UPDATED Jan 2018: 9 best curry mee stalls in IPOH!
Ipoh curry mee may be a favourite for some but personally I prefer Penang curry mee.
Our rich, creamy coconut milk based broth differs from the Ipoh version. To me the soup version of the Ipoh curry mee is akin to boiled stock with curry powder which leaves an annoying grainy residue on my tongue.
That said, I don’t mind the toppings that comes with a bowl of Ipoh curry mee; particularly the thick cuts of roasted pork, slices of BBQ pork (char siew), shredded chicken, shrimps and beansprouts.
Many outlets allow addition of gelatinous pig’s skin or even more roast pork, but with additional charges of course.
During my recent 4th Sept Ipoh trip, one of my dining companions was craving for curry mee.
I was in Ipoh in search for top cafes, the best dim sum and excellent chinese restaurants (dai chows) to feature on my blog, and curry mee wasn’t in the plans.
But how could I say no to a pregnant lady’s request? 🙂
So we ended up trying 7 curry mee over 3 days. Out of which two she missed because she had to return to KL.
But fret not, the remaining 3 of us dutifully slurped up the rest of the shortlisted curry mee as recommended by my trustworthy Ipoh guide Brian and here’s our verdict.
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Here we go – a list of Ipoh’s curry mee that I’ve tried
We began our “curry mee journey” with the popular, famous names such as Nam Chau and Xin Quan Fang (otherwise also known as police station curry noodles) as that would form the base of comparison.
The 3rd famous one that was repetitively recommended by my FB friends was “the one near CIMB”; Yat Yat Seng.
I shall keep this to the point.
1. Xin Quan Fang’s Ipoh curry mee
I (and my 3 other dining partners as well) dislike (1) Xin Quan Fang‘s curry mee (RM7).
The gravy left a strong powdery aftertaste on our tongues. The only item we enjoyed was the roast pork and should I ever have to return to Xin Quan Fang, I would make do with a combination plate of their roast pork, pork skin, roast pork, chicken and chicken kidneys. That, and a cup of coffee.
For the record, the toast and overcooked half-boiled eggs were tragic!
2. Nam Chau Ipoh Curry Mee
(2) Nam Chau was terrible.
Between the 5 of us we ordered 3 versions of noodles (RM5.60 – 5.80) and they vary between bland and just-about-edible. The soup was thinner (less grainy too), the portion smaller and even the roast pork was dismal.
There wasn’t an option of adding pork skin.
To add to the insult, the mint leaves sprinkled on top of our noodles were not fresh and had blacken edges. What a turn off!
3. Yat Yat Seng Ipoh Curry Mee
Next on the “Ipoh famous curry mee” list is (3) Yat Yat Seng.
Now, Yat Yat Seng’s version was at least acceptable.
The soup was slightly grainy on the tongue but overall it is tasty and isn’t as oily.
For RM4 – RM5 per portion with chicken, prawn and roast pork, I would rate it as “fair“.
**Do note that the bowl below is a pumped up version with added cockles and pork skin for RM8.50.
4. Cathay Restaurant – Ipoh Curry Mee
Moving on to the positive, I would recommend (4) Cathay Restaurant at Jalan Dato Tahwil Azhar (near Majestic Tower) for a delicious and truly enjoyable curry mee breakfast.
The soup wasn’t as powdery on the tongue and the broth punchier. The portion is generous (look at the amount of meat!) for the price of RM4 – RM5.
The ambience in the coffee shop is relaxed; there isn’t a mad queue, the service is efficient, the stall owners friendly and parking is a breeze!
5. Sin Lean Lee – Ipoh Curry Mee
If Cathay is slightly out of the way for you (I did provide Waze location below), (5) Sin Lean Lee offers a mean bowl of curry mee right in the busy enclave of tourist Kong Heng/Thean Chun area.
The gravy here is creamier and of a lighter color.
The abundance of ingredients for a bowl like this (yes, inclusive of pork skin!) at the price of RM4.50 would please anyone I reckon.
6. Wah Nam Coffeeshop – Ipoh Curry Mee
Also in town is (6) Wah Nam, where a relatively young chap churns out bowls of creamy, rich curry topped generously with chicken, roast pork and BBQ pork (char siew) for just RM4.50 a bowl.
Do not mistaken Wah Nam for the HUA Nam shop just opposite. Do refer to my pictures below for the correct shop.
7. Restoran Yei Lock – Ipoh curry mee
(7) Restoran Yei Lock Ipoh is popular for their Hainanese pau as well but I find them a waste of calories.
The curry mee on the other hand, is excellent; fragrant gravy though not particularly creamy. Here it is accompanied with their own sour homemade chilli sauce, a break-away from the norm of a squeeze of lime juice.
