Slug : lilpnang
For Bangsar Weekly
By Clarence Koh

If you have friends from Penang, you would certainly noticed their passion for Penang food. Little Penang Kafe is the place specially set up for people like them.

Putting a variety of Penang hawker food and Nyonya delicacies under one roof is a whole new concept. Amongst the best selling items at the cafe are prawn mee, assam laksa, nasi lemak, char koay teow and many more, all cooked in Penang style.

The prawn mee is everybody's favourite at the cafe. The mee and meehoon in spicy prawn and chicken stock is topped with succulent fresh prawns, tender chicken strips and fried onions. The tempting delicacy is served in a big bowl with generous serving, sold at RM 9.

"My sisters and I love to cook and we have always wanted to set up a place like this," said Cecilia Chan, the Penang-born boss cum chef, who had left the advertising industry and has recently gone into the kitchen to serve authentic Penang food.

"Unlike hawkers out there, our food is cooked in a homely way. It is cooked the same way I cook at home. The ingredients' quality and freshness are very important," she added.

"We are bringing in the Penang curry mee into our menu soon as there have been lots of requests from our customers. We try to give more personal touch to the customers. Sometimes specially requested menu is followed if we are sure that we can cook it the perfect way."

For lunch, the RM 12 set meals offer three dishes served with rice. The menu is changed or rotated every month to add in some variety. Amongst the mouth watering dishes are the ingeniously spiced up Kari Hantu, Lobak and the Ju Hu Char.

Sold separately at RM 7 per set, the Lobak is tender chicken rolled in soya bean skin, deep fried to perfection. Besides, the Ju Hu Char is a dish of fried shredded turnip with dried cuttlefish strips. It is sold at RM 9 (small) or RM 13 for a larger serving.

Penang Rojak a la Gurney Drive served at Little Penang is very popular among its regular customers. The local salad of fruits and cuttlefish is mixed with tasty sauce, better known as the 'heh-ko' (prawn paste).

For some tea time snacks, you may want to stop by and try out the yam cakes or the sambal "heh-bee" (dried prawns) sandwich. Selling at RM 6 per set, it is served with a choice of brewed coffee or tea. 

Popular local desserts like ais kacang, cendol, red ruby (water chestnut in santan gravy topped with nangka slice) and pulut hitam are also served. Prices range from RM 3 to RM 4.50.

Family member, Raymond, who is also helping out at the cafe said that some customers actually commented that food served at Little Penang are in fact better than some leading names in Penang Island itself, even though no pork is used.

Little Penang Kafe offers a seventies' kopitiam ambience with a little bit of modern touch. It has a maximum seating of 120, made up by two separate lots. One of the lots could be reserved for personal functions with a seating of approximately 60 person.

Located at quite remote area of the megamall, Little Penang Kafe is especially suitable for  tete-a-tete, small gatherings or business meetings.

For reservations, please call 03-282 0215 or visit Little Penang Kafe at Lot F100, First Floor, Midvalley Megamall, near the Bata and Voir outlet. The cafe is open from 12 noon until 9.15 pm, with a break from 3 pm to 4.30 pm, daily.


Pic Caption:
1. Authentic Penang food, now at Little Penang Kafe in Midvalley Megamall.
2. Nostalgic kopitiam setting adds on to the atmosphere.