good food ipoh

if there is anything that can be said about ipoh, its that it has arguably the best chinese, and to a certain extent even south indian, cuisine in malaysia.
the the one-time world tin-mining capital and now just perak's capital city is really the secret food capital, attracting foodies and those looking for a cold one to its various restaurants and stalls in well-ordered food courts around its speck of territory in the kinta valley.
ipoh's hor fun - not to be confused with its euphemistically-named health centres that dot jalan yang kalsom - is one of the ipoh dishes that has found fame all over the world. its just flat rice noodles in soup with fish balls and some vegetables that goes well with cut chillies in soy sauce.
how about ipoh's hor hee, which is a laugh to pronounce but a treat to eat. its fishballs and fishcakes wrapped in a wrinkly skin made of processed fish flesh in soup.
we couldn't get enough of this soupy dish during a trip to ipoh on the first day of the recent chinese lunar new year celebrations. visits to a couple of friends' homes ended up with all of us frequenting the stalls along the road to the sam tet school.
and what else to round up a great evening of partying in ipoh? it was a tough choice between ice-cold bottled beers - they sell them like it was going out of fashion - and ipoh white coffee.
i opted for the ipoh white coffee in a guinness glass filled with ice.
the coffee was a treat, sweet, caramelly and creamy with a hint of butter in it.
definitely the best way to end the night in ipoh.