What is the hype behind Ipoh tau foo fah? Stop for a bowl when you are in Ipoh and find out!
This light and sweet dessert is suitable for all ages and can be found easily in Ipoh Old Town. And at the local night markets! Stores typically serve tau foo fah warm.
And since most stores offer chilled soya bean milk as well, you can enjoy this beverage on a hot day too. Here’s where you can get your hands on this dessert!
- Woong Kee Bean Curd
- Wan Chee Beancurd
- Lai Kee Soya Bean
- Ding Feng Dessert Tau Fu Fa
- Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd
- Big Mom Beancurd Ipoh
- Tai Soo Ipoh Famous No.1 Dessert
What Is Tau Fu Fa?
Regardless of how you spell it (tau fu fa, tau foo fah, etc), tau foo fah is made of soybean curd. The taste is bland on its own.
And because it doesn’t have much taste of its own, it is traditionally served in a bowl with sugar syrup.
To keep competitive, stores may offer other unusual flavors for the sugar syrup. As well as toppings like glutinous rice balls or herbal jelly for their tau foo fah deserts.
You can find this common Chinese dessert anywhere in Malaysia. But the tau foo fah in Ipoh is known for being exceptionally silky!
Where To Have Tau Foo Fah
Not listed in any particular order, these places all serve delightful tau foo fah.
If you’re interested in trying a certain flavor or topping, we have listed what each shop offers!
Plain tau foo fah with sugar syrup should cost ~RM3 a bowl. With that in mind, assume that the shops only accept cash!
1. Woong Kee Beancurd (Ipoh Town Branch) 旺记祖传豆腐花
This is the Woong Kee Beancurd branch in Ipoh New Town.
Their tau fu fa has an exceptionally smooth and pleasant texture that other shops don’t offer. It’s hard to describe it until you try it for yourself!
Takeaway costs more (RM2.40) and dine-in costs RM1.70 per bowl.
They have many flavors of sugar syrup to choose from:
- White sugar
- Black sugar
- Blue flower sugar
- Ginger
- Chrysanthemum
- Osmanthus
- Rose (not always available)
As well as toppings:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Peanuts
- Cincau (grass jelly)
- Sesame
- Red beans
- Red bean paste
- Black sesame balls
They have assorted (and unusual) flavors of soyabean milk too:
- Blue flower
- Carrot
- Black
- Dragon fruit
Takeaway costs more but you can dine-in if you don’t mind the simple roadside set up. Seating consists of plastic stools along the walkway at one side of the stall. And thus, it can be unpleasant to be so close to the main road and the drain.
Despite this, this is still our go-to tau foo fah stall!
- Opening Hours: 11:30am–6pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Location: No.32-38A, Jalan Ali Pitchay, Taman Jubilee, 30250 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +6012-5177452
- Price Range: Varies depending on your order
Woong Kee Bean Curd Bercham Ipoh (Original Branch)
This simple stall has limited seating for dine-in customers to sample their soft and silky tau foo fah. But we think that this tau foo fah is better than the one served at Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd!
The ginger syrup variation is very popular.
Besides their signature tau foo fah, you can get a bottle (RM3) of their black soybean milk to try too!
- Opening Hours: 10:30am to 9:30pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Location: 291, Jalan Bercham, Taman Desa Kencana, 31400 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6012-5177452
2. Wan Chee Beancurd
The more famous tau foo fah shops are usually closed on Wednesdays. Wan Chee Beancurd takes advantage of this by staying open every day.
And while the shop is simple looking and even a little grubby:
Their tau foo fah is excellent. It’s very smooth (melts in the mouth) and the brown sugar syrup is highly fragrant without being sweet. They do have ginger syrup too and a selection of toppings like peanuts and sesame, or grass jelly.
Their soybean drinks are cold and have just the right level of sweetness too. We don’t like ours very sweet.
What’s more, pricing is very reasonable, and they have tables and chairs inside where you can slowly enjoy your dessert.
PS: There is a lot of parking at the back of the shop and in front of Tadika Methodist Ipoh.
- Opening Hours: 10:30am to 4:30pm
- Location: 58, Jalan Yang Kalsom, Taman Jubilee, 31650 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +6017-481 8298
3. Lai Kee Soya Bean
Not too far from Jalan Theatre Coffee, Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong, or Ayam Garam Aun Kheng Lim:
Lai Kee Soya Bean is a small no-frills tau fu fah shop. They may not have the same kind of hype surrounding them as other more famous stalls, but they have fans and some tables and chairs to enjoy their smooth tau fu fah.
Flavors variations are few here but nice – either ginger, gula melaka, or pandan syrup. The ginger flavor has some spice to it while the pandan flavor is subtle but still present.
They are generous with portions. And we really do like their soyabean milk drinks (black or regular). These are mild in flavor (no strong bean aftertaste), and not too sweet so you can drink them straight from the bottle.
You can make e-payments here. The owners are friendly too.
- Opening Hours: 10am to 6:30pm
- Location: 32-54, Jalan Theatre, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +6016 – 531 1118
4. Ding Feng Dessert Tau Fu Fa 鼎丰潮州豆腐花 (Previously Concubine Lane Tau Fu Fa)
No doubt that this tau foo fah shop enjoys a constant stream of visitors going down Concubine Lane!
