Trois Canon Café is an old-style, Malaysian version of a Hong Kong Cha Chan Teng (tea restaurant) and scores a big point on nostalgic ambiance.
I sometimes miss getting my Hong Kong breakfast fix.
What was I thinking -attitudes, chaotic ambiance, long queues, and partly rude service topping a perfect plate of scrambled eggs.
In Hong Kong, the Cha Chan Teng does NOT place your café where you sit, hog a corner, and slowly drink a cup of coffee.
What you do in Hong Kong is to finish your food as fast as possible, pay, and leave – people are waiting for your table!
Trois Canon Café is more relaxed – generally, I will eat quickly and leave if the café is full.
The little café is family-run and popular with locals, visitors, and regular.
So, if you want to draw over breakfast, go early on a weekday morning – you get the first choice of your favorite table.
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Trois Canon Café Location & Parking
Trois Canon Café’s (Trois) location on Campbell Street is a bit obscured.
The inconspicuous shop entrance is hardly seen from across the road.
Pepe tells me that I’m just a blur.
Aunty having walk past and missed the restaurant several times on her own.
It happens when I don’t know what I’m supposed to look out for.
Frankly, I go to Hamediayh Restaurant directly across the street and do not notice what’s across the road until the day Pepe Le Pew suggests we have lunch here.
When Pepe rattles off his standard order of Macaroni soup with ham and a Milk Tea, I knew that we would be going for a good lunch.
On a weekday, Campbell Street is notoriously busy and almost impossible to find a car park for our lunch date.
If you’re visiting, don’t double park, MBPP is very efficient in the George Town Heritage Centre – if you don’t want a ticket or get your car towed, it’s easier to Grab here.
Trois Canon Café Ambiance
Today I want to share about an old-style mom-and-pop place with a nostalgic ambiance.
It almost feels like I’m in HK again!
We walked into a Cantonese-speaking café where I expected rude HK-style service – the Uncle is friendly and helpful.
They speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, English, and Bahasa – so ordering is not a problem.
The ambiance of the café feels like entering into one of those classical coffee shops in Hong Kong.
The food is nothing fancy, but a typical Hong Kong café culture for you to experience.
The dining environment is pleasant for its price, a little cramped but with comfortable booth seats.
Once upon a time, all the Kopitiam in Penang had these booth seats.
Trois Canon Cafe Nostalgic Hong Kong Cha Chan Teng
Trois Canon Café HK Style Food
Despite the popularity of specialty cafés popping up around town to cater to an increasing number of coffee connoisseurs – Hongkie drinks like Lai Cha (Milk Tea) usually hit the spot for me.
However, since I don’t fancy tea, I will order a Yin Yang (coffee with tea known as Kopi Cham in Malaysia).
Penangites love to find a decent cheap meal at a café that doesn’t set you back by RM50.
Trois Canon Café has an extensive menu that aims to please all customers for breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, and dinner at affordable prices.
Don’t worry about going through several separate menus to decide.
You can read the menu on the wall.
Uncle is more than happy to recommend noodles, rice sets, classic menus, or pastry.
Trois Canon Café Variety
Trois Canon Café is a small family-run café with a good, cheap variety of menu items, including many Asian dishes and bagel sandwiches.
They serve breakfast all day.
When I went for lunch with Pepé Le Pew and Elastigirl (Mrs. Incredible), the experience was incredible.
We ordered three sets. At RM15 each, it was more than adequate – delicious with quite large portions.
Elastigirl was trying to fob off her food on me. Now we know why she is so slender.
Trois is a good cafe for family-style breakfast items, from a choice of simple eggs and bread to a full breakfast of eggs, sausages, ham, toast, pasta, or rice dishes.
Trois Canon Cafe Menu
Trois Canon Café HK Style 10 Must Eat Food.
The food served food in Trois Canon Cafe is very similar to the ones in Hong Kong.
The interiors of some new hipster and lifestyle cafes usually have the coffee machine is taking center stage.
In this nostalgic café, you get to sit in the booth-type seating.
Trois Canon makes the food prep and beverages in the kitchen.
I have been here for five meals at different times of the day before writing this blog.
The menu’s rundown is the Sets, the Noodles, the Rice, the Classics, and HK-style pastries.
