Gastronomy · Kopitiam
Sin Yoon Loong
In short: Sin Yoon Loong is a Hainanese coffee shop in Ipoh Old Town. It was opened in 1937 by the brothers Wong Poh Chew and Wong Poh Ting, and it is widely credited as a pioneer of Ipoh white coffee, although other coffee shops tell their own origin stories.
A Hainanese coffee shop from 1937
Sin Yoon Loong was opened in 1937 by two Hainanese brothers, Wong Poh Chew and Wong Poh Ting. Hainanese migrants ran many of Malaya’s coffee shops, and most accounts link Ipoh white coffee to Hainanese coffee-shop keepers in the tin-mining era.
Its place in the white coffee story
Ipoh white coffee is made from beans roasted with palm-oil margarine and usually little or no sugar, then served with condensed milk. Sin Yoon Loong is widely credited as a pioneer of the style.
It is not the only claimant. Nam Heong, on the same street, is called the birthplace of white coffee in some travel writing, and the Chang Jiang coffee family says it began making its own white coffee in 1988. These claims overlap, and each is the story its custodians tell. Our white coffee guide sets them side by side.
Around Sin Yoon Loong
The shop is in Ipoh Old Town, a short walk from Nam Heong, Kong Heng, Concubine Lane and Han Chin Pet Soo.
Questions
Did Sin Yoon Loong invent Ipoh white coffee?
It is widely credited as a pioneer of the style. Nam Heong, on the same street, is called the birthplace of white coffee in some travel writing, and another Ipoh coffee family says it created its own white coffee in 1988. No archival record settles the question.
When did Sin Yoon Loong open?
It was opened in 1937 by the Hainanese brothers Wong Poh Chew and Wong Poh Ting, in Ipoh Old Town.
Facts on this page come from Aevum's researched stories, which list their sources. Details can change, so check before you travel. Sources: Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences (Liew et al., 2001); Ipoh Echo (2018); Bernama (2024); Free Malaysia Today (2019); Tourism Malaysia feature on BBC StoryWorks (n.d.); Malaysia Airlines Going Places (2020); 旅讀 Or via udn (2024); J. M. Pladdet, Wageningen University MSc thesis (2019); Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary; Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, PRPM (Kamus Dewan, 4th ed.); National Library Board Singapore, BiblioAsia (2018); National Heritage Board Singapore, Roots.gov.sg; Beh May Ting, Asia-Pacific Forum (Academia Sinica, 2020); Khoo Gaik Cheng in Everyday Multiculturalism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009); Utusan Malaysia (2023); Tourism Malaysia feature on BBC.com; Makansutra (2012); Ipoh Echo (2018, 2019); Malay Mail (2014, 2015, 2016, 2023); Time Out Kuala Lumpur; Free Malaysia Today (2020, 2022); Bernama via Malaysiakini (2010); The Star (2017); 東方日報 Oriental Daily, Hong Kong (2009) and Malaysia (2021); 太陽報 The Sun, Hong Kong (2011); plus the sources for our bean sprout and white coffee posts.
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Also in this area
- Gastronomy Kong Heng
- Heritage & Roots Han Chin Pet Soo
- Heritage & Roots Ipoh Railway Station
- Heritage & Roots Concubine Lane (Lorong Panglima)
- Gastronomy Nam Heong Nam Heong is an Ipoh Old Town coffee shop linked in travel writing to the start of white coffee, with egg tarts described as a signature.
- Arts & Creative Ipoh Mural Art Lane Ipoh Mural Art Lane is a back lane of murals started by local artist Eric Lai in 2013, launched as a community programme on Jalan Masjid in 2014.
Read the full story
Ipoh White Coffee, Explained: Why Is It Called White?
What Is a Kopitiam? Malaysia's Coffee Shop Culture
Top 10 Ipoh Dishes and the Stories Behind Them
More places in Ipoh
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- Heritage & Roots Han Chin Pet Soo
- Heritage & Roots Ipoh Railway Station
- Heritage & Roots Concubine Lane (Lorong Panglima)
- Religious & Sacred Sam Poh Tong
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- Arts & Creative Ipoh Mural Art Lane
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