On extended weekends, you can expect a queue. Peak times are after 11am as well as 4pm.
Their original location was directly in Concubine Lane, but they now have their own standalone shop lot at one end of Concubine Lane.
Even though the tau foo fah they serve is nothing to shout about (not outstanding and just average, in our opinion).
It’s the charming setting of the small shop with its old-school traditional vibes that reels visitors to come in for a bowl!
Their new location is airy and spacious too. And they still have the traditional low wooden stools and tables from their original shop.
Flavors that you can try here include:
- Sea bird nest (with gingko)
- White sugar (clear) and ginger
- Teow chew style (brown palm sugar with black sesame seeds on top)
By the way, Teow Chew style tau foo fah tastes like regular tau foo fah except for the sprinkling of sugar granules on top.
They sell fresh soy milk in different flavors too. These are better for takeaway as you may need to top them up with water. They are quite sweet.
Besides this, the shop has lunch sets as well as some traditional desserts. Nothing noteworthy but they have a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing environment.
- Opening Hours: 9:30am to 5:30pm
- Location: 11, Jalan Bijeh Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
5. Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd
Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd is well-known among tourists. Their recipe goes all the way back to 1952.
It’s not just that long line of people that want to try their classic rendition of smooth tau foo fah, there are cars that will slow down in front of the shop so that they can give their takeaway orders to the staff too!
Taste-wise, we find that both their tau foo fah and soy milk are quite sweet.
A bowl of warm tau foo fah comes to ~RM3 but portions are small. There are no seats or tables here so prepare to enjoy yours standing. Or elsewhere if you choose to takeaway.
Read more about Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd in Ipoh.
Notes:
- Tau fu fa sells out around 2-3pm
- Soy milk and cincau (grass jelly) is for sale too
- Limited seating (no tables)
- Opening Hours: 10:30am – 7:30pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
- Location: 50, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6012-5161607
6. Big Mom Beancurd Ipoh (靓妈豆花)
Compared to its competitor further along the road (Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd):
Big Mom Beancurd Ipoh (靓妈豆花) offers its customers a lot more when it comes to how they serve tau foo fah.
They have a comfortable and spacious dining space, friendly staff, and many available flavors, and toppings to dress their tau fu fa!
Syrup Flavors (Weekends have more):
- Chrysanthemum with peach jelly (only on weekends)
- Ginger
Toppings:
- Red beans
- Cincau
- Barley and gingko
- Crushed peanut with sesame and sugar
- Tang yuan (sweet glutinous rice balls)
Besides this, there is kuih and fresh soybean milk of various flavors (Like purple sweet potato soy milk) for sale too!
Yong Suan Kopitiam (Ipoh-famous nasi kandar) is close to Big Mom Beancurd. And so, parking can be difficult to find around here.
The peak time at Big Mom Beancurd is around 1 to 3pm. Do expect to wait (sometimes 20 minutes or more) before you get yours as there may be complicated orders before your order.
Tau foo fah also runs out fast here. But they frequently make new batches.
- Opening Hours: 12pm – 6pm (Closed on Thursdays)
- Location: 22-24, Jalan Yang Kalsom, Taman Jubilee, 30250 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6016-5333210
7. Sansui Tau Fu Far (Formerly Tai Soo Ipoh Famous No.1 Dessert)
Out of many tau fu fah shops around, this one has creamy soya bean milk. Along with other local desserts like ice kacang and cendol (with condensed milk) available for order!
Besides their silky tau foo fah. Which comes in different flavors:
- Red beans
- Pandan
- Gula Melaka
- Cendol
- Ginger (off menu)
The coffee shop can be a bit stuffy in the afternoons (I.e., no air conditioning and limited seating) but a cold dessert will soon fix that!
There are not too many seats here so try to avoid the peak hours (1 to 2pm). Another reason to come earlier is that the tau foo fah can sell out by 3pm.
Note: Like many other places in Ipoh Old Town, parking is limited
- Opening Hours: 10:30am to 6pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Location: 24, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Ipoh Town, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Conclusion
Experience the wonder of Ipoh tau foo fah at any of these highly frequented shops and stalls! Some offer drive-through service. While others take the liberty to jazz up this otherwise simple dessert.
We don’t think it matters much which shop you try if this is the first time you will be trying this dessert. Most of the above eateries serve high standards of tau foo fah.
But if you have tried tau foo fah before, then we recommend going for the Woong Kee branches because theirs is a little different.
Must-Try Food In Ipoh
Other than tau foo fah, there are a lot of local dishes that Ipoh is famous for. Many tourists have heard of kai se hor fun, salted chicken, and Hainanese chicken rice. But there’s also great curry mee, chee cheong fun, and wantan mee!
Cendol In Ipoh
Because tau foo fah is often served warm (and frequently hot), you might want a cooler alternative in the afternoon. Ipoh has reputable cendol stalls that you should take note off too. If you do not have a sweet tooth though, you might want to stick with tau foo fah.
