After all, the old city is famous for its many dim sum outlets, with some operating for several generations now.
Among the most famous are Foh San and Ming Court, though there are many more which locals sing praises of, making it harder to decide which deserves your patronage.
If you want a restaurant that offers a truly Malaysian experience though, travel down Lebuh Cecil Rae to check out a newcomer on the block.
Canning Gardens is considered a residential area of Ipoh’s upper class and it is here that Canning Dim Sum resides.
While it was established fairly recently in 2018, the family that opened the eatery has been making steamed buns for decades now.
In addition, founders Nang Yu Chuan and Ceylyn Tay decided this eatery be halal so all Malaysians could enjoy their fare.
During FMT’s visit, the restaurant was packed with patrons from all walks of life, a testament to how Malaysians are united by their love of food.
The restaurant itself is quite a pretty sight, located within a repurposed bungalow with an estimated sitting capacity of 250.
There are tables and seats in the beautifully-decorated garden as well, drawing customers who don’t mind a bit of morning sunshine with their meal.
Most folks tend to head indoors though, where a comfortable dining area awaits with ample space and air-conditioning.
Service here is impressively efficient, with servers seemingly waiting in the wings to be at your every beck and call.
Besides the usual pots of tea, of note is actually the coffee! The signature iced Ipoh white coffee – a perfect balance of sugar, milk and coffee – makes for a good start to the day here.
There are over 60 dim sum varieties here, so you may feel a little overwhelmed. Do ask the friendly staff for recommendations.
Of the dim sum options, the most eye-catching is the butterfly pea dumplings and the butterfly pea gyozas. And they are as tasty as they are attractive, with chewy skin outside and meaty insides.
The restaurant’s signature dumpling is another which is Instagram-worthy, crafted to appear as little carrots.
Apparently, these treats are made without artificial colouring but with natural ingredients like butterfly pea flower and pumpkins to bring out the bright colours.
No dim sum course is quite complete without the classic siew mai and the black pepper mai is apparently a crowd favourite here. It is not hard to see why as a little spice goes a long way to making these little meaty treats even tastier.
Other dishes worth sampling are the sweet and sour bean curd roll and smoked duck roll, both packing strong flavours which will leave you wanting more.
The Shanghai chicken broth dumpling is delicious, with its thin and supple skin holding generous amounts of chicken stock and meat.
Besides dim sum, there are many pastries as well, with the onion rolls worth a place on your plate.
Soft and fluffy, they make for strangely effective comfort food, especially when eaten hot out of the oven.
There is also a large variety of baos to choose from, with the BBQ chicken bao offering diners a sweet and meaty option. However, most customers sing praises of the salted egg lava bao and black sesame bao.
Don’t forget to order yourself a plate of shrimp roll chee cheong fun, a simple but filling meal with a springy texture and savoury sauce. A few more prawns couldn’t have hurt though!
If you have any doubts about how good halal dim sum can be, Canning Dim Sum should convince you as it stands up to par with Ipoh’s other famous dim sum shops.
Canning Dim Sum
1, Lebuh Cecil Rae
Taman Canning
31400 Ipoh
Perak
Contact: 016-2680535 / 05-5415556
Business hours: 7.30am-3.30pm (closed on Wednesdays)