The name of the restaurant at the other end of the block from where Mun Thin was, is Kong Ah. You are absolutely right, it is also a seedy hotel besides being a restaurant cum coffee shop
on the ground floor. The shop is closed and in my last visit to Ipoh, I saw a huge "To Let" sign displayed in front of the premises.

The coffee shop on the other side of the lane across from Mun Thin is Suet San. It is not in the same caliber as Mun Thin but the "Loh Bak" and "Char Kuay Teow" is quite good.

Next to Suet San is Yobu Book Store and I remember spending hours there browsing through the latest Beano and Dandy comics.
Immediately after Yobu is Chuen Chun, another popular coffee shop and its claim to fame is the Wanton Mee. The shrimp (prawn)
wanton is very good and their other well known offering is the Duck Drumstick Noodles (Arp Tuoi Meen).In the later years, the famous roast duck stall from Kong Ah defected to Chuen Chun.
I do not remember seeing Suet San and Chuen Chun this time around and my gut feelings tell me that both these establishments might have bitten the dust.

A good place for barbeque meat and roast duck is Yeong Wai. The original shop is located on Jalan Yang Kalsom, somewhere near
Wisma Kinta. A relative of mine bought me lunch at their branch
outlet in Taman Ipoh Jaya and I must admit, the food is very tasty. Good roast duck should be well-marinated and the texture of the meat should remain tender even though the skin is crispy. I am not sure if the shop on Jalan Yang Kalsom is still around and I also do not have the exact address of the Taman Ipoh Jaya outlet, so I cannot really help you with the specific
location of Yeong Wai.

Barbeque meat and roast duck is a specialty of Hong Kong chefs.
Prior to 1997, many of these chefs migrated to US, Canada and Australia. That is why some Chinese restaurants in these countries offer excellent barbeque meat, roast duck and Peking duck on their menu.

Hopefully, your Ipoh connections will find you a good barbeque and roast duck restaurant.

Warmest regards and best wishes from Yankee Doodle Land!

Ken.