A Timeless Dim Sum Affair @ Ying Fa Restaurant, Ipoh Old Town
September 2, 2010 | 15,260 viewsUpdated 12 September 2010 – Click here for the second page that will lead you to the second visit with Lotus Leaf Rice, Fried Lor Bak Gou (Radish Cake) and Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun.
Just the other day I read with much interest, a comment on All About Ipoh about some of the older dining establishments in Ipoh. If you have been a true-blue Ipohan all along (a baby of the 80’s, at the very least) then you might have heard of names like Kok Kee and Kwong Chow Dim Sum, Tho Yuen, and the very famous Chee Seng on Jalan Theatre.
Still standing strong amidst the slew of NEW dim sum outlets; Ying Fa is a hidden gem the youngsters of today have probably never heard of, let alone aware of the existence at one corner of Belfied Street.
Of course, all of the names above are but long gone. For me, I had the fondest memories at Kok Kee; a dim sum restaurant that opens until late at night. The aforementioned restaurant occupied a spacious lot on Hugh Low Street (next to the current Hee Lai Ton Restaurant), and was one of the pioneers among dim sum eateries in Ipoh during the 80’s, aside from the very famous Foh San on Osborne Street, and maybe Ming Court/Yoke Fook Moon …. but I was too young back then to be sure of the facts.
Glad to see the locals (mostly families, or extended families) still patronizing Ying Fa, and not succumbing to the allure of the now legendary Dim Sum Street of Ipoh ….
However, let’s not count the immensely valiant Ying Fa out from this equation. Yes, about four decades of legacy, and amazingly still soldiering on albeit the dwindling of customers due to the other more commercialized and comfortable settings, and the sheer amount of publicity that has been pumped into strengthening the “BIG 3” amongst Dim Sum Restaurants in Ipoh.
Read on to find out why was I enticed by Ying Fa, and what they offer aside from the generic array of dim sum ……..
Everything’s kept warm, even piping hot in the steamers before being carted around and served to you.
Ying Fa Restaurant may sound like an alien to you, while the name of Belfied Street resembles more of a street in the UK than here in Malaysia. I am not going to go to the extent of criticizing the manic renaming process (did I just do that?); transforming every familiar road names into almost similar, unpronounceable fancy ones. But Belfied Street is known as Jalan Sultan Yussuf now, and Ying Fa is STILL known as Ying Fa, aka the beautiful Sakura flower.
Prawn Dumplings/Har Gau – One of the MUST-eat when you’re in a dim sum restaurant. The most traditional form of Har Gau seemed to incorporate a sliver of lard, but nowadays we get succulent prawn(s) with chives and sometimes crunchy yambean cubes.
The restaurant can seat a sizeable breakfast crowd; maybe more than 150 customers if cramped to the max. The ordering system is like the usual; the Chinese ladies (most in their late 50’s, or early 60’s) will push their carts to your table; carrying steaming hot morsels to be chosen, or plateful of deep-fried goodies like the perennial favourite of mine; “Wu Kok” aka Yam Puff and “Ham Sui Kok” literally translated to Salty Water Puff; a glutinous flour dough filled with a salty and spicy filling made up of dried shrimps, char siew (barbecued pork) and even crunchy ‘choy pou’ or preserved radish.
Freshly steamed rice rolls wrapped around minced pork patty; a throwback to the classic “Cheong Fun” that can be found in most dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong (here’s a post on Lin Heung Tea House) but routinely replaced by the more popular HK Chee Cheong Fun with shrimps/char siew fillings here.
Traditional egg tarts; with a buttery cookie pastry instead of the more common flaky version in dim sum restaurants, and the scarily deep-fried yam puffs that were surprisingly good. Beats Bidor’s Pun Chun‘s version hands down, and at a fraction of the price.
The restaurant only operates the breakfast hours; until about 12 noon before calling it a day. Yes, they do not even bother to cater to the lunch crowd, as the many good eats around old town settle that headache for most.
Bear in mind that most items finish by 11am or so, especially their famous Lotus Leaf Rice (RM3.20/USD1.00) or “Hor Yip Fan”. On that morning we went, the said glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf were all gone by 8.00am !!!!! Talk about exclusivity.
Most items at Ying Fa are priced at RM2.50-RM2.80 (about USD0.80) per portion; aside from the specials like Lotus Leaf Rice and Noodle dishes at RM4.00 (USD1.20) per serving (more on this later)
The appetizing “Suen Jook Quin”; beancurd sheet-wrapped rolls of pork doused in a sweet and sour tomato-based sauce. At Ying Fa, a portion comes in four rolls.
Good thing was, there was no rush to grab the dim sum before they’re gone from your sight. Or worse, in the case of the new Foh San, jostle among the throngs of people to pick your dim sum from the counter instead of having them brought over to your table.
Self service, but at a price? You bet! (Read the new Foh San fiasco)
Caught in the Act?!!
The Lotus Leaves … sans the Rice. Sigh …. some other day then.
All in all, the taste of the dim sum at Ying Fa might not have blown our minds away, nor ignited severe cravings for their dim sum in the near future. But not to indicate that the dim sum there are paltry, mediocre affairs.
