Ka Bee Café In Penang

Ka Bee Café at Pengkalan Weld has a regular lunch and dinner crowd nearly every day and for good reason.

For starters, this small restaurant has air-conditioning. Which is wonderful if you are checking out the nearby clan jetties in the afternoon.

But is it worth the higher prices and finding parking for? Read more about Ka Bee Café in this post!

Table Of Contents:

About Ka Bee Cafe

Ka Bee Café is not a halal or vegetarian-friendly restaurant.

Entrance Of Ka Bee Café, Penang
Entrance Of Ka Bee Café, Penang

The menu features different types of noodles and porridge (crab porridge is popular) too. You can choose between two broths – either their signature broth (which is not spicy) or tom yam soup.

A huge assortment of sides and add-ons take up the rest of the menu. These include:

  • Crab
  • Grouper
  • Large prawns
  • Pork belly slices
  • Fish balls

And a whole lot more!

Note: There’s no option for rice at Ka Bee Café.

Ease Of Parking For Ka Bee Café

Because of how close Ka Bee Café is to Chew Jetty, expect that finding street parking will not be easy.

Shopfront Of Ka Bee Café Near Chew Jetty Of Penang
Shopfront Of Ka Bee Café Near Chew Jetty Of Penang

Instead, you can look for 2 paid parking lots across from the restaurant. Neither of these are directly across from the restaurant (or fully shaded) but they are still a convenient walking distance.

However, you will have to carefully cross over the busy main road to reach Ka Bee Cafe.

Ambiance At Ka Bee Café

Ka Bee Café stands out from its competitors because it has an enclosed air-conditioned dining space. The interior is well-lit, pleasant, and very clean.

Dining Enviroment At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Dining Enviroment At Ka Bee Café, Penang

Round marble tables and matching stools fill the restaurant. And since there are large tables, big groups can sit together comfortably.

It can be noisy here during lunch time since the tables are quite close together.

A display column of empty liquor bottles is in the middle of the restaurant besides the ones close to the counter. Despite this, they do not sell wine here.

Note: They do sell some beer though.

There is a sink in the corner for patrons. And toilets at the back with the kitchen.

Service At Ka Bee Café

Staff at Ka Bee Café appear to be a mix of local and foreign workers. There’s no problem with language barriers, however.

This is because the menu plus ordering system is online (scan a QR code at the tables).

We suppose that the nature of the food (hot soup plus noodles) makes it less popular as a takeaway option. Although Ka Bee Café accepts takeaway orders too.

Our group of 7 waited about 15 to 20 minutes for all the orders to come. This is on a weekday in mid-January. It does take considerably longer to get your orders on peak days.

Food At Ka Bee Café

The tom yam soup might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It is slightly sweet and has a moderate level of spiciness. Some members of our group did not like it as much.

Cintan Mee With Tom Yam Soup And Fried Grouper Fish At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Cintan Mee With Tom Yam Soup And Fried Grouper Fish At Ka Bee Café, Penang

But the clear soup (Signature broth) is very tasty. We don’t think there is MSG or at least, the amount they use is not enough to make you thirsty.

Fresh Fish Meat And Minced Pork Noodles With Signature Broth At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Fresh Fish Meat And Minced Pork Noodles With Signature Broth At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Fried Grouper Fish Meat With Signature Soup At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Fried Grouper Fish Meat With Signature Soup At Ka Bee Café, Penang

Fried fish is a must-order for us at Ka Bee Café. We prefer the smaller varieties compared to the tougher grouper fish.

Fried Small Fish At Ka Bee Café, Penang
Fried Small Fish At Ka Bee Café, Penang

Portions for the noodles are adequate for big eaters (assuming you get sides too). Small eaters may be able to share a bowl among 2 people.

Fried Silver Sillago Fish At Ka Bee Café Near Chew Jetty Of Penang
Fried Silver Sillago Fish At Ka Bee Café Near Chew Jetty Of Penang

Drinks are nice – by this, we mean that they are neither too sweet nor bland. There are a lot to choose from too.

Apart from local beverage classics like kopi-O and white coffee, they have hor ka sai, luo han guo and nutmeg juice.

Pricing At Ka Bee Café

Depending on the sides you get, having lunch or dinner here can range from reasonable to expensive.

If you choose to get large prawns with tom yam noodles for instance, it costs RM20+. The cheapest option would be the minced pork meat with soup noodles for RM7.50.

Drink pricing is fair if you consider the dining environment and location of the restaurant. It costs RM2.50 for a cup of kopi-O or a glass of homemade luo han guo or barley water.

Our group of 7 pax with a bowl of noodles and a drink each together with 2 platters of fried fish (fried silver sillago and fried small fish) to share cost under RM150.

Conclusion

Ka Bee Café in Penang is one of our favorite dining spots. It’s clean and comfortable, reasonably priced with tasty food.

Its location is extremely convenient if you happen to be exploring the clan jetties of Penang too. And if you don’t mind walking, you can reach the famous cendol stall from here too (Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul on Lebuh Keng Kwee).

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