Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe – Hidden Gem in Pulau Tikus

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe reminds me so much of Mulan – the flower blooms in adversity.

Penelope Pussycat (Penny) told us she found the shop when she ordered a wreath.

The secluded Nyonya restaurant is next to a flower shop along Burma Road.

Penny organized a ladies’ lunch and wanted to give us all a heads-up to wear solid colors.

I was instantly intrigued.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe Grandoise Deco

When I finally stepped in, my eyes couldn’t focus.

I felt transported back in time to the gardens of the French Renaissance.

The interiors were mind-blowingly lavish in an eclectic, opulent way.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe is decked with vases of possies, dangling flowers, and big red lanterns.

Gorgeous décor that was just a bit over the top too busy.

We noticed that most of the diners were women.

The two men who came with their wives stood at the threshold with a blank, shell-shocked look on their faces.

The decoration inside the restaurant can look imposing but is perfect for a photo shoot.

It depends – the other ladies loved the cozy décor and were busy taking photos.

Yes, it is a feminine Instagram babe café with delicious Nyonya food.

So be warned, and be ready to be impressed or shocked by the sheer volume of the floral decorations, which dangle from the ceiling and embrace us.

There are more flowers than tables and seating, BUT in a perfect way.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe Service

Service is courteous and prompt.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe Food Price

Generally, delicious dishes with reasonable prices are highly recommended for a nice restaurant without breaking the bank.

If you plan to eat as we did – the price is cheaper than a buffet per pax.

Home-cooked Nyonya Food @ Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe

The Nyonya food tastes like home-cooked food; it depends on what you expect from a Nyonya restaurant.

Some dishes fared better than others and became instant favorites.

Others are good, and some fall below par.

Like eating at home when the old Nyonya cooks, you eat up without a fuss.

If you like the dish, ensure it faces you directly and eats away.

For the ones you don’t fancy, take a small piece and eventually get around to eating it (if there’s still room in your tummy)

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe – Set Lunch for RM38

If you want a quick bite, you can try the lunch sets that are served with

• one main dish
• three sides
• one rice
• one drink

You can check with the restaurant what is available for the mains.

What We Ordered at Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe – Almost the Entire Menu! 13 Dishes for Lunch

The most memorable lunch was when the dishes kept coming out, and the ladies looked at me.

Penelope Pussycat ordered one item from the menu, which was small.

We ended up with 13 dishes! The most we ever had for a sit-down luncheon.

If you ask me about memory-making – this is unforgettable in every way!

The ladies took a vote and gave  ❤️️ ️their favorite dishes.

Main Menu

1. Curry Chicken ❤️️ ❤️️
2. Sambal Chicken ️❤️️ ❤️️
3. Kunyit and Serai Fried Chicken ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️
4. Asam Pedas ❤️️ ❤️️
5. Rumpah Hu ❤️️
6. Sambal Tumis Ikan Pari ❤️️  ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️ ️❤️️
7. Assam Prawn ❤️️
8. Tu Tor Soup ❤️️
9. Lor Bak ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️
10. Tau Ewe Bak ❤️️ ❤️️
11. Tu Kar Chor ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️
12. Jiu Hur Char ❤️️ ❤️️
13. Acar Acar ❤️️

These are the items we didn’t order.

• Sambal Hu
• Sambal Prawn @ Petai
• Hong Bak
• Chap Chai

Rice Menu

• Rice
• Blue Rice
• Oil Rice

Drinks Menu

• Kek Hua
• Lemongrass
• Water
• Soft Drink
• Beer

Let’s start with Chicken

Chicken Curry

A favorite in Nyonya homes is a decent chicken curry or Gulai Kay with potatoes and white rice and soy sauce.

We like to make a Curry Mee with the leftover gravy by thinning it out, adding a few simple ingredients, and VOILA!

• Chicken
• Yellow Noodles
• Rice Vermicelli
• Mung Bean Sprout
• Boiled Long Beans
• Mint Leaves

Or you can eat this with Roti Bengali; leftover Chicken Curry is best with bread.

Sambal Chicken

Sambal Chicken has many variations depending on the cook’s ethnic and cultural background.

Malays use the belacan. Chinese go mild with the chilies.
Indians use cinnamon to fragrant the sambal sauce.

The Nyonya version is an excellent combination of cooking ingredients, and the taste is pleasing and so delicious.

Kunyit + Serai Fried Chicken

Most Nyonya restaurants serve Inche Kabin.

This is the first time that we tried Fried Chicken marinated with Kunyit (Tumeric) and Serai (Lemongrass)

The taste is fragrant and delicious.

I will order this again, maybe a plate just for me alone. <greedy>

Next Seafood – Fish and Prawns

The fish and prawns are fresh.

Assam Pedas

We often make this at home, and it is a family favorite that we add rice vermicelli to eat as our homestyle Laksa.

I like it spicy, hot, and sour with pineapple, onion, cucumber, Lor Gio (pickled leeks), and a hard-boiled egg at home.

Rempah Hu (Mackerel Stuffed With Rempah)

Authentic Nyonya Rempah Hu or “Hu Chee Rempah” can only be made with Hardtail Mackerel, a “Ngeh Buey” in Hokkien.

No other fish can taste as good in texture and authentic flavor.

We like a specific-sized Hardtail Mackerel at home, not too big, not too small, but just right.

