Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe Burma Road — Restaurant in George Town

I don’t think the Michelin recognition did Flower Mulan any favours, especially for their regular customers. I don’t think they can cope with the crowd anymore. What was once a charming and quaint restaurant has turned into an opportunity to pull one over their customers.

Three weeks before CNY, we booked two tables and the CNY set meals for dinner. On the day itself, at around 4.30pm, they called to reconfirm our booking. Impeccable service, I thought.

Yet when we arrived at 8pm, only one table was ready- the other half of our party had to stand around awkwardly in that extremely cramped space as we watched the next table eat their dinner, and we were not seated until much later.

The food was a huge issue too. At this point if we had been served our set meal I wouldn’t mind. Except, we weren’t.

They no longer had the CNY set meal that we had booked for two tables THREE WEEKS IN ADVANCE. Apparently, they had given it away to another table. Instead, they cobbled together whatever dishes was available in the kitchen from the ala carte menu, which is why we ended up with stingray instead of steamed fish. It also ended up being SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive. Yes, instead of honouring our CNY set meal, they replaced it entirely and then CHARGED US MENU PRICE FOR IT TOO.

At this point we were all SUPER annoyed but if the food was good, at least everyone can still enjoy a good dinner. Right?

See, I don’t think they realise that Michelin stars require consistency, because everything was, well, not that great. The stingray was over cooked into some kind of rubber ball, the vegetable was salted to literally taste like the sea, the prawns were NOT FRESH, even the soup was bland. The only good thing on the table was the omelette. The omelette!!!!!

I just don’t understand how they could have called us earlier in the day, confirmed our booking, and still messed up everything else. The manager was also extremely rude afterwards and was not sorry about the terrible service we received.

At least the kids were entertained by the extreme maximalist decor (take note if you’re claustrophobic), but this was a terrible experience for us and we will not...

Honestly, I initially didn’t know this was a Michelin-awarded restaurant. After dining here with my family, I told them the food was so good that the restaurant deserved a Michelin award. It was only later that the owner mentioned they had already received Michelin awards for 2023 and 2024, and their 2025 recognition was already confirmed, with the certificate on the way.

Why this restaurant deserves a Michelin award:

The Environment The unique and thoughtfully designed decor creates a wonderful atmosphere. For me, this is crucial—dining in a pleasant and well-decorated space greatly enhances your mood and appetite, elevating the entire experience.

Authentic Nyonya Cuisine The food here is a perfect representation of traditional Nyonya cuisine. Some highlights: • Curry Chicken: The sweetness of the curry seems to come naturally from fruit rather than added sugar, balancing the spices beautifully. • Vinegar Pork: Made with old ginger, which adds depth and warmth, the dish stands out for its harmonious balance of sweet and sour flavors. If they didn’t use the logo of Bulldog brand sweetened vinegar, they must have skillfully combined traditional vinegar with gula Melaka. The sweetness does not overpower the vinegar’s tangy sharpness, creating a well-rounded, complex flavor. • Asam Laksa: The use of pineapple and spices neutralizes any fishy smell or taste from the soup base. Instead of an overwhelming “fish soup” flavor, you get a refreshing blend of fruity and vegetable notes that’s light yet flavorful.

Overall impression: The meal exceeded my expectations. However, I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 because the sauce for the lobak (fried pork roll) didn’t meet my expectations. That said, it was still better than what most restaurants serve.

This restaurant is truly a gem for anyone who enjoys authentic Nyonya cuisine in a...

I visited this restaurant in early Dec with my family. We chose Flower Mulan as it had a later closing time. We are blown away by the decor. To date, it is the most highly decorated restaurant we have ever visited. I doubt there is another place quite like it. Is there a Guinness record for most highly decorated restaurant? If so, Flower Mulan should submit an application! As for the service, I was impressed by the female Myanmar waitress. Despite the fact that she only knew a few English words, she was able to recommend dishes effectively, by complementing her tiny vocabulary with hand gestures and facial expressions. She was gracious and patient with our questions and requests.

As for the food, we found the dishes average in taste by Penang Nonya cuisine standards. I must say though that the black sesame mochi was indeed special and tasty. If you order dessert, do let them know when you’d like it to be served. Our dessert order of cold grass jelly was served before any of the other dishes were, and the staff who brought it looked surprised that we did not want to start our dinner with dessert.

While we were finishing our meal, there was no waiting staff to be seen on the second floor, where we were seated. I had to walk across the floor past empty tables and down the stairs to get a couple of empty glasses refilled with water, and again a little while later for a pair of chopsticks as I had accidentally dropped mine. This level of service was surprisingly low for a restaurant with such an...