Coffee & Kopi in Penang

ČStarbucks is in Penang but there are other options and here are three places that we stopped by for a cuppa.

Toh Soon Café


Toh Soon is a back lane café where everything is still done the old and slow way. The bread is still steamed or toasted over charcoal, runny eggs are served in punch cups and my delicious iced kopi was served in a beat up plastic ice cream soda cup. We had not intended to come here but a local secondhand store dealer pointed us in this direction for a good local coffee and I’m glad we followed his lead. Popular with the locals, this place was a hive of activity when we got there on a late Saturday morning. We had to stake out our own seats and fortuitously sat down with an extremely friendly local Penang couple whom we chatted with about the local culture and history and shared with us their favourite eating haunts. Together, we shared a little bit of everything with our new found friends – steamed bread with peanut butter, steam bread with kaya and nasi lemak but amongst everything the winner in spite the waiting for our orders to be taken was the iced kopi which was a good reprieve from the heat, iced, strong and not too sweet, that and the local company made it a good combination.

SiTigun



This was a lazy Sunday afternoon pit stop for us. The locals swing by for a coffee and cake. We stopped by for a coffee and shade. The beans are roasted in house and the standard drinks are double shot strong. Strong, aromatic with a long after taste, this was a good reprieve from the heat as we sat under the rapidly spinning fans and a cold coffee in hand.

Mugshot


I don’t know what the history of this place but my guess is this was set up by three friends (two guys and a girl) - a barista, a cook and a host - who spent time abroad and returned to Penang and decided to set up something that reminded them of their time overseas. Boasting to serve good bagels and even better coffee – it delivers in doing a decent job of both but it is the service that will makes me choose to never return. Don’t count on any hospitality from lady who takes your orders and mans the cash machine unless you are a personal friend. Don’t even expect a plastic smile or pleasantries – just surrender your orders and hand over your cash, and expect to wait a while because service is slow.

Toh Soon Café
Lebuh Campbell, off Jalan Penang
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

SiTigun
30 Jalan Nagore
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia

Mugshot
302 Lebuh chulia
Georgetown
Penang, Malaysia