Ipoh’s Foh San Dim Sum (Highly Recommended!!)

Over the weekend, a few friends and I decided to go on a day trip to Ipoh. Bright and early on Sunday morning, we left for Ipoh and arrived in time for breakfast. We were headed to the famous Foh San for some really good dim sum (only the lure of good food could get me out of bed so early on a Sunday morning!!) I was excited because I’d never eaten at Foh San and was desperately deprived of good dim sum in Penang. We arrived around 9.30am and it was unusually packed (due to the school holidays)!! It was chaos everywhere. People were standing by the tables, waiting for the existing patrons to finish so they could grab a table. But all the waiting was definitely worth it when I was presented with…

The ‘polo pau’ has got char siew chicken filling inside

Dunno what this is called but its chewy with mushroom chic filling

Yam Paste with meat

Fish skin dumpling

‘Siew Mai’

7 of us had to squeeze into a small little table and we were worried there wouldn’t be enough space to put the dishes. But we didn’t have to worry about that for long, because everything that arrived didn’t last long on the table before disappearing into our very satisfied tummies! There were so many things to eat, but so little stomach capacity!! Finally our long awaited ‘char siew pau’ arrived.

I am a big fan of paus especially char siew pau…and biting into the Foh San ‘char siew pau’ sent me into pau heaven!! The char siew was cooked with Chinese red wine giving it a very disctinctive flavor, unlike any other I’ve tasted in Penang.

I was also quite surprised to find that service was actually quite good, despite them being so overly busy. We still had out teas refilled with hot water and the waitress checking on us from time to time to see that everything was in order. Usually at chaotic dim sum places like this, everything is self service to the point of fighting with the next person to get food!

My other personal favourite at FohSan – Fried ‘Pai Kuat’

Mushroom dumpling

Steamed Fish Ball and steamed ‘pai kuat’ in the foreground

Puff pastry with chic and mushroom filling

I had soooo much dim sum that I had to skip lunch while we continued our journey to buy pomelos and salted chicken.

Pomelos from ‘Hentian Limau’

The salted chicken here is said to be more moist

On the way back, my other gastronomically inclined friend and I began to contemplate wild thoughts of driving all the way to Ipoh the following Sunday for dim sum and back!
Trust me, we just might do it!

8 comments

It ain’t crazy to just drive to Ipoh for food. Yes, it is that great. Foh San dim sum is to die for. Somewhere around the pheripheral of Foh San ground, is the delectable tau foo fa + soya been milk. I think it’s the limestone that makes everything tasted so yummy. The tau foo fah come with choice of ginger, black sugar (not sure if it’s gula melaka) or plain syrup. Oh! And I love the Ci Pau Kai too…..the Chicken Baked in Coarse Salt. I presume you have tried Lou Wong’s Nga Choi Kai aka Beansprout Chicken with the very short + fat taugeh.

hey…good review on the dim sum.. do have a map on that, how to go to FOh San?? Maybe from Kinta CIty? kekekeke..

elsie…the next time i go to ipoh i will keep a look out for the tau foo fah!

pikey… i am also very lost in Ipoh but I will ask some friends and try my best to come up with directions! Keep an eye out for it! thanks for your comment!