Toh Soon Cafe — Restaurant in George Town

In this morning, I was really excited to try this viral breakfast spot in Penang. I had read so many positive reviews about this unique kopitiam hidden in a narrow alley. I arrived at 9 AM, and there was already a long queue. No problem—I was happy to wait and see what made this place so special.

But honestly? The experience was a huge letdown, and I lost all motivation to post anything positive.

When it was my turn, the staff asked how many people in my group. I said four, but since the only available table was for two, the group behind me was seated first. Fine, I waited a bit more, and eventually, we got a table.

Now, here’s where things got really frustrating. I was seated at a table with empty tables on both sides. I had already checked the menu and was ready to order. When I called a passing staff member, he just said “wait” and walked away. And never came back.

I thought, okay, they’re really busy, so I waited. But soon, the two tables next to me got seated, and they were served immediately while I was still waiting! I called out again, asking why they were taking orders for others first when I had been waiting longer. Then, this rude guy in a black shirt started shouting at me from across the table, saying I was the last to arrive, so I should order last! Excuse me?? HE was the one who called us from the queue and gave us this table.

So what was this? Bad memory? Or straight-up discrimination? I don’t know if it was rudeness or racism, but it was totally unacceptable. SHAME ON YOU.

Anyway, after a ridiculous argument, we finally got to order. While waiting, I noticed something disgusting—they use a water filtration system that is visibly dirty, and the filtered water goes straight into their cooking station. And guess what? They don’t even boil it first before using it. That was the first red flag.

Then the food arrived, and to make it worse, they got my toast order wrong. And that supposedly famous toast? Completely overrated. Just basic, nothing special at all. The only thing “special” about this place was that loud, rude waiter running around like he’s the busiest man in the world.

Would I come back? Absolutely not. There are plenty of better kopitiams in Penang with actual good food and decent service. This was just...

Toh Soon Café, a venerated establishment in George Town, Penang, has garnered a significant reputation for its traditional Hainanese offerings. However, my recent visit suggests that this acclaim might be disproportionate to the actual experience.

The highly-touted toast with kaya and peanut butter left much to be desired. The combination, while intriguing, failed to allow the kaya—a coconut jam made from coconut milk, eggs, and sugar—to shine through. The robust flavor of peanut butter overshadowed the delicate sweetness and aromatic qualities that make kaya a beloved spread in Malaysian cuisine. The balance was skewed, resulting in a dish that missed the mark of highlighting its key ingredient.

The nutmeg drink, another specialty often associated with Penang’s culinary heritage, proved overly saccharine. Nutmeg, a spice integral to various Penang dishes and drinks, is known for its distinctive, slightly peppery sweetness. However, in this instance, the drink’s sweetness was overpowering. The café would do well to inquire about patrons’ sugar preferences to prevent such overwhelming sweetness. Not everyone enjoys an excessively sugary beverage, and such oversight can detract from the overall dining experience.

In contrast, the iced Milo ordered without sugar was exemplary. This beverage, a staple across Malaysia, combines malted barley, cocoa, and milk to create a rich, chocolatey drink. The decision to forego additional sugar allowed the inherent flavors of Milo to stand out, resulting in what was arguably the best iced Milo I have had in Malaysia. The drink’s balanced taste provided a refreshing respite and highlighted the café’s potential for excellence when simplicity and balance are prioritized.

Toh Soon Café’s historical and cultural significance in Penang’s culinary scene is undeniable. However, based on my visit, it appears that some dishes may benefit from a reconsideration of flavor balance and customer preference. While the iced Milo was a standout, other items fell short of expectations. The café could enhance its offerings by focusing on letting key ingredients speak for themselves and tailoring sweetness levels to...

The queue is real, we have to queue in line at least for 30 minutes to get a shared table.. this maybe because we arrived at busy hours, around 8.40AM..

Then there's another queue to get your order once you got seat, at least to our experience, although am sure this is not happen to all customers, especially for the locals and the regulars with the cafe.

For us as tourist, we don't know the menu and came with different expectation, where we thought the waiters going to serve us, and patiently explain the menu and give most recommendation. So we hope our experience will be a good knowledge for other new visitor of this cafe, in term of how the ordering works.

From our observation as a foreign tourist visiting first time, else than the difficulty with local language (Chinese Mandarin), we can't directly put order to the cook, they will simply gave sign to us to keep waiting until we get served, even though we are sitting directly behind them and have been waiting for another 30 minutes.. Now then the waiter's..seems to us that they are always in a hurry, and seems that they expect we already know what we want to order, when we tried to ask about menu variations, again..on our experience..they told us to see for our self and then skipped us to serve another customer. Certainly we are surprised with this, but we keep calm, so while waiting we just taking pictures..there are photo how they burn the bread, very traditional. After waiting for more than 30 minutes and tried a couple time to put order to the cook and the waiters, we finally made the order, and by all means, we actually have to watch carefully to any waiters which we can distract them into listening our orders.

Finally came the food, which is another surprised because we ordered 1 roti with kaya butter, and 1 roti with eggs, and what came to us is 2 roti with kaya butter. Obviously after those observation, we thought not to bother complaining to the waiters or the cook as it would do more harm than good to us.

Well, the taste it self..I would say it is good, but to have experienced all of that, doesn't feel it is worth it for the food...