Breakfast doesn’t have to be local cuisine either. If you want to switch up flavors, there is an abundance of cafes that serve western style breakfasts too.
See these options for what you can have for breakfast!
Table Of Contents:
Local Breakfast Spots
Many Malaysians love having nasi lemak or a bowl of noodles for breakfast! Together with teh tarik or kopi-o!
Thus, it’s not uncommon for the local coffee shops (i.e. kopitiams) to open as early as 6:30am!
If you go early, you can have the benefit of a quieter atmosphere and a larger choice of add-ons for your noodles.
1. Lee Huat Cafe 利发茶室
Have authentic hawker-style breakfast at Lee Huat Cafe 利发茶室 with a great selection of local noodles:
There’s good curry mee, prawn mee (Hokkien mee), Jawa mee, wanton mee, koey teow t’ng, lam mee, etc. The toast (roti bakar) is worth a try too!
And the dining environment of the cafe is considerably clean as well. But we feel that it’s too hot to eat here at lunch time despite it being an open-air situation.
If you’re driving here, this cafe is quite inconspicuous from the busy road. And parking is not the easiest, given that everyone wants to eat here! This is particularly true on weekends.
Don’t forget to pay the parking fee of RM2!
- Location: 377-B, Jln Masjid Negeri, Taman Green Lane, 11600 Jelutong, Penang
- Opening Hours: 6am to 12pm (Closed on Sundays)
2. Kong Thai Lai New Coffee Shop
Despite having to move from its original location on Hutton Lane:
Kong Thai Lai continues to serve affordable and excellent local coffee and one of the best roti bakar (i.e. toast) in town with homemade kaya (i.e. coconut jam)!
And if homemade kaya doesn’t tickle your fancy, they have delicious peanut butter toast instead! They do not use butter for their toast, but the toast is thick and very crunchy. The toast pairs well with soft boiled eggs – ours was a little overdone but it’s nice that you don’t have to handle the hot eggshells on your own.
PS: In case you like your toast to be sweeter, there are jars of sugar on the tables.
You can also order char kuey teow, nasi lemak (of a few different flavors) and fried rice at this coffee shop.
We’ve had their kopi ais and personally find it too sweet for our liking. But the homemade nutmeg juice that they sell in a bottle for RM5 is absolutely worth it!
- Location: 38, Leith St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang
- Opening Hours: Daily from 7:30am to 3:30pm (Closed on Sundays)
- Contact: +6011-2344 7832
3. Bee Hwa Café
Grab a buddy and you can try everything at Bee Hwa Café besides their signature char kuey teow. There is curry mee, Hokkien mee, laksa, kuey teow soup etc. There’s also kaya toast if you want something lighter.
To be fair, the char kuey teow is not mind-blowing (it lacks some wok hei in our opinion and cockles are an add-on ingredient for RM3).
And the portions are small, but this gives you an opportunity to try the rest of the food at this kopitiam.
Note: Pork-free and clean establishment but there is no air-conditioning
For beverages, you’ll do your tastebuds a favor by ordering the ice cham or their kopi-O.
To avoid the pains of finding parking or having to wait long for your order, try to get here as early as possible. The affordable food tends to run out around lunch time.
If you do see a thick crowd here, come back another time as the food is not worth the long wait (sometimes, it can be as long as an hour).
- Location: 10, Lebuh Dickens, George Town, 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang
- Opening Hours: 7am–3pm (Closed on Sundays)
- Contact: +6012-854 0005
4. Hot Bowl White Curry Mee
There are a couple of signature dishes to order at Hot Bowl White Curry Mee despite the name of this eatery.
For anyone that’s not had steamed chicken in Malaysia before, we recommend trying the tender and boneless steamed chicken (with beansprouts as part of a chicken rice meal).
As locals from Ipoh though, we find the seasoning of this dish too sweet. And the meat of the chicken (even chicken breast) is oddly soft. We personally like ours with a bit more bite to it.
If you’re here for the white curry mee, do note that this rendition doesn’t include duck blood in the broth. But the accompanying sambal is tasty and certainly packs a punch if you add more.
One spoon was more than we bargained for. Do beware and go slow with the sambal if you cannot tolerate spiciness.
Other ingredients in the curry mee include cockles (really tiny ones) and fragrant santan. You can also order sides like the super soft braised chicken feet to supplement your meal.
See what it is like to dine here at Hot Bowl White Curry Mee.
