Thai Food in Bercham, Ipoh – Sukhotai & Thai Xiang
October 11, 2009 | 9,376 viewsThai-Style Steamed Red Snapper – Two rather thick chunks of fish, with firm and sweet flesh steamed with a tangy, slightly piquant and very appetizing soup, garnished with coriander
Since the ‘demise’ of Nakhon Pathom Thai food stall in Bercham, one of my personal favourite, we had to resort to other restaurant options, such as Koh Samui, Yum Yum, Assam House, and so forth. Of course there are the other stalls, food courts, and restaurants all around Ipoh that I may not be aware of, but to find an authentic eatery serving traditional, ‘unadulterated‘ Thai dishes can be likened to seeking a needle in a haystack, so to speak.
Tom Yum with Seafood @ Sukhotai Thai Food in Kedai Makanan Sumto
Recently, we heard whispers in the wind. No, we’re not down with schizophrenia or something like that. But a welcoming rumour of a well-received, highly rated Thai food stall in one of the coffee shop in Bercham, named Kedai Makanan Sumto had me sat up and took notice. For the person who recommended this stall was none other than Ah Wong himself, the previous co-owner of Nakhon Pathom Thai food stall. (By the way, the reason the stall has since ceased operations is because his wife who is of Thai origin aka the only cook, was suffering from aches and fatigue from the long hours slaving it out in front of the stove).
Pandan Chicken, Stir-fried Kailan, and “I present to you …. Sukhotai !!!! …. MY Sukhotai! “
A meal for four came to RM65, with a rather generous serving of steamed red snapper fillets Thai-style, with halved tomatoes in a sour-ish, slightly spicy gravy. Or soup, rather. No wonder the owner was shocked when we insisted on a serving of Tom Yum AND a serving of the steamed fish. For an overload of soups had our tastebuds confused over the mixed flavours in the end. The Tom Yum with Seafood came brimming with the usual suspects; prawns, squids, fish, and mixed vegetables and mushrooms. Thankfully it was not fiery hot, and even grandma could sip on the concoction without burning her tongue. Or numbing her already numbed tastebuds. The Pandan Chicken was passable, nothing that screamed for attention nor stood out amongst the other versions I’ve tasted over the years. Wait, that made me sound so old ……..
Ipohans would have seen this shop indefinitely, especially those staying in Bercham
Sukhotai Thai Food stall is located inside Kedai Makanan Sumto on the main road of Jalan Bercham itself, directly at the crossroad with the traffic lights leading to the inner half of Bercham. The irony was that, the owner of the stall is a Chinese man whose wife is a Thai, and this stall has been serving the hungry souls since 2003!
Location :
Sukho Thai – Thai Food
Kedai Makanan Sumto
Jalan Bercham,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel No : 6016-545 8613
Closed on Wednesdays.
Here’s a GOOGLE MAP to Sukho Thai @ Kedai Makanan Sumto
And if you’re thinking, is that it? Oh no. I’ve decided to be slightly more generous than ever before, and poison you with some other shots from another Thai outlet in Bercham. Yup, not ONE, but TWO whopping recommendations in one post. Okay … I just like to ramble on and on …. sue me. =P
The omnipresent, ubiquitous Tom Yum Kung (RM12)
About 3 minutes of drive away from Sukho Thai, is this Thai Xiang Restaurant in Taman Pakatan of Bercham, which is also run by a family of Thais, I presume, judging from the cheery camaraderie and banters in Thai language on the evening we went for a meal.
Delicious Thai Fish Cakes RM4 for 4 pieces
The Tom Yum was many folds hotter than Sukho Thai’s, but not necessarily better. Lacking in terms of taste, with a slightly fiery kick. You win some, you lose some. 4-5 medium-sized prawns, crabsticks, sliced fish cakes, and the compulsory greens and mushrooms completed the ensemble, that rendered us half-numb from all the heat. But thankfully the wind was chilly that evening, hence a warming claypot of spicy Tom Yum was all that I desired for, naturally.
But at Thai Xiang, do NOT miss their fish cakes. Thai style fish cakes, or patties, fried and served with a plate of hot and sweet Thai chilly sauce on the side. Very scrumptious, it was one of the recommended items from the lady owner. And boy, was she friendly. She speaks almost flawless Cantonese, for your information.
