Ipoh White Coffee and Kopitiams

My uncle's water colour painting of the famous restaurant that started it all. (Khor Seow Hooi)

Confessions of a Coffee Addict

I'm a coffee addict. Can't start my day without at least one cup of hot Nescafe. Whenever I'm back in Ipoh, Nescafe however, instantly becomes yesterday's memory. If you have tasted the ever famous White Coffee before, do know that Ipoh is where it originated from! Nowadays you can probably get it anywhere, usually in 3-in-1 packages from supermarkets and even some KL coffee shops. Here's a little secret: the white coffee served in most KL and PJ coffee shops are actually made from 3-in-1 packets.

This is how Ipoh White Coffee looks like. Complete with a spoon inside the holder.

You probably have seen "Old Town Kopitiam" in 1 Utama, Subang Jaya, Tesco Damansara Perdana, Jusco Seremban 2 and even Johor's Aeon Tebrau City. Funny that they should have started the franchise in KL first rather than in Ipoh. Probably they were afraid of competition from the original cups of the many authentic and original kopitiams all over Ipoh town. However it is still a good thing that they have decided to move in to the Ipoh territory. I think they somewhat succeeded and also started a whole new breed of kopikats, sorry, copycats. Time has proven that these modern kopitiams can coexist side by side with the old fashioned original ones. Kinda feels like the muhibbah spirit is instilled. Whatever it is, I do thank them for beautifying Ipoh City!

Old Town Kopitiam, 1 Utama.

I remember hearing about white coffee aka "pak kopi" (not Pak Pandir that kinda Pak), or "kopi puteh" or "bai ka-fe" when I was small and Christmas trees were tall. Before setting my lips on my first ever historical cup that forever changed my view towards the coffee experience, I thought it would be white in colour. Right now allow me to officially debunk the common myth: White coffee is not white in colour! It's in coffee colour! I have yet to find out why it's called white coffee. If you know, please do let me know.

White coffee is special simply because of its taste. The secret lies within the coffee beans; they are roasted in caramel sugar. The preparation of the beverage is not just merely scooping some coffee powder into a cup, adding hot water and some condensed milk. To produce a good cup, many of the coffee shops have invested in special custom-made coffee machines, especially Restoran Sun Yuan Loong. The end result is a rich aromatic coffee that is somewhat similar to Nescafe's Gold Roast coffee.

Another one of the Old Town White Coffee watercolour paintings.

Now that Ipoh city is filled with the new generation 'kopitiams', I'd say it's about time! These new cafes focus on one product: white coffee (duh!) and the rest of the items on the menu don't really matter. If you get some good food or drinks other than the white coffee, consider it a bonus. The setting is more or less like Coffee Bean or Starbucks, only much simpler. Many of the outlets, especially Old Town Kopitiam have wooden chairs and marble-top tables that are used to enhance the ambience of the 'old town' kind of feel. So far none has wi-fi access yet.

For this article, I will just focus on Ipoh City's Kopitiam and White Coffee franchise development.

Let's take a look at some of the kopitiams all around Ipoh city. In no random order.

Old Town Kopitiam, Jalan Tun Sambanthan. Opposite St Michael's Institution, same row with HSBC.

Old Town Kopitiam in Ipoh Garden South. Same row with Ipoh Garden Plaza .

Old Kopitiam in Yik Foong Complex in town. Sorry, city. notice it's Old Kopitiam. Not Old Town.

Kafe Happy Valley, Jalan Tun Sambanthan. Next to the earlier mentioned Old Town Kopitiam.

NEW! Old Ipoh Kopitiam, opposite Gourmet Square in Ipoh Garden. (9th June - This place may no longer exist, or a name change has occurred)

NEW! Koptiam Ideal, Jalan Yang Kalsom. (9th June - This place may no longer exist, or a name change has occurred)

I-poh Coffee in Ipoh Parade.

Into Eat Cafe, also in Ipoh Parade. Nice wordplay.

Of course, I had to step into at least one outlet otherwise this posting would not be complete. I decided to go for the one in Bandar Baru Medan as I could easily find parking in front of the shop.

Old Town Kopitiam, Bandar Baru Medan. Behind Tesco and Jusco Kinta City.

Cozy environment with pictures of Old Town Ipoh.

Semi authentic interior deco.

The talk of the posting. Hot or cold?

Speaking of hot and cold, I think this is called "Ice Fire Apollo Bun". Recommended.

Their signature dish: Nasi Lemak Curry Chicken.

Brown toast with kaya and butter. Recommended.

Glutinous rice with kaya.

Ok, those were about the modern Kopitiams in Ipoh. Time to pay homage to the guys who started it ok?

Kedai Kopi Sun Yuan Foong, Jalan Bandar Timah, old town Ipoh.

Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong, Jalan Bandar Timah, just next to the previous coffee shop. This is THE recommended white coffee shop.

Smiles after every cup indulged.

A cuppa from KKSYL, old town. They don't have the teaspoon in the handle. Notice the marble top table.

Kedai Kopi Sin Yoon Loong's branch at Jalan Bendahara. Notice the different spelling.

A cuppa from the branch. Notice the plastic table.

The kaya/butter toast picture that makes me hungry just by looking at it.

Another one who also started the 3-in-1 packs you find in supermarkets.

There you have it. Let's hope that this is not a temporary trend for coffee lovers!

Special thanks to my girlfriend Elaine who took 85% of the shop photos. Luv ya!

Updates:

Wanna know the origins of the Ipoh White Coffee? For more information, please click here.

For some excellent Ipoh white coffee brewing tips, click here.

Lazy to click? I knew it. Let me tell you a simple story then. Once upon a time, not long ago in the middle of the 20th century, a Hainanese coffee maker decided that most coffees are good but could do better. Suddenly, a light bulb appeared on top of his head and it was brightly lit instantly! He took some coffee beans, some margarine and some beet-sugar and then he gently roast them in very high temperature conditions.

Now, unlike the normal coffee roast, he didn't use the common sugar. The end results produced a less dark roast. Hence the term of "Not-So-Black" coffee was created! Another Hainanese heard that name and he injected some commercial values into it. He called it the White Coffee.

How to serve? You can do any combination you want, be it coffee powder with sugar, sweetener, creamer, condensed milk, evaporated milk or simply plain black coffee. However, there is a recommended way of doing it which is by adding a teaspoon of the white coffee powder (filtered) into a teacup, pour some boiling hot water and lastly adding a teaspoon of condensed milk and one, two or three teaspoons (depending on your liking) of evaporated milk. Finally, stir the cup as though there is no tomorrow and try to let your stirring hand imitate the blender. Best to drink it while still hot.

You can purchase packets of the Ipoh White Coffee (not the 3-in-1, but also available) from the coffee shops old town Ipoh, namely Sun Yuan Foong, Sun Yuan Loong and Nam Heong.

Other Places for Good White Coffee

There are some other decent coffee shops you can drop by for a good cup of white coffee. The following are some of my regular caffeine hang out places.

Kedai Kopi Chang Jiang, Jalan Pasir Puteh, next to Courts Mammoth. They produce their own white coffee. Plus, they have good food! Only open at night.

Pusat Makanan Ye Sing, Jalan Dato Megat Khas, Ipoh Garden. They have nice and thick white coffee. They also have a roast pork rice stall that has people queueing up to buy daily.

Restoran Sun Up, Canning Garden. Good beef noodle soup. Good western food. Good laksa. My favourite place of all favourite places. Oh yeah, fantastic and superb white coffee.

See also Old Town Kopitiam Ipoh Jaya and Greentown Business Centre.