No 12, Concubine Lane
Jalan Panglima
30000, Ipoh
Perak.
Why "Concubine" Lanes?
According to a signboard along Concubine Lane, after a fire destroyed the old town in 1892, the town was rebuilt with lanes of shops. A mining tycoon, Yao Tet Shin, gave three lanes to his three wives as gifts. Each of his wives would collect rents from the shops in her own lane.
1. Wife Lane — Today's Lorong Hale (大奶巷)
2. Concubine Lane — Today's Lorong Panglima (二奶巷)
3. Second Concubine Lane — Today's Market Lane (三奶巷)
If you try to translate directly from the Chinese characters, you will be confused by the numbers. "First concubine" is of course the "wife", and the "second wife" is called the "concubine and "third wife" is the "second concubine".
Wife Lane
Logically, I would expect the Wife Lane to be the longest or have more shops but it turned out to be unexpectedly short and desolated. Maybe this is not what it used to be 120 years ago.
The only thing of interest here is the mural of a fruit seller. Do buy some fruits from him, he needs to pay rent to the "wife".
Concubine Lane
Concubine Lane, along Lorong Panglima, is the busiest among the three lanes today with shops, restaurants and a boutique hotel. Apart from Restoran Wong Koh Kee, all the other shops are new — around one year old.
The lane is usually not crowded on weekdays. Some shops will also have their off-days on certain weekdays. On weekends, all shops will be opened but the lane will also be full of people, both locals and tourists.
The best way to avoid crowds is to skip the weekends, and visit Concubine Lane on two weekdays to skirt around the off-days of the shops. This will work if the shops do not rest for two days consecutively in a week.
We are looking for your visit !