Kuala Lumpur - Little Penang Cafe

I've often described myself as a nomad, although my friends in Melbourne more often know me as a jetsetter. Ask me my background and I tend to have to take a deep breath before reciting it out. Born in Hong Kong, Malaysian by nationality (although I have never lived there), Chinese Malaysian parents (they are Chinese in ancestry but were born and brought up in Malaysia), now living in Australia. And don't know how to speak Chinese. Hmmm.

Due to my parents Malaysian roots though, I do have a lot of family there, so often find myself back in Kuala Lumpur. As a kid, it was usually two to three times a year and nowadays, I'm there at least once a year.

Since I'm there so often, I've gotten quite familiar with the shopping malls (I am your walking mall GPS) and of course, have some favourite eating spots.

One place I always go back to with the family is Little Penang Cafe in KLCC. They have several other cafes in other malls in Kuala Lumpur, but this one is my favourite (and I think it's owned by my dad's cousin).

They do great hawker style Penang food (which is considered one of the Malaysian cities to go to for food) in a clean, neat environment, with slightly bigger serves (for slightly bigger prices clearly!). The decor is reminiscent of a 'kopitiam' coffee house, tiles, simple wooden chairs and tables and just an overall causal ambience which to me, makes the place quite attractive for a simple lunch.

It's been renovated since last year, to give it a little more space, as by 12:30, there's always a queue going out the front of the restaurant.

My brother and dad had arrived a bit earlier than my aunt and I and had saved up a table and already ordered a few things....namely...dessert? Sure why not?

Cendol! I love this dish and absolutely miss it when I'm back in Melbourne. Shaved ice with pandan 'noodles' red bean and always a generous splashing of santan and gula melaka syrup. It sounds totally bizarre, but it's a really lovely mix, sweet without being sugary and just oh so refreshing. And it feels kinda healthy having the red beans there...In my opinion, within the city, for cendol, Little Penang Cafe does it best. Although if any other travellers happen on any other good ones I'm totally keen to try next time!

Ah, a lovely cup of hot teh tarik. Teh tarik is literally translated to 'pulled tea', which describes the process used to make it. It's hard to describe exactly, but a mixture of black tea and condensed milk is poured from one container to another, repeatedly. It mixes the tea and condensed milk and it really is very tasty. I mean, condensed milk. Yum?! I've tried one or two places in Melbourne that offer it and the mix usually ends up being overly sweet, but somehow in Malaysia they always get the balance right.

Rojak is one of those Malaysian foods that can act as a great snack anytime. It's usually comprised of a couple of different fruits usually including cucumber, pineapple, sometimes guava and sometimes green mango. The sauce was delicious and thick, a mix of belachan (shrimp paste), sugar, chilli and lime juice, it's certainly a sweet dish, but not dessert at the same time, there's a bit of tartness from some of the fruit and lime. Always a refreshing treat.

Pie tee are quite labour intensive, so you don't find them in many places, so I'm glad that here, they are done well. The crust hats are lovingly crunchy and light, and when topped with the chilli sauce provided, these go down in two bites.

Penang curry mee, delightfully spicy, the flavours are so intense and rich!

And in comparison to the curry laksa, the assam laksa! How is this different? Less on the spicy chilli side, it has a slightly more sour flavour to it, although this is juxtaposed with a dash of mint leaves. The noodles in this, instead of the mix of rice vermicelli and egg noodles, are thick chewier rice noodles. The dish is rich in flavour and just feels overall thicker in texture from the spicy/sour fish based gravy and noodles. Though good, I still prefer the spicy freshness of the curry mee personally...

My brother had just flown in that day from Melbourne to Malaysia, so insisted he wanted a whole chicken nasi lemak to himself...which he finished..and then polished off the assam laksa...and the char kuey teow. Have I mentioned he can eat? If I was to get a dish just for myself though, I do enjoy getting the nasi lemak, which is actually terrible for you. Did you know it literally translates to 'rice fat'? Probably due to the fact the rice is cooked in coconut milk. Which makes it terribly tasty. I always love this dish because of the additional of the peanuts and ikan bilies, I love the additional crunch they add. It all just combines so well with the egg and sambal belachan as well...oh the sambal, you can never get sambal as good in Melbourne.

And lastly, one of Little Penang Cafe's most popular dishes, the Char Kuey Teow. You're warned on the menu for an additional 20 minutes wait time. However, it is well worth it, freshly fried to order, the breath of the wok really comes through, it's not too oily, the noodles are cooked perfectly and it's just delicious. Spicy, but delicious. What I love most about char kuey teow in Malaysia, is the cockles they put in, not everyone's thing, but certainly mine. They are usually added in at the very end, to make sure they are just lightly cooked, but still somewhat raw inside. They are sweet and just a little bit bloody.

So not elegant, but certainly delicious. I think that's the best way to describe Malaysian food and at least in the mall, there's a nice, air-con space to enjoy it in. Where are some of your favourite haunts?

Little Penang Cafe

Top Level

Surica KLCC

Jalan Ampang

50088, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia