wotif
A person grilling skewers over an open flame. 1
A temple interior with statues, lamps, and ritual items. 2
A tray with two types of food, one with a red sauce and the other with a white sauce, and two cups of a brown beverage. 3
A person cooking on a stove with a pot on a green burner. 4
A person pouring a liquid into a container in a kitchen with tiled walls, stainless steel pots, and various kitchen items. 5
By A Chef's Tour
Free cancellation available
Price is AU$66 per adult
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Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 4h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation

Overview

  • Ipoh's food scene doesn't belong to one neighbourhood or one cuisine. Over four hours and 15+ tastings, we'll cross from the historic Chinese centre into vibrant Little India, following the communities whose food transformed an old tin-mining town into one of Malaysia's great eating cities.

    Expect flaky kaya puffs, silky noodles, Hainanese chicken, famously crisp Ipoh bean sprouts and smoky satay before switching gears for toddy and a full banana-leaf feast eaten by hand.

    In one evening, we’ll tackle two very different sides of Ipoh, connected by the food and migration stories that built the city.

Activity location

  • Time Tower Park
    • Jalan Raja Musa Aziz
    • 30300, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Time Tower Park
    • Jalan Raja Musa Aziz
    • 30300, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Check availability

Standard rate

  • Activity duration is 4 hours4h
    4h
  • English
Language options: English
Starting time: 5:00 PM
Price details
AU$65.53 x 2 AdultsAU$131.06
Total
Price is AU$131.06
Until Mon, 9 Nov

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Bottled water and an alcoholic toddy
  • Inclusions
    Moveable feast with 7-8 stops from Chinatown to Little India
  • Inclusions
    Max 8 exclusive guests, smallest group size in Ipoh (private tour or 9+ available)
  • Inclusions
    15+ food tastings included, more than any other Ipoh food tour
  • Inclusions
    Led by professional foodie tastemaker guides
  • Exclusions
    Alcoholic drinks (other than an alcoholic toddy) excluded
  • Exclusions
    Pick up and drop off from hotel excluded

Know before you book

    • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
    • Public transport options are available nearby
    • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
    • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
    • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
    • Not recommended for severe allergies

Activity itinerary

Time Tower Park

  • 30m
Ipoh never really lost its appetite. Woks roar into life, charcoal grills begin to glow and the aromas of soya, spice and smoke drift through streets first laid out during the great tin-mining boom. The fortunes of this tin-mining city may have faded, but the Chinese, Indian and Malay communities drawn here helped turn Ipoh into one of Malaysia's great food cities. Over four hours and 15+ tastings, we'll follow those flavours from the historic city centre into vibrant Little India, crossing cultures along the way. Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of traditional eateries mean we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal so nobody is disappointed: ⚠ Possible for vegetarians, pescatarians, no pork diets, gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, mild nut allergies, and no seafood diets, though some tastings may be unsuitable. ✖️ Unsuitable for vegan, halal diets and severe allergies

Ipoh

  • 1h
Begin beside Time Tower Park, a reminder of the fortunes once pulled from the surrounding hills, before cooling down with tau fu fa chinchau. Silken soya bean pudding meets slippery herbal grass jam, an ancient Chinese remedy to cool in the tropical heat. 
 Then follow the smell of butter. A traditional Chinese bakery provides our next target, where fresh kaya puffs emerge from the oven with crisp, flaky layers wrapped around fragrant coconut jam. From sweet to savoury, pull up a chair for yu kong hor. Delicate flat rice noodles arrive swimming with prawns and pork in a silky, deeply savoury gravy, accompanied by beautifully braised beancurd soaking up all that flavour. Three stops in, and we've already travelled through several sides of Ipoh's Chinese food culture. We're only getting started.

Ipoh

  • 1h
Next, step inside one of Ipoh's historic institutions for a Malaysian classic. Perfectly poached Hainanese chicken arrives tender and glossy alongside fragrant oil rice, bright pickled acar and steaming Chinese tea. Then there are the bean sprouts. It might sound strange to get excited about a vegetable, but Ipoh bean sprouts are a local obsession. Famously plump and crisp, their texture is often credited to the city's mineral-rich limestone water. Ipohites take them seriously. After one bite, you probably will too. As dusk settles, follow the unmistakable perfume of charcoal. Beef and chicken satay caramelise over glowing coals, picking up smoky, charred edges before being plunged into rich, nutty peanut sauce.

Little India Ipoh | லிட்டல் இந்தியா, ஈப்போ

  • 1h
Now we're changing neighbourhoods, and cuisines. Hop aboard a local bus for the short journey into Little India, where curry leaves, toasted spices and sizzling pans replace the soya, pastry and charcoal of the historic centre. Start with toddy, the gently fermented sap of coconut and palm trees. Versions of this lightly alcoholic drink have been consumed across South and Southeast Asia for centuries, and it remains closely associated with the South Indian communities whose migration helped shape modern Malaysia. Then the banana leaves hit the table. Fragrant rice is surrounded by deeply spiced curries, comforting potato masala and pooris that arrive puffed like golden balloons. Tear them open while they're still hot before tackling beautifully fried masala-marinated fish. Forget the knife and fork. This feast is traditionally eaten by hand, mixing rice and curries together with your fingertips as you go.

Little India Ipoh | லிட்டல் இந்தியா, ஈப்போ

  • 30m
There are 15+ tastings to conquer, but we'll bring the evening in for a softer landing. Watch appam batter spread around a hot pan until the edges become impossibly thin and crisp while the centre stays soft and cloud-like. Made from fermented rice batter and coconut, these delicate pancakes are one of South India's great contributions to Malaysia's food landscape. Spoon over creamy coconut milk, tear off the crisp edges and finish with one last cup of fragrant masala tea. Four hours earlier, we began among the Chinese bakeries and old-school eateries of Ipoh's historic centre. We'll finish in Little India having eaten through 15+ tastings spanning Chinese, Indian and wider Malaysian traditions. Ipoh's greatest flavours don't belong to one neighbourhood or one community. They're the edible legacy of the people who arrived during the tin boom, put down roots and turned a mining town into one of Malaysia's most quietly extraordinary places to eat.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Time Tower Park
    • Jalan Raja Musa Aziz
    • 30300, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Time Tower Park
    • Jalan Raja Musa Aziz
    • 30300, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

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