The McLaren Owners’ Community Malaysia (MOCM) Heads To Ipoh For Their 2026 Chinese New Year Drive And Dinner
To celebrate the new lunar year, the MOCM headed north to Ipoh to celebrate among limestone hills, lush foliage and a heritage gallery.
On a recent Thursday morning, coinciding with the 10th day of the New Chinese Lunar Year of the Horse, a total of 18 McLarens headed north towards Ipoh. This drive, organised by the McLaren Owners’ Community Malaysia (MOCM), is an annual celebration among the MOCM members in conjunction with the Chinese New Year festivities, with previous years taking them to Genting Highlands and Penang.
In Ipoh, following a pit stop lunch at Shake and Bake, the convoy then proceeded to The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, a 22.7-acre sanctuary of private villas among the Palaeozoic-era limestone hills. A lion dance duo then greeted the bevy of McLarens which rolled in: the 570S, 600LT, 675LT, 720S and 750S, among others.
MOCM members and their partners then checked into their spacious villas to enjoy a well-deserved afternoon dipping in the geothermal waters which run into each villa, refreshing in-villa pools and the tranquillity of the lush, surrounding greenery and a lake dotted by water lilies.
As the evening arrived, engines hummed to life as the convoy pushed off for 22 Hale Street Heritage Gallery, a restoration and conservation project by Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and Puan Sri Sandra Lee across three and a half years with the aid of the architect Laurence Loh. Located right at the heart of the old Ipoh town, this gallery offers a glimpse into Malaysia’s belle epoque—the time of the Perakanan—through curated antiques and artefacts.
A recent partnership between the gallery and Timah Explorer, offering era-specific and cultural dresses, made the experience doubly fun for the MOCM members. The ladies of the club were kitted out in a variety of hanfu (traditional Chinese attire), Bollywood, modern Kebaya and colonial chic outfits.
The evening then got into full swing with a live band belting out a combination of lively Chinese New Year numbers and retro Cantonese and Mandarin pop songs. A Nyonya-styled yee sang was followed by delicious culinary highlights such as butterfly pea blue rice, pie tee with shrimps, chicken satay, nyonya chicken rendang, acar, and the unmissable Ipoh koay teow soup, as well as traditional desserts like curry puffs, kuih seri muka and bubur cha cha.
Back at The Banjaran, the MOCM members enjoyed a nightcap at the newly renovated Jeff’s Cellar, with an array of treats from the restaurant’s own chef Lee Choon Boon, paired with drams of Scotch whisky and lilting music emanating through the cave’s majestic rock formations.
McLaren Owners’ Community Malaysia (MOCM)
Videography by SK Seaw & Jason Khoo / Momenz Creation
Photography by Ken Lim / Momenz Creation
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