What is the hype behind the best Ipoh tau fu fa? 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. Even at the local Ipoh night markets!
Stores can serve tau fu fah warm or chilled. And since most stores offer chilled soya bean milk as well, you can enjoy this treat on a hot day in Ipoh too.
Here’s where you can get your hands on Ipoh famous tau fu fa!
- Woong Kee Bean Curd
- 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
- Fujiwara Tofa Shop Ipoh
What Is Tau Fu Fa?
Regardless of how you spell it (tau fu fa, tau foo fah, etc), tau fu fah is made of soybean curd. The taste is bland on its own.
Because it doesn’t have much taste of its own, classic tau fu fa is often served in a bowl with sugar syrup.
Although stores are always coming up with new flavors for the sugar syrup. As well as toppings for their tau fu fa deserts.
You can find this common Chinese dessert anywhere in Malaysia. But Ipoh tau fu fa is known for being exceptionally silky!
That’s why we have included it in our list of best Ipoh food too!
7 Best Ipoh Tau Fu Fah
Not in any particular order, these places all serve tau fu fa to the high standards of locals.
If you’re interested in trying a certain flavor or topping, we have listed what each shop offers!
Plain tau fu fa with sugar syrup should cost ~RM2.60 to RM4 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 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 tau fu fah:
- White sugar
- Black sugar
- Blue flower sugar
- Ginger
- Chrysanthemum
- Osmanthus
- Rose (not always available)
As well as toppings (each at RM0.50):
- Pumpkin seeds
- Peanuts
- Cincau (grass jelly)
- Sesame
- Red beans
- Red bean paste (RM2.80)
- Black sesame balls (RM4.80) – worth ordering if available!
They have assorted (and unusual) flavors of soyabean milk too:
- Blue flower
- Carrot
- Black
- Dragon fruit
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.
If that doesn’t bother you, we do believe this is really one of the best tau fu fa you can get in Ipoh!
- Opening Hours: 11:30am–6pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Location: No.32-38A, Jalan Ali Pitchay, Taman Jubilee, 30250 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +60125177452
- Price Range: Varies depending on your order
Main Branch – Woong Kee Bean Curd Bercham Ipoh
This extended road side stall shares the roof of its neighbor, 7-Eleven to provide a sheltered seating area for customers to sample their soft and silky tau fu fa.
There are those that swear that this tau fu fa is better than the one served at Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd!
Get a bottle (RM3) of their black soy bean milk to try too!
- Opening Hours: 10:30am to 9:30pm (Closed on Wednesday)
- Location: 291, Jalan Bercham, Taman Desa Kencana, 31400 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6012-5177452
2. 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 tau fu fah places in Ipoh.
But they have fans and some tables and chairs to enjoy smooth tau fu fah.
Flavors are simple – 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: –
- Location: 32-54, Jalan Theatre, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +6016 – 531 1118
3. Ding Feng Dessert Tau Fu Fa 鼎丰潮州豆腐花 (Previously Concubine Lane Tau Fu Fa)
No doubt that this tau fu fa shop enjoys a constant stream of visitors going down Concubine Lane!
On extended weekends, you can definitely 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 fu fa they serve is nothing to shout about:
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 tau fu fa (brown palm sugar with black sesame seeds on top)
By the way, Teow chew style tau fu fa tastes like regular tau fu fa 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 the Ding Feng Dessert Tau Fu Fa offers a comfortable and aesthetically-pleasing environment.
- Opening Hours: 9:30am to 5:30pm
- Location: 11, Jalan Bijeh Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
- Contact: +6011 – 18892632
- Price Range: RM1.60 to RM3.50 per bowl
4. Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd
Funny Mountain Soya Beancurd has firmly established itself as the place to get Ipoh famous tau fu fa! In fact, 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 fu fa:
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, both the tau fu fa and soy milk are quite sweet.
A bowl of warm tau fu fa comes at RM3 but portions are small. There are 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 Monday, Tuesday & Sunday)
- Location: 50, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6012-5161607
- Price Range: ~RM3
5. 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 fu fa.
They have a comfortable and spacious dining space, friendly staff, and many available flavors and toppings to dress their Ipoh 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 soy bean milk of various flavors (Like purple sweet potato soy milk) for sale too! You will likely find yourself back here the next time you come back to Ipoh.
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 a wait before you get yours as there may be complicated orders before your order.
Tau fu fa also runs out fast here. But they frequently make new batches.
- Opening Hours: 12pm – 6pm (Closed on Thursday)
- Location: 22-24, Jalan Yang Kalsom, Taman Jubilee, 30250 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Contact: +6016-5333210
- Price Range: Up to RM10.50 depending on what toppings your order
6. Tai Soo Ipoh Famous No.1 Dessert
Out of many tau fu fah shops in Ipoh, 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 fu 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 fu 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 Wednesday)
- Location: 24, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Ipoh Town, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
- Price Range: RM1.30 to RM4
7. Fujiwara Tofa Shop (Ipoh) 怡保藤原豆腐花店
There are hardly any places that offer freshly made smooth tau fu fa at night. For that reason, you can try Fujiwara Tofa Shop! This eatery at Palo 101 is air conditioned too.
They have 2 flavors available for their tofu pudding. These are ginger or pandan syrup. Both are pleasant and in line with Ipoh standards. A bowl of either flavor costs RM4.90.
Soyabean milk is also for sale in assorted sizes ranging from RM3.60 (Small) to RM7.90 (Large).
And if you’re a fan of the manga series, Initial-D (where the term Tokyo drift is from) or just cars in general, you will be impressed by the AE86 (hachiroku) in front that is still in running condition!
Along with other display cars inside and outside the shop (e.g., Ryosuke’s RX7 FC and Keisuke’s FD)!
The pork-free venue serves up other local snacks like ang ku kuih and kuih talam besides some dishes (e.g., laksa, curry rice, nasi lemak etc) too.
As expected, this novelty cafe has prices to match too. Mains cost around RM12 here.
- Opening Hours: 12pm to 10pm
- Location: Palo 101 Lot 189-E, Jalan Sultan Iskandar, 30000 Ipoh, Perak
Conclusion
Experience the wonder of Ipoh tau fu fa 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 that Ipoh is famous for!
Recommended: 5 Great Cendol In Ipoh