The restaurant serves a generously large fish, which I find too big for my liking – the flesh is too hard.

Penangites love to consume this fish that is high in protein and low in fat.

Sambal Tumis Ikan Pari (Stingray Fish)

Every home cook in Malaysia–Nyonya, Malay, Chinese, or Indian—has a unique recipe for Assam Pedas.

The adaptations are endless, with an adjustment to the sour, fiery hot, and taste balance.

Assam Pedas means “sour spicy,” and this is a classic Malaysian dish.

Like Thailand’s Tom Yum, you can vary your seafood ingredients, but the best way is to cook this with stingray —delicious.

Assam Prawn (Sea Prawns in Tamarind  Sauce)

Tamarind Prawn or Assam Prawn is a Nyonya recipe I grew up eating with our homemade Nasi Lemak.

We call this “Assam Heh,” we make a version with a sweet black tamarind sauce to coat the prawns.

Assam prawn) is surprisingly easy to make with only four ingredients: Prawns, tamarind, sugar, and salt.

The addition of sesame seeds takes this up a notch.

Here Come The Porky Dishes

You can have a Nyonya meal without Pork.

We had four porky dishes to try.

Tu Tor Soup (Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns)

I’m not a fan of Pig’s Stomach, so I will only take the soup, not the pieces of Tu Tor.

Tu Tor Soup ❤️ pepper taste hot but soup taste mild – Kynnex

Lor Bak (Five-spice Pork Roll)

Loh Bak is one of the festive dishes Malaysians love eating as an appetizer or snack.

There are many ways to make this, but the 5-spice marinated pork wrapped with bean curd skin and deep-fried makes the rolls crunchy, chewy, fragrant, and yummy.

Tau Ewe Bak (Braised Pork Belly in Soy Sauce)

Every Malaysian loves this intensely flavorful soy sauce braised pork belly.

You can grow a child with Tau Yew Bak and rice.

Children, oldies, and everyone else love the complex, sophisticated, and addictive sweet taste.

To taste Tau Yew Bak, visit a Chap Fun stall (Economy Rice Stall).

Every Economy Rice Stall has a huge pot of Tau Yew Bak with free-flowing soya sauce gravy to drench your rice in.

Tu Kar Chor (Braised Sweetened Pig Trotter)

Tu Kar Chor is a braised, sweetened Pig Trotter dish that is deep in flavor and addictive.

Pig Trotter, Black Vinegar, sesame oil, light soy sauce, brown sugar, and lots of old Ginger.

Tu Kar Chor is a scrumptious braised dish to add to boiled eggs.

After the slow braising, the pork knuckles are so moist, tender, and succulent that you can’t get enough.

Although our food portions were small, they were more than adequate, considering we ordered 13 dishes per table!

There are 5 of us per table, and we got to tapau home too.

The bill was RM82 each, and considering the amount of food we had and the dishes’ complexity, it was well worth the price.

Above all, it was a delicious lunch and a good catch-up with the ladies.

Where to Park

The only downside is finding car parking in Pulau Tikus during lunch.

There is limited street parking on Bangkok Lane next to the Nyonya restaurant.

You can Grab or park at Axis Plaza or Moulmein Rise and walk a bit.

Reservations Recommended

I would suggest visiting in the evenings, as it is easier to park and more relaxed if you plan to walk from Burma Road service road car parking.

Remember to make reservations.

There are more tables and seating on the first floor.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe Review

There is a first for everything; this is the most memorable dining experience.

We’ve been to a restaurant that we’ve never been to before. Thanks, dear Penelope Pussycat!

We got to eat some delicious food to eat.

Most special was dining in the beautiful environment of a flower shop.

The service is excellent, even though they were swamped.

The staff helped us take our group photo and even presented each of the ladies with a fresh flower to take home. Awwwwww so sweet. 

For Smart Dory, the Top Three Nyonya dishes at Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe are

1. Sambal Tumis Ikan Pari – can’t stop drinking the gravy!
2. Kunyit and Serai Fried Chicken – most flavourful and delicious!
3. Tu Ka Chor – I wish there was an “iron egg” per person! Delicious!

You can’t go wrong with this combination—unless you’re planning to go the whole nine yards—eat like there’s no tomorrow and order all the dishes on the menu.

Then again, why not? LOL

Let’s hear the Reviews from SmartDory’s Fish Frens:

I liked the Lor Bak best think… tho it was quite a lot to eat … 😅After a while, it was just how to finish the food😂. I liked the Tu Kar Chor too. More ginger, or maybe it wasn’t hot enough for me. – Ee San

Food was excellent! 👍🏻 I like all the dishes that we ordered (although it was an accident and too much to stomach everything) especially Dish #6, and not forgetting the flavourful warm lemongrass tea 😋. The decor was a bit too extravagant but unique. Will I go again? Of course! – Penelope Pussycat

Tu Tor Soup ❤️ pepper taste hot but soup taste mild – Kynnex

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe (Non-Halal)
268, Jalan Burma, Pulau Tikus, 10350 George Town, Penang.
Hours: 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM (Closed Tues & Wed)

Google: https://g.co/kgs/b7rTXMu

 

Blog Disclosure: This is a NOT sponsored blog post. All opinions are mine. The writer and friends paid for their meal.

Flower Mulan Nyonya Cafe MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View