pianomania: SUKA MAKAN: DURBAR @ FMS IN IPOH OLD TOWN

Durbar @ FMS is officially Malaysia's oldest restaurant / bar. Established in 1906, the historical FMS Bar named after the Federated States of Malaya was a favourite watering hole and pub of workers in Ipoh Old Town and the neighbouring financial / banking / legal / sporting establishments. It is as old school and colonial as one can possibly get in Ipoh, something like the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

It's history is even older than the legendary old Coliseum Cafe in Kuala Lumpur (established in 1921) which does not even exist in its original location on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman or Batu Road. So this makes FMS (Federated States of Malaya) the oldest bar / restaurant in the whole of Malaysia today.

A view from the upper deck private dining area.

The old bar closed down several years ago, but a new restaurant called Durbar at FMS opened in 2019, retaining all its historical features and English tearoom decor. It serves local and Hainanese Western food, which is its speciality. Back in December 2024, we tried to book a Christmas-Eve dinner but the roast beef dinner had been over-subscribed, so we had to push off to somewhere else. I made sure not to miss it this time around.

Aunty Susan is always right!

The iconic Hainanese chicken chop,
Durbar's best-selling dish.

Thanks to its most senior wait staff, the always-helpful Aunty Susan, I got to try its most famous dish, Hainanese Chicken Chop. She made sure I avoided a less successful dish I had eyed and attempted to order, because she probably knew best. Surely enough, I was not disappointed. She also gave a short history of the establishment, and we were certainly glad not to have missed out on one of Ipoh's most iconic eating institutions.