However, there are not many places in Penang that serve good wantan mee. One of the good wantan mee I have spotted in Penang is located at Yi Garden Cafe.

It is not hard to locate Yi Garden Cafe. If you are driving via Perak Road towards Macalister Road, keep driving and you will pass by a traffic light junction of Anson Road. Keep driving for another 60 meters, you will soon see Red Rock Hotel on your left. Keep driving for another 30 meters, you will soon see Lorong Selamat on your left. Yi Garden is just at the corner of the junction.

Yi Garden is famous for many food. However, for lunch time the only food that is famous is wan tan mee at Hong Kei Wan Tan Mee, aka Koh Low ‘tall guy’ Wan Tan Mee. The reason for calling Koh Low Wan Tan Mee is because the owner of this stall is a very tall guy.

Wan Tan Mee – RM4.00, the wantan mee was cooked with slices of black mushrooms, veggie and also some barbecue pork slices. It was then topped with few pieces of wantan (pork dumpling).

The noodle was very springy. The barbecue pork slices were so nice in aroma. The dumpling was very tasty as you will taste the minced meat, spring onions and some chopped water chestnuts. It is the classical type of wantan mee.

Shui Gao – RM1.20 per piece, it is also known as shrimp dumpling. The main ingredient of this dumpling was shrimps, then filled with minced meat, water chestnut, mushrooms and carrots.

The shrimps were fresh and tasty. The bite of the shrimps, minced meat and water chestnut were incredible. It had the combination of hard and soft texture. The shrimp dumplings were also covered with a touch of Chinese fragrant wine.

Overall the taste of the wantan mee was nice. Both the dumplings (pork and shrimp) were delicious. There are plenty of public and private parking lots around. However, the drawback is the price of the wantan mee here is considered one of the most expensive ones in Penang.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 12:00noon – 11:00pm (Close on Sunday)
Contact: -
Address: Corner of Jalan Macalister and Lorong Selamat
GPS: 5° 24′ 98.50″ N, 100° 19′ 44.60″ E

This round, one of the great hidden classical places that I am introducing is Lim Aik Chew which is famous for its fresh water prawn dish. However, to get to this place is not as easy as  1,2,3. For those that have GPS, it would be better for you to use that to navigate to the place.,Else you need know how to get to Jalan Ooi Kar Seng towards Taman Nibong Tebal Jaya. From there keep driving until you come to right junction that leads to Jalan Victoria. Drive along the road and follow the curve to a T-junction. Turn right to Jalan Atas and look out for Lim Aik Chew on your left.

Lim Aik Chew, is a humble coffee shop that has been in business for ages. It is always packed with visitors from all around the country.

If you plan to visit this place during weekends, you need to call to make a reservation. If not you will need to stand and wait for available seats.

Usually the tables are arranged until outside of the shop. But still there isn’t enough place for incoming customers.

Kopi-O – RM0.80. One of the main attractions here was the Kopi-O. The kopi-O was very thick and full of aroma. For coffee lovers, this is a must try-out.

Salt Water/ Fresh Water Prawn Cooked in Curry – RM36.00, the curry prawn cooked with fresh water prawns was the main attraction. However due to unavailability we ordered salt water prawns. The prawns were cooked with thick  aromatic curry. They were cooked together with herbs and onion slices.

If you get the chance, try out the fresh water prawns as I had been told that the flesh of fresh water prawns were sweeter and the head of the prawns were also bigger compared to salt water prawns. Fresh water prawn were high in demand and were selling like hot cake. If you are late, there will only be salt water prawns as a replacement. The whole dish was full of curry aroma with a combination of hot, spicy and slightly salty taste.

Red Fish in 3 Flavored Curry – RM27.00, the red snapper was first deep fried and then topped with spicy hot curry. The curry was mixed with onion slices.

The taste of the curry was spicy, sour and sweet. Therefore the name of this fish is called 3-flavored curry. The texture of the fish was very crunchy as it was deep fried. The combination of the curry and the deep fried fish was great.

Roti – RM1.60, The bread here was OEM and the portion catered for 4 pax.

Instead of the usual rice with dishes, you can order bread to go with the dishes.   The combination was very unique.

