What to eat in Teluk Intan

Teluk Intan is a good destination for a day trip as it is only a two-hour drive from KL and Ipoh.

The fourth largest town in Perak, Teluk Intan has a rich cultural and economical heritage.

The town was founded in the 1500s by refugees of the Malacca sultanate, and remained a royal town until the court moved to Kuala Kangsar in 1877.

During the British colonial era, Teluk Intan was re-named Teluk Anson (Anson Bay) in honour of the last Penang lieutenant-governor, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson.

In 1982, the town’s name was then changed back to Teluk Intan and is now a popular destination due to a number of attractions such as the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan and the Ruins of Raja Muda’s Palace.

It is also home to popular dishes such Mee Rebus and Chee Cheong Fun, as well as seafood due to its location along the Perak river.

The fourth biggest town in Perak

The town has a unique topography as it was founded along the oxbow of the meander of Sungai Perak.

In fact, the town is incorrectly named a bay which is a narrow body of land surrounded by the sea.

In the 1800s, Teluk Intan was developed into a port for the exports of tin, rubber, and petroleum products.

Over the years, the town’s economic prowess would decline due to the rising river bed making it impossible for ships to dock. Nevertheless, the town remained a popular destination due to its proximity to other towns/cities and accessibility from the major highway.

The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan is likely the most famous place of interest here. Erected in 1885, this tower was originally used to store water, and was a beacon to steer ships into the port. It is currently a tourist attraction with a clock at the top that rings every 15 minutes.

The Batu Tenggek (War Memorial) is another attraction here. According to legends, the rock was first placed here by a British soldier and had miraculously grown from the size of a matchbox to a big boulder.

A good day trip destination

Given its accessibility from KL and Ipoh, Teluk Intan is a popular day trip destination.

The two most famous dishes here are the Teluk Intan chee cheong fun and mee rebus. However, the seafood here is also favoured due to the town’s proximity to Pahang river and the straits of Melaka.

It takes about two hours to get here using the North-South Expressway. But the coastal road is also a good option as it cuts through small towns such as Sekinchan and Tanjung Karang (which we did).

You can also visit nearby towns such as Kampar, Sitiawan and Bidor – which are about an hour’s drive away.

As we visited Teluk Intan on a Monday and during the fasting month of Ramadhan, some of the restaurants were closed.

Sadly, we were unable to visit any of the famous Mee Rebus stalls, and a few Chinese restaurants were also closed on Mondays. But we still managed to catch a few good spots to make up for the trip.

1. Sun Liew Kee’s Chee Cheong Fun

[Pork-free] Teluk Intan’s Chee Cheong Fun (CCF) is a must-eat dish when visiting this town.

The town’s iteration of the steamed rice roll dish is unique as it incorporates dried shrimps and fried jicama/sengkuang into the rice rolls.

This is opposed to the Penang-style of rice rolls in prawn paste (he ko) and Ipoh-style of CCF topped with red sauce and green chillies.

Operating for more than 50 years, Sun Liew Kee is one of the more popular spots to get Teluk Intan CCF.

In fact, there are two Sun Liew Kee locations. The one we visited occupies a house, which also doubles as a shop.

The CCF are produced here and mainly catered for takeaways but there are a few tables for dine-in.

The CCF may not be the most photogenic, but it tasted good.

The rice roll (RM7 per pack) had a nice soft and chewy consistency, with lovely savoury hits from the fried jicama and dried shrimps. The CCF is best eaten with pickled green chillies, which provide a subtle hint of tang.

Sun Liew Kee 新燎记加料猪肠粉 (亚權）
Address: 725, Jalan Hill, Pekan Teluk Intan, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak
Hours: 9.15am-5pm Daily

Liew Kee (Ah Lek) Chee Cheong Fun
Address: 19, Jalan Pasir Bedamar, Pekan Teluk Intan, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak
Hours: 9am-9pm (Closed on Mondays)

2. Hua Hee Yu Cha Kuih

[Pork-free] It might seem strange to drive all the way to Teluk Intan for youtiao, but the ones at Hua Hee should not be missed.

