A visitor’s guide to Perak, Malaysia: hot springs, history, homely food, and gem hunting
- More relaxed and less constricting than Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh in Perak state has shophouses, historical restaurants and even a Scottish castle
- Former tin-mining pits have been turned into a nature reserve, and a retired gemologist can help you fossick for gemstones in old quarries
Colonial architecture, old-world culture, legacies of industry, and a people proud of their town’s past – history comes alive in Ipoh, capital of Perak state in Malaysia.
“A lady came in and by chance, sat at a table next to her late father’s photo” at Durbar at FMS, a restaurant on the site of Ipoh’s first bar-restaurant, manager Seow Wee Liam recalls. A couple in their 80s told him the original restaurant was a place they used to go courting.
For Seow, an architect by training and Ipoh born and bred, this attachment to history is the most satisfying aspect of his new venture, which is housed in a 1920s building.
“This place holds a lot of memories and meaning for people,” says the 40-year-old.
At the Sinhalese Bar, 76-year-old owner Alfred Perera offers a beaming smile to everyone who enters through its swing doors. Founded by his father in 1931, the homely bar’s bright pink walls are covered in old posters, sepia-toned photographs and framed newspaper articles. Here and elsewhere, splendid meals appear, dish after dish whipped up by cooks carrying on family traditions.
Groups such as Kinta Heritage work to conserve childhood tastes, promote community life and document traditional activities such as charcoal- and pottery-making.