Restoran Tauge Ayam Lou Wong (老黄芽菜鸡沙河粉) is well-known among locals and tourists for its signature tauge ayam and Ipoh sha hor fun (沙河粉) — both are must-tries when in Ipoh. Tauge is Hokkien for “bean sprout” and ayam is Malay for “chicken”, usually strung together as “bean sprout chicken” (芽菜鸡) to refer to the Ipoh’s specialty dish(es).
Originally located along Gerbang Malam (or Night Gate Market), the restaurant shifted to its new location, across the street less than 100 metres away, in March 2026 — just few days before our last visit.
Lou Wong offers just a handful of dishes. Although “bean sprout chicken” (芽菜鸡) is usually termed as a single entity, it is actually steamed chicken and blanched bean sprouts served separately as two dishes. Customers have the options for either Ipoh sha hor fun (沙河粉) or chicken-stock-flavoured rice (油饭) to go with the steamed chicken. Side dishes include meatball / fishball soup, couple of chicken feet dishes, chicken offal, stir-fried vegetables, silken tofu and others.
When dining in a group, try both the sha hor fun and chicken-stock-flavoured rice. The local sha hor fun is flat and slimmer than kway teow (broad flat noodle) with softer, smoother texture. It is served in light, clear soup that has ultra-low saltiness — that is the Ipoh-style. The rice is lightly flavoured and carries a familiar chicken rice aroma.
Lou Wong’s steamed chicken uses “bearded chicken” (白切胡须鸡), a specie of free-range chicken, that is leaner and more muscular than broiler chicken. The tender chicken meat has not much fats under the skin and is lightly flavoured by the oil-sauce and stir-fried spring onions.
Ipoh’s locally-produced bean sprouts (文冬芽菜), cultivated in Bentong District, are very popular and used in many dishes in Ipoh. The bean sprouts are lightly blanched before serving in light soy sauce. They are fat, juicy and crunchy.
The Thai-style Chicken Feet (泰式玻璃鸡脚) is a cold dish served with deboned chicken feet skins in a “sauce” that consists of crushed peanuts, carrot strips, shallots, and a number of unknown condiments that gives the dish a tart-sweet flavour. The chicken feet skins are crunchy and awfully tasty with the sauce.
The Chicken Gizzard (鸡胗) is lightly cooked and flavoured with scallions. Not overly-cooked, the gizzard has crunchy, bouncy, slight-chewy texture and nice as a side dish to accompany the main dishes — it is a dish for those who know how to enjoy it.
Lou Wong is a hot spot for steamed chicken, beansprouts and Ipoh sha hor fun and it gets crowded mostly near evening time. Try going during lunch time instead.
Social Media:
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Address:
29~31, Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
10am to 10pm | Daily
Nearby:
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