Toh Soon Cafe - George Town

A must-be place when you 're around Georgetown for breakfast, we came on a weekday so we don 't have to queue at all, but mostly depends on luck. Egg on toast is not bad, not groundbreaking good but a solid 7.5/10. Coffee was delicious, very 'kao ', an easy 9/10. I tried the Nasi Lemak as well which is normal 6/10, nothing too fancy but just enough for a quick breakfast. Do take note that the restaurant is located in a small alley so the atmosphere is somewhat ok-ish, service was quick and attentive. Price is acceptable for its quality.

Don’t really understand why always long queue for such standard of food. Kopi C: one of the most watery kopi I’ve had in my life… Eggs on toast: seriously tasteless, just eggs taste that’s it, the toast is so so normal… Kaya butter toast: no way… this is not good at all I love the alley’s ambience, but food and coffee … hmmmm really disappointing.

PSA: don't sweat the parking. Park at line clear parking lot and walk 2mins. Easy peasy. This is one of those socmed elevated joints. I asked myself what's so special about this place that there's a perpetual Q. I came on a working work day and there was still a sizeable Q. The unique point I think it's the charcoal grill. The bread is grilled on open charcoal, very rare to find nowadays. Lightly burnt and crunchy on the outside and soft at the centre. I loved their coffee. The heavy taste and aroma is a perfect pick me up. A bit sweet for my taste so my next order will be less sugar. I liked their nasi lemak. Small pack, simple and unpretentious. Delicious but again, the sambal was a little sweet. I must commend them for their half boil egg. For me, it was a Goldilocks egg yolk and egg white consistency. Their other offerings were ok. I would say average and expected. The environment is unique. Simple chairs and table located at a lorong half exposed to the elements. I suppose you can call it a local simple roadside coffee stall vibe. In short it's a nice place to drop in if you are in the area but nothing spectacular that you would make a journey for.

Even during CNY week, there is a bit of line to get a seat at about 830am. But don't let this fact deter you, because Toh Soon Cafe is an education of how good, sorry, how BRILLIANT simple things can be. The ingredients used for the food here is something that you might even use every day bread, eggs, butter, coffee. But the bread for the toast is so soft, I really don't know how a simple sandwich bread can be this good. The kopi peng is better than a lot of the so called specialty cafes in town, and the eggs. Yeah, let's not even go there because it's criminal how good they are. Ordinary made sublime. Something out of nothing.

There's something magical about this place. No, I've had better coffee and tea elsewhere. The Hainanese toast with kaya is delicious but not exactly mind-blowing. So what makes this place great? It's the whole experience of eating your toast, slurping a cup of black coffee in a back alley, served by friendly servers, while idling the day away. Now, that's what makes it magical.