This RM6 bowl with THICK, tender cuts of roast pork plus pork skin cooked with long beans and brinjals was satisfying.
8. Keng Nam – Ipoh curry mee
(8) After numerous visits to Keng Nam for their excellent Ipoh coffee, we finally ordered the curry mee instead of the usual chee cheong fun and glutinous rice + kaya combo.
Unfortunately, the curry mee was oily and rather bland. Ingredients were sparse too.
Yeap, I recommend sticking to the chee cheong fun, yam cake and eggs on toast. You can read more about the wantan mee, chee cheong and yam cakes HERE.
BELOW: The rather insipid curry mee.
It tasted as bad as it looks.
9. Moon de Moon – Ipoh curry mee
This curry mee was truly satisfying. The wait is terrible, but if you absolutely must have Ipoh curry mee, then head here.
Each portion was generously topped with delicious, chunky pieces of chicken and potatoes. Both soup and dry curry versions are available but most patrons would opt for the dry.
The curry is smooth and rich. A small portion could easily fill a medium-appetite diner up. If that’s not sufficient, I recommend ordering their selection of fish, cuttlefish and porkballs, served in a separate bowl with some soup. I enjoyed those – bouncy, firm and fresh!
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WHERE TO GET IPOH’s BEST CURRY MEE – address, opening days, timing :
1. Xin Quan Fang curry mee – “police station” curry mee
Address: 174, Jalan Sultan Iskandar Shah, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
Opening hours: 7.30am to sold out (about 10 am on weekends, potentially later on weekdays.)
Off day: To be updated.
Tel: NA.
Waze: “Xin Quan Fang” or “Guan Heong” (it’s on the same row)
Price : RM7.00
Verdict: Not worth the time or effort. Unless you like the pork.
The overboiled eggs and standard toast.
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2. Nam Chau Curry Mee
Address: 174, Jalan Sultan Iskandar Shah, 30300 Ipoh, Perak.
Opening hours: 7.30am to sold out (about 11.30 am on weekends, potentially later on weekdays.)
Off day: To be updated.
Tel: NA.
Waze: “Nam Chau Ipoh Curry Mee”
Price : RM5.50 – dry noodles, RM5.60 – dry curry noodles, RM5.80 for curry soup.
Verdict: Not worth the time or effort for us.
There are many better bowls of curry mee compared to this. Really.
Good old coffee. Thick, strong and made the wait we had to endure bearable.
Prices and variety:
Interior:
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3. Restaurant Wah Nam
Address: Jalan Leong Sin Nam, 30300 Ipoh, Perak.
Opening hours: 7.30am to sold out (about 11.30 am on weekends, potentially later on weekdays.)
Off day: To be updated.
Tel: NA
Waze: “Restaurant Wah Nam”
Price : RM4.50
Verdict: Rich curry topped generously with chicken, roast pork and BBQ pork (char siew) for just RM4.50 a bowl.
THIS WAH NAM. NOT Hua Nam.
NOT this one.
My curry mee for RM4.50.
Wah Nam has a long, open ceiling area within its shop. Since I love the sunlight I chose to sit here instead.
The inside can be noisy and crowded.
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4. Cathay Coffeeshop
Address: 17A, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azhar, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel No : NA
Starts from 7am until sold out (usually 12pm). Closed on Saturdays.
Waze: “Kim Bali” – this restaurant is on Waze but Cathay is not so use Kim Bali as a landmark.
Price : RM4.50 and above depending on your order.
Verdict: Love the noodles and the fact that there is no mad rush here. Easy parking too.
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5. Restoran Sin Lean Lee
Address: Jalan Tun Sambathan, 30300 Ipoh, Perak. (Just around the corner from the famous Kong Heng, Plan B).
Opening hours: 7.30 am to sold out (about 10 am on weekends, potentially later on weekdays.)
Off day: Tuesday.
Tel: NA
Waze: “Sin Lean Lee Restaurant”
Price : RM4.50.
Verdict: Delicious curry mee, worth the price paid!
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6. Yat Yat Seng
Address: 83, Jalan Datuk Lau Pak Khuan, 31400 Ipoh, Perak
Hours: 9am til finish, but usually around late noon
Off day: To be updated.
Tel: NA
Waze: “Yat Yat Seng ”
Price : RM5 onwards.
Verdict: Not bad and generous with the ingredients.
The coffeeshop offers creme brule too, though a rather terrible version.
The chee cheong fun was much better.
Interior:
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7. Restoran Yei Lock Ipoh
Address: 173-175 Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun (Kampar Road).
Hours: Opens daily, 7am til finish, but usually around 12 pm
Off day: Closed 2 days a month, not fixed.
