Kim Hee Cafe, Jelutong

Kim Hee Cafe, Jelutong (29 January 2014)


Kim Hee Cafe (GPS: 5.38964, 100.31211) is a coffee shop along Penaga Road in Jelutong, Penang. It originally occupied the shophouse on the north side of Penaga Road. On the other side of the road, directly opposite it, on the south side of Penaga Road, was a coffee shop called Old Kim Hee. I believe both were owned by the same proprietor.

At the end of 2013, the coffee shop on the north side closed, and many of the hawkers shifted to occupy the shophouse on the south side. Thereafter, Old Kim Hee took over the name of Kim Hee Cafe. Meanwhile, the former premises of Kim Hee Cafe was renovated and then reopened as Kedai Makanan Seong Huat.

Kim Hee Cafe at its old premises (12 October 2012)


Kim Hee Cafe is one of the most popular coffee shops at the Jelutong Market, owing to its prime location right across the market building, at the junction of Penaga Road and Ipoh Lane. When it was known as Old Kim Hee, the coffee shop was rather dull, but after the rest of the hawkers moved over, the owner brightened up the premises, and with that, most of the customers also moved over. Kim Hee Cafe now gets quite crowded, particularly in the morning, when the Jelutong Market is in session. This is also due to the large number of hawker stalls operating within and surrounding it.

Among the hawker food you can enjoy at Kim Hee Cafe include the economy rice, chee cheong fun, chicken-rice, wantan mee, Hong Kong mee, Hokkien mee, Hokkien char, sar hor fun and yee foo mee, among others. The Hokkien Char is quite good, as is the sar hor fun.

Chicken rice, Kim Hee Cafe (29 January 2014)


Some hawkers chose to stay put at the site of the former Kim Hee Cafe, and I believe they will be absorbed into the new Kedai Makanan Seong Huat. They include the koay chiap, putu mayong and char koay teow stalls. The koay chiap was one of my favourite koay chiap. My wife quite liked it too, but the most recent time she had it here, she commented that the koay chiap is done too soft. My wife also likes the putu mayong here even though it is so popular that she often have to wait a long while to receive her orders.

Kim Hee Cafe is also open during dinner time, but there are much fewer stalls operating during that time.



23 March, 2014: I returned to Kim Hee Cafe as it's been over a month since I visited it. Once again I had my favourite Hokkien Char. In addition we also order the Chee Cheong Fun and the Putu Mayong from across the road. The putu mayong used to make very good business, but we saw that it has increased its price. This brought an immediate drop in business, and my wife - who loves the putu mayong - did not have to wait as long as she previously had to. For drinks, we ordered the Iced Horlicks. It costs RM2.00 per glass but is very thick.

Timothy Tye at Kim Hee Cafe (23 March 2014)


Hokkien char, Kim Hee Cafe (29 January 2014)


Chee Cheong Fun, Kim Hee Cafe (23 March 2014)


Jelutong Market putu mayong (23 March 2014)


8 February, 2014: At the time I wrote this evaluation, I have eaten at Kim Hee Cafe at its new location only twice, so I have not yet tried all the food. What I can say is that I have tasted the Hokkien Char, and I like it very much. In fact I liked it so much, I am not sure whether I will be tempted to try other stalls at Kim Hee Cafe, or should I stick with the tried and tested Hokkien Char. If in future I managed to try the food of other stalls, I will continue to update my write-up.

Tim at Kim Hee Cafe (29 January 2014)


Hokkien char, Kim Hee Cafe (29 January 2014)

Stalls at Kim Hee Cafe at its former location

The koay chiap at Kim Hee Cafe, at its old premises (2 February 2012)


Kim Hee Cafe sar hor fun, at its old premises (14 October 2012)


The char koay teow at Kim Hee Cafe, at its old premises (2 February 2012)

Notesworthy stalls at Kim Hee Cafe

Getting there

The nearest bus stop is along Jalan Jelutong. From there, walk to the junction of Penaga Road. Go along Penaga Road until you reach Kim Hee Cafe on your right, at the intersection with Ipoh Lane.

Kim Hee Cafe is on the Map of Ipoh Lane, Penang

List of Coffee Shops in Penang and Coffee Shops in Malaysia