三国茶室 SanGuoCafe — Restaurant in George Town

I recently visited Sanguo Café in Penang, and it turned out to be quite a nice little spot for casual dining. The café itself is small but has two stories, giving it a cozy atmosphere that reminds me a bit of a Hong Kong–style café. It’s a good place to stop by if you want something simple yet satisfying.

The highlight for me was definitely the Char Koay Teow. It was tasty, well-fried with good wok hei, and the best part is that it only costs RM5.80, which is really cheap for Penang standards. Another dish I tried was the Hokkien Mee. The portion and price were reasonable, but unfortunately the flavor was not as strong or rich as expected. I think this is one area where they can improve to match the quality of their other dishes.

On the brighter side, many of their other offerings were delicious. The Nasi Lemak with Prawns, Pan Mee, and Mango Sago dessert were all enjoyable, and the steamed bread was soft, fluffy, and perfect for a light bite.

Overall, Sanguo Café is affordable and serves several dishes worth coming back for. With just a little improvement on the Hokkien Mee, this café could become an even better choice for casual...

大约五个星期前，我们的好朋友 Carol Tan——也是 SNUGFOOD 的老板兼掌舵人——极力推荐我们去尝试一家她常去的店：三国茶室 San Guo Cafe，就在她那间小而温馨的摊位旁边（还有她即将开张、冷气爽爽吹的第二分店 🥶✨）。

Carol 讲这家真的好吃到爆，而且价格便宜到夸张的地步！我们当时还以为她开玩笑——结果真的没有骗我们！ 一碗福建面只要 RM3.90、满满料的炒粿条（有虾有蚶）也才 RM5.90？！ 你讲我们怎能不亲自去“试毒”一下？

先讲福建面！汤头浓郁、味道香喷喷，配料也不马虎——有蛋、有虾、有空心菜、还有鱼饼。我们给它打个 8.5/10 分！ 味道？正宗。风味？“古早味”认证 Ko Cha Bi Approved！ 不信？你自己去试啦！

然后是那盘炒粿条——哎哟，讲真，我这个月只剩一盘 quota，这是我七月吃的第五盘了（不后悔 ok！） 锅气十足、不油腻，重点是料堆到像座小山：鲜蚶、大虾、腊肠、鸡蛋，还有我们最爱的黄金炸猪油渣！ 又是一个 8.5/10 分，Confirm Sedap！

还有还有，不要让我开始讲他们的 炸猪油渣拌面 和 槟城罗惹，那种一吃就回不了头的水准，你吃一次，就想天天回去（之后怪我们也没关系啦，心甘情愿的那种 😜）。

我们也很好奇，为什么叫“三国”？ 原来老板娘 June San Yone 来自泰国，有着华人血统，现在嫁给了土生土长的槟城人——三种文化背景融合在一起，就是她想表达的 “三国” 精神。是不是很有意思？

所以说，如果你是那种钟爱平价、好吃、诚意满满本地美食的人，San Guo Cafe 在叫你名字咯～ 他们有超过20种本地人气餐点等你来吃，吃得满足，荷包也开心！

我们点了五样菜再加饮料，总共才 RM38.10 ——你讲，便宜不便宜？

好吃………. 😋

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About five weeks ago, our dear friend Carol Tan—who also happens to be the owner and operator of Snugfood—strongly encouraged us to check out San Guo Cafe 三国茶室, which is just a few steps away from her humble little kiosk (and future second outlet… yes, with cool cool AirCorn air-conditioning 🥶✨).

Carol raved about the place, saying not only is the food absolutely delicious, but the prices are unbelievably cheap. We thought she was joking—but she wasn’t. A bowl of Hokkien Mee for just RM3.90, and Char Koay Teow loaded with prawns and cockles for only RM5.90?! We had to see (and taste) it to believe it!

Let’s talk about that Hokkien Mee. From the rich, flavourful broth to the generous ingredients—egg, shrimp, kangkung, and ewe chang — it scored a solid 8.5/10 in our books. The flavour? Authentic. The tagline? Ko cha bi (old-school vibes) approved! Don’t believe us? Go try it yourself lah!

Now… about that Char Koay Teow. Aiyo—I only have one more plate quota left for July, and this visit marked my fifth one already (no regrets, ok?). It was bursting with wok hei, not overly oily, and came with a mountain of ingredients: cockles, prawns, lap cheong, egg, and those crispy golden pork lard cubes we love so much. Another 8.5/10—confirm sedap!

Oh, and don’t even get us started on their crispy pork lard noodle and Penang rojak—those are what we call “no turning back once you’ve tried” level. You’ll keep coming back… and then blame us later (but lovingly lah, okay? 😜).

We were also curious—why the name San Guo? June San Yone, the friendly owner, shared her story: she’s originally from Thailand, with Chinese ancestry, and is now married to her Penang-born darling. That’s how the “three kingdoms” (San Guo) theme came about. Beautiful, right?

So if you're someone who loves ultra-affordable, delicious, and honest-to-goodness food, San Guo Cafe is calling your name. With over 20 types of local favourites waiting for you, rest assured—your tastebuds will rejoice, and your wallet will thank you.

For five dishes with beverages, it only cost RM 38.10 cheap or not, you say la

Delicious….. 😋

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Came across this cafe walking down Kimberly street. I tried their cafe top picks, char koay teow and Hokkien mee. The price is certainly tough to beat. Their Hokkien mee is only 3.90 for goodness sake. It's pretty good for the price. Taste wise, I would say it's like lacking of something which I can't describe. The char koay teow has good wok hei. The ingredients are fresh and pretty generous too. I'm impressed they could put in cockles (siham) at this price point. The sauce is lacks umami taste, the soy sauce is too salty to my liking. Otherwise for the price, it's very good CKT.

The pork trotter spinach noodles is nice too. I love the chilly sauce that comes with it.

Other than the super economical two dishes, the rest are cafe pricing. Around RM10-20 per dish.

The ambiance is nice, seems like limited seating but there are more seats upstairs. .

I will revisit to try...