Tel: NA
Waze: “Yei Lock “.
Price : RM5 onwards
Verdict: Good and there are options of yong tau foo (RM0.60 each onwards), chicken curry with potatoes, freshly roast pork.
The dry curry mee with added chicken curry and potatoes.
Soup version. You can choose to add on yong tau foo.
Roast pork is excellent. Skip the char siew.
You can skip the pau too. The durian version is filled with thick but bland durian paste while the char siew version is meager for its price of RM1.30.
Just enjoy the curry mee. This bowl is RM6 and so satisfying.
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8. Kedai Kopi Keng Nam
Address: 127, Jalan Raja Ekram, 30300 Ipoh.
Hours: Opens daily, 7am until finish, but usually around 12 pm
Off day: TBA
Tel: NA
Waze: “Keng Nam”.
Price : RM6 onwards
Verdict: Bland, oily. Limited ingredients.
9. Restoran Moon de Moon
Address: 148, Hala Wah Keong, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Hours: Opens daily – 7am until finish, but usually around 1 pm
Off day: Mon & Tues.
Tel: NA
Waze: “Moon de Moon”.
Price : RM6 onwards.
Verdict: They are generous with their chicken which come in thick chunks and you can order just a portion of their curry without noodles, which also has potatoes. There is a wet and dry curry choice.
RECOMMENDATIONS?
So that’s it!
9 different curry mee choices that I’ve tried. Which is YOUR favourite?
Or do you have more recommendations for curry mee in Ipoh? Do let me know on Insta/FB/FB Page or email or leave a comment here! 🙂
PS: I’m looking for accommodation in Ipoh as well. Any hotel/AirBnB/hostels/homestay that YOU would suggest?
Other curry noodle stalls on my list:
1. One in Green Town which I missed, also recommended by Brian.
2. Kedai Makanan Chuan Fatt, Jalan Pasir Puteh
3. Yee Fatt, 39, Jalan Kampar
4. Foo Kwai Restaurant, Jalan Bercham
5. ???
omigosh … i just realised i’ve never had curry mee in ipoh before … and looking at all the ones you tried, with all the glorious roast pork all over the noodles, i’ve been missing out! 😀
Hahahha! You should definitely try a few Sean!
It will be enough for a year after that 😛
rebecca, you try Yee Fatt in ipoh next time
Your taste, and preference, esp. in curry noodles, is obviously a non-cantonese one (hokkien perhaps), given that you prefer creamier versions – ie – with coconut milk. So, it is fruitless to try and compare the ones within Ipoh itself – they basically come from the same genre of non-lemak soup-based curry. Which is exactly what makes it not only unique compared with the rest of the country, but what out-of-towners come to Ipoh for. And they are very, very popular, make no mistake about that.
Incidentally, why ask for accommodation in Ipoh?
Hi Susan
In my post, I’ve stated in the FIRST sentence of the article that I preferred the creamier version so that’s already made clear.
However it doesnt mean that I can’t enjoy the Ipoh version, for I did like 3 curry mee out of the 7 here.
2. Im not comparing the creamier ones in Penang or elsewhere, all 7 here are compared to EACH OTHER within the state, and though they are “from the same genre of non-lemak soup-based curry”, there are still differences for each. I dont see anything fruitless about that.
3. Yes, I’m aware that Ipoh version is Ipoh version, never said anything that differs from that fact.
And for the purpose of this article, people who travel to Ipoh can read from here the difference of the 7 that I’ve tried, and make decision which they would like better. I’m not asking them not to eat it. Make no mistake about that.
4. Accommodation in Ipoh – im not from Ipoh, and when I’m in other states I like to take the opportunity to check out nice AirBnb, boutique hotels etc to write abt them. I’ve written about a few based on reliable recommendations from friends, etc.
You nailed it Susan! If in the first instance that a person likes the creamier version, why go on trying, tasting, etc … Afterall, they all seem to taste ‘grainier’ … Sigh! Don’t blog for the sake of blogging ….
Hi Mary
Everyone has a right to try.. who knows, i might find some that I like! Just like myself, I’m sure u had your best and worst meals.
In fact, in this article itself, I praised a few. But no, you and Susan chose to highlight the part that I said I didn’t like, but didn’t give attention to the parts/curry mee I did say i enjoyed.
The way i see it, it isn’t even fair to me. But that’s ok, as I take both the good and bad comments and would like to thank everyone who took the trouble to leave one.
As for blogging for the sake of blogging, I hope you blog too, for by leaving such a comment it seems as if you know how blogging (or writing) entails.
