[Penang, Malaysia] Lunch at 𝗟𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵, Chow Thye Road

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Le Brunch is a 10-month-old venture by Yemeni-Arab Penangite, Syed Aidid, who also owns The Safe Room on Victoria Street.

Besides offering a range of halal French breakfast options, Le Brunch also offers some interesting-sounding lunch options, including a couple of Spanish ones which we tried today:
Spanish garlic prawns (gambas al ajillo) - very fresh shell-on prawns, but surprisingly less garlicky than I’d expected. Being halal also meant no sherry or wine was added to the dish. The toasted baguettes on the side were perfect to soak up the pan juices.

Seafood paella - the rendition here eschewed the lighter saffron-tinted stock for an intensely-flavored one heavy with tomato puree. It’s an Asianized paella, studded with crayfish, prawns, clams & mussels, and with some very strong, sweet flavors.

No alcohol is served here, so no Sangria. We opted for chilled hibiscus-lime soda.

Address
Le Brunch
36C, Jalan Chow Thye, 10050 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 10-941 5868
Opening hours: 11am-9.30pm Mon, Wed-Fri; 8am-9.30pm Sat & Sun. Closed on Tuesdays.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

We first stumbled upon Le Brunch just before the onset of the last COVID lockdown in Mar 2021. Back then, we were looking for a nice, sunny spot for a lazy Sunday breakfast, and we found it here.

Of course, being Muslim-owned, we couldn’t get our favorite bacon or pork sausages, but the halal substitutes were pretty okay. Our Sunday brunch back then:

1. Tagine oeuf frittata - a French-Moroccan spiced casserole with chicken “ham”, eggs, tomatoes, cheese and broccoli.
   
   

2. Omelette aux fines herbes - French omelette with cheddar cheese, sprinkled with parmesan.
   
   

Perfect - the molten interior of the omelette.

3. Eggs Benedict with poached eggs, chicken ham, Hollandaise sauce on sourdough toast.
   
   

We rather enjoyed all the breakfast options there. There seemed to be an earnestness by the kitchen to make sure they prepare the orders as best they could.