Ipoh is famous for serving all kinds of delicious food, such as hor fun, steamed chicken with bean sprouts, chicken rice, and many more. Today, we will be talking about little baskets of steamed treats – dim sum, that you definitely can’t miss trying when visiting Ipoh.
As there are many long-established names to the dim sum business in Ipoh, we have compiled a list of dim sum places that absolutely would not disappoint your taste buds!
1. Restaurant Foh San
This restaurant is one of the extremely well-known dim sum eateries in town, serving dim sum at an affordable price in a grand looking surrounding. Packed in the morning till noon, Foh San stands firm against its competitors on the same street.
It is relocated from its old location to its current location in 2009. However, is still running fast and strong until today. What’s special is that this restaurant makes their own signature hot-selling mooncakes. They sell out before you know it, especially during Mid-Autumn Festival.
Address: 51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 6:30am – 2:30pm (Closed on Tuesday)
2. Sun Kim Aik
Sun Kim Aik is one of the oldest dim sum players around in Ipoh. They focus on solid, hand-made classic dim sum dishes served in sizes that will satisfy you without burning a hole in your wallet.
Every morning, you will see the workers preparing their traditional hand-made dim sum in a rush, until thing begin to wind down around noon. Here, the workers will come to your table with trays of dim sum choices or bamboo steamers full of fluffy white paos. On top of that, the portions are hearty and they taste amazing!
Address: Jalan Lahat, Taman Falim, 30100 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 6:30am – 12:30pm (Closed on Wednesday)
3. Restoran Chooi Yue Dim Sum
This restaurant is located in a cosy neighbourhood in Ipoh Garden South, with tables and chairs spilling over onto the road. Here, diners dine elbow-to-elbow. And, waiters flit from table to table to satisfy their requests. What’s worth mentioning is that apart from the usual dim sum, Chooi Yue serves xiao long bao (soup dumpling). It is a rather traditional and hard-to-find dim sim dish served in a small tart tin. Another dish you have to try is their delicious char siew pao. It tastes better than the average.
Address: 2, 4 & 6, Tingkat Taman Ipoh 12, Taman Ipoh Selatan, 31400 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 7am – 2pm (Closed on Thursday)
4. Restoran Yoke Fook Moon
Being one of the few restaurants that open for dim sum at night, Yoke Fook Moon pretty much takes all the night crowds. Here, they serve traditional dim sum dishes, but done marvellously. What you definitely must try here is the pig stomach soup with fish noodles, where the thick, slivers of ‘fish noodles’ made from fish paste, the most innovative dish created by the clever minds at this restaurant.
Address: 65-69, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 6am – 1:30pm, 6:30pm – 10pm (Daily)
5. Zui Le Xuan Dim Sum
Zui Le Xuan Dim Sum is one of those restaurants where the dim sum items are pushed around in a trolley, and you pick the dishes which appeal fresh out from the kitchen. Also, they make their own Dim Sum rather than steam or fry up prepared ones from the factory. The owner, Chan Kam, has years of experience in Dim Sum making. He worked as one of the main chefs at Foh San for many years.
Address: 28, Jalan Ng Seong Teik, Taman Pertama, 30100 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hour: 7am – 2pm (Closed on Tusday)
6. Ming Court Hong Kong Tim Sum
Extremely packed during weekends and holidays, Ming Court is another famous dim sum restaurant in Ipoh. Stepping into this restaurant is like a scene from a Hong Kong drama come to life. With early morning hustle, old-school tables and chairs, mosaic floor tiles, and even table-sharing with strangers. The service staff here are very responsive and will attend to your needs with more than 50 different dim sum dishes to choose from. Although the size of the dim sum dishes is smaller than regular ones, it allows you to try out more dim sum options.
Address: 36, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 6am – 12:30pm (Closed on Thursday)
7. Hong Kong Dim Sum BFB
Located in a neighbourhood with many other dim sum restaurants in sight, this Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurant caters to a local crowd. Here, they have 33 different types of dim sum advertised on the large billboard for you to choose from. The portions here are reasonably sized, and the prices are cheap! What you have to try is their mashed carrot and pumpkin fritters, which resembles carrots fried in batter.
Address: Persiaran Bandar Baru Tambun, Bandar Baru Tambun, 31400 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 6:30am – 1:30pm
8. Hong Xing Dim Sum Restaurant
Housed in two well-ventilated shop lots, Hong Xing Dim Sum Restaurant is a highly recommended eatery for its distinctive take on traditional Chinese Dim Sum. As the head chef here is from the Shanxi province in China, you’ll see dim sum variations in Shanxi interpretation. For instance, the deep-fried fish paste in almond flakes and sunflower seeds. Here, they serve unique desserts like dragon fruit jelly and honeydew sago, where you can end your meal with a sweet note.
Address: No.35 & 37, Jalan Bercham Bistari 3, Medan Bercham Bestari, Bercham, 31400 Ipoh, Negeri Perak
Operating Hours: 7am – 1pm (Closed on Thursday)
The next time you visit Ipoh and craving for some delicious dim sum dishes, you know where to go! If you would like to know more about this traditional dish, you can read it on our website here.