Sun Yin Loong Restaurant: Serving Ipoh specialities like curry laksa, loh mee & prawn noodles
Sun Yin Loong Restaurant is well-known in Ipoh for its white coffee. If you’re concerned about driving all the way to Ipoh, worry not. They’ve extended their presence to the heart of Petaling Jaya at Sunway Mas Commercial Centre. Motivated by the positive Google reviews, I decided to pay them a visit to experience it firsthand.
When I arrived at 11am, I was surprised by how crowded the parking area was. I had assumed that avoiding the lunch rush would make finding a parking spot easy, but I was mistaken. It actually took me about 5 minutes to secure a space.
The kopitiam was easily identifiable by the open-air seating just outside the place, which was already occupied by a few small families enjoying their food. After observing the overall atmosphere, I walked in and saw what was there to feast upon.
There were about 10 hawker stalls situated inside the kopitiam, which made it stuffy and hot. All the uncles and aunties managing the stalls were busy preparing orders and delivering them to the respective tables.
Some of the dishes that I noticed were curry mee, chicken and char siew rice, hor fun, popiah, pork noodles, and char kuey teow. Despite my craving for the curry mee, I had to forgo it because it contained pork. So, I opted for a different choice instead.
What I tried at Sun Yin Loong Restaurant
I spotted my all-time favourite dish, nasi lemak. Of course, I had to give it a try. As I was scanning the menu, an auntie came up to me and asked what I would like to order.
I opted for the Nasi Lemak Curry Chicken (RM10). It came with a scoop of fragrant coconut rice, sambal ikan bilis, curry chicken, a fried egg, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and cucumbers. The auntie asked if I would like some vegetables to go with it, but I declined (sorry, Mum).
The dish looked very appetising due to the vibrant colours of the sambal, curry, and fried egg.
As all foodies do, I did the yolk test on the fried egg to see if it had a runny consistency. Upon breaking the yolk, it immediately oozed out— a pass from me.
I then cut the chicken and scooped out some rice, mixed in the sambal and gravy, and took a bite. You should’ve seen the look on my face— I felt like I was transported into nasi lemak heaven.
The chicken was soft, tender and beautifully soaked up the curry which paired perfectly with the sambal. The curry had a thick consistency, that of Malay curries as opposed to Indian curries. It had a pleasingly sweet profile, and at the same time, I could discern the infused flavours of curry leaves.
The sambal ikan bilis had me at a loss for words. It tasted sweet with a very subtle spicy undertone and the onions were soft but still had some crunch to it. The ikan bilis were surprisingly still crunchy, which I assume was put in later to preserve its crunchiness. I would say the sambal ikan bilis leans more towards the Malay style of cooking.
However, I do believe the rice is the Achilles heel of the dish. It was more on the mushier side, which I assume was because it was cooked with a little too much coconut milk. It wasn’t unpleasant, but could be worked on. Nevertheless, I finished my entire plate of nasi lemak in 5 minutes.
It was also a hot day, so I ordered my usual Teh Ais (RM3.30), more commonly known as teh ping at kopitiams. I wouldn’t say there was anything special about the drink— it had a good balance of sweetness and tasted pretty average. However, for such a small glass for that price, not so worth it (I still drank it all).
Final thoughts
If you’re missing the Ipoh food scene, I highly recommend paying Sun Yin Loong Restaurant a visit. I would say that it’s more on the pricier side than your average kopitiam, though.
I recommend visiting before the lunchtime rush to bypass the crowd and parking challenges.
Additionally, it’s important to be aware that most stalls only accept cash, so be sure to have it readily available.
Expected damage: RM4 – RM15 per pax
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