Tin-city turns to tourism

Never heard of Ipoh? Don't feel too badly. Likewise, don't be embarrassed if you didn't know it is in Malaysia. Just don't call it EYE-poh. It's EE-poh. Gottit?

Want to find out more about this fascinating little-known place? Read on....

If those magnificent fingerlike hills shading into transparency at the horizon remind you of parts of China, there is a good reason. They are part of a range of karst formations that ring the city for 20 kilometres or more.

These limestone mountains are similar to those found near Guilin in southern China and also far northern Vietnam at Halong Bay. Just as in those places, here there are grottos and caves, and of course many of these hills have been quarried extensively, plundered for their rich deposits of lime so valuable for the making of cement. 

WATCH THIS video to get a real feel for the city

But we were headed for a welcoming and comfortable place on the city's edge. M Boutique, our hotel, subtitles this first property in a projected chain, as Strangers as Friends. 'Come as strangers, leave as friends' goes the note on the card holding our room key. 

Carefully styled to connect the warmth of the past with the style and efficiency of the present, there are little surprises like these battered suitcases (above) everywhere. Whimsy rules, and it is a little like being put up for the night by a charming and slightly quirky great aunt - albeit one with a great sense of what a guest needs. One who has sought style advice from her strenuously trendy niece, perhaps.

Boutique it is, too, with just 93 rooms. Ours is tiny, barely large enough for the bed, but it is superbly comfortable, and all our needs are meticulously catered for. There are free drinks in the smallest fridge we have ever seen, a hair-dryer tucked away, a safe, waffle-weave slippers and free WiFi (yes!). Tea-making too. It's times like this you thank the British for their influence in Malaysia!

There's a chic urban Melbourne-meets-Malaysia feel to this place and we love it! Ipoh was a major tin-mining city during the era of British rule, and there are reminders in the hotel decor too. We are to discover its colonial past everywhere in the city during our stay, but we see it first, reflected here in these tin trunks.

Although there is a trendy cafe next to the hotel reception, also adjoining the hotel is the OldTown White Coffee restaurant. Serving Asian and Continental meals, we can see it attracting travellers from KL and Singapore.

When in Malaysia, there is no question about what we will eat. Kaya toast for breakfast or a massive plate of nasi lemak (above) and here it's included in the tariff.

After lunch, a no-brainer in the tropical climate: this cooling dessert of ais kachang (above) - shaved ice topped with cendol noodles, corn, cubes of jelly, red beans and syrup. Delicious!

Sorry! We couldn't resist it another day, too, this time topped with not so traditional, but creamily delicious ice cream.

Despite the fun we were having in our hotel and at the restaurant, we needed to explore this city which was in its time called 'the city of millionaires' because of the wealth generated from tin-mining in the late 19th century.

This is the railway station and it is not difficult to see why it has been called the Taj Mahal of Ipoh. It designer, Hubbard, had lived in India and built this former hospital in the Neo-Moorish style.  

The railway station stands to one side of the Old City, with its many glaringly whitewashed buildings, relics of British colonialism, some still used as banks and offices, and held in great esteem, today. We had picked up the Ipoh Heritage Trail brochure and set out to see  as much as we could before wilting in the noonday heat.

In front of the railway station are two important things to see. The plaque (above) is self-explanatory – and chilling.

Nearby, this flourishing tree gives no hint that it too, is linked to death. This is the ipoh tree, after which Ipoh was named. Its sap was poisonous, used long ago by the indigenous people to tip their hunting arrows. 

Morning is always the best time to see a market, though, and we are lured by the possibility of some shelter from the sun, so we head for the Pasir Puteh Wet Market. After the brilliant sunshine outdoors, it is almost dark inside, but our eyes soon accustom to the dimness.

Especially with this sort of thing glaring at us! Of course fish heads are beloved by cooks throughout south-east Asia for curries and other dishes and these look to be about as fresh as they get.

Likewise these little fellows.

