Hidden along Jalan Gajah is Art Sim Kitchen Cafe worth waking up early on a Sunday morning.
Art Sim Kitchen Cafe opens for breakfast and early lunch.
The tiny café is best described as quaint, rustic, and quirky!
The rafters have just as much detail as the café level. Can you find anything you like?
Chairs hang from its ceiling and jostle for space with old pots, pans, cast iron woks, tiffin carriers, thermos, and wicker baskets.
You may recognize retro curios from the 60s and 70s.
Best of all, you can dine on real antique furniture. Every old piece is dated at least 50 years old.
Or older.
Pick a pan? Don’t worry; these are for display only and not used for cooking in the cafe.
The owner/chef has a small menu with Malaysian/Asian staples.
We started with our order of thick local coffee.
This is the real stuff made from “kopi lau”—coffee made by filtering through a sock-like cloth filter!
Good rich Rendang Chicken with the Nasi Lemak. But then, you’ll probably know by now that I love santan to the MAX. So I like my nasi to be super LEMAK, which means only I can cook it at that level at home!
Nasi Lemak at Art Sim Kitchen Cafe
Their Nasi lemak sets come with fluffy blue pea flower rice served with fried Ikan Bilis, peanuts, sambal, cucumber, and half a boiled egg.
There are two chicken choices: rich chicken rendang or deep-fried chicken.
Rendang is a thick, mild, aromatic curry with tender chicken thighs that break easily with a fork.
I’ve never chowed down on so many pancakes in my life! Seriously. I love the crispy, crunchy texture.
Spring Onion Pancake
A popular Taiwanese snack, this golden, chewy, savory pancake has the texture of a roti canai with its flaky crust.
I like it a little salty and crispy, and it goes so well with the dipping sauce.
Do we like it?
Yes, we ordered double portions to munch on as we chatted.
Perfect for small eaters. Artist Christine Das is one!
Sambal Hare Bee on Toast
Giant toast is smeared with spicy sambal hare bee and has a fresh coriander garnish.
Spicy and nice! I love the taste of the Kerabu Bee Hoon.
Kerabu Bee Hoon
The Kerabu Bee Hoon’s house specialty features blanched springy rice vermicelli tossed with a homemade spicy sambal sauce.
The dish is perfumed with kaffir lime leaves, torch ginger flower, coriander, mint leaves, and lemongrass.
The crunch is from raw shallots, bean sprouts, and roasted peanuts.
The squeeze of calamansi brightens it and makes it even tastier.
There are lots of cubed yams in the yummeh Or Kueh.
Yam Cake
Full of powdery Pinang yam or taro cubes, Kueh/ Yam Cake is a steamed rice flour cake topped with hare bees, spring onions, chilies, and deep-fried shallots.
This is with a chili dipping sauce that goes with it.
Guang Jiang
Guang Jiang (Teochew Style Beancurd Roll)
A traditional kueh from the Teochew clan, the Guang Jiang is made from yam and peanut stuffing rolled up in bean curd and fried.
This delicacy is a must-have legacy food for a major festival and the first day of the Chinese New Year.
Almost forgotten by the modern generation, the café makes a great head start by introducing heritage recipes as café food.
Art Sim Kitchen Cafe Serves Homemade Local Nyonya Kuehs
The owner makes other local Nyonya kuehs on a rotation basis.
Check with the café about the fresh kuehs made daily.
We sampled kueh talam, kueh Bangka, and kueh ketayap, which were gone before taking photos.
I love my Sunday morning cuppa with my artist friends!
Drinks
Morning cuppas include local Kopi-O, Koki Suu, white coffee, and milo, available hot or cold.
Other drinks include honey, lemon, lemongrass, and herbal teas.
Art Sim Kitchen Cafe
72, Jalan Gajah 11200 Penang
Call: +6012-669 6486
Business Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 8.30 am to 12.30 pm | Sunday 8.30 am to 2.30 pm (Mondays Close)
Updated 24 Sept 2023
The cafe has relocated to 81, Lebuh Tye Sin, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang.
