新源隆 The Ipoh White Coffee Shop

The most famous coffee in Malaysia, is from Ipoh, we called it White Coffee. We all know, coffee is brown color, there's nothing white there. Except for a fact that when it was added milk, the color turn lighter and become light brown. Since Ipoh is a town filled with Chinese, and there's no words for "light brown", and the milk coffee is now officially known as White Coffee. So, since when the white coffee being introduced? This is the brand, Sun Yin Loong is one of the oldest coffee shop in Ipoh, established since 1937 in old town. The original shop is still there, but it's not one of the hottest tourist spot in Ipoh. You wouldn't wanna go there if you're not having a local friend as your tour guide.

I had left home since 1998, and that's more than 20 years. And officially I've moved to Kuala Lumpur since 2004, that's another 15 years gone with even less chance going back to my home town in Ipoh. This time around during festive season, I'd ask my brother(yeah my real biological bro) to take me to the famous White Coffee shop, and he told me there's no need to go all to the way to the tourist spot. We can just go to the mall nearby to my father's house, and there's one outlet there! Less crowded, mall is new and clean, best of all, parking is free! So we headed there for family dinner.

Scoring through the menu and studying the price tag, it wasn't that bad afterall. Food price is slightly higher than road side coffee shop, but considering this place is air conditioned, and it's in the mall, I felt much more confident and don't mind paying slightly more!

As I mentioned above, the shop is very clean. The waiter and waitress are very young and energetic. We're seating here comfortable ordering our food and patiently waiting for them. So much better than going to the tourist spot and fight to get a seat.

This is the famous Ipoh White Coffee, and don't judge on its innocent look. It has no "body", less punch, less bitterness, less aroma, but very much milky taste, tasted like a genetic mutated decaffed coffee bean. Wait?! Aren't this supposed to be the best coffee in Malaysia? Well, that's what it's best for. It's a typical Asian coffee, sweetened with and premixed with condensed milk. The lightly sweetened coffee become so addictive once you got used to it, you'll be so lazy to make your own coffee.

Young kids always like this dish, the sweet sour chicken. Note that I said Chicken?!!!! You're right! Despite this shop are not certified Halal, but it's guaranteed prok free. Hence Muslim's friends if you don't mind, well come to have your meal here.

Why do we eat creme caramel here in Ipoh? There's a story behind this, it's because we Chinese used to open up coffee shops and serve the English people whilst we're British Colonial country. The recipe has been passing down from the British, and the recipe has been passing down by generation over generation. There are several shops in Ipoh still making Creme Caramel.

Toast bread with butter and pandan is amazingly nice to eat. Don't know since when the Ipoh fellas learnt to dump a piece of salted butter between the hot toasted bread and leave it melt in between! Marvelous butter dripping experience!

The curry noodle is pretty nice too. However, like I previously mentioned, this is a pork free shop. I like my curry noodle came with pork, but this one doesn't. It has some chicken slices, bean curd, long beans and that will be all. A little disappointment with this dish.

Last but not least, we have this butter toast bread with soft boiled eggs. Imagine what happen when you poke the egg yolk? Its spill the yolk all over the toasted bread and the bread absorb the yolk. The bread already spreaded with salted butter, so it will be alright by just eating it that way. But if you're a soy sauce fan, put a few drops on the egg and you'll feel another magical salty heaven here!

There you have it. It's not compulsory going to the tourist spot to rush with the tourist, one can still eat local dishes comfotably here in AEON Falim Ipoh, Sun Yin Loong. Old taste, local taste, great taste, at local price.

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Restaurant Information

新源隆 Sun Yin Loong

AEON, Taman Falim, 30200 Ipoh, Negeri Perak, Malaysia

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新源隆 The Ipoh White Coffee Shop
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