No, sirree. FAR from that, in fact. You can taste the freshness of the dim sum, in particular the bouncy fish balls, the deliciously tangy Sweet and Sour Rolls, and the pathetic-looking-but-surprisingly-tasty Lor Mai Gai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken and mushrooms). The Lor Bak Gou or Fried Radish Cake was filled with generous amount of dried shrimps, and you can even opt to have them fried with bean sprouts and egg; ala Foh San style. A portion at RM4.00/USD1.20.
We saw many people buying their dim sum from the take away counter fronting the shop; a table set up with trays of steaming hot dim sum like Char Siew Bao (barbecued pork buns), fish balls, and Ma Lai Gou (steamed sponge cake)
This restaurant is a stone’s throw away from Sin Yoon Loong and Nam Heong; the original white coffee pioneers in Ipoh. So if you simply can’t find a parking spot along Jalan Bandar Timah, or Jalan Bijeh Timah, or worse … you spent the whole morning seeking for a parking space, only to discover that the shops were packed to the brim or closed, don’t tear your hair out.
Hop over to Ying Fa Restaurant on the road parallel to Jalan Bandar Timah where the old town white coffee specialists are at. And relish in the thought of eating a slice morsel of history, in a premise probably patronized by your grandparents !!! 🙂
* Ying Fa serves various noodle dishes; the special-of-the-day as follows : Monday (Wat Tan Hor), Tuesday (Curry Mee), Wednesday (Braised Pork Mee), Thursday (Prawn Mee), Friday (Pork Trotters Mee), Saturday (Spare Ribs Mee). No noodle dishes on Sundays and public holidays.
YING FA RESTAURANT
1C, Jalan Sultan Yussuf (Belfied Street)
30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Telephone : 605-254 8061/6012-450 4565
Business Hours : 6.00am – 12.00pm daily. From 5.30am onwards on Sundays and public holidays.
GPS Coordinates : E 101 4′ 33.3″ N 4 35′ 30.0″
Google Map to Ying Fa Restaurant
>>> JUMP TO NEXT PAGE FOR THE SECOND VISIT, WHERE WE FINALLY GOT TO TASTE THE LOTUS LEAF RICE, AND TRIED SOME NEW DIM SUM >>>
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wow, really have to look beyond just foh san and ming court now since both are commercialized and overpriced! food quality has certainly dropped!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Not so much for Ming Court, but Foh San I felt have seriously gone down in terms of quality. And let’s not talk about the pathetic service ….
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Oh yes, Ying Fa. Pass by this shop everytime we’re on the way home from town but ironically, we never been there, not even once.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Yeah, I passed by often too when going towards Menglembu from my work place. But you know what? Before this I have always thought this was just another coffee shop selling economy rice, or ‘chu char’ dishes.
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The lotus leave rice must be enticing…so enticing that you guys ate up the rice and simply dumped the leaves. :p
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Duh … tekkaus; we DID NOT lah. Read between the lines okay? 🙂
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are u sure har gau got sliver of lard?? thats something new, despite my friend tellin me b4 that it is actually two ingredients; prawns with arrowshoot (or something like that)
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 pm
I just read from a Hong Kong food blog yesterday. Not sure if that’s supposed to be the REAL Har Gau, but I know they no longer do that here.
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Just for info – The new generations of Kok Kee Restaurant had opened their Dim Sum Restaurant in Bercham Ipoh and it is known as Sun Kok Kee. It is behind the SRK (Cina) Bercham Ipoh. The food quality is there and the price very reasonable.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:59 am
Yeah, I have heard of the Sun Kok Kee, but did not know they’re one of the same.
Here’s a page on them : http://superpages.com.my/restaurant-and-dining/chinese-food/sun-kok-kee-126989.html
in case anyone’s interested to know where they are.
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agree with jimmy, kok kee ‘s dim sum is quite good
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:02 am
Thanks SImple Girl, that’s reassuring enough.
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Oh… I always love to have the Traditional egg tarts with a buttery cookie pastry. I don’t like the more common flaky version… haha
i should visit this restaurant when I am going to ipoh again next time….
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 am
Yeah, depends loh, I have friends who like the buttery cookie version (you can find them at John King’s egg tarts kiosks in Klang Valley and Penang). But personally I do not mind having the flaky pastry ones in dim sum outlets.
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Ah!!! Nostalgia!!
Another present day Dim Sum is Hill City.
BTW have you tried the Over-the bridge-mai-sin in Taman Mas Falim ?
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Hill City Hotel you mean? Never knew they serve dim sum there. Any good?
Tower Regency serves pork-free (maybe halal?) dim sum too.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Bushido; yes I have tried the Over-The-Bridge Noodles. But not to our liking, rather bland without the thick chili paste.
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I’m going up to Cameron Highland this Sat, is this dim sum place convenient for me to stop by?
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Hi mimi. If coming from the south, I don’t think so. But you can detour to old town, then back to Simpang Pulai. About 10-15 minutes of drive only from Simpang Pulai exit to old town of Ipoh.
