I stayed in Ipoh for some 10years during the whole of my primary school life. It was then a quiet and some say 'dead' town. My earliest memries of Ipoh were the limestone hills and the refreshing air. Yes the air used to be cooler here than most parts of Malaysia. So cool that the favorite pastime was visiting the parks most notably Taman Sreenivasagam and the Japanese Garden.
Infact i remember Ipoh being the 1st town(if not wrong) to be hit by a hailstorm back then. RAining ice!! That was probably the main and only newsworthy highlight that i can remember of my days there!
Ipoh is the capital of Perak and self-styled as the City of Bougainvilleas. It is the third largest city in Malaysia. The city is unofficially divided into Old Town and New Town by the Sungai Kinta (Kinta River), from which the city grew.
The Old Town contains most of the colonial buildings. The name Ipoh is said to have originated from a local tree, pohon epu or now more commonly known as pokok ipoh. This particular plant is used for the extraction of poisonous tree sap. The extract is used by the Orang Asli(indigenous people) in their blowdarts.
Its geographic location in the rich tin-bearing valley of the Kinta River made it a natural centre of growth. It grew rapidly as a mining town, especially in
the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s, Ipoh was characterized night life was unrivalled in peninsular. it can be rightfully called "The Town that Tin Built."
With the collapse of tin prices and the closure of the tin mines in the late 1970s, Ipoh's growth became stagnated. Being resilient, it later began to grow in its own unique way with the country's economy. Having retained much of its charm, Ipoh now reflects the overall progress and development that Perak is experiencing
Situated near Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab in Ipoh is the Ipoh Railway Station. It is situated next to the Central Bus Station and the Main Post Office.
The Ipoh Railway Stations bears close resemblance to its Kuala Lumpur counterpart and is affectionately known to locals at the Taj Mahal of Ipoh.
An impressive landmark which combines Moorish and architecture with modern embellishments designed by AB Hubback (Who also designed KL Railway Station). The station was the second concrete building constructed in the town.
It is surrounded by a beautiful floral garden which serves as a charming welcome for tourists. In the garden you will find the Ipoh tree after which the city is named. Built in 1935, the building also houses the Station Hotel called Majestic Hotel. As the historians have it, Perak actually pioneered train travel in Malaya. The first line's were laid by the British to satisfy the transportation demands of the tin mining industry.
Ipoh is noted for its cuisine. Natives claim that Ipoh's water, which is relatively hard (high alkali content) owing to Ipoh's location on top of a large karstic formation, makes the food especially tasty. Here, you can find people eating relatively heavy meals even for supper.
All sorts of cooking styles can be found here, many of them brought in by the Chinese from the southern provinces and mixed with local flavours. Ipoh is particularly famous for food items such as "Sar Hor Fun" (a flat white rice noodle, best served in soup with shredded chicken meat and prawns), a variant popular to Ipoh is "Hor Hee", served with fish cakes; "Nga Choi Kai" (chicken fillet and beansprouts, enjoyed by many visitors to Ipoh); "Hakka Mee", "Heong Peng", and dim sum (small Chinese dumplings and delicacies).
Ipoh chicken rice with beansprouts is another very popular dish. Ipoh is also famous for Malay cuisine, such as satay (meat on a skewer which resembles kebabs, served with peanut sauce), and also tempoyak (preserved durian extract commonly eaten with chillies).
In recent years, people in the Klang Valley were reminded of this town again when the franchaises of Old Town White Coffee came to town. The white coffee that was always associated with the Old Town Ipoh is a blend of roasted coffee prepared using a unique method that combines elements of modern approaches with traditional Malaysian brewing practices.
Whether you are here for the food or for business/leisure, make sure you buy/pack back some of Ipoh's famous delicacies such as the Menglembu groundnuts, Kampar Chicken Biscuits, Chart Tai (Bean Curd Stick),Tambun Pomelos and Salted Baked Chicken. Yes you heard me...salted baked chicken!!
Remember i was mentioning earlier that Ipoh was such a dead town? Well in recent days, it has become the hot topic nationally. Not becos they have found tin again or some other mineral....but becos of politics. The epu/ipoh tree suddenly became quite famous for all the wrong reasons!
Enough has been said in the newspapers and political blogs, but suffice to say...i wish for the old Ipoh again....quiet, charming..with its quaint buildings and fantastically delicious food!! What say you?
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