- Location: 58, Jalan Rangoon, 10400 George Town, Pulau Pinang
- Opening Hours: 8am–2:30pm (Closed on Mondays)
- Contact: +604-2273168
Other local options we have yet to try:
- 113 Duck Meat Koay Teow Soup – This unassuming coffee shop is normally packed with people at lunchtime. This is where you can get a delicious clear koay teow th’ng soup with duck meat!Add on homemade fish balls, duck intestines, and bean sprouts.
- Zim Sum Restaurant – There is a variety of dim sum for breakfast at this busy establishment! Many come because the prices are reasonable too! Order their siew mai, fried yam balls, egg tarts, fried turnip with bean sprouts, glutinous rice and har gao (prawn dumplings).
Western Style Breakfast
There are almost just as many western breakfast places as there are local eateries in Georgetown:
5. Let’s Meat
Let’s Meat is an authentic American restaurant in a residential area not far from a quaint little park:
Eggs Benedict, pancakes, American biscuits, and the pulled pork and steak sandwiches are all delicious! And come in generous portions!
In fact, we got the Big American breakfast and were surprised that it also came with a stack of pancakes – as you can see in the photo below.
To make sure you don’t miss out on their scrumptious breakfast menu, be sure to be there between 8:30 to 11:30 am.
The other highlight is the children’s play area where they encourage kids to read more (you get discounts if you read more) Don’t forget to order one of their milkshakes!
However, because of how far this place is from Georgetown Penang, we do not think it’s worth the journey here. And it’s not an absolute must-try if you only have a limited time in Penang.
- Location: 18, Lebuh Lembah Permai 4, Tanjung Tokong, 11200 Tanjung Bungah, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: Daily from 8am to 9pm; Saturday, 8 am–3 pm (Closed on Sundays)
- Contact: +6016-215 4234
Other Western style breakfast spots we have yet to try:
- Penang Yin’s Sourdough Bakery And Café – Freshly-baked sourdough bread, bagels or pizza with homemade pineapple jam, almond butter,cheese or even grilled banana slices! There’s western-style coffee and delightful kefir smoothies with tropical fruit too.
- Urban Daybreak Café @ George Town – Australian-style breakfast, brunch, and lunch! Blue walls and decorative red windows mark the interior of the narrow but cosy space. Ann’s Big One is their massive breakfast set that comes with salad and their homemade pork sausages! Besides this, there are savory waffles, French toast, burgers, omelettes, bagels, pasta, and sandwiches! Their shakes and floats are very agreeable!
Halal Options
All the places we have listed up till now include pork in their menus so to be fair to our Muslim readers:
Here are some halal eateries so you don’t have to miss out! The first 2 are already on our Penang food list which makes them easy to tick off your bucket list!
6. Ali Nasi Lemak Daun Pisang
Right from the moment the shop opens, you can tell from the long line of customers that this is one of the best nasi lemak stalls in Penang!
Note: This stall is at the front of a food court which is next to a paid parking lot. If you choose to dine here, expect to order a drink, or pay a fee of RM1.
You can choose nasi lemak packets with toppings of fish, squid or prawns if you want! These do have slightly different flavors from the ikan bilis (anchovy) rendition which is truer to authentic nasi lemak.
We went for nasi lemak with ikan bilis, and another with fish on top. The food is very delicious but spicy so beware.
Sit close to their stall and you can watch the satisfying way they prepare the nasi lemak in batches!
- Location: Sri Weld Food Court, Beach St, George Town, 10300 George Town, Penang Island
- Opening Hours: 7am to 2pm (Closes at 1pm on Saturdays, Closed on Sundays)
- Contact: +6016-407 0717
Other halal breakfast options we have yet to try:
- Gemas Road Roti Canai – Indian paratha and parotta (i.e. roti canai) is served a bit differently here. They come with a slice of cheese, Sunnyside up eggs and raw onions! There are 3 available curry flavors – dhal, chicken or beef curry!
- Nasi Kandar Kampong Melayu – This reputable nasi kandar stall in Ayer Itam has a loyal following for its homemade curries and fresh ingredients! Like squid and beef! They open really early too.
Conclusion
Breakfast is a golden opportunity to try more of the local cuisine. Don’t just stick to your hotel’s room service!
We recommend waking up early so you can beat the locals and tourists to popular eateries before the queues form.
Did we miss any of your favorite go-to places for breakfast in Penang? Let us know in the comment section below!
Penang Food To Try
If you can’t get enough of Penang food, try these options for more local cuisine. Some are only open for breakfast and lunch. Others for dinner.
PS: We have an awesome Penang travel guide for you too if you have not planned out the rest of your trip yet.