Fried Vegetable – RM5.00, slices of cabbage were mixed pan fried with carrot and onions.

The taste of the mixed veggie was very common and it was indeed a regular type of dish that we always order from any restaurants around.

Overall, the taste of the food here was more than good. The way food was cooked and prepared was very unique. However, the price of the food was overpriced, considering the ambiance of the coffeeshop. The parking here will also be a headache as not there were not many places available to park.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 11:00am – 6:00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: 04-593 2957
Address:436,Tanjong Berembang, Nibong Tebal, 14310 Penang
GPS: 5° 15′ 07.53″ N, 100° 46′ 25.67″ E

You will be the one who is asking this question if you have never been to Kopitiam Kheng Hai before. If you had been to this Kopitiam, you will surely know what I meant of toast with duck-egg kaya.

It is neither difficult nor is easy to locate Kopitiam Kheng Hai. It is located at Simpang Ampat. If you take the highway exit from Northern side of Simpang Ampat, turn left to Jalan Bukit Tambun and keep driving for 1 km until you reach at the traffic light T junction. Then turn left to Jalan Simpang Ampat and keep moving for another 20 meters. You will arrive to another traffic light to Jalan Tasek. Keep driving for 1 km until you see Patronas on your right handside, then you are near to the destination. Keep driving for another 200 meters and you will see a row of shop houses on the right where the corner of the shop is called Kopitiam Kheng Hai.

Kopitiam Kheng Hai is not located in any town area or having any popular landmark nearby. However this place is always crowded with people during weekends. A lot of people from different states came to this place for its unique dishes.

The coffee shop here is not only famous for its duck-egg kaya, but it is also famous for its chai kuih (vegetable dumpling). As you can see the owner was busy packing and serving the chai kuih.

The preparation for the breakfast started from firing up the charcoal stove.

The breads were then placed on top of the charcoal and grilled till golden brown.

At this stage, the whole coffee shop would be full of toasted bread aroma. It is a wake up call to those that are still sleepy. The golden colored toasts were then transferred to another stage for finishing process.

In a very surprising and unique handling process, the toasts were passed to a person standing next to a classical wooden food cabinet. I have no idea why it needs to be done in a wooden cabinet. Perhaps by doing so can preserve the aroma of the toast.

The person in charge would apply the duck-egg kaya, jam, peanut butter or butter on the toasts.

Toast on kaya/ butter – RM1.20 per piece. A simple yet delicious charcoal-toasted bread covered with duck-egg kaya and butter.

Due to the kaya was made of duck egg, the kaya was very smooth and soft. The taste was also thicker compared to those using chicken egg. It was definitely worth to be tried.

Kopi-O (Black Coffee) – RM0.80, the black coffee here was very thick and full of nice coffee aroma. It was a perfect match to the toast.

There were 2 types of chai kuih available at this coffee shop. One of which was made of chives and the other one was made of yam and carrot.

Chai Kuih with yam and carrot – RM0.60, the yam and carrot were sliced and pan-fried together with dried shrimps.  It was then made as a filling of the kuih. The smell of the dried shrimp mixed well with the yam and carrot. The skin of the kuih was also very soft and smooth. I loved the chai kuih here.

Chai Kuih with chives – RM0.60. Besides the chai kuih with yam and carrot, there was also the classical and common chai kuih that was made of chives. They tasted good as well. However, I still prefer the yam and carrot type.

Overall, the breakfast here was very good. The kaya that was made of duck egg was smooth and soft. The toast done by the charcoal could not be commonly seen nowadays. The coffee was full of aroma and the chai kuih was delicious. However, it was hard to get parking during weekends. Also it would be packed with people if you come here around 8am – 10am. Unfortunately, you would not be able to call in for reservation.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 11:00am – 3:00pm (7 days a week)
Contact: -
Address: Jalan Tasek Indah, Simpang Ampat, Pulau Pinang 14120
GPS: 5° 28′ 45.95″ N, 100° 50′ 58.90″ E

One of the places that still serves old style home cooking is no other than Restaurant Lean Hup Bee,  联合美.

