tarts which are worth trying together with their Ipoh white coffee!

See what we personally like about Ipoh Nam Heong White Coffee Shop.

Egg Tart And Dim Sum At Ipoh Nam Heong White Coffee
Egg Tart And Dim Sum At Ipoh Nam Heong White Coffee – Photo by Travelswithsun

3. Restoran Thean Chun

Close to Concubine Lane and Kong Heng Square:

Ipoh Thean Chun Coffee Shop
Ipoh Thean Chun Coffee Shop – Photo by Travelswithsun

Restoran Thean Chun’s kai se hor fun never fails to draw daily crowds! Don’t forget to try the pork satay, caramel custard, poh piah, and chee cheong fun too.

Typical Dishes To Order At Ipoh Thean Chun Coffee Shop
Typical Dishes To Order At Ipoh Thean Chun Coffee Shop

Escape the throngs of tourists by coming in before 9am! Truthfully, this place is too expensive for locals now, but we still think the kai se hor fun here is delicious.

Read more about Ipoh Thean Chun Coffee Shop.

4. Restoran Sin Lean Lee

Many tourists bypass this simple-looking coffee shop with a dimly lit interior. But if you look closely, this place is full of locals in the morning.

What We Ordered At Restoran Sin Lean Lee
What We Ordered At Restoran Sin Lean Lee

There’s not much variety for food. Beef noodles are the main thing to order. The portions are normal, but the soup is delicious, and the meat is tender.

Close Up Of Beef Noodles At Restoran Sin Lean Lee
Close Up Of Beef Noodles At Restoran Sin Lean Lee

And you can get decent homemade yong tau fu for sides too.

Most of all, we think that their coffee is wonderful. It is smooth and flavorful, although the flavor is not as rich as at Xin Xiang Er Nong Restaurant.

Hot Coffee At Restoran Sin Lean Lee
Hot Coffee At Restoran Sin Lean Lee

When we have relatives around, we love to bring them here for breakfast. The prices are affordable too.

  • Location: 15, Jalan Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
  • Opening Hours: 6am to 2pm on most days (6:30am to 1pm on Mondays, Closed on Tuesdays)

5. Chang Jiang White Coffee

Chang Jiang White Coffee always seems to be full. We do not recommend coming here during a weekend or on a public holiday. The service is very slow.

But the interior of this air-conditioned café showcases a modern twist on traditional kopitiam style – very photogenic!

Interior Of Chang Jiang White Coffee
Interior Of Chang Jiang White Coffee – Photo by Travelswithsun

Their toast or steamed bread are pretty good (they use real butter) and their Ipoh white coffee is highly commendable. You can even buy their 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 packets to take back home as gifts!

Coffee And Kaya Toasts At Chang Jiang White Coffee
Coffee And Kaya Toasts At Chang Jiang White Coffee – Photo by Travelswithsun

See what it’s like to dine at Ipoh Chang Jiang White Coffee.

There is a new branch (Chang Jiang 9) that is outside the main branch within walking distance.

Chang Jiang White Coffee Shop (Number 9) In Ipoh
Chang Jiang White Coffee Shop (Number 9) In Ipoh

In fact, there are now 4 Ipoh branches in total. Check out this new branch, Kin Loong Valley close to Mirror Lake in Ipoh.

6. Restoran New Hollywood

Restoran New Hollywood is one place in Ipoh where you can find typical Chinese hawker dishes that are halal.

Dishes at Restoran New Hollywood
Dishes at Restoran New Hollywood.

You can try local dishes like:

  • Fried koay teow
  • Nasi lemak
  • Curry mee
  • Wantan mee
  • Yong tau fu
  • Pan mee
  • Chee cheong fun
  • Chakoi
  • And more!

7. Loke Wooi Kee Café

Loke Wooi Kee Café is a hawker food center on a corner shop lot that has been in operation for many decades.

The most notable dish here is the kai se hor fan (shredded chicken noodle soup or 鸡丝河粉).

