Kedai Kopi Lam Ah

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah, Beach Street, Penang (1 September 2008)


Kedai Kopi Lam Ah (GPS: 5.41544, 100.3394) is a now defunct coffee shop at the junction of Beach Street and Chulia Street. The premises have now been taken over by Kedai Motor Kuan Yee. The coffee shop was across the road from the Beach Street Fire Station, in George Town, Penang. It is distinctive in being probably the only structure in the entire stretch of Beach Street that is one storey tall.

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah is famous for the Beach Street Gu Bak Koay Teow. This Gu3 Bak1 Koay1 Teow2 stall is one of the most popular in Penang. It also has a stall selling crispy Oh2 Cien1 , similar to the one at Maga Restaurant in Perak Road.

Apart from gu bak koay teow, Kedai Kopi Lam Ah also has a fried oyster stall. The coffee shop itself has a popular nutmeg drink. On the whole I find the drinks here to be quite pricey which is another reason I eat here less often now.



12 November, 2016


20 September, 2014

We returned to Kedai Kopi Lam Ah specifically to taste test its Gu Bak Koay Teow and Oh Cien. We arrived when the coffee shop was not full. Lucky for us that we were slightly early, because a short while afterwards more and more customers arrive, and soon people were waiting to be seated.

Although we arrived before the coffee shop was full, we nonetheless had to wait about 20 minutes before getting our bowls of gu bak koay teow. The oh cien arrived slightly sooner, but not much sooner.

The Gu Bak Koay Teow

As far as the taste is concerned, I would say that this is still one of the best. And compared to my review last time, where I mentioned that it is now lacking in stuff (or, boh3 ho1liau33 ), I can say that this time around, the gu bak koay teow is "not boh3 ho1 liau3" but also "not ho1 liau3". In other words, the amount of stuff in it this time around is "moderate".

There are ingredients which I used to enjoy here that have gone forever, and these have not made their reappearance, in particular the "white intestine". Maybe it was removed because too many found it to be an acquired taste, which is a shame, as that is what made this gu bak koay teow so special.

All that said, we also discovered that the gu bak koay teow has risen in price again. In my previous taste test of 2013, I mentioned that the large bowl was priced at RM8. Well, now it's at RM10. So, a 20% increase. Ah, if only my bank can offer the same rate for my savings!

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah fried oyster (6 June 2011)


The Oh Cien

Between "sooner" and "later", I'd say the oh cien came later. Yes, it still has the wonderful crispiness that makes it such an outstanding difference from "regular" oh cien. I think it looks even better than the previous plate that I had here. That said, I have also noticed that the parts where there are oysters, don't taste as special, or rather, are perhaps more plain than other oh cien. Also, the size of the oysters here is pretty small and quite few. If you want to enjoy oh cien with big, succulent oysters, this is not the place to go. In fact, you can take away the oysters and sell this as crispy egg omelette.

With the above said, and with my new food rating system, I am ready to offer the two stalls at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah their ratings, and here they are, as of 20 September, 2014:

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah Gu Bak Koay Teow Rating (20 Sept 2014): A-
Kedai Kopi Lam Ah Oh Cien Rating (20 Sept 2014): B

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah Oh Cien (20 September 2014)


Kedai Kopi Lam Ah Gu Bak Koay Teow (20 September 2014)


22 July, 2013:

On this visit, we ordered the small bowl, at RM7 (compared to the large bowl at RM8). I find that the small bowl has quite a lot of meat to it, compared to the large bowl, where you get more koay teow but the same amount of meat. I suppose the difference of RM1 is for extra koay teow, not the meat. My wife still felt that this gu bak koay teow is not worth the price, though I myself feel that despite it being the more expensive gu bak koay teow in Penang, it is also among the tastier ones.

6 June, 2011

On this day we tried both the Gu3 Bak1 Koay1 Teow2 (flat noodle beef soup) and Or3 Cien2 (fried oyster). The or cien is very different from those I get elsewhere. The batter is deep fried until very crispy. We were sitting next to the table, and I saw the amount of oil used to produce the fried oyster omelette.

The Gu Bak Koay Teow at Kedai Kopi Lam Ah (1 September 2008)

Getting there

The nearest bus stop is along Chulia Street. Most of the buses from Weld Quay Ferry & Bus Terminal stops at this bus stop, among them Rapid Penang bus 10, 11, 101, 104, 201, 202, 203, 206, 301, 302, 401 and 401E.

Kedai Kopi Lam Ah is on the Map of Beach Street, Penang

List of Coffee Shops in Penang and Coffee Shops in Malaysia

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.

您有待出售或出租的房产吗？ 您想购买或租赁房产吗？ 与我联系。 WhatsApp 我 (Timothy Tye) 012 429 9844，我将指派一名房地产经纪人为您服务。 我会根据您的房产需求，为您选择代理。 因此，当您给我发消息时，请向我提供一些您需要的详细信息，无论是出售、购买、出租还是出租，以及房产类型，是公寓、公寓、房屋、商店、办公室还是土地。

 New Properties in Penang

Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.