This restaurant has been expanding from 1 shop at first to 2 shops today. You can still find the old sign board hanging in front of their right entrance which has been up for decades.

It is not hard to locate this place. If you are driving from Penang using ferry, you will see a traffic light junction once you are out of the ferry. Turn right at the traffic light into the one way street of Jalan Pantai. You will see there is Esso petrol station on your left. Keep driving for 80 meters and you will on see a row of shop houses on your right. Lean Hup Bee is in between the shop houses.

Pig’s Trotter Cooked in Soya Sauce, braised until the pig trotter is soft and it is then cooked with home-mixed soy sauce.

The trotter tasted so soft and it was well marinated. In fact, the fragrance of the toy sauce blended well into the meat. When placed the meat and the lard into your mouth, the lard melted in your mouth and at the same time you could still feel the meat texture as well. The combination was simply divine.

Fried Stuffed Fish with Sambal, this dish is also known as rempah tumis ikan. The fish was stuffed with sambal and some spices. It was then cooked and served with dark soy sauce.

This is also one of the signature dishes. The rempah (spices) was very strong in aroma while the taste of the fish blended in very well with the rempah. The uniqueness of this dish was serving with dark soy sauce. Usually in other places the sambal fish would not be served with dark sauce. However, it was a very unique dish indeed.

Cucumber Slices Cooked in Sour Curry, the cucumber was cut into slices and cooked with prawns and also sour curry.

This was a very appetising dish. The curry was very delicious and it was not very thick. The taste of the curry was sour, sweet and spicy.

Pan Fried Bean Curd, the bean curd was pan-fried together with chilli slices and some spring onions.

It was a very simple yet delicious dish. It doesn’t need any fancy spices nor sauces to complement this. The dish only needs some onions, ginger and soy sauce and it will be marvellous.

Pan fried bitter gourd with soy paste, the bitter gourd was cut into slices and fried with pickled soy beans.

The bitter gourd tasted nice as the bitterness was not too heavy while the pickled soy bean sauce blended very well with the vege. It was a very pleasant dish.

Salty Pickled Veggie Soup, the pickled branch of the veggie was preserved in a salt mug and before being washed and cut into slices. It is usually served together with pork slices in a soup.

The taste of the soup was not over salty and can be treated as stater of a meal due to its appetizing taste.

Overall, the total bill for the above meal was RM38. The dining experience here was acceptable while the taste of the food was excellent. I would definitely make a come back for lunch. There are plentiful of parking slots available just in front of the coffee shop.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 9:00am – 3:30pm (Close on Sunday & Public Holiday)
Contact: 016-477 0660
Address:28 & 30, Jalan Pantai, 12000 Butterworth, Penang
GPS: 5° 39′ 86.96″ N, 100° 36′ 58.79″ E

The mentioned stall is located at Tanjung Bungah. This place is slightly hidden from the main road. If you are driving via Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Batu Ferringhi, you will sure bypass Jalan Lumbah Permai on your left and you will see Maybank situated in one of the shoplots. Keep driving straight along Jalan Tanjung Bungah until you reach Jalan Chan Siew Teong on your left. Turn into Jalan Chan Siew Teong and you should see a coffee shop called Kwong Ban Lee on the far end of the shop houses. Just next to the coffee shop is Pasar Mini Tedjen. The stall that sells Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus is just in front of the coffee shop.

Barkath is one of the few stalls in the coffee shop. Barkath has been operating the stall for 10 years.

Barkath Stall was initially located at Jalan Tanjong Bungah and has just moved to this coffee shop 6 months ago.

Barkath Stall is not only selling Mee Goreng and Mee Rebus, but also pasembur, roti canai, murtabak, tosai and capati.

• Mee Goreng/ Mee Rebus, Regular – RM3.50
• Mee Goreng/ Mee Rebus, Large – RM6.00
• Mee Sotong, Regular – RM6.00

Mee Goreng, Regular – RM3.50. The mee goreng was stir-fried in semi-dried style, topped with fried onions, bean sprouts, chili slices, spring onions, squids, deep fried flour cakes and a slice of lime.