Located at the Teluk Intan Glutton Square (Wai Sek Kai), Hua Hee sells Chinese crullers (yotiao) and other variations such as Ham Chim Peng and Ma Kiok.

Popular with the locals, this stall already had a queue when we visited at the opening time of 1pm.

And we can see why. The place is clean, the prices are good (RM1.50/piece) and the youtiao are freshly made on the spot.

In fact, we also saw them pouring fresh oil into the wok to cook the youtiao.

The youtiao was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It wasn’t too greasy and there was not taste of pungent oil at all. However, our favourite was definitely the ma kiok due to the added fragrance of sesame seeds, with a hint of sweetness in the dough.

The red bean ham chim peng had a nice pillowy softness, with a generous filling of red bean paste.

Hua Hee Yu Cha Kuih
Address: 1956, Jalan Pasir Bedamar, Pekan Teluk Intan, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak
Hours: 1pm-6pm Daily

3. Lovely Place Cafe

[Pork-free] Lovely Place Cafe is exactly as the name suggests.

Newly opened in December, this cafe operates in a traditional Malay wooden house on stilts.

Aside from cakes and drinks, Lovely Place also sells bagels with hot dishes such as Nasi Lemak (RM12), Herbal Chicken Soup Kway Chap (RM15) and pasta.

Come for the food, and stay for the kampung vibes.

Lovely Place Cafe
Address: 3225E, Jalan Sungai Nibong, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak
Hours: 12pm-7pm Daily

4. Nasi Lemak Warisan Bonda

[Muslim-owned] Nasi Lemak Warisan Bonda is a stall that sells nasi lemak bungkus close to the leaning tower of Teluk Intan, and opposite Bazar Mahkota.

The stall offers a good variety of pre-packed nasi lemak with various dishes such as Rendang Ayam, Sambal Tumis Udang Basah, Ayam Masak Merah and Sambal Tumis Ikan Bilis.

Prices are reasonable too. Our packets of Nasi Lemak Ayam Masak Merah costs only RM2.60, while the Nasi Lemak Sambal Tumis Udang with Telur Mata costs RM3.60.

We enjoyed these as the rice was packed with santan flavour, and the sambal wasn’t too spicy. Among the two, we preferred the Ayam Masak Merah as the chicken was tender with enough rempah flavour. The chicken was quite substantial too.

Nasi Lemak Warisan Bonda
Address: Jalan Pasar, next to Shell Station
Hours: 7.30am-10.30am (may vary)

5. Kedai Biskut Sin Guan Hoe

[Pork-free] Teluk Intan is also known for its heong peah and Chinese traditional biscuits. There are two well-known confectionaries here but we decided to visit Sin Guan Hoe.

The heong peah are made fresh daily. We enjoyed the biscuits as they were super flaky and the caramel filling was not too overwhelmingly sweet. We also recommend the tau sar pneah with chicken floss. The biscuits are the perfect souvenirs to take home to KL.

Kedai Biskut Sin Guan Hoe 新源和饼家
Address: 23, Jalan Pasir Bedamar, Pekan Teluk Intan, 36000 Teluk Intan, Perak
Phone: 05-621 5094
Hours: 8am-5pm Daily

6. Restoran Lucky Anson

[Non-halal] There are quite a number of seafood restaurants in Teluk Intan due to its proximity to the sea and Perak river. In fact, anglers frequently visit the town for freshwater prawn fishing.

Poh Loong Seafood Restaurant was our first choice for dinner but it was closed on Monday.

Nevertheless, Restoran Lucky Anson proved to be a good choice as well.

The Nyonya Steamed Garoupa (RM20) was perfectly cooked. The Nyonya gravy was very appetising and the fish steak was fresh and sweet.

We also enjoyed the Signature Tofu (RM18) was enjoyable as the tofu was soft, and the addition of crispy dried cuttlefish was a nice touch. Prices were reasonable as our bill of three dishes with rice and drinks amounted to RM58.

Restoran Lucky Anson 煌龙阁
Address: 3777, Jalan Sultan Abdullah, Teluk Intan Intan, Perak
Phone: 05-621 8571
Hours: 11am-2pm, 5pm-10pm