Malaysian Wonton Noodles, Kaya Toast, Coffee, and Lor Bak for Breakfast in Penang

Traditional Chinese-Malay Breakfast

at Kedai Kopi Malabar, Penang, Malaysia

I visited a traditional Malaysian coffee shop, or open-air food court, one morning in Penang for breakfast. The first dish that I ordered was a bowl of delicious wanton mee, or egg noodles served with pork-stuffed wontons and pieces of juicy grilled pork.

Malaysia has a multicultural and multiethnic society. Although Malaysia is officially a Muslim country with a Muslim majority, Penang is the only state that has a Chinese majority, rather than a Malay majority as in the other 12 states.

This means that Penang has more of a Chinese-influenced food culture than other parts of the country, and our breakfast was no exception. While pork noodles wouldn't be eaten as commonly in other parts of the country, they are a common way to start the morning throughout Penang.

roasted pork wonton noodles

While enjoying a cup of strong black coffee to start the morning, the next dish arrived. Next up was kaya toast with butter. The toast was served with a small pile of sugar on the side to dip the toast in. It's not a very healthy start to the morning to be fair, but it goes really well with the Malaysian coffee.

kaya butter toast

Another dish we tried was a noodle dish cooked with prawns, sweet Chinese sausage, and fried eggs in a wok. The dish reminded me a lot of pad Thai but was smokier.

wok-roasted noodles in Penang, Malaysia

Lor bak are a type of Malaysian fritters which evolved from Fujian Chinese fried snacks and dumplings. They can be made out of many things and are typically ordered to share over coffee. I tried some fried pork eggrolls and prawn rolls.

lor bok, or Malaysian fritters in Penang

Location

Kedi Kopi Malabar is located at 55, Kampong Malabar, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. This type of traditional coffee shop food court is popular in Penang where shopkeepers and hawkers will band together to rent out empty ground floor spaces along busy streets and set up their shops inside. In the early mornings, locals will flock to these food courts to buy coffee and breakfast and sit and gossip and conduct business.

Kedi Kopi Malabar in Penang, Malaysia