If you want freshly made mooncakes, Ming Yue Confectionery in Ipoh is the go-to place for many. This includes locals as well as tourists.
Thus, you should anticipate long queues here.
But what else should you know about getting pastries at Ming Yue Confectionery? Read about our experience below. Plus, some tips for a smooth transaction!
Table Of Contents:
About Ming Yue Confectionery
Ming Yue Confectionery has been running for more than 10 years.
Note: It takes 11 minutes to drive here from Concubine Lane.
Like Sin Weng Fai Peanut Candy Shop, Ming Yue Confectionery’s peanut candy is highly sought after. They are neither too sweet nor salty. And crispy but not sticky.
Their seasonal specialties are mooncakes. And crowds will come to buy them as the annual mooncake festival (Aug-Sep) approaches. They start selling the mooncakes up to 2 months earlier than the actual festival.
The shop consists of stainless-steel shelves arranged to keep the staff on one side. And customers on the other.
There are no seats so don’t expect to dine in at Ming Yue Confectionery. The shop works on a takeaway basis.
What To Order At Ming Yue Confectionery
At Ming Yue Confectionery, you can buy the following traditional Chinese pastries:
- Kaya puffs
- Mooncakes (seasonal)
- Peanut candy (usually available after 11:30am and currently costs about RM4/100g)
- Tambun biscuit (or Tau sah peah)
PS: We bought the kaya puffs fresh. Allow them to fully cool before storing them at room temperature in an air-tight container, and they will retain their crispiness.
How To Order At Ming Yue Confectionery
Forget about calling Ming Yue Confectionery to place an order or make any inquiries.
They have a lot of staff inside and outside of the kitchen. But they are all too busy (or fed up) taking and packing physical orders to take phone calls. Especially on weekends and public holidays.
Your best (and only) option is to visit Ming Yue Confectionery in person. Or send a very good friend on your behalf.
It can take as long as an hour to 3 hours to queue for pastries at Ming Yue Confectionery. At nonpeak hours, waiting times are reduced to half an hour.
Note: If there are a lot of customers outside the shop, you may want to check what the queues are for. Because they may have separate queues for different pastries. For example, peanut candy and mooncakes.
Best Time To Visit Ming Yue Confectionery
Opening hours are about the same daily. From 9:30am to 6:30pm. Although they open later and close earlier on Sundays (9:45am to 6pm).
The Chinese bakery is in Taman Kampar, Ipoh not far from Pasir Pinji. And coincidentally, this area is a very popular breakfast spot since there are many eateries.
So, if you want to avoid the long queues, it’s a good idea to come back later after the usual breakfast hours (9am to 11am).
Then, the waiting time on a weekend afternoon (we went at around 1pm on a Saturday during mooncake season) is much shorter – less than 30 minutes.
Of course, going later means that their best-selling pastries (e.g., mooncakes with 5 different nuts) will be sold out.
Weekday mornings are not that much different from weekends. There may still be the infamous queues to deal with. You might see RELA staff on duty for crowd control too.
Parking At Ming Yue Confectionery
Again, parking is much easier to find if you avoid breakfast hours. Or if you don’t mind walking from far away, you can try to find parking at the residential area close by.
Ming Yue Confectionery doesn’t have any dedicated parking lots for customers.
The shop lot row also faces a main road with other shops across from it.
Things To Know About Shopping At Ming Yue Confectionery
- There may be separate queues for their peanut candy and other pastries
- The peanut candy only comes out at around 11:30am
- Each customer is limited to 2kg worth of peanut candy
- Breakfast hours should be avoided unless you don’t mind long waiting times
- Placing calls for orders is almost impossible
- They pack the peanut candy on the spot per order so it takes time
- No place to sit and wait for your turn but they do have fans outside
- Only cash payment is accepted
Conclusion
We don’t think it’s worth queuing for hours for any pastry in Ipoh. And that includes the pastry by Ming Yue Confectionery.
But if you can afford to come here after breakfast or lunch, you won’t have to wait as long. Their pastries are fresh, taste good, and are not too expensive.
PS: If you can’t stand staff that don’t smile or make friendly banter, skip this place
See other places to buy pastries in Ipoh. Or check out more ideas for souvenirs from Ipoh.
