Ipoh White Coffee

White coffee is a roasting method rather than a colour: the beans are roasted with margarine and without the sugar or wheat used in the darker Malaysian roast, which gives a lighter, less bitter cup. Ipoh has made it this way since the tin-mining years, when Hainanese coffee shops opened before dawn to feed miners, and the drink is still taken the same way, poured over sweetened condensed milk in a thick glass or a porcelain cup. The kopitiams of the old town open early, serve it alongside kaya toast, half-boiled eggs and noodles, and close in the afternoon. The instant sachets sold nationwide bear very little relation to what is served in the shops.

What you actually see

• The kopitiam counter - the sock filter and kettle line at the front of the shop.
• The glass of white coffee - condensed milk in the bottom, coffee poured over, left unstirred.
• The breakfast plate - kaya toast with cold butter and two half-boiled eggs.
• The old shop interiors - marble tables, bentwood chairs and tiled floors from the tin years.

When to go

Early morning, from about seven, which is when the shops are full and the food is freshest; many close by mid-afternoon and the best known ones run out of toast and eggs before noon. Weekends bring long waits at the two most famous kopitiams in the old town, while neighbouring shops serve the same thing with no queue at all.

Honest expectations

The two celebrated kopitiams in the old town have become coach stops, with queues, brisk service and higher prices, while ordinary shops a street away are as good. The coffee is sweet by default, and asking for it without condensed milk changes the drink entirely. Shops are hot and fan-cooled, noisy, and tables are shared with strangers.

Nearby

Ipoh old town, Concubine Lane and the Kinta valley cave temples are all close.