Many people are quick to judge that blogging is all about the so-called fame and so forth. Start a site and blog, and keep it going for years, and you will find out soon that it is not all it seems.
It takes effort, cash, time to write.
Perhaps you don’t have much positive thoughts for bloggers or you may have had encountered bad experiences from what you read on blogs, hence the negativity associated with blogs/bloggers.
Or perhaps you only follow and believe a few that you like.
Whatever is it, I thank you for your comment and I’m of opinion that different bloggers/writers/ magazine reviewers convey their likes/dislikes differently, and it can’t be 100% agreeable with all.
I hope you will continue to support those (bloggers/writers/review sites) that you agree with, for there are many of them who write with heart.
Have a good week ahead Mary. 🙂
Have you had your taste buds checked lately? Sorry, have you got your bearings right? For your info, Ipoh has probably the most variations of curry mee that you can ever find. Thick, thin, with or without cocunut milk/cream, with or without char siew/chicken shred/pork ribs, cantonese, hakka, hokkien, malay you name it Ipoh has it. Just that you probably found tourist spots and the most convenient to your location of stay. I have also eaten horrible penang curry mee, but does that represent Penang? No. There will always be good and bad vendors, you just have very bad recommendations from people that dont agree with you socially. You are a foodie wannabe to lay it politely.
Thanks Gary for your comment 🙂
In my years of eating, exploring, writing I know there will always be some who doesn’t agree with what I share here on my site.
Each meal is a learning curve and I will continue to explore further.
If you read carefully I didn’t say anything about Ipoh superior or Penang superior, merely stating my preferences, which I have every right, just like you do.
Hence, instead of being defensive and agitated to the point of insulting me with your comment, I’ll take it as we do not agree on this point.
And as for foodie wannabe, good grief, anyone is a foodie.
We all eat, we all enjoy different form of food and so forth. Is there a need for you to say such things?
Say all you wish, i wish you a good week ahead and let’s us all enjoy what we enjoy.
Insinuating is bad enough, just as you made the very defensive statement of not saying anything on ipoh or penang being superior. If you read CAREFULLY neither did I say you mention ipoh or Penang being superior. I merely stated i have taste bad curry mee in penang as well. And seriously if you find what i say insulting you haven’t heard half of the other things i would have like to say. But in respect to your blog I refrained from it. As some would say … If you cant take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I.e. stop blogging
LOL. Wow Gary. All this just coz we don’t agree on ONE opinion on Ipoh curry mee?
Well, I’m certainly interested to hear what you have to say in my face.
Name your time and venue, I’ll be there if I’m not traveling.
Bandar Seri Botani. Opposite Shen Jai School. they start serving from 8:00am. You can have either wet or dry there, but creamy. If you want a non creamy, lets meet up in Station 18 behind Tesco. It’s called restaurant 328. They serve without milk or coconut milk. Name me anytime before Dec.
Sounds good!
Let’s go for both. Before Dec – noted. Will make a day trip.
So as you don’t lose your way. Restaurant Kai Fong
https://www.google.com.my/maps/@4.5498646,101.1144382,3a,75y,142.75h,81.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgX5221pERwra4vVKjs0oeg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
Restaurant 328
https://www.google.com.my/maps/place/AEON+IPOH+STATION+18/@4.5435197,101.0659529,3a,75y,41.95h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s9oHGW1XdvHA7arOY4cLHVw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D9oHGW1XdvHA7arOY4cLHVw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D41.860546%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x31caeeb357a45f11:0xeb1d5c83d1e83b95!6m1!1e1?hl=en
And in the case of Restaurant 328, one of Ipoh’s best Pan Mee is Restaurant Yu Yi (formerly known as 101)
https://www.google.com.my/maps/@4.5450278,101.065868,3a,75y,72.04h,89.73t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suVjHoFZe9Qk2pdm7b4KjFw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en
And check out in the vicinity, in my opinion the best mini egg tart, Restaurant Dynasty
https://www.google.com.my/maps/@4.5441047,101.071247,3a,75y,142.85h,92.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMXSUNMahDUncgC63exT84w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en
Thanks Gary – really looking forward to this.
Shall we choose one to meet at, one that’s EASY to navigate to for a non-Ipoh lady driver
Depending on what time you intend to arrive and on which day, we will choose the venue for your convenience in terms of traffic and crowd.
Hi Gary!Been busy with work but I’ve not forgotten this!
This Fri ok? I’ll drive up and reach by 7am? Will stay one night and leave on Sat so Sat morning I can eat and eat too
Curious.. If you have already tried Gary recommendations.
haha
Hahah I’m actually in Ipoh today. asked around and my frens are not very clear about where are these places he mentioned.
He has not replied for the trip that we wanted to meet.
Still waitin….