People Pleaser Penang — Restaurant in George Town

Restaurant price, but cafe standard.

We ordered pulled pork quesadilla, roasted pork, mushroom soup, pesto pizza, aglio olio and iced black.

Pulled pork tastes slightly bitter and overcooked. Aglio olio is the fusion version, heavy peppercorn flavour that resembles mala stir fry but somehow overpowered the sauteed minced garlic. Some of the sauteed garlic slices and minced garlic are charred, so it has very little bitter taste to it.

Iced black is smooth, seems like medium roast but has very short after taste, under-extracted. Mushroom soup is nice but not sure why it's sweetened, baguette is very hard.

The pesto base is also oxidized so it doesn't taste fresh anymore, the fresh Basil leaf does complement this, some review complained cheese is too less but I feel it is right proportioned so it isn't too overpowering other ingredients. Pizza dough is great, best to eat when it's served hot, when its chill, it turns slightly more chewy but the crust still retains it's crunchiness.

Service isn't as attentive as restaurant level, we accidentally spilled some clear water on the table and asked crew to help wipe it, but feels cincai handled. Gave feedback on the air-cond is too weak but got ignored.

Ventilation is poor, the open kitchen had a bad kitchen hood that just couldn't handle the heavy stir fry work, the oil fume spread to the dining area and it is really distracting. Ironic to its name "People pleaser".

Recommended the pizza but other things mentioned above needed...

We arrived at 12:30 PM and ordered two mains and one soup. Only one main and the soup were served initially. The bacon was overcooked and very hard. The fish rice bowl took more than 30 minutes to arrive. We were told by the server that the rice wasn’t cooked properly because the power supply hadn’t been plugged in.

There were only two tables occupied in the entire cafe, including ours(we also was the first customer who seated and ordered everything ) , yet the food still took a long time to be prepared. The overall quality of the food was average. The scrambled eggs were quite watery, which may be a stylistic choice, but not to my preference.

We also noticed that the kitchen crew were handling food with bare hands during preparation, which raised hygiene concerns.The cafe was uncomfortably warm due to weak air conditioning.

Prices were on the higher side, and unfortunately, the quality of food and service did not justify the cost. A 10% service charge was included in the bill, and yet, there was no complimentary plain water provided or not even a self-service water station,which felt like a basic expectation left unmet.

It was our first visit, and sadly, it will also...

Came here with high expectations and left disappointed.. In some of the dishes as well as the overall ambience.

Dishes.. See what we ordered in pics. Pizza pulled pork was good.. Crunchy and had a chewy base. However the pulled pork was tough and lean. Preferred a softer chew.. Perhaps a fattier cut of meat.

The mushroom soup was also a standout with a strong mushroomy taste as well as outstanding flavor.

The major disappointment was with the spaghetti with the siew bak. The Siew bak pork had a smelly aftertaste.. An indication that it's oil has started to turn rancid and it's no longer fresh. We probably should have said something to the staff but decided not to make a fuss.

The ambience could also be better. The area we sat in was stuffy and warm. There's a lack of moving air.. This place needs more fans to improve the ventilation. Parking is also a nightmare.. Good luck trying to find a spot on a busy weekend especially during lunchtime. Overall mixed experiences... Will look for better deals before...