The Lighthouse Cafe — Restaurant in George Town

There are times when you hear of your friends rave about certain places, and after sampling it, you realise that the individual palate preferences differ. Looking at social media and their recommendations can sometimes be a joke to the local Penangites as well, as we have our own hidden gems that is not shared with many.

The Lighthouse Cafe is one such gem. Housed within the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of Penang along Penang Road, this very humble restaurant has no frills, no fancy decor, no comfortable chairs or tables. But it packs a double wallop - the food and the prices.

As I came pretty early, before noon, seating was easily available, but by the time I left about an hour later, the place had already filled up inside and outside as well - a good sign that it's popular amongst locals.

Parking is non existent along the busy Penang Road, and if you're lucky, you could find a spot inside the Diocese compound for RM2. Otherwise, you're left to brave the roads along Sri Bahari Road or even Argyll Road to find a spot and walk there.

The dining area is sparse, but clever use of books that line the windows and also glass topped tables can be found inside. Under the glass is the menu, and also a few handwritten notes from international travellers who left compliments about the place. There are also tables outside the cafe, but it's not as comfortable as inside seating as you are left to the elements, while you eat.

The Lighthouse Cafe offers western dishes alongside local favourites, and cooked dishes that go well with rice. It's an eclectic mix, but not too much till it overwhelms the senses. The prices here are super inexpensive and gives great value for money. It's self-service to get your own cutlery and sauces/condiments.

My perfectly cooked chicken chop (there are 4 variations in the menu) was humongous, with a large piece of chicken, home made potato wedges (these were yummy) and drenched in a sweet sour sauce which perfectly complements the dish. The Sar Hor Fun (fried flat noodles) was another dish well done - with smoky fried noodles in an egg sauce. The other dish I ordered was the Hailam Fried mee - another Penang staple, and this one I had an issue with - I couldn't stop eating it!

One distinguishing factor about the noodles here are the large pieces of "bak yu phoke" or crispy fried lard. This delicious addition to dishes in Penang (char koay teow, koay teow thng etc) is a must, but it's taken to the next level in The Lighthouse - very welcomed indeed.

Oh, and every dine in order with a dish gives you the opportunity to help yourself to the all you can eat ice cream at the chiller, so you don't even need to order dessert!

The total bill for my gastronomic feast? RM38 for three dishes and two drinks. Something quite impossible to find in any other restaurant.

Cheap and good food in a pleasant atmosphere. No wonder so many locals frequent it. Shhh, don't tell the rest of the world about this place - we want to keep this place as quiet and quaint as it is for us...

The Lighthouse Cafe is on Penang Road and quite centrally located in Penang, with a paid parking option inside the Catholic Diocese lot. Open for lunch and dinner with a break in-between where they close.

It’s super casual with wooden crate-like seats, not ideal for long meals. Note: The cafe has a bakery next door, with much more comfy seats (with backs!) and they’ll take the meals to one spot or the other.

Food: The Hainanese chicken chop and char hor fun were delicious, with very generous portions. If nothing else, that’s what you should order.

Cost: For what you get, RM8/9 for each dish is beyond well priced. You’ll get far less elsewhere that tastes meh.

Service: This is where it goes a little sideways for them. Menus are inlaid under the glass on the tables and you use a pencil and paper to fill in what you want. Drop it off with someone to order. It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour for your food to come out, depending on what you get. Our second visit there, the waitress literally forgot to submit our food order. We waited over 40 minutes when we discovered nothing was put in and was told it would be another 25-30 mins for our food.

CASH only. Worth a try if you don’t have a tight schedule. Really would be great if they figure out their service issues between both cafe and...

I am disappointingly to say that I used to be a regular customer to this cafe but the management did not know how to appreciate regular customer probably because they has good business. In Penang, many offices' lunchtime are 1 hour or less, lunching at The Lighthouse Cafe will definitely caused you late back to work or you will choke your foods in, because your order will arrive after 50 minutes or more. It's obviously not enough staff and yet the management did not find solution in this matter because this situation has never been change for quite some time. Foods prices are indeed reasonable with free flow of ice cream, hence dragging customers in. Environment hygiene are so so only, lots of fly if you sit outside and inside has a sour smelly from the table cloth, hence I rather sit outside than adding the sourly smell to my foods. One guy taking orders, serving foods, cleaning the table and collecting money and the lady only serve drinks. You can try if you have a lot of time and like to wait. Many times during lunch hour, I ended up taking out my foods after waited until I almost...