The texture of the noodle was very springy and the taste of the noodle was just as excellent. It was neither too sweet nor salty. The pan fried aroma was very tempting. The spiciness level was just nice and acceptable. This is in fact one of the best Mee Goreng in Penang.

Mee Rebus, Regular – RM3.50. As for mee rebus, it was cooked with 1 boiled egg, squids, deep fried flour cakes, bean sprouts, chili slices, spring onions and a slice of lime.

The mee rebus was not as tasty as the mee goreng. The gravy was thick and not too spicy. Overall, the mee rebus is considered acceptable. I still prefer the mee goreng.

Overall, the taste of mee goreng here was excellent whereas the mee rebus was acceptable. The price was inexpensive and the portion given was generous too. There are a lot of parking lots just around the shop houses. The only drawback is this place is very hot during noon and afternoon.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol (beer)
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 12:00noon – 7:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
Contact: 016-455 5102
Address: 1-0-9, Jalan Chan Siew Teong, 11200 Tanjung Bungah, Penang
GPS: 5° 46′ 41.03″ N, 100° 28′ 17.72″ E

One of the famous, authentic and traditional Hainanese restaurants in town is Hai Onn Restaurant.

It is not hard to locate this restaurant. If you are driving to Burma Road via Penang Road (one-way street), you will sure see Hong Leong Bank on your left. The road beside is called Burma Lane, Hai Onn Restaurant is just 2 doors away.

The coffee shop is a typical old coffee shop in Penang. It has a very classical and traditional feel. Although this place is not air-conditioned, the food is undoubtedly nice.

Hainanese Style Chicken Chop – RM3.80, the signature dish in this coffee shop and it is one of the cheapest chicken chop in town. The chicken chop was cooked with their signature Hainanese-style gravy and was accompanied by green peas, onions, potatoes and tomatoes.

The gravy was special and tasted very different from the commercial western food stalls. It did not have the sourly taste from tomato purees . It tasted more like brown sauce, but lighter in texture and taste. I personally love this sauce.

Hainanese Style Pork Chop – RM3.80. Instead of chicken, it was cooked with pork meat. Unlike chicken chop, the pork chop was not battered. The rest of the ingredients were the same.

The gravy was similar to chicken chop. This is catered for pork lovers.

Hainanese Style Fried Noodle – RM3.50/ pax, the noodle was pan fried with gravy and added with shrimps, pork meat, veggie and some fried onion on top.

The pan fried aroma of the noodle was very nice and the gravy was well-mixed with the noodle. It was a very nice dish.

Fried Rice – RM3.50/ pax. The rice was fried together with egg, prawn, pork slices and chinese sausage.

The taste of this fried rice was just the usual fried rice and nothing special about it. This fried rice is catered to those seeking for individual meal or as a supplement for heavy eaters.

Overall, the food here was very nice and the price was very reasonable and affordable as you can’t fine such pricing in Penang, especially the chicken chop. Ambiance should not be taken into consideration if you are solely looking for good food. Parking at this restaurant is still a big concern as there are not many lots available around this place.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 8:00am – 9:00pm; Kitchen starts at 12:30pm (Closed on Mondays)
Contact: 04-227 4751
Address:53-55, Burma Road, 10050 Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5° 25′ 04.90″ N, 100° 19′ 73.70″ E

The food trail that I am going to introduce is a place where 2 of the multi-millionaires had been before. The first multi-millionaire is the late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew a.k.a Honda Motor King. While the second one is Robert Kwok, The Sugar King.

The name of this shop is Kong Thai Lai (广泰来) Coffee Shop. It is quite easy to locate this place. If you are driving via Hutton Lane, which is one way street, you will sure pass by Penaga Hotel on your left. Keep driving for another 50 metres and you will see a coffee shop nestled in the middle of a prewar building on your left, that is Kong Thai Lai Coffee Shop.

Kong Thai Lai Coffee Shop has been operating for 3 generations. You will still find the traditional way of running the business especially in food preparation. From the technique of making coffee to the cutlery used, they still remain as it is from the first day it started business.