Kai Se Hor Fan At Loke Wooi Kee Café
Kai Se Hor Fan At Loke Wooi Kee Café – Photo by Travelswithsun

But you will also find:

  • Fried kuay teow
  • Peanut pancake, apam balik (大块面)
Peanut Pancake (Apam Balik) At Loke Wooi Kee Café
Peanut Pancake (Apam Balik) At Loke Wooi Kee Café – Photo by Travelswithsun
  • Fruit rojak
  • Hor Hee (河嘻) – You cannot easily find this Teochew-style dish with thick rice noodles, broth with extras like fried fishcakes and fish balls!
  • Their signature 7 Up float (mixture of red syrup, 7 Up soda with vanilla ice-cream on top)

8. Kedai Kopi Nam Chau

Just a stone’s throw from Thean Chun, is Kedai Kopi Nam Chau – another old-school coffee shop that opens for breakfast and lunch.

Ipoh White Coffee And Curry Mee At Restoran Nam Chau In Ipoh
Ipoh White Coffee And Curry Mee At Restoran Nam Chau In Ipoh

The dry curry noodles are what they are famous for! Other than this, they have the usual breakfast items:

  • Soup noodles
  • Sesame buns
  • Kaya-butter toast with soft-boiled eggs on top
  • Iced cham (an equal blend of tea and coffee)
  • Ipoh white coffee

See what we specifically like about Kedai Kopi Nam Chau.

9. Restaurant Moon De Moon

Restaurant Moon De Moon’s kai se hor fun (shredded chicken noodle soup) has a strong fan base. There is usually always a long line of hungry customers who want to have it for breakfast!

Gai Se Hor Fun at Restaurant Moon De Moon
Gai Se Hor Fun at Restaurant Moon De Moon – Photo by Travelswithsun

Be prepared to wait at least 20 to 30 minutes at peak times (~9am) regardless of whether it’s a weekend or public holiday! Sometimes, it can take 45 minutes for your bowl of noodles to come!

A bowl of the delicious broth has adequate portions. Though you may want to request more soup (at additional cost). Try their unique hock chew fish balls with minced meat too!

Other dishes available here:

  • Chee cheong fun
  • Nyonya kuih
  • Fried bean curd skin (Fu Pei)
  • Yong tau fu
  • Iced cham or Milo

10. Kedai Kopi Keng Nam

Only open for breakfast and brunch, Kedai Kopi Keng Nam is yet another traditional coffee shop that serves dry curry noodles and is easily swarmed with customers from 8am!

Typical Breakfast At Keng Nam Coffee Shop
Typical Breakfast At Keng Nam Coffee Shop

It is usually full of customers from 9am. Do go as early as you can manage to avoid potentially bad service from the stressed-out operators!

Other must-try items that they serve:

  • Chee cheong fun (Chili or mushroom sauce)
  • Yam cakes
  • Sticky rice with kaya (Pulut kaya) – you can’t find this one everywhere!
  • Ipoh white coffee – Get the iced version!
  • Kaya butter toast

Read about our experience at Kedai Kopi Keng Nam.

11. Medan Selera Stadium

Medan Selera Stadium is home to a sizeable hawker food center with stalls serving excellent local food!

Medan Selera Stadium Perak Ipoh
Medan Selera Stadium Perak – Photo by Travelswithsun

There are two honourable mentions that are open during the day:

Min Chee Wan Tan Mee At Stall No.36

This family-run stall only serves one dish – A very humble version of wan tan mee. What you’ll notice with this wan tan mee is the pleasant springy texture of the noodles!

One And Half Portion Of Min Chee Wan Tan Mee At Ipoh Medan Selera Stadium
One And Half Portion Of Min Chee Wan Tan Mee At Ipoh Medan Selera Stadium – Photo by Travelswithsun

It tastes a little different compared to other wan tan mee around Ipoh. You must try it for yourself!

Note: The standard serving is very small so do be sure to ask for more when you order!

Opening Hours: 6:30am to 4pm (Closed on Tuesdays & Wednesdays)

Fai Kee Noodles – Fish head noodles! At Stall No.43

The long queue is enough to tell you how tasty their fish noodles and milky broth are!

Fai Kee Fish Head Noodles At Ipoh Stadium
Fai Kee Fish Head Noodles At Ipoh Stadium – Photo by Travelswithsun

Add on fish cakes or fried minced pork patties (or both) for a truly hearty breakfast! There is typically a long wait for the food after 9am.

