One thing I really appreciate about Penang is that you can find good food at the turn of every corner. Just in a single morning, our short foray out of the hotel already brought us across a few famous eateries. One such one was Toh Soon Cafe.

We were ambling down this narrow alley connecting Kampong Malabar to Lebuh Campbell when we noticed this little food stall bustling with activity. We walked through the many little tables that lined the alley to find ourselves facing a short queue under the hot late morning sun to even get a table at this stall.

It was hot queuing under the hot sun and the children were getting restless so Papa Nut offered to stay in the queue while the rest of us would try to seek refuge in nearby shops.

We walked into the welcoming cool air-conditioned shop of Ban Heang, which was right next to Toh Soon. While browsing the wide variety of pastries and baked goods in Ban Heang, we spotted a setting of largely-unoccupied tables and chairs at the back of the shop.

I had initially assumed these tables were for the consumption of the fresh pastries you can buy at Ban Heang, but on closer inspection, we noticed that the poster on the wall was that of Toh Soon Cafe. The back door of Ban Heang right beside these tables also lead straight into the narrow alley that houses Toh Soon Cafe.

I enquired about it with a Ban Heang staff member, who helpfully informed me that as long as we purchase any items from Ban Heang, we could sit at these tables and dine on food items ordered from Toh Soon Cafe.

This was great news, so we ordered ourselves some famous curry puffs, laksa puffs, as well as some coconut tarts from Ban Heang, had ourselves comfortably seated in the air conditioned cafe area, and a Toh Soon Cafe staff came over to take our order. The staff made sure to check our receipt from Ban Heang before taking our order.

We ordered ourselves a kopi c, and teh c, some cups of soft boiled eggs and some nasi lemaks.

The nasi lemaks were tiny little packets of rice, chilli, garnished with a few small ikan bilis and a small sliver of hard boiled egg. This happened to be just the kind of nasi lemak I like, so we had to order some since I had two packets by myself.

Unfortunately, we were saving our tummies for lunch so we did not order toast. This happened both times I visited the cafe (also because I really liked the nasi lemak) and I do regret it, so the toast is definitely on my list the next time I visit.

The main point of this post is really to share the awesome hack we discovered – to be able to enjoy the delicious breakfast selections at the famous Toh Soon Cafe in an air-conditioned environment and without having to endure the tiresome queue under the hot sun.

Google Maps link:

Toh Soon Cafe
+60 4-261 3754
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SQ8BgkeNcGbD2MDs6