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This is definitely a good find for dim sum! No more jostling and waiting for tables.. I’d much rather have a long and relaxing dim sum session without people staring at me eating! *LOL*
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Same here! We ended our meal, then sip on Chinese tea and chatted with the aunty there. Very relaxing, no rush and perfect start to the off-day.
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Kok Kee… wow! That is a name I almost forgot… Yin Fa… Have been a long time since I went there.. Use to go there a lot with my parents during weekend..and very early.. This is before Ming Court..
Thanks for reminding me about this long lost place..
Good one bro!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Brought back memories right? This was my first visit to Ying Fa though, and fond memories of eating at Kok Kee for dinner-supper came flooding by ….. That was exactly why I used to like eating at the old Foh San back then. Very nostalgic, very rich in legacy.
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Oh yes, I remember Kok Kee – fave place to go for dim sum at night! Those good old days…sigh.
This Ying Fa place – must check it out soon… very “old world” and serving authentic fresh dimsum – that’s a winner in my books!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Yeah! Back then when we were still kids, a dinner at Kok Kee would mean a most delicious dim sum affair; including my personal fav egg tarts and har gau.
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Wow, i am so surprised that you dont know Hilllcity serve dim sum for so many years and brim with peoples too everyday. Nothing special and the taste so-so only, maybe serve more local people from gunung rapat and soon choon housing area…….
Personally, the best char siew pao in ipoh is from yoke fok moon!
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Really? Thanks nick. I seldom go to restaurants in hotels for food, hence the ignorance.
Last time used to take the dim sum from Tai Thong, but after they have moved to the current Royal China, I have not visited.
Yes, the best bao from Yoke Fook Moon, that’s for sure.
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[…] A Timeless Dim Sum Affair @ Ying Fa Restaurant, Ipoh Old Town […]
OMG! We like dim sum very much here =] Stomach already drooling when seeing all these dim sum.. We have never try this before, the steamed rice rolls wrapped around minced pork patty… I don’t think it is available here at KL isn’t it?
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Ahh.. Ying fa is finally in your review… me and my family visit this place most of the time when we need dim sum fix.. why? 1st..not as crowded as the famous foh san and ming court… 2nd..overall, the dim sum is good and 3rd the most important.. portion is big and price is reasonable. You should try the pork ribs..the gravy is damn good
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 7th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Oh …. I don’t think they had pork ribs that day. But I can’t be sure. We tried most of the stuff, and had to take away some as there were only three of us.
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I went there this morning, for taste wise I still prefer Ming Court and Yoke Fook Moon.
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 7th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
I see …. just that this is tempting in the sense that sometimes, after one too many Foh San or Ming Court sessions, the traffic and the people might get to you. And you just wish for a place like Ying Fa, or Sun Kim Aik.
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Wow, you brought back old memories 🙂 My family used to go there a few times a week like more than 10 years ago…
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Haha … yeah, the place is still there. And still you can see a crowd there on most mornings. Though mostly the locals, and the aged generation.
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HI all
Can I ask if the Tai Thong which have moved from Heritage to the place near Casuarina is any good? I was told that their banquet halls are quite nicely designed and all…
Food wise, how’s the dinner or even yum cha there? If anyone can some shed light, that will be much appreciated!
Thanks again…
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 13th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Hi Foreigner liao … (haha),
Personally, I have not been to Royal China (the name of the restaurant) though I have heard of mixed reactions with regards to their food.
The ambience is lovely, especially the Tropicana Banquet Hall. Royal China serves dim sum as well, and you can find some reviews on the net if you Google for them.
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Foreigner liao.... Reply:
September 14th, 2010 at 6:52 am
Hi J2Kfm
Yeah..I have been scouring the net and as you said, there are mixed reviews. It’s good you mentioned the Tropicana Banquet Hall as I was just trying to look for a gallery or some pics, but no luck. 😐
Aparently, their dinner is good, the locals; well my parents and their friends, seems to think that they are up there with the best in Ipoh. My only concern is on the chef’s management side in handling 3 banquets on the same day for a combined capacity of 100 tables?
That’s why I was snooping around for information if anyone has frequented Royal China during a wedding..
Anyhow…thanks for the feeback! Much appreciated!
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interesting place to be….. seeing the crowd to be locals and elderly people. Food wise, some hits and misses. The Har cau has thick skin – not nice. Lotus leave rice – sold out! Loh Mai fan – a tad too oily. fried prawn rolls – this is good. Need to try other stuffs as well. parking is quite a breeze (on a Raya morning)
Royal China – nice food but….. very expensive (small portions)..there’s always a price to pay….
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J2Kfm Reply:
September 15th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Yeah, I can understand that. To imagine a restaurant like Royal China serving RM2.80 per plate of dim sum, how are they going to survive right?
But if the taste and quality justify the price paid, I don’t mind paying RM5 or more for each portion of dim sum. The environment alone is a plus factor to some.
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I went there yesterday (1st May 2014) and the place was closed…..the name “YING FA” has been replaced with “TO LET”…..does anyone know what has happened to this legendary dim-sum restaurant?
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The place is confirmed closed.
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So sad to know it has closed down. :'(
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