Toast is typically served with a side of white sugar, kaya or the classic choice: half-boiled eggs served either in a separate cup or on top.
Overall we found the key to an exquisite set of roti bakar were: liberal amounts of butter, just the right thickness of bread toasted to perfection (bread from Gardenia is not accepted, only ‘roti benggali’), and half-boiled eggs that are boiled till they are of a divine yellow and white consistency.
Best of all, a set usually costs less than RM5. Order a glass of Kopi O’ to go with it and you’re all set for the morning. We hope we’ve made your mouths water and stomachs rumble, so scroll on for a review of the roti bakar that we’ve sampled. Time to makan!
OO White Coffee
Whilst this café has branched out to include other outlets, the original establishment at Carnavon Street is still our favourite. Despite the kopitiam having a rather commercial feel with a proper printed menu and a slightly higher price point of RM6.50, their ‘Eggs on Toast’ were fairly worth the price.
The taste is solid: not worth the drive if you’re living far away, but worth trying if you’re in the area. A side note: their coffee is their specialty and worth a try.
Address: OO White Coffee, 262-264, Lebuh Carnarvon, Georgetown, 10100 George Town, Penang
Opening Hours: 7am – 3pm
Bangkok Lane Roti Bakar
Don’t be confused with the corner store on the left because this stall is directly opposite under large umbrellas. Its best to come here in the morning unless you’re willing to brave the sweltering heat.
They actually use ‘arang’ or coal to toast the bread on top of an old-fashioned stove. While some claim this spot as their favourite, we found the roti to be lacklustre with not much butter spread on top and the roti chopped up extremely haphazardly. We might be giving this one a miss the next time.
Address: Bangkok Lane Roti Bakar, Lorong Bangkok, 10250 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Opening Hours: Open 24 hours
Joo Leong Café (RD RECOMMENDS)
A set of two pieces of toast here is served butter-side up, and we love how each piece that is chopped into tens are simply oozing with butter.
They are served with little wooden sticks that somehow make the experience of dipping the bread into the cup with egg yolks served like gorgeous golden moons all the better.
We were popping those buttery squares into our mouths so quickly that it was all gone before we knew it. Theirs is easily one of the best on the island, if not the best and we’d be here every week if we weren’t worried about our cholesterol levels.
Address: Joo Leong Cafe, Mk. 12, Jalan Sungai Tiram, Kampung Sungai Tiram, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang.
Opening Hours: 7 – 11am; 6 – 9.30pm, closed Mondays
Lee Huat Café
This place may look somewhat dark and dingy on the outside, but getting a table to sit here can prove tricky as well. Although at most cafes, the roti bakar is sold by the proprietors who also sell drinks, here it is sold by a separate stall.
The way they serve roti bakar here is about as authentic as you can get which are dished out on a plastic plates and squishy bottles of soy sauce and white pepper.
Come early as they usually sell out by 9.30am. Another testament to how good the roti bakar is can be seen by the mountain of broken egg shells at the stall.
Address: Lee Huat Cafe, 377-B, Jln Masjid Negeri, Taman Green Lane, 11600 Jelutong, Penang
Opening Hours: 8am – 1pm; 6.30am –1pm Mondays
Toh Soon Café
This place is packed all the time and even more so because it is actually located in a narrow alley. Not to mention that it is located right in the middle of tourist hotspots in Georgetown.
This spot keeps it authentic and similarly use an ancient charcoal stove made from an old oil drum. Watching the process is pretty interesting as they have to be careful not to burn the bread.
They also give the option of steamed bread, but we stuck to having ours toasted. The roti bakar was decent, but we weren’t sure if it’s worth the hype and long queues.
Address: Toh Soon Cafe, Campbell Street, Off Penang Road, George Town, 10100 Penang
Opening Hours: 8am – 5pm, closed Sundays
Ah Wang Cafe
This spot is lesser known because it can be found right in the middle of several blocks of government flats. Uncles and aunties love to while their afternoons here chit-chatting over a cup of kopi.
Although they have the usual toast-egg combo, their specialty is their home-made kaya and toast or ‘Roti Kahwin’. They also have a choice of buns and ordinary bread here but we went for the classic.
It was pretty good but we wished that the bread was slightly fluffier. The eggs they use here are actually free-range and are probably hard to find elsewhere and not to mention that the runny consistency was spot on. Their fragrant and robust Hainanese coffee is a definite plus.
Address: Ah Wang Cafe, J-6, Jalan Tanjung Bungah, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Pinang
Operating Hours: 11.30am – 6pm, closed Sundays
Roti Bakar Hutton Lane
The popularity of this stall is such that they have even amassed more than 10,000 followers of their Facebook page. They’ve been around since 1957 and they have a pretty extensive roti menu that includes ‘roti butter kaya cheese’ and ‘roti balut telur’, which is pretty much French toast.
The roti bakar prepared using charcoal makes for a decent meal but we prefer our bread toasted to be slightly crispier.
Address: 300, Jalan Phee Choon, George Town, 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang
Opening Hours: 7am – 2pm
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