Trois Canon Cafe Menu
Set A (RM15)
- B.B.Q. Pork Spaghetti (Tomato or Chicken Soup)
- Butter Kaya Toast
- Fried Eggs & Hot Dog
- Coffee or Tea
Set B (RM15)
- Ham Macaroni (Tomato or Chicken Soup)
- Butter Kaya Toast
- Fried Eggs & Hot Dog
- Coffee or Tea
Set C (RM15)
- Chicken Sausage Spiral (Tomato or Chicken Soup)
- Butter Kaya Toast
- Fried Eggs & Hot Dog
- Coffee or Tea
Set D (RM15)
- Hot Dog Mee Goreng (Tomato or Chicken Soup)
- Butter Kaya Toast
- Fried Eggs & Hot Dog
- Coffee or Tea
Century Egg Congee
Trois Canon Cafe Century Egg Congee
Nissin Noodles Soup with Luncheon Meat & Egg or with Grilled Chicken
The 10-min Hong Kong-style instant noodles with luncheon meat (or ham), sunny side up egg was my daily breakfast in KL
Peanut Butter French Toast
We were expecting the thick bread slice giant toast and got two slices of bread instead.
What’s not to love about Peanut Butter French Toast?
We ate every little square of toast.
Pork Chop Bun
I remember the Macau Pork Chop Bun I tasted years ago and wanted a taste of nostalgia.
The version at Trois is decent with a marinated and tender pork.
Then again, nothing can compare with faint memories and nostalgia.
I will need to go to Macau again to taste that Pork Chop Bun.
B.E.L.T. (RM12)
The Bagel B.E.L.T. is the ultimate breakfast bagel—what’s not to like?
Bacon, eggs, lettuce, tomato, and processed cheese, stacked on a bagel sliced in two and held together with toothpicks. The eggs were fluffy, every mouthful tasty while staying hot.
I made a brunch with an H.K. yuan yang, coffee with tea, commonly known as Kopi Cham in Malaysia.
I had this at 9.00 am and wasn’t hungry until 3.00 pm.
Add On Potatoes (RM2.30)
I like the pan-fried potatoes so much that I ordered an add-on. It’s salty enough (my liking) with the addition of dried herbs.
From now on, I will go early and order this with my top pick, the Philly Cheese Steak Bun.
Philly Cheese Steak Bun (RM7.50)
Trois was out of beef the first time I wanted to try.
We were happy to try it with Penelope Pussycat.
The Philly is Cheap and delicious, and exceptional.
When I think about this, I would gladly give up my McD burgers.
It’s a different kind of good.
If you take beef, you will not miss this out.
It tastes as good as a takeaway as eating in the shop.
I packed one away, and it still tastes excellent an hour later!
So my go-to is the Philly Cheese Steak Bun.
It was a tough choice between the Philly Steak Bun and B.E.L.T.
Trois Canon Café Drinks
The café serves Milk Tea, Coffee, and my favorite – Ying-Yang, a coffee and tea mixture.
Hot Coffee, and my favorite – Ying-Yang, a coffee and tea mixture.
Trois Canon Café Pastry
I bought home the pastries.
- Char Siew Sow (BBQ Pork Puffs)
- Baked Char Siew Pow (BBQ Pork Buns)
- Egg Tarts
The egg tarts are smoothly filled and have a fluffy crust.
Trois Canon Cafe Egg Tart and Char Siew Sow
Review of Trois Canon Café
The Chinatown area is excellent for eating out with local favorites for Penangites.
Trois Canon Café is a Malaysian’s take on Hong Kong-style café – Cha Chan Teng or tea restaurant for those missing the authentic Hong Kong Breakfast experience.
The café is clean and pocket-friendly, located at the heart of the Penang UNESCO Heritage site.
The old-style Hong Kong café enjoys brisk business and support from locals and tourists.
First-timers should go for their Lumberjack or any of the sets for a hearty and satisfying meal.
The morning sets of buttered toast, eggs, tomato macaroni with ham covered in bright-red sauce, without that extreme sour-tangy aftertaste, and coffee or tea are comfort food for me.
For lunch, try the three eggs and slices of Char Siew (Honey BBQ Pork) with a hot milk tea if you want to cut back on carbs.
There are other HK-style eateries in Penang, which offer similar meal sets but pricier.
All-day Canadian breakfast starts at 7.30 am.
You won’t be disappointed with your order of HK-style specials such as tomato-based macaroni soup, milk tea, egg tart.
I love the tomato and HK Style Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siew) Spaghetti.
Trois Canon Café is the one and only Philly cheesesteak sandwich in George Town.
Breakfast Combo, 7:30 am – 11:30 am
You can get Asian lunch menus – rice with dishes, fried rice, soup, or fried noodles.
I haven’t been to try the rest—if I like a restaurant or café, I will return and eat through the menu again.
I enjoy this simple Cha Chan Teng for its cheap, delicious food and nostalgic ambiance.
As a visitor to George Town, you can experience this ‘time machine’ for a slice of Penang life.
Trois Canon Cafe 三炮台茶餐厅
165, Lebuh Campbell, 10100 George Town, Penang
Business hours:
Sunday to Friday 7:30 am–4.00 pm.
Saturday Closed
Phone: 04-264 3168
Facebook: Trois Canon Cafe 三炮台茶餐厅
