Motormouth From Ipoh

Continued from the first chapter in the series ….

Penang Street Food Series (1/5) – Batu Lanchang Market Food Complex

Toast & Tea - On those mornings when you crave for nothing more than a light yet ample and delicious breakfast. Hop over to Eng Loh Coffee Shop at a corner of Church Street in Penang

Thanks to this post from CK Lam, I found myself a ‘new’ favourite spot for breakfast in Georgetown in Penang. Eng Loh Cafeteria & Hotel (a loosely-used term here, no doubt) at the junction of Lebuh Gereja (Church Street) and Lebuh Penang (Penang Street) is a beautiful structure painted with a light green shade; a three-floors coffee shop-cum-motel that blends in well with the heritage surroundings.

Read on to discover what Eng Loh has to offer that sets the quaint coffee shop a notch above the rest, and will make you return for subsequent session(s) of breakfast …..

Love how they manage to preserve the aging ambience, likewise the authenticity of the ornaments, furnitures and even the presentation of the food and drinks.

And so, one glance around the shop revealed several interesting stalls. One wantan mee, one Malay or Indian food (forgot, sorry ...), some random noodle stalls, another selling Western food (right?) and of course … the main aim we were there was for the various Western style of toasts and sandwiches.

Roti Taiwan (RM3.40/USD1.00) - A toasted thick bread with peanut butter and fine peanuts.

Since Roti Taiwan (loosely translated to Taiwan’s Bread or Toast) occupied the largest share of their menu (refer to the collage above this), this had to be the best choice. Not to mention most customers were tucking into their serving of Roti Taiwan with relish.

A piece of thick white bread (we call this Hainanese bread or Benggali bread, but what’s the real name for this?) toasted in the oven until the crust and the exterior turned a little crispy, while the centre of the bread still remained soft and fluffy. The toast was slathered with peanut butter, then sprinkled generously with finely chopped/blended peanuts. Far from an innovative invention, yet ingenious enough to warrant repeated orders.

I for one, can’t say no to the deadly combination of peanuts + peanut butter.

Garlic Toast (RM4.00/USD1.30) – Very generous with the pungent garlic and garlic butter, the nicely sliced-into-cubes toast was great for sharing

For those who can’t take sweet foods for breakfast, no sweat. They have countless variations that include the Garlic Toast, Chili Tuna Sandwich, Tuna Mayo Sandwich, Mashed potatoes, and American Breakfast set.

The Garlic Toast was particularly pungent, savoury and delightfully crispy. And they don’t skimp on the minced garlic on the bread, resulting in a most … robust flavour that begs to be devoured with much gusto. Yet leaving you with a slight predicament; Smelly Breath.

Just don’t eat this before a very important meeting.

And the plate of Wantan Mee with crispy lard fritters!!! Oh thank goodness for the inclusion of those caloric horrors!

I admit that I am not an ardent fan of Penang’s wantan mee. More so because I felt that the noodles reeked of alkaline taste from the lye water used, the char siew being slices of artificially lean and reddish meat, and the wantan (dumpling) being the size of a 10 cents coin.

But this stall in Eng Loh served up a passable version, with the egg noodles blanched lightly until ‘al dente’, with the right crunchy texture, the char siew was lean yet appeared to be very real and homemade rather than having an artificial blood-red tinge, and the addition of crispy pork lard fritters added some oomph to the noodles.

Aside from Toh Soon Cafe on Campbell Street, Eng Loh Cafeteria maybe your next best choice for good toast in the heart of Georgetown. Of course, the one in Bayan Lepas (near to the airport) is supposedly good and very famous, but there’s the matter of distance involved.

ENG LOH CAFETERIA AND HOTEL
48, Lebuh Gereja,
10200 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.
(At the Junction of Lebuh Gereja and Lebuh Penang)
Business hours : 8am – 3pm.
Closed on Sundays.
GPS Coordinates : E100 20′ 27.6″ N5 25′ 5.8″
Google Map to Eng Loh Cafeteria and Hotel