Ipoh is one of my favourite towns to visit whenever I head up north – the white coffee is good and you get plenty of food if you know your way around. Chang Jiang White Coffee was a recommendation from one of my readers when I did an Instagram story about my regular white coffee place in Ipoh. According to Hui Chian, they serve good white coffee and toast, so my friends and I made a pitstop on our way back from Penang.
Chang Jiang is located in a house along Jalan Windsor
It wasn’t difficult to locate the place; Chang Jiang White Coffee occupies a house in Jalan Windsor with a large enough compound to fit 15 cars or so. The place was packed even for a weekday (Monday) at 4pm – travellers and locals were seen tucking into frothy cups of white coffee and toast with eggs. The décor is rustic, designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia when one dines there. It is different from the kopitiam ambiance you get at Sin Yoon Looog; more comfortable too.
Hot white coffee
L-r: ICold white coffee, cold huang he, cold kaw kaw teh and hot white coffee
You get a variety here, from white coffee to ice lemon tea and hot food like noodles and rice to fuel the hungry. The white coffee (RM4.20 – hot, RM4.50 – cold) was aromatic, thick and creamy – I would have liked it bolder and less sweet, but that would yield an insipid cup of white coffee. In general, Ipoh white coffee leans towards the sweet side, even the packet variety with “less sugar”. Chang Jiang’s version is quite commendable and does its job as a pick-me-up. I do however prefer the coffee at Sin Yoon Loong as that one was not as sweet but strong enough to awaken the senses.
Cold Huang He
Cold Kaw Kaw Teh
Huang He Crossover (RM4.50) is essentially “cham” – a mix of tea and coffee, which Chang Jiang does quite well. I liked the combination and balance in this, as some places either have too much coffee or too much tea in the mix. Jien had the Kaw Kaw Teh (RM4.50 – cold), which was adequately thick and aromatic in its own right. I liked this better than the white coffee, to be honest. This tasted less sweet and the finish was smooth.
Kaya Butter Toast
Golden Beach Toast
Everyone seemed to order the Kaya Butter Toast (RM4.90) where kaya and butter cubes are sandwiched between two slices of white toast. I found this just alright as the kaya was lacking richness and there wasn’t much flavour to it. I liked the Golden Beach Toast (RM4.90) better – buttered toast with sugar crust – as the toast was crisp from the crystalised sugar bits. A childhood favourite, this one.
Soft-boiled eggs with toast
I didn’t care much for the presentation of the “dan chi” (soft boiled eggs on toast RM5.90) as the use of metal cup made the eggs go cold quite quickly. By the time I seasoned the eggs with soy sauce and pepper, they weren’t as warm as I liked them to be. That took half the dan chi experience away for me. :(
Soft-boiled eggs
You wouldn’t have this problem with just the soft-boiled eggs (RM3.90) as they come with the usual green-tinged ceramic cup so they keep warm from the time you season the eggs till eating them. Of course, if you were to take all the time in the world to “Instagram your soft-boiled eggs”, you’re asking for trouble haha!
3-in-1 coffee for sale
The ambiance is nice and almost every corner of Chang Jiang White Coffee is designed for photo ops. If you’re into such things, you will like Chang Jiang. It is also a nice place to hang out with friends without the common issue of people standing behind you to signal for you to bugger off as soon as you finish the last sip of coffee. For me, I still like the coffee and dan chi at Sin Yoon Loong better but Chang Jiang was a pleasant experience. This is definitely better than the now overrated Nam Heong, if you ask me. ;)
Ambiance: 7/10
Price: 6/10
Food: 6.5/10 (pork free)
Verdict: A good place to visit if you’re into nice ambiance. Coffee is also worth checking out!
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Chang Jiang White Coffee
7, Jalan Windsor,
30250 Ipoh, Perak.
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