Like most good food markets, this one is arranged according to categories. In the chicken section, we are not surprised to find the black-fleshed chickens originally from Indonesia, and so expensive they are sometimes known as the 'Lamborghini' of chickens. The feathers are black as well as the flesh and even the organs are dark. The cooked flesh retains the colour too.

Malaysian cookery relies heavily on fresh produce and there were many aisles of fruit and vegetables, herbs, fresh pandan leaves, taro, garlic, fresh ginger, and vats of freshly sprouted beans.

For vegetarians, or simply to add a heft of extra protein to a dish, tofu is a great favourite, and here there are about as many versions as you would find anywhere: fried, dried, marinated, fresh, and more.

The egg section dished up these black beauties. But, no, they do not come from those black-fleshed hens! These ones have been preserved and the black covering has dried hard. Nearby were hen eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs...

.... and of course seafood, shellfish, and crustaceans. How would you like to spend your day painstakingly cleaning these tiny clams by hand? Chances are this man was up all night, out in his boat, or on the sands, collecting them too.

Back out on the street, we could have spent a happy few hours reading the signs on the shophouses. If you come here, look for the sign for Dr Phang - a dentist, of course!

We had driven to Ipoh from Penang, just a couple of hours north on the freeway. Penang's wall murals have become quite a tourist drawcard, but Ipoh has some too and, interestingly, this one and several others in town were done by Ernest Zacharevic, one of the pioneers of Penang's street art.

This one is encouraging people to have a cup of coffee, and if you have been in a Malaysian cafe, you will recognise the pattern on the cup which seems to turn up in most of them.

While many of the older buildings in Ipoh are familiar to visitors from countries with a background of British rule, this tall tower was a surprise. It looked as if it had been lifted from the Tyrol, perhaps. Yet the Birch memorial and its delicate murals and belltower is a memorial to Perak’s first British Resident Minister, a man perhaps as unsuited to his role, as this European-looking building is to Asia.

We had been told of Ipoh's food and dining, and for a while we wondered if that was a myth.... until after cruising  the evening streets for some time we came across the hub of the town's outdoor dining scene. For the evening meal, several streets have been blocked and tables pulled out into the cooler night air.

Ipoh's claim to culinary fame is its famous sar hor fun noodles. People come from Kuala Lumpur and other parts, simply to slurp up a bowl of them. Why are they so good? Remember the mountains surrounding this city? Water from limestone areas is especially good and it is this mineral-rich water which is credited with making the local noodles so outstanding.

Don't just believe us. You'll have to go there and try for yourself.

Perak, the Malaysian state of which Ipoh is the capital is called the country's food bowl. Its soil, conditions and climate all collaborate to make ideal growing conditions for many forms of produce. 

But while the action has moved to the middle of the street, that doesn't stop the shops staying open to capture other shoppers. Here, a line-up of huge pomelos swing temptingly above the shelves of pastries.

If you haven't met a pomelo yet, it is the largest of the citrus family, and although it is very similar to grapefruit, its flesh is less juicy and less sour. Cleaner and easier to eat, it is often broken into segments for sale in markets or pieces are crumbled into salads. 

Remember our friend from the top of this page? This is where he was riding his bicycle stall, ringing a bell in an attempt to catch attention. He had on board a selection of hot dishes in the covered pans and vegetables which he could add to them.

Across  the street was a shop selling teas made from herbs and flowers, and each had a story attached to their basket. Some would assist blood health, others provide energy, some were calming, some could help with weight control.

And then, some were just beautiful, like these dried rosebuds. 

Ipoh, we found, to be prosperous, proud of its heritage, but like the rest of Malaysia, eagerly looking ahead. It is a city on the move. Once tin was its claim to fame and fortune. Today its culture and food, tourism and trade are keys to the future.

The motto of M Boutique hotel is 'come as stranger, leave as friends'. After a couple of days in  Ipoh, we reckoned the city should adopt this for its own promotional material.

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Text and images: ©Sally Hammond

Video: ©Gordon Hammond