Occasional visitors to Ipoh head to Lou Wong and other famous purveyors of chicken bean sprouts, but ask a local and they might just direct you to Cowan Street, with its patchy opening hours, juicy poached chicken (and chicken feet) and noodles in broth. Expect queues.
Cowan Street
Ipoh
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.46 MILES
Steeped in tragic legend, this monument to British eccentricity stands marooned by the highway, 5km east of Batu Gajah. Known as Kellie’s Folly, the…
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23.46 MILES
If there's time for only one tea-themed experience in the highlands, make it this spectacularly situated plantation, with its own tea interpretation…
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14.85 MILES
This former royal palace, also known as Istana Kota and Istana Hulu, is a showy mash-up of Renaissance, neoclassical and Moorish styles. Completed in 1903…
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3.06 MILES
First discovered by a monk in 1890, this cavern, 5km south of Ipoh, is now a riot of religious statuary and pagoda tiles. The entrance pavilion is grand…
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29.61 MILES
With many of Perak's museums in dire need of more funding, Taiping's well-maintained Muzium Perak stands out. Parts of the pristine, whitewashed building…
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22.34 MILES
This scarlet-and-yellow temple complex, just south of Brinchang, about 1km off the main road, is stacked high with gleaming golden statues of Chinese…
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3.95 MILES
With a craggy cave mouth beneath a towering cliff, Kek Look Tong (1920) has the most impressive approach of all Ipoh's temples. Three Sages dominate the…
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3.37 MILES
Developed in 1926 by Chinese Buddhists Chong Sen Yee and his wife, this temple (7km north of Ipoh) is popular for its mesmerising murals and panoramic…
Nearby Ipoh attractions
0.46 MILES
This late-19th-century mosque, attractively painted white and sky blue, is tucked away in Ipoh's new town, on the east bank of the Kinta River.
0.47 MILES
This charming small museum charts the history of Han Chin Villa, a 1929 clubhouse for Hakka tin miners that became a hotbed of prostitution, opium trading…
0.58 MILES
Built in the Mughal style in 1908 for the local Indian population, this mosque has an attractive, lacey, green-and-white design. Only Muslims are allowed…
0.64 MILES
A fine example of colonial architecture, this school, on the padang’s northern flank, was founded by the Catholic La Salle brothers in 1912. Not open to…
0.67 MILES
The clock tower, with a 1.95m-diameter bell, was erected in 1909 in memory of James WW Birch, Perak’s first British Resident. Birch was murdered in 1875…
0.74 MILES
Ipoh’s courthouse was completed in 1928 by AB Hubback, the same architect who designed Ipoh’s train station and the town hall.
0.75 MILES
Ipoh’s gleaming white town hall dates back to 1916 and is a popular spot for wedding-photo shoots. Visitors are often allowed to wander inside; the upper…
0.76 MILES
North of the padang (field), this museum is housed in a 1926 villa built for a wealthy Chinese tin miner. The museum features displays on the history of…