After an afternoon touring Ipoh, we returned to have an early night at Hotel Excelsior Ipoh. The plan was to wake early and enjoy a good breakfast at one of the places that has the Best Food in Ipoh. It was the famous and popular Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼).
We were fortunate that Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) was located just behind Hotel Excelsior Ipoh. Just a 2 to 3 minutes walk and we were there. My Malaysian friend advised that we must try this eating place. Everyone who visits Ipoh must try it.
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) – The Overview & Rankings
Name: Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼)
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Dim Sum
Meals Served: Breakfast to Lunch
Dining Choices: Dine In, Reservations, Takeout
Family Friendly: Yes
Food: 4.0 out of 5.0
Service: 4.0 out of 5.0
Value: 4.0 out of 5.0
Atmosphere: 4.0 out of 5.0
Prices: $$ out of $$$$$
Asia Travel Gems Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) – The Video
Here is a short video showing the street where Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) is located. Also, the entrance, what is at the entrance, the dining area on the ground level, the counters where you order food, and also the traditional push trolley where they bring food to you for you to choose. Also, don’t forget the pics of the food, too.
About Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼)
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) has been around since 1971. They actually create their own dim sum and manufacture Mooncakes. Mooncakes are delicacies enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
They have won awards such as the Premis Makanan Terbaik 2011 Award. This tells you the high quality and standard of their delicious food.
The restaurant is popular with locals and tourists. Even with two floors of dining area, the place gets packed and there is usually a long queue.
Thankfully, we went during off peak season in January, and arrived early in the morning around 6.30 am. Already there were many customers. At least, we managed to get a table immediately. As you can see in the photo below, the place was already getting packed.
Tip: Visit during Off Peak Seasons (for example, in January),
and you can get a table easily.
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) – The Food
How to Order the Food?
There are few ways to order the food. You can either go to the counters and ask or point for what you wish to have, order from the wait staff, or look at the food brought on trolleys and point at what you would like to eat.
Here is a photo of the deep fried and baked food counter. One of my favorites is the Egg Tarts.
Here is counter with steamed dim sum such as siew mai, har kow, dumplings, baos, and many other choices. They are all covered.
All you have to do is ask them what they have, and the service staff will open each dim sum carrier as well as tell you what is inside. If you are unsure what are the ingredients inside a dim sum, you may ask them.
For example, you cannot tell what is inside a bao. Ask them and they will tell you what is inside it; for example, a cha siew bao will have Barbecued Pork inside.
For the above two counters, just order the food, and they will bring to your table. Alternatively, if you already know what you wish to have, you can order direct from the wait staff.
Another choice would be to stop a trolley when it passes by, and ask what goodies they have on the trolley. The service staff will patiently describe all the food on the trolley, and even show you if you would like to see before you decide. Then order and the service staff will place it on your table.
The Dim Sum!
After we ordered the food, the dishes were served. I am quite the simple person. My usual favorites are the usual fare such as Siew Mai, Har Kow and Cheong Fun, as shown below.
The Siew Mai was really good. Fine taste and the texture of the meat is smooth and tender. The Har Kow was a little disappointing. I hate it when the skin of dumplings fall off easily or are a little hard. Their Har Kow was both.
The Cheong Fun was the best! Being Ipoh that has the best hor fun, I am glad this continued to dishes that use this ingredient. It was thin, smooth and so soft. The mix of soya sauce and condiments created a delicious flavor that reminded me of the Bean Sprouts at Lou Wong.
As mentioned, my tastes for dim sum usually are quite simple. And of course, I must have the Cha Siew Baos (Barbecued Baos). Occasionally, I might get adventurous, and will try something a little different. Case in point, the Shrimp Dumpling with Spinach (tray on the left).
The Cha Siew Bao good. Nothing to rave about. But, good enough to stand out from other mass manufactured baos sold at coffee shops. The skin could have been a bit fluffier.
The Shrimp Dumplings with Spinach was a surprise! I liked the freshness of the shrimps and how the taste of the spinach and shrimp played off each other to create a delightful combo in the mouth.
After an enjoyable breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to get our luggage and checked out. Next – Penang! Here we come!
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) – Asia Travel Gems Final Word
Overall, I am awarding Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) 4.0.
Not all the dishes are good. But that’s normal in any restaurant right? There are some good ones, and some not so good.
The important thing is the good one must be of high standard and quality. And the not so good ones are tolerable.
Also, it must be noted that while I only tried the few dishes, they are the ones that are popular. Most people who have dim sum will usually order these dishes. So, it is important that these hallmark dim sum be the most delicious of all in the menu.
As you can tell from my review above, they have done well with most of the dim sum. The food stands out from other restaurants but not enough to get a 4.5 or 5.0. These are ratings that are hard to get from Asia Travel Gems.
A 4.0 means this is a place you can enjoy good food. It has some dishes that really delight the taste buds. It stand out from other restaurants but only barely.
How To Get There?
As mentioned earlier, Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼) is behind Excelsior Hotel, which is in the heart of the small town of Ipoh. If you stay at Excelsior Hotel, you are just a stone’s throw from this restaurant. See map below.
Address of Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼):
Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼)
51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam
30300 Ipoh, Malaysia
Operating hours:
Wednesday to Monday, 6.30 am to 2.30 pm
Contact Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼):
Phone Number: +605-254-0308
By Foot
Generally, Ipoh is not a big town. You can almost walk to anywhere from anywhere within the town. But, do check the map to see how far it is from where you are. Better still, check with your hotel for the distance and how long will it take to get there.
By Train
This is a small town. There are no train services. And there are no trains to this place.
By Bus
There are local buses, but information on their routes and stops are not well provided. Better to go by car, taxi or Grab.
By Car
If you drove to Ipoh, you are at an advantage. Traffic is not as heavy as cities such as Kuala Lumpur. Navigating around is easy, especially if you have Waze app.
By Taxi
They rarely go by meter. If you choose to go by taxi, sometimes it may be better to book them for the afternoon or day. This way, you can be assured of getting a ride back to the city, as and when you like it.
Tip: Negotiate and agree on a price before you take the taxi.
By Grab
This is my preferred option. One reason is that there is no need to negotiate. Another is that the price is usually reasonable and affordable. No hassles.
It is so easy to travel around in cities now because of Grab. Just download the app, state your destination, a driver is assigned to you, take the transport, and you arrive at your destination. Comfortable and easy.
I have switched to Grab for my travels within a city ever since this option became available.
We have come to the end of this article. I hope you enjoyed reading this.
If you have ANY questions about this review, about Best Food In Ipoh – Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant (富山茶楼), ANY at all, please submit your questions as comments below. I will be happy to help you out.
Wishing you and your loved ones safe and happy travels.
Timotheus
Hey everyone, I am Timotheus. When I am not giving lectures, I love traveling and visiting cities and towns all over Asia. It is a thrill for me to find and share awesome places to see, great tasting food to eat, and restful rooms to get a good night’s sleep.
