ChinaHouse — Restaurant in George Town

My family and I had an unpleasant experience at this café, which unfortunately aligns with the numerous negative reviews about their poor hospitality. It appears that rudeness from the staff is not an isolated incident but rather a recurring issue that the management has failed to address—possibly due to their own acquiescence to such behavior.

During our visit, my cousin politely asked for several teaspoons to share our cakes. However, a brown waitress with black hair in a baggy brown dress stared at us in silence for 10 seconds with an unfriendly demeanor before snapping impatiently, “I KNOW!!! HOW MANY DO YOU NEED!” This was not an isolated case, as the cake bar server and a short-haired lady—both frequently mentioned in other reviews—also displayed poor customer service.

Having worked in the F&B industry myself in the U.K., I find such behavior completely unacceptable. This café has received numerous complaints over the years, yet the issue persists, indicating a lack of action from the management. Their responses to negative reviews are nothing more than generic PR-style replies, without any real improvement in customer service.

Interestingly, reviews about their service are mixed—some customers report excellent hospitality. However, from my observations, it appears that English-speaking customers, particularly Westerners, receive noticeably better treatment. This raises concerns about bias, favoritism, and possibly even racial discrimination. Having lived in the west, if the level of service received by locals were experienced by foreigners, it would undoubtedly damage both the café’s reputation and Penang’s/Malaysia’s image, given the high service standards expected in Western countries.

It also seems that the café’s popularity has led to an attitude of indifference and superiority, operating under the mindset of “We won’t lose anything, so we don’t care.” While it’s understandable that staff may feel stressed during busy hours, this does not justify the consistently poor treatment reported by so many customers.

Additionally, the confusing ordering, management, and table allocation system leaves customers bewildered, yet instead of receiving helpful guidance, they are often met with cold, rude, and impatient responses. This significantly detracts from the dining experience.

That being said, I do want to acknowledge that one male Chinese staff member treated us with respect and politeness, and I appreciate his commendable service. Moreover, the cakes and atmosphere remain lovely as always.

However, no matter how good the food is, a restaurant with such an abhorrent culture and disregard for customer service does not deserve continued support. If there are no consequences, they will have no incentive to change.

The above statements are based on my personal experience, observations and analysis, and conversations with others. I welcome any factual clarification from the owner or management. Like many others, I truly appreciate the food here, but we would also appreciate a more respectful and welcoming...

Are you finding a cafe that has great interior but horrible customer service and low quality food ? Well this is the perfect place for you.

There’s no host at the door, so we don’t even know if we should queue or just walk in (as the door is tinted). We decided to walk straight in, one Chinese male waiter came up and ask us how many pax do we have. We answered politely but then this Indian waitress used a harsh tone and asked us to wait by the door.

After 10 mins of waiting blurry at the door, we walked in again, and we got seated at a new dining area (the chinese waiter allowed us to sit there) and we started ordering our food.

There’s another waiter (the one who took our order) informed us, we should order our cake at the cake counter by mentioning our table number. IRONICALLY, when we arrived at the cake counter, the lady at the cake counter and the same Indian waitress “shoo” us away, telling us to order our cake at our table. The same chinese male waiter was beside the cake counter, so we ordered our cake from him. Unfortunately, he forgot our cake order and we waited for around 20 mins, BUT STILL no cake.

My friend went to the cake counter and asked if our cake was ready. The waitress asked the other waitress, “why are there people at that table ?”, and told us there’s no cake order from our table. They started discussing badly about us infront of us. They assumed we just walked in ourselves. They only apologized when my friend got pissed, saying “they were busy”.

The main dishes took very long, and the drinks were later than the main dishes???? Everything was pricey, but it’s so not worth the price, wait and terrible customer service. The sticky banana loaf tasted like a dry sponge, something i can buy from my canteen for less than RM5.

OVERALL, i would rate my whole dining experience 0/5 stars, but the minimum is 1 star. So i will give it a 1/5 stars.

Conclusion, if you want a nice trip in penang, please avoid this cafe at all cost. There are better cafes along the...

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🇲🇾 ChinaHouse, Penang – Is the hype still real? 🍰🎶 📍153 Beach St, Georgetown, Penang

When I saw the 4.0⭐ Google rating, I thought — why not? Anything above 4*, I’ll usually grab a few friends and check it out. And that’s exactly what we did.

ChinaHouse isn’t just a café — it’s a whole experience. A blend of three heritage shophouses stitched together with a courtyard in the middle, it’s one of those rare places where art, cake, and culture collide. Cafés, galleries, a bakery, live music — it feels like wandering through someone’s eclectic, artsy home.

🍽 What we tried: Avocado, Cashew & Feta Salad (RM46) – Fresh, light, and nutty with a sweet punch from cranberries and grapes. Great start. Ginger Bud Pesto Spaghetti (RM39) – Loved this. The combo of ginger and lemongrass was aromatic, zesty, and so uniquely Southeast Asian. Bento Special (RM46) – A full-on flavour bomb. The Laos chicken was tender, curry rich, and the coconut rice held everything together. Loved the mix of textures too. Signature Burger (RM36) – Juicy homemade beef patty with fried egg, pineapple, and caramelised onions. Comfort food done right.

🥤 Drinks: • The homemade refresher was citrusy and cooling. • Bottled kombucha (we had 3!) — tart, fizzy, and refreshing, a nice balance to the heavier mains.

📝 Final thoughts: Would I come back? Yes — but mostly for the vibe and the cake selection (yes, they have a huge display of cakes!). The food was above average, the atmosphere was artsy-chill, and it’s definitely a Penang icon worth experiencing at least once.

📌 Rating: 3.8⭐ (personal rating) Note: Ratings are subjective and based on my experience at the time of visit.

Would you spend an afternoon here exploring food, art, and heritage?

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