True, nightlife in Ipoh isn’t as happening as in other cities. But there are bars, restaurants, the mall, hawker joints, dessert cafes, and good old karaoke!
If you’re in Ipoh for the night or weekend, here are some chill things to do when the sun goes down.
1. Coffee & Tea
You don’t necessarily need alcohol to end the night!
If you know where to look, you can still get some amazing beverages and a cozy spot to hang out with friends:
1.1. Coffee Franchises
There are 8 branches of Starbucks in Ipoh. But the one the locals prefer (for its spaciousness and ample parking) is the Tambun branch.
This popular branch stays closes the latest of all of them too.
If you’re not a fan of Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has recently stepped up its game in Ipoh too. There are several new, beautiful branches in Ipoh. There’s one over at Canning II. And another inside AEON Kinta City mall.
There are several ZUS Coffee branches in Ipoh too, but these can’t fit large groups.
1.2. Cafes
There are not many cafes that open past 6pm.
At Old Town, Signature 49 has great caffeinated beverages but closes at 9pm on weekdays, and 10pm on weekends. Kommons at Travelodge Ipoh opens until midnight on the weekends too.
And over at Tambun area, there is MUZI MATCHA café. This new café has a lovely Japanese inspired interior, cozy lighting, and large glass windows.
Their closing time is 11pm. Their specialty is matcha – they have different grades of matcha here. They have hojicha tea too. And while they don’t sell cakes, there is mochi for sale.
2. Dessert Houses
For those with a sweet tooth, there are some dessert shops (especially at SOHO Ipoh) that close late.
2.1. Vanilla Mille Crepe (SOHO Ipoh)
A bit of a French theme going on here with the black and white tiles. And prominent Eiffel tower centerpiece:
Come here for their yummy layer crepe cakes in a quiet and family-friendly environment!
Their layer cakes have many various flavors. Most of which are not overly sweet. But while they do serve coffee and tea here, they are not particularly good.
2.2. DEKÕRI Premium Café (SOHO Ipoh)
Because of their late closing hours, DEKÕRI Premium Café is a go-to spot for many on weekend nights.
The environment is beautiful and comfortable for families too. There are also chairs and tables outside the café.
Besides this, the café is halal and there is coffee on the menu.
We like their chocolate toast and it’s crispy with a tasty chocolate syrup. Watermelon on shaved ice is a popular item too. The shaved ice under the watermelon balls is mildly sweet with a milky taste.
Expect to spend more than RM30 if you’re getting a drink and a dessert.
2.3. Gelateria Foca Café (SOHO Ipoh)
Also at SOHO Ipoh, this ice cream parlour is a fun place to enjoy gelato with friends. They have little bento boxes where you can try multiple flavors of the ice cream.
We like their gelato as it is creamy and all the flavors that we tried were not super sweet. They don’t taste artificial either. Interestingly, they’ve got some local flavors like Ipoh white coffee, jackfruit, Horlicks, passionfruit, and durian!
2.4 Yam Meet Dessert
Fair warning, this place is packed on Tuesdays when the local night market is in action. On other nights, this attractive, air-conditioned dessert house is less busy.
We like their simple sweet soup desserts (they have both cold and hot options) that are not overly sweet.
The menu is sorted by different bases like soy milk or grass jelly (cincau). And there are different topping options too.
Portions are nice for sharing among 2 or 3 people. And for the price, we think it is worth spending some time here.
3. Palo 101
You can walk over to Palo 101 from SOHO Ipoh. Palo 101 has several franchise brands like Hooga, Starbucks, Chagee, Ramen Hitoyoshi, Saemaeul BBQ, and Hard Rock Café.
The hot pot restaurant here (Saemaeul BBQ) is always full of diners – we’ve tried it before and it’s not bad. There’s plenty of parking too, and a weekend market that is fun to browse.
And at the back of the building, there’s a spacious and airy dessert café called Beans factory Ipoh. We do like their desserts, especially the shaved ice variety!
4. Fancy Restaurants
Ipoh has a handful of nicer restaurants that are suitable for a special occasion:
4.1. The Deck Gastrobar At WEIL Hotel
The best part about this place is the view of the city as this restaurant is on the highest floor of WEIL Hotel.