12. Restoran Cathay

Famous for their tender Hainanese chicken chop (you can also request for pork, or beef) and Hakka mee.

Restoran Cathay is another reliable coffee shop to try.

Hainanese Chicken Chop At Restoran Cathay, Ipoh
Hainanese Chicken Chop At Restoran Cathay, Ipoh

Because of the authentic taste (it’s been the same for decades at this point), you can expect the noodles to run out before 11am, even on weekdays! 9am is the usual peak time for this kopitiam.

Meanwhile, they serve a delightful and traditional cup of coffee too (more on the bland side).

Hakka Mee at Restoran Cathay
Hakka Mee at Restoran Cathay – Photo by Travelswithsun

The tables are mainly meant for 2-3 pax at a time but it’s a clean and airy environment (no air conditioning here).

You can skip the crowds that usually chase after the Hakka mee at Paris Restaurant and beat them to Restoran Cathay instead!

Dim Sum For Breakfast

We have a post just on dim sum restaurants in Ipoh so be sure to check that out if you’re looking for more options (including halal dim sum restaurants).

But for this post, we’ll just mention two!

13. Restoran Chooi Yue Dim Sum

Clearly even 3 shop lots is not even enough to contain all the business that this dim sum shop receives! Tables often spill out onto the road.

If you get in early enough, you can have a table inside the restaurant in a more comfortable environment!

Assorted Dim Sum At Chooi Yue Dimsum Restaurant
Assorted Dim Sum At Chooi Yue Dimsum Restaurant

Their popularity lies in their impressive assortment of quality dim sum that is both yummy and affordable! The head chef has over 10 years of experience in preparing dim sum.

Read more about what we ordered at Chooi Yue Dimsum Restaurant in Ipoh.

14. Canning Dim Sum (Halal)

Canning Dim Sum will change sceptical minds that a pork-free dim sum restaurant will never come close to one that serves pork!

Interior Of Ipoh Canning Dim Sum
Interior Of Ipoh Canning Dim Sum

The lovely dim sum shop is next to Restoran New Hollywood strategically luring Malay customers over with their pork-free dim sum and fabulous decor.

You can see that they put just as much effort in presenting their delish dim sum! We find their food in general to be good but a little towards the sweet side.

Assorted Steamed Dim Sum At Ipoh Canning Dim Sum
Assorted Steamed Dim Sum At Ipoh Canning Dim Sum

What we really do appreciate is that they serve coffee here!

Western Style Breakfast

If you’ve already tried breakfast at a local kopitiam scene, you can go for a western-style breakfast for a change of taste!

Ipoh has many western restaurants and cafes – some of which do open in the morning!

15. Aud’s Café

This secluded cafe serves a worthy Eggs Benedict and pulled pork or avocado and egg sandwiches!

Most of their mains feature pork. Including their pasta and burger!

Unique menu items at Aud's cafe - a popular Ipoh cafe at Ipoh Old Town - see the full Ipoh cafe list on www.travelswithsun.com
Unique menu items at Aud’s cafe – a popular Ipoh cafe – Photo by Travelswithsun

Drinking water is free-flow, but you absolutely have to try their ice cube espresso and avocado smoothies!

Getting Around Ipoh

One of the obvious benefits of taking a private tour service (like RayTheTour) is of course, the transport around Ipoh!

Which is one way of avoiding having to drive altogether! Finding parking is not very convenient in touristy parts of Ipoh. Especially during breakfast and lunch hours. And of course, public holidays and weekends.

Aside from these advantages, you’ll have the additional benefit of a personal and experienced Ipoh-born guide to show you even more local food spots that most tourists aren’t aware of.

WhatsApp them to learn more!

Conclusion

Now that you have this list, the question of where to go for breakfast in Ipoh is easier to answer.

More so if you plan to spend the whole day wandering Ipoh Old Town because many of the places above are close to this area.

Breakfast is a golden opportunity to try Ipoh food! But no pressure, there are options for dim sum or Western style breakfast too.

PS: After breakfast is usually when tourists start queuing for peanut candy or shop for biscuits and souvenirs.

Is this your first time traveling to Ipoh? You might want to read up our Ipoh travel guide. And fill your Ipoh itinerary with things to do in Ipoh (besides eating, that is!).

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