And the tantalizing plate of Kerabu Mango Salad to start things off ….. or in this case, ended the meal with a zest? (RM6)
Crunchy, tangy and sweet, the Kerabu Mango Salad managed to satiate any cravings for sour+spicy food, yet not overwhelmingly sour until you squirm in your seat. The crunchy bits of dried shrimps and anchovies complemented the salad well, which consists of young mangoes, carrots, and chopped scallions and coriander.
Location :
Xin Thai Xiang Restaurant
No 49, Hala Bercham Timur 11,
Taman Pakatan,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Tel No : 6016-564 3743
Opens daily from 5pm-12am. Closed on alternate Mondays.
Here’s the GOOGLE MAP to Xin Thai Xiang Restaurant in Taman Pakatan, Bercham

this is good alternative of the usual Yum Yum or especially Assam House which the quality has deteroiate and expensive…
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
yup, and Kim Bali as well. though I still have yet to learn the true story bout Kim Bali and Assam House.
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yo… i didnt know about this!!! thanks a lot, James.. now that i know, I will visit it one of these days.. i hope i can find the place.. even looking at the google map, it is still confusing to me… i will look around in bercham… or ask my bercham fren.. she should know where it is…if not, she cannot call herself bercham-ian… the fish looks so…so… real… like i can just take it out from your blog and eat it.. hahahaha..
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
manage to find already? its rather easy. the sumto on the main road, while Thai Xiang on the road parallel to the main road.
in taman pakatan.
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yummy steamed fish, will sure try it! thanks once again
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Wow, such huge portion is given. Sweet ^^
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I am drooling at the thai styled steamed red snapper and the tom yum seafood. Yummy!!
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Very reasonable price for the generous serving and appetizing dishes.
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omg..1 buck per piece of fish cake!???
where to find in KL man..
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Every dish looks so appetizing…with bit of sweet, sour, spicy and pungent.
.-= ck lam´s last blog ..Penang Food – Satay Ah’ Basri, Expect Satisfaction from Every Cucuk! =-.
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You should try to ask them steam the fish with lime juice …. it is even more tasty!
.-= email2me´s last blog ..Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2009 with Tai Zi Heen “A Hong Kong Encounter” =-.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
i just asked for whatever the other tables were ordering. but this type of steamed fish, ala Teochew style, was not bad at all.
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hULK Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Sorry for asking…r u also MFM (MalFreeMap) member.
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 9:32 am
hi HULK. I’m not a member of MFM. no GPS unit also. 🙂
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Great! two nice cheap and affordable place For Thai food.
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my my…
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Wow.. kerabu, tom yam and fish cake… yummy. I want them all. Do they serve meng kam?
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
not sure, but highly doubtful.
no menu, hence we ordered according to their recommendations.
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War…so many Thai foods huh! :p
The first restaurant…the fish flesh were only steamed? Won’t it taste bad? :p
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Yay! Thai food! So hungry by just looking the pictures!
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What a STEAL!!! That steamed fish looks glorious!!
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The fish cakes look very oily woh!
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
slightly, but still very tasty. and a steal, as Joe said.
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I have went to sumto 3 thai’s food but then I can said this is 1st and last. Why? We requested smallest one for 2 dieses and one tom yam soup for a person. At the end of it, it’s costs about RM40++ and it’s takes 3 hours to wait. It is is lots of ppls also but their cooking is terrible, very slow. Too bad…………..
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:52 am
3 hours?!!! wow. we waited for about 45 minutes, and we were all already fidgety, but still we persevered.
i can’t imagine you waited that long. but indeed, since the kitchen is run by the Thai lady herself, with bits of help from a few others, I would’ve anticipated some form of waiting.
much like the Nakhon Pathom Thai food that has since been closed.
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I was having difficulties to read this blog lately as my co’s restrction & limitation on file size.
Just to inform u that the one favourite Thai food of mine , near the Iph gdn east flat has stop business as wife undergone surgery & they could have gone back to Thai. I manage to have the last final meal ….sad. Its my favourite.
Its way better then Sukhotai…
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[…] Sukhotai Thai Food @ Sumto, Bercham […]
the claypot curry fish is the best there… and fried kailan…
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J2Kfm Reply:
October 3rd, 2010 at 5:41 pm
If only the wait is shorter huh?
Oh yeah, do you know that the Nakhon Pathom Thai food stall is REopening soon?!! I can’t wait to have my absolute favourite tom yam, fried chicken, etc again!
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[…] For the other Thai restaurants around the area : – Thai Xiang Restaurant – Sukhotai @ Sumto Restaurant – Thai Food Stall opposite of Bercham primary […]
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Thai Food in Ipoh | Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel
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