There is a bar and if you want to have dinner here, Western food is available on the menu (the food taste and quality is decent) and drinks are quite affordable.
If it’s not raining, you can sit by the infinity pool and enjoy your drink!
Note: Can’t sit outside if there is heavy rain as the seats get all wet
4.2. Jeff’s Cellar
If dining in a cave doesn’t sound the least bit romantic to you:
Jeff’s Cellar will change your mind! Strategically placed lighting brings out the natural beauty of the cavern. It is a unique fine dining experience if you don’t mind the exorbitant prices.
You can take a tour (additional cost) of their wine cellar too!
Read more about other fine dining places in Ipoh.
5. Hawker Joints
Haven’t had a chance to try a cup of Ipoh white coffee yet? It’s possible to find a couple of places that serve white coffee at night.
These are typically hawker centres/ food courts that offer a wide variety of local food to try. And at some food courts, you might see locals enjoying beer and open floor karaoke on the weekends.
5.1. Aneka Selera Restaurant Kam Wan
Hunger pangs after dinner time? No worries, you can still find something to eat here!
You can get chee cheong fun, claypot chicken rice, popiah, nasi pandan, ABC ice kacang, satay and much more!
It’s not the cleanest dining environment but the wide variety of food and affordable prices keep us (and many other locals) coming back!
5.2. Stadium Hawker Center
Different food stalls operate here during the day and night! At night, look for the famous wan ton mee, chicken rice and char kuey teow stalls!
If you happen to be here around Ramadhan, get ready for the Bazar Ramadhan Stadium Indera Mulia!
5.3. Tong Sui Kai 糖水街
Ipoh’s famous dessert street also offers some authentic Malaysian snacks and noodles!
This place is popular with tourists, local families as well as friends looking for a late-night supper spot! The beef noodle stall is popular among locals.
Note: If you are particular about hygiene, the roadside location of this hawker area might bother you.
More ideas on where to eat in Ipoh at night.
6. Night Markets
Gerbang Malam is the most tourist-friendly market to visit since it is in Ipoh Old Town. And it is open daily.
As evening draws, the road is closed off to cars to enable vendors to set up their stalls for the night market!
It makes for a nice and interesting stroll at night. Look out for some local snacks and handicraft while you are here.
See the night market schedule for different locations in Ipoh.
7. Local Pubs
7.1. Sinhalese Bar
The vintage trappings and pink walls lend to a very charming environment that is something unique!
You can either opt for a coffee or beer. But best of all, you can catch up with friends as there is no loud music over here!
7.2. Fei Bo Snow Beer
You’ll get a good sense of local atmosphere here from the open-air seating arrangement right on the road – typical Malaysian hawker style!
They have Chinese food of large portions at reasonable prices!
Top it off with a frosted glass of smooth beer (a.k.a snow beer)!
7.3. Kiki Lalat
For the younger crowd, this is the place to be!
Palm wine (toddy or todi) is one of their signature drinks. But they have rice wine (tuak) and craft beer too. As well as snacks like fries. For entertainment, there may be a live band playing on weekends.
Occasionally, there is karaoke too.
Pricing for drinks is reasonable and the place can accommodate large groups. On busy nights, seating can take over the road.
Western Style Pubs:
Ipoh has 3 very renowned Western style bars – all are very lively places on a Friday or Saturday night!
7.4. Bricks & Barrels
A gastrobar on a famous street (Millionaires Street) of Ipoh, Bricks & Barrels is one of the busiest pubs at night!
Open till late, you can have a delicious western-style meal for dinner here – maybe at their cozy outdoor seating:
Then, stay for their wide selection of liquor – beer and whiskeys from around the world!
There is usually a live band playing so don’t expect to have heart-to-heart conversations here.
7.5. Healy Mac’s Irish Bar
Not a place for conversation with the live music going on. But it is great for hanging out with friends and throwing back some beers while watching sports or the live band perform!
Beer is affordable here! And the bar is partially open-air if that makes sense.
7.6. Euro House
The pub caters to their mostly Chinese patrons that come for the cheap draft beer so you will often find Chinese music (live bands) playing here!
Take your pick of seating nooks around the dimly lit pub. They do serve mains here too – like pasta, pizza and lamb!
