[Penang, Malaysia] Hainanese coffee & toast at ๐—ž๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ถ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐—ถ, Dickens Street

Kong Thai Lai was founded back in 1920 by the Hainanese coffee-brewing Tan family. Back on 26 Sep 2016, the old coffeeshop moved from its original Hutton Lane location to its present premises on 38 Leith Street. Tan Jeng Seow, the grandson of the founder, now runs the popular little coffeeshop.

Their offerings remained much the same: Hainanese-style freshly-brewed coffee, accompanied by kaya-butter toasts and soft-boiled eggs - which was what we had for breakfast this morning:

Hainanese coffee is brewed from freshly-roasted coffee beans. The Hainanese usually roasts a mix of coffee beans (50%) with sugar (40%) & butter (10%). The sugar with caramelize and coat the beans, which are then allowed to cool down before being ground for brewing.

Hainanese-style toasts are made from thick-cut Roti Benggali, slathered with a thin spread of kaya (coconut-egg jam) and butter.

Soft-boiled eggs are another standard order for a full-fledged Hainanese coffee-and-roast breakfast, and some customers would actually dunk their toasts into eggs, somewhat akin to British eggs & soldiers, which was probably where this breakfast option originated.

A new, popular way of serving was having the soft-boiled (not poached) eggs cracked on top of buttered toast.

Kong Thai Laiโ€™s offerings are simple, and there are probably a number of places which do it better than them. But there is no beating history, and its illustrious past made the little coffeeshop a magnet for local coffee connoisseurs. This place used to be the favorite breakfast spot for one of Penangโ€™s most famous and enigmatic tycoons, the late Loh Boon Siew aka Mr Honda, whoโ€™d have a regular table here for his daily morning cuppa.

Address
Kong Thai Lai
38, Leith Street, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 11-2344 7832
Opening hours: 7.30am to 3pm Mon-Sat. Closed on Sundays.

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On 26 Sep 2016, the third-generation owner of ๐™†๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™๐™๐™–๐™ž ๐™‡๐™–๐™ž, Tan Jeng Seow, moved his traditional Hainanese kopitiam from its century-old location on No. 6 Hutton Lane to 38, Leith Street.

Now, after just a bit over 6 years, itโ€™s another move for ๐™†๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™๐™๐™–๐™ž ๐™‡๐™–๐™ž - this time, it shifted premises to 32 Dickens Street, on 3 Oct 2022. Its original blinds, which still bore the first address - No. 6 Hutton Lane - is now installed at its new location.

Its new home on Dickens Street is in a more pleasant downtown neighbourhood location: facing the Penang Police HQ.

๐™†๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™๐™๐™–๐™ž ๐™‡๐™–๐™ž still brews some of the best Hainanese coffee in town, which it serves alongside traditional toasts slathered with butter and kaya (coconut milk-egg-sugar) jam.

A traditional Hainanese breakfast also usually includes soft-boiled eggs, served alongside buttered toasts - an adaptation of the British eggs-and-soldiers by the Hainanese.

Dickens Street was named after John Dickens, a British magistrate who served in George Town from 1801 to 1805.

Address
Kong Thai Lai Coffee Shop
32, Dickens Street, 10050 George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +6011-2344 7832
Opening hours: 7.30am to 3.30pm Mon to Sat. Closed on Sundays.

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Hi! iโ€™m heading to Penang for the first time soon, and so iโ€™ve been trying to catch up on your delicious posts on this board! Iโ€™m quite excited to experience this city. If you donโ€™t mind answering a couple of direct recommendation requests :

  1. apart from the coffee shop above, do you recommend any Hainanese/Malay Kopi shops particularly known for their quality of coffee? Maybe even a place that is a built-in roasterie? (iโ€™m in the coffee industry & also an enthusiastโ€ฆgeeky rabbit-holes are A-OK with me :wink: note: iโ€™m not rly looking for โ€˜3rd waveโ€™ western type cafesโ€ฆIโ€™ve access to more than enough of thoseโ€ฆ . )

  2. Any recommendations for โ€˜upscaleโ€™ Malay? Iโ€™m more interested in the traditional eating-houses & street foods, but will allocate a meal for something kinda nice :wink: I saw the one thread you started on the "Michelin-star-worthyโ€™ place; looks awesome; but iโ€™m also hedging my bets on a place we wonโ€™t need RSVPs in case we just make it impromptu.

Many TIA!

Try SBK Concept Store (Jelutong Outlet)
348, Jalan Jelutong, 11600 George Town, Penang.

Go for Irama Dining.

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Many thanks for the recommendations! Looks lovely.

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Hi, just following up after the Penang visit. Irama was fantastic! thanks again for the recommendations. Penang/Georgetown overall was a great experience & destination; truly one of the best โ€˜chowhoundingโ€™ destinations around.

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Thanks so much for reporting back, @pushslice . So glad you enjoyed yourselves!

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