Deciding what to eat in Ipoh at night is not as easy as in the daytime. There are fewer options. Especially if you’re looking for local cuisine or affordable eateries.
Luckily, there are some big food courts that are open at night.
Here are some of the best ones in our opinion, including some spots that are popular with tourists. There is also one fine dining option if you feel like a little celebration is in order!
1. Restaurant Kam Wan Aneka Selera (冬菇亭美食中心)
Restaurant Kam Wan Aneka Selera (冬菇亭美食中心) is usually not open from Tuesdays to Thursdays. But this food court in Canning garden has a lot of different hawker stalls under one roof.
Popular stalls include BiBi’s popiah, nasi pandan, and the lu rou stall at one end of the food court. Personally, we find the sauce for the lu rou too sweet.
The claypot rice stall close to the busy lu rou stall is not bad.
There are many tables and many places to park your car outside too. Restaurant Kam Wan Aneka Selera gets really busy from 6:30pm onwards.
This is not the cleanest environment to dine in, but you can try many different dishes without spending too much.
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 4pm – 10:30pm
- Contact: +6016-5532907
2. Medan Selera Stadium Food Court
Another lively place to have local food is Medan Selera Stadium Food Court. In place of the usual daytime stalls, different night-time stalls will open.
Look around and you will be able to find Indian, Chinese and Malay food close to each other. There’s a decent chicken rice (or hor fun) stall (Yoon Kee Bean Sprouts Chicken) at night too.
There’s also rojak, chicken chop, satay, ais kacang, Penang Fried Kuetiau etc.
Furthermore, finding parking at Medan Selera Stadium Food Court is easy. And in addition to paid toilets, there are multiple wash basins in front of the food court.
Note: Sit close to where you plan to make your order if you don’t want to offend any stall vendors.
- Location: Google Maps
3. Tong Sui Kai
Tong Sui Kai has a similar dining culture to Medan Selera Stadium Food Court. You need to pick a table that is close to your stall of choice. This is to avoid offending any of the stall owners. Or cause disputes among beverage stalls.
While the go-to order at Tong Sui Kai is mixed fruit ais kacang, there’s also one stall here that is popular for their beef noodles. Other stalls that are not bad sell rojak, wanton mee, gai se hor fun, etc.
As for hygiene standards, you’ll have to lower your expectations a lot. Or pick somewhere else for food in Ipoh at night.
Because Tong Sui Kai is close to a busy road. And it lacks permanent structures, clean toilets, proper exhaust systems, wash facilities, etc.
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 5pm – 11:30pm (Closed from Monday to Tuesday)
4. Buntong Beef Noodle At Jalan Theatre
Buntong Beef Noodle At Jalan Theatre has many yong tau fu side dishes to go with their delicious beef noodles. We do like their homemade fu zhuk yi mai drinks too.
It only costs RM7 for a bowl of beef noodles here so prepare to see many locals here for dinner. Even if the restaurant is dimly lit, slightly dirty, and cramped.
Take a number once you find a vacant table and one of the staff will come to take your order.
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 12:30pm–10pm (Closed on Sundays)
- Contact: +6012-484 9913
5. Cheong Kee Wan Tan Mee (文冬祥记云吞面)
This local nighttime food spot is not a place that many tourists are aware of. It’s also not accessible from town on foot.
Cheong Kee Wan Tan Mee in a humble residential neighborhood and the only dish they serve is wan tan mee. But the noodles are tasty and have great texture.
Parking is limited and service is not quick so come early if you can help it (before 7pm).
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 4:30pm–10:30pm (Closed on Sunday)
- Contact: +6012-5953938
6. Restoran Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau
Our personal favorite for Hainan style chicken is over at Restoran Cowan Street Ayam Tauge & Koitiau.
They only serve noodles here though and no rice. And you must be there before their opening hours to secure a seat.
But the other two restaurants are certainly more reliable when it comes to opening hours.
- Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong
- Ong Kee Restaurant
7. Let’s Rock Restaurant (大家楽)
If you don’t want to fight tourists for chicken rice but happen to be around Ipoh New Town, Let’s Rock Restaurant offers an affordable option for dinner (or lunch).
The no-frills restaurant is spacious but dimly lit. Waiting for a table should not take long because they have many.
As for food, you can go for the yong tau fu with dry noodles. Or share a pot of fish head curry among your group. In our opinion, they use quite a lot of curry powder, and the taste is a tad sweet.
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 1pm–9pm
- Contact: +6017-5703268
8. Opëam
This fine dining restaurant has great Iberico pork, pasta, and an exquisite lamb rack. The food comes surprisingly quickly too.
The ambiance is suitable for a romantic evening (complete with candlelight) and service is good as well.
And if you want to try bombe Alaska, they have this on their dessert menu.
Portions are generous for fine-dining standards, in our opinion. But do prepare to splurge if you want to dine here anyways. Especially if you will be trying one of their wines.
- Location: Google Maps
- Opening Hours: 6pm to 10pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
- Contact: +6016-7400782
Conclusion
As locals, we honestly wish there were more tasty and affordable options when it comes to Ipoh night food.
But for the meantime, the above options are alright whenever you’re in a rut for what to have for dinner.
Ipoh Night Markets
Night markets can be an interesting place to hunt for dinner. Many have street food including laksa stalls. Besides the large Ipoh night market opposite AEON Kinta City shopping mall and Gerbang Malam, there are other Ipoh night markets that set up in different locations every night.
Fine Dining
Aside from Opëam, there are other venues for fine dining in Ipoh. Some are right in town (like Above Gastrobar) and others are in quieter areas. Like Citrus or Having’s. You might fancy dining in a cave too (Jeff’s Cellar)!
Chinese Restaurants
If you’re with a big group, we recommend going to a Chinese restaurant instead. This way, you can have a filling meal with a big variety of dishes.
Western Restaurants
For those that want something other local food, we have Western style restaurants to recommend. These include places for steak, pizza, or pasta. They’re much pricier than having dinner at local spots though.
