Ipoh Restaurants

The sky is magenta. I scramble out of my seat, nearly toppling the woman next to me, and run to the opposite window to get a photo. And a video. It’s one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen, and it reminds me why I decided to travel by train in Malaysia as I head north to sample some of the best Ipoh restaurants.

Train from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh

Everyone seemed surprised that I wanted to take a train from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh.

One person I met admitted that she had never heard of a visitor taking a train before, and others said that it had been so long since they last traveled by train in Malaysia that they didn’t remember how the system worked.

When I board the carriage, I can see why. While the rest of the train is clean, someone has made an impressive mess at the foot of my seat.

And as the train departs, I’m approached by a cockroach that doesn’t seem as disinterested in me as I am in it. On top of that, we’re delayed almost two hours.

But I would still gladly take the train in Malaysia again. Why? For one, the rainbow. And the double rainbow that follows.

Then the miles of amazing scenery, from lush greenery to pretty lakes and villages. And just before the train pulls into Ipoh, the magenta sunset. You can’t beat a magenta sunset.

Indulgence Restaurant and Living

When I arrive at the train station, a gorgeous historic building, I take a taxi to my hotel in Ipoh, Indulgence Restaurant and Living.

I’ve been invited to stay at the hotel and dine at its famous Ipoh restaurant. After eating my way through Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, I’m excited to continue my foodie tour of Malaysia in Ipoh.

I’m not disappointed. While Indulgence focuses on international cuisine as opposed to local specialties, this most colorful of Ipoh restaurants offers as much quality as anything else I have eaten in Malaysia, if not more.

My Tropicana Salad is packed with impossibly juicy mango and local pomelo from Ipoh. The greens are fresh, and the glass of Tuscan white has clearly been chosen by someone who knows her wines.

Julie Song in Ipoh

In fact, that someone is sitting right across from me. Jessie is one half of the duo that runs Indulgence Restaurant and Living in Ipoh, the other half being celebrated chef Julie Song.

As we dine, she tells me all about this most famous of Ipoh restaurants and its adjoining hotel. She gives me the details from the start decades ago to the current incarnation in a beautiful historic mansion near the city center.

Jessie describes Julie Song’s famous cuisine and insistence on sourcing ingredients from everywhere from Australia—where most of the meat comes from—to Hong Kong and Japan.

Her fierce dedication to quality means she uses produce from all over the world in order to achieve a high level of cuisine here and at her other Ipoh restaurants.

And achieve it Julie does. My next course, a pasta dish with scallops from Hokkaido, is so fresh and flavorful that it has me in rapture.

I arrived at Indulgence Restaurant and Living with high expectations, but what I taste is on another level altogether. It’s official: Ipoh is worth a visit just for Julie Song’s food.

Ipoh Hotel

And speaking of a visit, my room for my stay is conveniently right upstairs. In addition to Ipoh restaurants, Julie Song has a talent for decorating.

She has furnished each of the seven hotel rooms at Indulgence with a different theme, from classic British colonial to Chinoiserie and Rococo.

My room, called Tzarrah, is huge, with a bathroom so big that at first glance I mistake one archway for a mirror. Bright orange and yellow curtains and white sheets offset the dark hues of the wood, and I settle in for a lovely stay.

In the morning, Jessie is kind enough to take me into the city center for—you guessed it—more Ipoh restaurants.

Burps & Giggles Restaurant in Ipoh

Our first stop is at Burps & Giggles, a restaurant in Ipoh that she and Julie Song opened in 2012.

The space, which occupies three consecutive rooms and is managed by Julie’s son, looks like it came straight out of London’s hip Shoreditch neighborhood.

Huge murals and funky lamps cover the walls, and some of the tables have been constructed from an old staircase in the building.

I’m so consumed by the decor that I almost forget about the food. That would be a crime, though, as my chicken burger is absolutely divine. By the time I finish, I am ready to move to Malaysia just for the amazing Ipoh restaurants.

Thean Chun Restaurant in Ipoh

And I don’t change my mind after Jessie takes me down the street for a second breakfast at an unassuming little restaurant in Ipoh called Thean Chun.

We have some local specialties, including perfectly crunchy bean sprouts that have an incredible flavor due to the local limestone.

I also try chicken satay and Kai See Hor Fun, or chicken with rice noodles, which is one of the city’s most famous dishes.