Ipoh Local Products: 5 Foods Ipoh Is Known For and Where to Buy Them
Ipoh local products are a short list of foods that the city has made famous: white coffee roasted with margarine, flaky heong peah biscuits, kaya puffs, thick-skinned Tambun pomelo and herbal salted chicken. All are cheap, easy to find and best bought from the places that make them.
This guide covers 5 Ipoh local products checked in October 2026, with a shop that sells each, what to expect to pay where we could confirm prices, and how to carry it home. Ipoh has no large craft industry, so the list is food-led. For gift shops and handmade crafts, see the Ipoh souvenirs guide linked at the end.
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Sekilas
Kopi Putih Ipoh
Ipoh white coffee is made from beans roasted with palm-oil margarine and served with condensed milk. It is not coffee with milk added, and the roast is milder and less bitter than a standard black coffee. It is traditionally served in the Chinese coffee shops of the Old Town.
To take it home, buy the 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 packets or whole and ground beans. Chang Jiang White Coffee sells white and black coffee beans and instant blends from three branches in Ipoh and a shop at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, and Sin Yoon Loong sells its own blends at its Red Mountain and Perak Turf Club branches. Concubine Lane shops also stock packets from several brands.
Heong Peah (Fragrant Biscuits)
Heong peah, or hiong peah, is a round, flaky biscuit with a sweet, malt-sugar filling, traditionally baked over coconut-husk charcoal. It is the one Ipoh pastry that most visitors take home. Yee Hup sells individually wrapped biscuits in several flavours at its Old Town branch, its Taman Ipoh Jaya headquarters and a branch on Jalan Kuala Kangsar near Perak Tong.
Other long-standing biscuit shops are worth a look. Guan Heong Biscuit Shop (over 100 years old; +60 5-241 2399; listed daily 9 am to 6:30 pm) sells meat floss biscuits with pandan paste or salted egg, and Ching Han Guan (more than 70 years; +60 5-254 5126; listed 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, closed Tuesdays) sells meat floss with lotus paste. Hours come from a 2025 listing, so call before a special trip.
Kaya Puffs and Egg Tarts
Kaya puffs are flaky pastries filled with sweet coconut egg jam, and Ipoh's egg tarts follow the Chinese bakery style. Sin Eng Heong, established in 1961, is known for kaya puffs; it is listed as open 9:30 am to 6 pm and closed on Tuesdays, takes orders the day before, and has a phone number of +60 5-243 9659.
QunKee Biscuits (established 1975, branches in Kampung Simee and Kampung Jawa; +60 12-519 5435; listed 9 am to 5 pm, closed Thursdays) also sells kaya puffs, egg tarts and traditional Chinese biscuits. Both are best eaten the same day or the next, so they suit a snack rather than a long trip.
Tambun Pomelo
The pomelo is a large, sweet citrus fruit, and the pomelos grown around Tambun, east of Ipoh, are considered the best in the state. Go Chin Pomelo Agro Farm sells whole fruit, fresh-cut segments and chilled juices, and offers farm tours. Niu Kee, on Jalan Tambun Baru, is another well-known pomelo shop, and roadside stalls also sell the fruit on the road past the Sam Poh Tong temple.
A whole pomelo is heavy, so buy it on your last day or ask the stall to peel and box the segments. The fruit has seasons, so ask what is ripe. The photo shows pomelos at a stall in nearby Tapah, not in Tambun.
Ipoh Salted Chicken
Salted chicken (yim kok kai) is a whole chicken seasoned with herbs and baked in salt, served warm or cold. Aun Kheng Lim, established in 1987, is the best-known seller. A 2025 listing gave a price of RM35 for a whole chicken in the red box, with a vacuum-packed option and a vending machine for when the shop is shut. The main branch is at 24 Jalan Theatre, Taman Jubilee, and listings give opening from 9 am, with closing times between 6 pm and 7 pm. Phone: +60 5-254 2998.
A cooked chicken keeps best chilled and is a gift for the same day or the next. Check whether your airline and destination country allow cooked meat before buying it as a souvenir.
Tips for Buying Ipoh Local Products
How to plan your Ipoh shopping for local products
Start in the Old Town for white coffee and biscuits, add the kaya puffs and salted chicken on the Pekan Baru side of the river, and finish with a drive to Tambun for pomelo. Most shops close by 6 pm, and several are shut one day a week, so check the day.
Carrying food home
Biscuits and coffee packets travel well. Fresh fruit and cooked meat do not, and some countries restrict them at customs. Ask shops for vacuum packing, and keep chilled items cool.
Other things to look for
Peanut candy is another Ipoh gift: Sin Weng Fai was listed in 2025 at RM11 for a 300 g packet, with a limit of 10 packets per customer. Prices and limits change, so ask when you buy.
Ipoh Local Products: Frequently Asked Questions
What are Ipoh's most famous local products?
Ipoh is best known for white coffee, heong peah biscuits, kaya puffs, Tambun pomelo and salted chicken. Peanut candy and egg tarts are also popular gifts.
Where can I buy Ipoh white coffee?
Chang Jiang White Coffee has three branches in Ipoh and a shop at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, and Sin Yoon Loong sells its own blends. Most Old Town souvenir shops and the shops on Concubine Lane also stock packets.
What is heong peah?
Heong peah, also written hiong peah, is a round, flaky Ipoh biscuit with a sweet malt-sugar filling, traditionally baked over charcoal. It is sold fresh at Yee Hup and several other biscuit shops in the Old Town.
Where can I buy Tambun pomelo?
Go Chin Pomelo Agro Farm and Niu Kee on Jalan Tambun Baru in Tambun sell the fruit, and roadside stalls along the road past Sam Poh Tong also sell it. Ask which pomelos are in season.
Can I take Ipoh salted chicken on a plane?
It is cooked meat, so rules depend on your airline and the country you are flying to. If you can carry it, ask for a vacuum pack and keep it chilled, and eat it within a day or two.