Kopi-O – RM0.90, one of the attractions here is the simplest yet delicious black coffee. The aroma of the coffee was so thick and when the coffee was in your mouth, the fragrance was still there yet it was not too bitter. The secret behind this coffee is that they used water which had been kept overnight and had less chlorine smell. However, bear in mind that the sweetness level of the coffee was quite high. Even the coffee was ordered in “jia” (meaning less sugar) still it was very sweet. You need to physically scoop out the sugar before you stir the coffee.

Kopi – RM1.00, for those that prefer coffee in milk rather than the black coffee, Kong Thai Lai Coffee Shop has this option as well. However, to me the aroma of the coffee with milk was not as strong and aromatic compared to the black coffee.

Toast with Kaya and Butter – RM1.80, The very standard and usual Penangite’s breakfast. A lot of places serve this kind of dish as breakfast. The texture of the toasted bread was crunchy and had a nice scent of toast fragrance. Needless to say, the toast they served with Kaya and Butter was classical and excellent.

Toast with butter and sugar – RM1.80, rather than butter and kaya, some might not prefer kaya on their toast. You can even custom order your toast to be with plain butter and sugar.

Half boiled egg x 2 – RM1.40, the eggs were cooked in half-boiled style. You can still see semi-transparent egg white when served in a glass mug. For those that don’t prefer the eggs to be too raw, you can always ask for the eggs to be boiled longer.

Nasi Lemak – RM1.50, those who still couldn’t get enough from the toast, eggs and coffee, you can always try out the nasi lemak here. The nasi lemak we had on that day was normal and nothing special. I heard they have different nasi lemak vendors in the coffee shop.

Overall, the food was good and of course the highlight of that place is the black coffee itself. The price was reasonable and the service was good. However, never go there during public holidays and weekends as it will be very packed. Parking will be an issue as there are not many car parks around. The only place to park is the multi-storey car park right before the coffee shop.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 7:00am – 4:00pm (Close on Sundays)
Contact: -
Address:Hutton Lane near the T junction between Campbell Street and Penang Road
GPS: 5° 25′ 15.50″ N, 100° 19′ 88.70″ E

However, if you do not wish to wait to savour this dessert only on special occasions, there is a stall at town area that sells this dessert 5 days a week. The name of this stall is Tang Yen (甜汤圆) and it is located just opposite of Traders Hotel at Jalan Magazine.

Tang Yen stall, has been selling Tang Yuan for many years and the glutinous rice balls are prepared as per order. Therefore, the taste of it is very fresh and chewy. In fact, there are 2 types glutinous rice ball for you to choose - small sized or big sized. For big-sized, there are 2 types of filling, you can opt for either black sesame or peanut. As for the soup, there are 2 types as well, the gingered brown syrup and the plain syrup. Price ranged from RM2.00 – small, RM3.00, RM4.00/ RM5.00 – large.

The soup of gingered brown syrup is as pictured below. The soup is cooked with ginger, brown sugar and some pandan leaves for fragrance. The smell of the ginger is very strong. You could smell it even from far.

Besides the ginger brown soup, the other soup is the plain syrup which is cooked with sugar and pandan leaves. The smell is not as strong as the ginger brown soup and the taste is more plain. However, I prefer this soup over the gingered one due to its simplicity in taste and it doesn’t contain the spiciness of the ginger.

The filling with black sesame. It is not too sweet and is full of sesame aroma. This filling is prepared for those who are health-concerned as the carbohydrate content is not as high as peanut’s.

As for the peanut filling,  the peanuts were chopped till fine and it tasted rich and delicious. I prefer this peanut filling even though it is not as healthy as black sesame filling.

Overall, the stall here serves a very traditional type of savor and the taste is exactly like home-cooking style. The price of the dish is very reasonable and the portion provided is quite big. However, the drawback is there are not many parking space available around the stall. Sometimes, the hygiene of this place is also a concern. I had once faced the server dipped her finger into the soup when serving.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room
WIFI Available

Operation hours: 7:00pm – 12:00am (Close on Wednesday and Sunday)
Contact: 016-477 7764
Address:Magazine Road opposite Traders Hotel, 10050 Georgetown, Penang
GPS: 5° 41′ 30.39″ N, 100° 33′ 06.03″ E