8. Cocktail Bars
In the mood for a cocktail? Look no further:
8.1. Tiga
Ample selection of vodka, gin, whiskey, and brandy at Tiga. Cocktails are on the mild side.
You will not mind the price if you can appreciate the trendy ambiance of the bar!
8.2. Atas Speakeasy
“Atas” is the Malaysian slang for “classy”.
Which is a good fit for the art-deco styled bar. And the affordable cocktails here have an interesting Malaysian twist to them too!
9. Ipoh Heritage Walk At Night
Ipoh KTM Square (Dataran KTM Ipoh)
The Ipoh train station looks very different at night when the lights are on. And the well-maintained park at the front and the station’s proximity to other landmarks like the Birch Memorial Clock Tower and Ipoh Town Hall make for a pleasant walk after dinner at Ipoh Old Town or Ipoh New Town.
10. Family-friendly Activities At Night
If it’s not raining, families can participate in some night-time activities like cycling at these places:
10.1. Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreation Park
Locals refer to it as Pologround. The park is open for 24 hours. And on the weekends, you can see families bringing their kids here to play at the playground at night.
There may be a vendor renting out small cars for kids to ride around too.
10.2. Kinta Riverfront Walk
If cycling along the river (Kinta Riverfront) at night sounds appealing to you, there is usually a vendor that rents out bikes and other wheeled rides suitable for the kids on the weekends.
You can also check out the bicycle rental packages from Cycledios!
There’s a neat café (Coffee Camp 612) that you can stop by to have drinks. Sit outside by the water. Or inside with all their plants!
10.3 Hangout At Sultan Azlan Shah Roundabout
Many locals like to come here to have an evening walk or jog. Or rent electric bikes and little cars (RM35 for 20 minutes which is just about enough to go one round).
Other things to do here include a bouncy castle park of sorts in the middle (this was formerly a water park). And an electric go-kart course.
There may be a night market or event going on depending on when you visit.
It’s a big space so it doesn’t feel crowded. There are ample seats around too. As for public facilities, there are toilets.
11. Sunway Lost World of Tambun
The hot springs section of the theme park opens from evening onwards.
You can choose to buy the whole day ticket to enjoy the other rides and slides of the theme park, or just opt for the hot springs section! Walk-in rates for the hot springs and night park are RM75/adult.
Either way, have fun dipping into the numerous pools of varying temperatures. There’s even a steam cave and Jacuzzi pool!
12. Massage
There are a few reputable places to get a body or foot massage during later hours of the day:
Thai Oasis is a reputable massage center with late closing hours. There are two branches in Ipoh.
But there are also plenty of other massage options in Ipoh.
13. Shopping Malls
Especially, when it’s raining, the shopping malls become welcome places to visit. And in case you didn’t know, most shopping malls in the bigger cities of Malaysia (Ipoh included) are open until 10pm!
Besides shopping, singing with friends is an activity enjoyed by many Malaysians regardless of age. So, it’s not surprising that some shopping malls have karaoke venues to cater to this stress-relieving pastime!
Kbox Karaoke has 2 branches – one at AEON Kinta City and the other is at Ipoh Parade Mall.
Anchor cinemas like GSC or TGV usually show late-night movies as well at the malls. Our favorite is the GSC cinema at Ipoh Parade.
Some shopping malls have a bowling alley too. For instance, you can go bowling until midnight at Ampang Superbowl (closes at 11pm) at the top floor of Ipoh Parade Mall.
Private Tour Service
Need transport in Ipoh? Don’t know where to go tomorrow?
Contact Raythetour on WhatsApp to inquire about a private tour in Ipoh or up to Cameron Highlands. Or even Taiping!
Conclusion
There are as many things to do in Ipoh at night as there are in the daytime.
Nighttime activities include getting a beer or coffee, going to pubs, bars, shopping malls, movies, park, or dessert houses. But many of these establishments close at 12am.
Things To Do In Ipoh
Know what you’re doing tomorrow? Here are all the daytime attractions that we think you should see in Ipoh.
Ipoh Itinerary
Need help putting your Ipoh plan together? We’ve got several different itineraries for Ipoh that you can use.
