27 Concubine Lane

It’s best to arrive early, since parking can be tricky and it gets quite hot. The place opens at 10am, but many vendors are open earlier. There’s a good variety of souvenirs, local snacks, and products at reasonable prices. Kong Heng Square nearby is worth visiting too. If you’re driving, you could park near Masjid Negeri, opposite Birch Memorial Clock Tower. Arrive around 9am for a cheap local breakfast at Medan Selera Dataran Dato' Sagor, then walk past the tower and down the stairs to Lorong Panglima, taking in the Ipoh atmosphere on the way to Concubine Lane. Allow about 2-3 hours for a stroll.

An interesting place for tourists to visit, though it reminded me a lot of Penang’s street art. The shops seem aimed at tourists and don’t have much variety or many distinctive things. There isn’t really much to shop for beyond a quick browse.

It’s the best-known of Ipoh’s three lanes, with lots of cafes and shops to browse. On Sunday, though, the crowd made walking through pretty unpleasant, and quite a few shops felt out of place with the lane’s atmosphere.

We tried a few things here, including the ice ball with sweet toppings like gula Melaka, which felt more local than the jelly droplets with peanuts, waffle slippers, and fried ice cream. Prices seemed aimed at tourists, so I wouldn’t come back to spend more. One visit was enough for me, and nearby local places may offer better value. The lane is free to enter, but it was packed even on a weekday. People kept stopping for photos, food, and browsing, so getting along the narrow stretch was slow. Shops and extra stalls fill both sides, selling everything from snacks and drinks to clothes and kids’ toys, all the way toward Birch Memorial Tower. It’s the busiest part of the old town, and first-time visitors to Ipoh should probably see it once for the atmosphere, crowded and commercial as it is.